Mentawai people

Last updated
Mentawai people
Mentawei / Mentawi
Sikerei Dukun Mentawai.jpg
Mentawai traditional healers, 2017.
Total population
Approximately 64,000 [1]
Regions with significant populations
Flag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia (Mentawai Islands)
Languages
Mentawai language, Indonesian
Religion
Animism (predominantly), Islam and Christianity [2]
Related ethnic groups
Sakuddei

Mentawai (also known as Mentawei and Mentawi) people are the native people of the Mentawai Islands (principally Siberut, Sipura, North Pagai and South Pagai) about 100 miles from West Sumatra province, Indonesia. They live a semi-nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle in the coastal and rainforest environments of the islands and are also one of the oldest tribes in Indonesia. The Mentawai population is estimated to be about 64,000. The Mentawai tribe is documented to have migrated from Nias – a northern island – to the Mentawai islands, living in an isolated life for centuries until they encountered the Dutch in 1621. The ancestors of the indigenous Mentawai people are believed to have first migrated to the region somewhere between 2000 and 500 BCE. [3] The Mentawai language belongs to the Austronesian language family. [4] [5] They follow their own animist belief system called Arat Sabulungan, that links the supernatural powers of ancestral spirits to the ecology of the rainforest. [6] [7] When the spirits are not treated well or forgotten, they might bring bad luck like illnesses and haunt those who forgot them. [6] Mentawai also have very strong belief towards objects they think are holy. [8] The people are characterized by their heavy spirituality, body art and their tendency to sharpen their teeth, a cultural practice tied to Mentawai beauty ideals. Mentawai tend to live in unison and peace with the nature around them because they believe that all things in nature have a form of spiritual essence. [6] [9]

Contents

Culture and lifestyle

An Uma, the traditional communal house of the Mentawai Mentawai Uma.jpg
An Uma, the traditional communal house of the Mentawai
A Mentawai woman, 2017 Senyuman Sikerei dari Mentawai.jpg
A Mentawai woman, 2017
Man with drum in the Mentawai Islands. COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Een man van de Mentawai-eilanden met een trom TMnr 10005504.jpg
Man with drum in the Mentawai Islands.

The Mentawai live in the traditional dwelling called the Uma which is a longhouse and is made by weaving bamboo strips together to make walls and thatching the roofs with grass, the floor is raised on stilts and is made of wood planks. Each Uma is decorated with skulls of the various animals they hunted. [10] An Uma can house three to four families. A Lalep is a smaller house containing only one family; and a Rusuk is a home for widows and bachelors.

The main clothing for men is a loin cloth made from the bark of a gum tree. Mentawai adorn themselves with necklaces and flowers in their hair and ears. Women wear a cloth wound around the waist and small sleeveless vests made from palm or banana leaves. Mentawai sharpen their teeth with a chisel for aesthetic reasons.

It is very common to see Mentawai people covered head to toe in tattoos, since they follow various traditional tribal rituals and their tattoos identify their role and social status. The tradition of tattooing called Titi, is done with cane and coconut charcoal dye, a nail, a needle, and two pieces of wood fashioned into a hammer-like stick by a shaman called Sikerei. [11] The shaman will pray for the charcoal before using it to make a tattoo. [8] Tattooing on the island is an identity and a personal or communal reflection of the people's relationship to nature, called Arat Sabulungan, although there are motivational and design differences from region to region and among clans. [12] Mentawai people believe that these tattoos allow them to bring their material wealth into the afterlife and allows their ancestors to recognize them in the afterlife. [13] Moreover, Mentawai tattoos are considered one of the oldest in the world, and symbolize the balance between foresters and nature. [8]

The Mentawai, also known as the "Flower People", never harvest a plant or take the life of an animal without asking for their spirit's forgiveness first because they believe every part of the environment has a spirit. [10] This belief is essential to their traditional religion of Arat Sabulungan. This complex cultural belief system gives reverence to the spirits of their ancestors, the sky, land, ocean, rivers, and all that is natural within. It also provides local people with the skills, knowledge, and values required to maintain a self-sufficient and sustainable lifestyle. As teachers, healers and caretakers of this indigenous knowledge, local shaman, known as Sikerei, fulfill their responsibility to the wider community by educating them in the intricacies of Arat Sabulungan. [7] They instill a comprehensive understanding of all that life is dependent upon within their people. Sikerei are the backbone of Mentawai culture and its sustainability. Presently, largely due to the gradual introduction and influence of foreign cultural, behavioral and ideological change, the number of Sikerei still practicing the Arat Sabulungan lifestyle and their role has diminished to a few small clans located in the south of Siberut island. [3] [6]

The traditional knife of the Mentawai people is called Palitai, while their traditional shield is called Kurabit. [14]

Men hunt warthogs, chicken, deer, and primates. [8] Dogs are usually used to spot the animals during hunting, then the prey is shot with a bow and poisonous arrow. The poison comes from a local leaf which has been mashed and mixed with water. [10] Women and children gather wild yams and other wild food and fruits. The main food they eat is sago, a type of flour from ground palm medulla, which is usually grilled. [8] Small animals are hunted by women. The Mentawai people keep pigs, dogs, monkeys, and sometimes chickens as pets.

During the pre-independence era, the cultural influence of foreign colonials and other islanders had systematically displaced or obliterated indigenous customs and religions. In postcolonial times, the Indonesian government continued this policy with a 1954 decree that prohibited animist religions, effectively abolishing tattooing and other customs. [12] In the 1950s, the government began introducing development programs designed to integrate the Mentawai into mainstream society. While this policy may have sought to encourage social unification, in practice, it resulted in the suppression of the Mentawai's Arat Sabulungan. In extreme cases, state policy led to the burning and destruction of cultural paraphernalia used for ritual and ceremonial purposes. Moreover, Mentawai shamans, the Sikerei, were forcibly imprisoned or disrobed and removed from the forest. [15]

Prahus of Mentawai islander. Prauen der Mentawej-Insulaner.jpg
Prahus of Mentawai islander.

Due to modernization, the Mentawai people have experienced some significant change in their day-to-day lives and culture. With the introduction of Pancasila and transmigration, the majority of the Mentawai increasingly lost connection with their ancestral ways. Traditionally, the Mentawai live in family units centered upon a longhouse or uma, which are dispersed throughout the jungle. Government settlements now concentrate multiple families within a single area. Livestock, including pigs, which are the lifeblood and economy of Mentawai society, are banished from these same reserves due to introduced social policy. Moreover, the number of Mentawai people still actively practicing cultural customs has been reduced to only 1 percent of the population, isolated to the south of Siberut. [15] Under Pancasila, the five principles for Indonesian state philosophy formulated by the Indonesian nationalist leader Sukarno, the Indonesian Government also began to enforce their new nationwide religious policies issuing a decree declaring that all Indonesian people must belong to one of the five recognized religions (Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, and Buddhism). For the Mentawai Islands, this resulted in an immediate influx of missionaries and an increase in violence and pressure on the people to adopt change. [3] Mentawai people are also facing a challenge in their day-to-day learning. In the government-sponsored schools, Mentawai children are encouraged to speak Indonesian. [15]

Mentawai islander's tattoo, great house of Pora, and war boat knabat bogolu. Internationales Archiv fur Ethnographie plate XVIII.jpg
Mentawai islander's tattoo, great house of Pora, and war boat knabat bogolu.

One major environmental problem for the Mentawai people is deforestation as their rainforests contain rich timber. In 2015, 20,000 hectares of forest was set aside as a palm oil plantation area in Siberut. Local NGOs pressured the Indonesian authorities to cancel the permit, which included Mentawai traditional lands. However, even with this success, the possibility of logging remains a constant threat on the islands. [15] More than 80 percent of the Mentawai Islands are owned and managed by the state, which makes it difficult for Mentawai people to manage their own lands and natural resources. [16]

Without the collective voice of the Mentawai community, their rights and the protection of Siberut's natural resources will be entirely subject to state control. Thus, beginning in 2009 members of the Mentawai community recognized the need to preserve their traditions as a means of improving their health, well-being and quality of life. As a result, they began seeking change, having surveyed the wider community and discerned that an overwhelming majority wanted to protect and perpetuate their culture. [15] One proposed strategy includes community driven indigenous educational programs. They are designed to provide indigenous Mentawai with the opportunity to reconnect with and learn the most important and relevant aspects of their cultural and environmental heritage. The programs, while still being developed and implemented, will run in conjunction with mainstream education and will be taught by the Mentawai for the Mentawai organization. [15] Another promising program called "The Cultural and Ecological Education Program" provides opportunities for Mentawai people to learn the aspects of indigenous education and lifestyle they deem most important for their current and future prosperity. [3] There is great optimism among the community that these programs will be a success, however, significant financial investment is needed to ensure they flourish in the years to come.

Various shops and technology have been brought into the tribe land because of globalization, and tours are even given to those who want to experience the daily life of the tribe and interact with its inhabitants. [10]

A group of Mentawai men portraying chicken in a dance, circa 1900-1940. COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Als kippen uitgedoste Mentawai mannen tijdens een dans in een dorp aan een rivier op Siberoet TMnr 60043043.jpg
A group of Mentawai men portraying chicken in a dance, circa 1900–1940.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Sumatra</span> Province of Indonesia

West Sumatra is a province of Indonesia. It is on the west coast of the island of Sumatra and includes the Mentawai Islands off that coast. West Sumatra borders the Indian Ocean to the west, as well as the provinces of North Sumatra to the north, Riau to the northeast, Jambi to the southeast, and Bengkulu to the south. The province has an area of 42,119.54 km2 (16,262.45 sq mi), with a population of 5,534,472 at the 2020 census. The official estimate at mid 2022 was 5,640,629. The province is subdivided into twelve regencies and seven cities. It has relatively more cities than other provinces outside Java, although several of them are relatively low in population compared with cities elsewhere in Indonesia. Padang is the province's capital and largest city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mentawai Islands Regency</span> Regency in West Sumatra, Indonesia

The Mentawai Islands Regency are a regency of West Sumatra Province which consists of a chain of about a hundred islands and islets approximately 150 kilometres off the western coast of Sumatra in Indonesia. They cover a land area of 6,033.76 km2 and had a population of 76,173 at the 2010 Census and 87,623 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid 2022 was 89,401 - comprising 46,431 males and 42,970 females. Siberut at 3,838.25 square kilometres is the largest of the islands. The other major islands are Sipura, North Pagai, and South Pagai. The islands lie off the Sumatran coast, across the Mentawai Strait. The indigenous inhabitants of the islands are known as the Mentawai people. The Mentawai Islands have become a noted destination for surfing, with over 40 boats offering surf charters to international guests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kloss's gibbon</span> Species of ape

Kloss's gibbon, also known as the Mentawai gibbon, the bilou or dwarf siamang, is an endangered primate in the gibbon family, Hylobatidae. It is identifiable in that it is all black, resembling the siamang with its black fur, but is considerably smaller and lacks the siamang's distinctive throat pouch. Kloss's gibbon reaches a size 17 to 25 inches and weigh at most 13 pounds (6 kg). As is the case for all gibbons, they have long arms and no tail. Males and females are difficult to distinguish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siberut</span> Island in Mentawai Islands Regency, West Sumatra Province, Indonesia

Siberut is the largest and northernmost of the Mentawai Islands, located 150 kilometres west of Sumatra in the Indian Ocean. It covers an area of 3,838.25 km2 including smaller offshore islands, and had a population of 35,091 at the 2010 Census and 40,220 at the 2020 Census. A part of Indonesia, the island is the most important home for the Mentawai people. The western half of the island was set aside as the Siberut National Park in 1993. Much of the island is covered with rainforest, but is subject to commercial logging.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pig-tailed langur</span> Species of Old World monkey

The pig-tailed langur, monotypic in genus Simias, is a large Old World monkey, endemic to several small islands off the coast of Sumatra in Indonesia. Its face is black, its fur is black-brown and it has a relatively short tail. It is a diurnal species, feeding in the rainforest canopy on leaves, and to a lesser extent, fruit and berries. Little is known of its natural history, but it is heavily hunted, its populations have been declining rapidly and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being "critically endangered". It has been included on a list of the World's 25 Most Endangered Primates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paiwan people</span> Second-largest indigenous people in Taiwan

The Paiwan are an indigenous people of Taiwan. They speak the Paiwan language. In 2014, the Paiwan numbered 96,334. This was approximately 17.8% of Taiwan's total indigenous population, making them the second-largest indigenous group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mentawai Islands rain forests</span> Terrestrial ecoregion in Indonesia

The Mentawai Islands rain forests is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in Indonesia. It covers the Mentawai Islands, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean off the west coast of Sumatra. The islands have been separated from Sumatra since the mid-Pleistocene period, and their geographic isolation allowed the evolution of several endemic species, including 17 endemic mammals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sipora</span> Island in West Sumatra, Indonesia

Sipora located off Sumatra in the West Sumatra Province of Indonesia, is the second-smallest and most developed of the four Mentawai Islands at only 651.55 km2. It had a population of 17,557 at the 2010 Census and 21,901 at the 2020 Census. The regency capital of the Mentawai Islands, Tuapejat, is found on Sipora. An estimated 10-15% of the original rainforest remains on this island.

The Mentawai language is an Austronesian language, spoken by the Mentawai people of the Mentawai Islands, West Sumatra, Indonesia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pagai Island macaque</span> Species of Old World monkey

The Pagai Island macaque, also known as the Pagai macaque or Bokkoi, is an Old World monkey endemic to the Mentawai Islands off the west coast of Sumatra. It is listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List due to its ever-shrinking habitat. Macaca pagensis formerly included the overall darker Siberut macaque as a subspecies, but this arrangement is polyphyletic, leading to the two being classified as separate species. Both were formerly considered subspecies of the southern pig-tailed macaque.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mentawai langur</span> Species of Old World monkey

The Mentawai langur is a species of primate in the family Cercopithecidae. It is endemic to the Mentawai Islands in Indonesia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests. The Siberut langur was formerly considered a subspecies of the Mentawai langur.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siberut macaque</span> Species of Old World monkey

The Siberut macaque is a vulnerable species of macaque, which is endemic to Siberut Island in Indonesia. It was formerly considered conspecific with the Pagai Island macaque which is overall paler in color, but this arrangement was polyphyletic. Both were formerly considered subspecies of the southern pig-tailed macaque.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 Mentawai earthquake and tsunami</span> 2010 Indonesian earthquake and tsunami

The 2010 Mentawai earthquake occurred with a moment magnitude of 7.8 on 25 October off the western coast of Sumatra at 21:42 local time. The earthquake occurred on the same fault that produced the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. It was widely felt across the provinces of Bengkulu and West Sumatra and resulted in a substantial localized tsunami that struck the Mentawai Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sikakap</span> Sub-district in West Sumatra, Indonesia

Sikakap is a sub-district on the Indonesian island of North Pagai, in the Mentawai Islands off Sumatra. The sub-district contains both Sikakap and Matobe, while Sikakap village incorporates the hamlets of Central Sikakap, East Sikakap and Sibaibai. Overall, the total population was 3,194 as of 2016. Also part of the sub-district is the Sikakap Strait between North and South Pagai, a designated Regional Marine Conservation Area. The Strait, an area of 3,960 hectares, has a coastal length of 19.79 kilometres (12.30 mi) and is a major contributor to West Sumatra's fishing industry.

Reimar Schefold, is professor emeritus of cultural anthropology and sociology of Indonesia at Leiden University. His special interests are thematic symbolic anthropology, cultural materialism, vernacular architecture, and social change among ethnic minorities. He has lectured and written about diversity and commonality amongst the inhabitants of the islands off the coast of West Sumatra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sakuddei</span>

The Sakuddei or Sabiroet people are an ethnic group, one of at least eleven, on the island of Siberut, Indonesia. Siberut is the northernmost of the Mentawai Islands which are located 130 km (81 mi) to the west off the coast of Sumatra. The Sakuddei live in south-central Siberut in an egalitarian society, cut off from the outside world. They speak a dialect of the Malayo-Polynesian Mentawai language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uma longhouse</span> Mentawai Traditional Houses in the Mentawai Islands, Indonesia

Uma houses are traditional vernacular houses found on the western part of the island of Siberut in Indonesia. The island is part of the Mentawai islands off the west coast of Sumatra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rumah adat</span> Traditional Indonesian houses

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Josef Formánek is a Czech writer, journalist and traveller.

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Further reading