TITLE: Mentawai aboriginal

Mentawai people are the native people of the Mentawai Islands, West Sumatra province, 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. their language belongs to the Austronesian language family, body art and their tendency to sharpen their teeth, a practice they feel makes beautiful.

The main clothing for men is a loin cloth. Mentawai adorn themselves with necklaces and flowers in their hair and ears. Women wear a cloth wound around the waist and small sleeveless vests. Mentawai sharpen their teeth with a chisel for aesthetic reasons. Tattooing is done with a needle and wood which is hammered on the needle by a shaman called Sikerei, Tattooing was an identity and a personal design and differences from region to region .

Men hunt wild pigs, deer and primates. Women and children gather wild yams and other wild food. The Mentawai people keep pigs, dogs, monkeys and sometimes chickens as pets.

AUTHOR: Alexandrino Lei Airosa (Macao)

My Name is Alexandrino Lei Airosa ( Dino)
I’m a Hotelier, working in hotel industry, Photography for me is a passion, it is more than a hobby, not business too
Photography made change and influence in my life, I travel more , I see more and experience more, and when I encounter those people living below the standards, It make me cherish what I having now: family, health and job, make me more humble to see things