The Mentawei people live in an archipelago off the coast of Sumatra and they have always been extremely resistant to the advance of Western civilisation.

The Mentawei’s traditional culture, one of the most notable tattoo cultures in Indonesia, includes straight-line tattoos and filing of the teeth.

The Mentawei ethnic group inhabits an archipelago off the coast of Sumatra. Because of the tropical climate, their culture has always been extremely resistant to the advance of civilisation. Only in recent years have Belgian missionaries penetrated the forests to bring, depending on one’s point of view, “curses” or “blessings”.

The traditional culture of the Mentawei islands includes both straight-line tattoos and filing of the teeth. Both practices are embedded in religion and spiritualism, yet they are also simply forms of decoration and beautification.

The tattoo maestro first blackens a coconut and fills it with a mixture largely consisting of soot and brown sugar juice. A safety needle is then inserted in a wooden stick and, with a second stick, which acts as a mallet, the tattoo is introduced into the skin. The price for the job – which, given the technique is long and painful – is one chicken.

Tattoos are chosen freely and without and obligation: in the past children were tattooed for the first time when only six or seven years old.

As in any authentic tattooing tradition the choice of design/pattern and the part of the body to be tattooed are far from random. First of all the chin and back are tattooed; then, as one gets older, hands, chest, hips and shins follow.

Women’s tattoos tend to document the key stages of their lives: the first menstruation, marriage and the arrival of children.

Today, most Mentawei get their first tattoo at the age of fifteen.
The symbolism is deep and rich in spirituality: a flower tattooed on the shoulder, for example, “must allow evil to out of the body just as rainwater runs off the petals of a flower”.

Under their hands, the inhabitants of these islands guard delicate lines that ensure contact with their ancestors and the spirit world – and protect their bearers.

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