Mentawai men in a traditional greeting (1895)
Mentawai (also known as Mentawei and Mentawi) are the native people of the Mentawai Islands, province West Sumatra, Indonesia. They live a semi-nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle in the coastal and rainforest environments of the islands. The Mentawai population is estimated to be about 64,000. The Mentawai language belongs to the Austronesian language family. The people are characterised by their heavy spirituality, body art and their tendency to sharpen their teeth, a practice they feel makes one beautiful.
An Uma, the traditional communal house of the Mentawai
No comments:
Post a Comment