The Mentawai: Get To Know Sumatra's Fascinating Indigenous Tribe
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It might sound like a cliché, but I genuinely try to travel off the beaten path and avoid the tourist traps whenever possible. One piece of advice I always give to fellow backpackers and travellers is this: join local backpacker or expat groups on Facebook (or any social media platform) for wherever you plan to go. You’ll find cheap accommodation, authentic tours, and insider tips on places that don’t show up on TripAdvisor.
That’s exactly how I discovered the Mentawai, a tribe I’d never even heard of before visiting Sumatra. But when I saw a post about living in the jungle on a remote island with an indigenous tribe that still lives much the same way they did over 2,000 years ago, I knew it was something I had to experience
Make sure not to miss out on exploring my captivating photo project capturing the essence of the Mentawai Tribe.
Who are the Mentawai?
The Mentawai, also known as the “Flower People”, are considered one of the oldest indigenous tribes in Indonesia. They live on Siberut Island, the largest of the Mentawai Islands, a remote chain of jungle-covered islands located about 150 km off the western coast of Sumatra.
Researchers believe their ancestors have inhabited these islands since around 500 BC, making the Mentawai one of the most culturally enduring communities in the region. Despite this, they remain incredibly warm, welcoming, and curious. As long as you approach them with genuine respect, they are more than happy to share their way of life.
What I loved most about my time there was how natural and unscripted the experience felt. Nothing was staged or tailored for tourists. We simply joined our hosts, Aman Tirou and Aman Jano, in their everyday routines hunting, cooking, gathering, storytelling. It was immersion in the truest sense of the word.
How to reach the Mentawai?
Getting to the Mentawai isn’t exactly easy, which is probably why not many people go. Our adventure started in the coastal city of Padang, where we arrived a few days before the trip to sort logistics and brace ourselves for what was coming.
The next morning, we were up early to catch the ferry to Siberut, the largest of the Mentawai Islands. It was more than seven hours of sea spray and stiff limbs, but eventually, we rolled into the port, hot, tired, and already wondering what day it was.
After grabbing some lunch, we jumped in a tuk-tuk for a quick ride to the river, where our next ride was waiting: a dugout canoe. One and a half hours of gliding through jungle waterways later, powered by a small motor and the occasional helpful shove from a paddle, we finally reached land again.
But the jungle wasn’t done with us yet. We strapped on our bags and trekked another hour on foot, hacking our way through dense greenery until, at last, we arrived at Aman Tirou’s uma—the traditional Mentawai house we’d call home.
It was sweaty. It was exhausting. And it was 100% worth it.
Beliefs, Spirits, and Why No One Knows Their Age
The Mentawai follow a belief system known as Sabulungan, which is built on the idea that everything in the jungle has a soul, the animals, the trees, even the rivers. All these spirits are connected, and harmony between them is essential. It’s not just a belief, it’s a way of life: living sustainably, taking only what you need, and respecting the forest that gives you everything.
When someone dies, their spirit doesn’t disappear, it returns to the jungle, merging back into nature like it never really left. It’s a beautiful, cyclical view of life and death that makes you think twice about how disconnected most of us are from the world around us.
The Mentawai also hold a lot of ceremonies, each with its own purpose. One that stood out to me was Lajou Simagre, a ritual meant to cleanse a person of negative energy, often performed for the family of someone who’s recently passed. It’s part grief, part healing, and fully rooted in their connection to the spiritual world.
One thing that made me laugh was how little they care about age. You know how we love asking, “How old are you?” within five minutes of meeting someone? Yeah, they don’t do that. Age just isn’t a thing that matters. Most people don’t know how old they are unless they’ve been issued a government ID and even then, it’s usually a guess.
I also found their naming tradition really interesting. When a child is born, they’re given a name by their parents. But once they grow up and have kids of their own, that name changes. Instead of sticking with their birth name, they become Aman [Child’s Name] (Father of…) or Bai [Child’s Name] (Mother of…). So Aman Tirou literally means “Father of Tirou,” and Bai Tirou is “Mother of Tirou.” It’s a simple system, but oddly poetic and definitely easier to remember than half the names I’ve heard on backpacker trails.
What do they eat?
The Mentawai diet is simple, seasonal, and straight from the land. Each uma (traditional family house) owns its own plot, and from that land they gather fruit like durian, rambutan, soursop, and something they called sour apples which, true to name, nearly turned my face inside out.
But the real star of the show is sago and no, it’s not a grain, or a root, or something that sounds like it belongs in a smoothie. It’s a tree. Yep, a whole tree. The process goes like this: they cut down the sago palm, haul the trunk back to the uma, strip it open, extract the starch inside (which sort of resembles wet sawdust), grind it down to a finer flour, wrap it in sago leaves, and cook it over an open fire. Voilà, Mentawai flatbread. It’s chewy, a bit dense, and, oddly enough, the taste reminded me of cheese. Not in a “put-it-on-pizza” kind of way, but it wasn’t unpleasant.
They also raise pigs and chickens, but those are saved for special occasions. The animals are free to roam, and roam they do, especially at night. Because the umas are built on stilts, the pigs tend to gather underneath like hungry trolls waiting for scraps. And let me tell you, nothing wakes you up faster than a full-grown boar screaming under you at 3am. I lost count of the midnight pig brawls, but they became part of the jungle lullaby, right up there with the cicadas and distant howler monkeys.
Hunting is also a big part of life here. The Mentawai are skilled at tracking and catching everything from monkeys and hornbills to palm grubs (think fat, wriggly witchetty grubs). But what really stood out is their deep respect for nature, they never take the life of a plant or animal without first asking the spirit’s forgiveness. It’s not a performance; it’s just how they live, woven into everything they do.
Now, when I travel, I have a rule: never say no, especially when I’m being invited into someone’s world. So yes, I ate the grubs, raw and wriggling (they tasted like watery mushroom soup, for those wondering), and yes, I wore the loincloth. Because when in the jungle…
You may also be interested in: Where To See Sumatra’s Orangutans In The Wild
Our Time With the Mentawai
Over the course of our week in the jungle, we stayed with two different Mentawai families, both led by Sikerei, the tribe’s traditional shamans. These aren’t just spiritual guides; they’re also skilled herbalists, trained to treat all sorts of ailments using only what the jungle provides. Every leaf, bark, and root has a purpose, and they know them all.
We spent our days immersed in their world, harvesting sago, fishing, foraging for fruit, clearing jungle paths, cooking, even helping make poison for hunting arrows (don’t worry, very supervised). It was full-on, but never forced. Just real life, unfolding around us.
One of the biggest highlights? The second Sikerei we stayed with asked me if I’d consider coming back to live with him for six months. He wanted to teach me how to live, speak, and hunt like a Mentawai. And honestly? I’ve been thinking about it ever since.
When the week was up, we packed our bags, boarded the canoe, and started the long journey back to what we call “civilization.” But somewhere between the jungle and the ferry port, I started asking myself, what does that word even mean? Is it the cars, the smartphones, the Wi-Fi? Or is it how we live and treat each other?
Because in so many ways, the Mentawai feel more civilized than most of the modern world. They respect the earth, they heal with their environment, and they live in true balance with nature. No doom-scrolling. No chasing paychecks or likes. Just a calm, grounded way of life rooted in community, purpose, and connection.
They’re open, honest, deeply respectful, and living proof that there’s another way to exist, one that doesn’t bulldoze the world in pursuit of more.
And yeah, I’m already planning my return.
Before You Visit
If you’re thinking about doing this expedition, do it. Seriously. It’s one of the most eye-opening, humbling, and raw experiences I’ve ever had.
That said, do your research and travel responsibly. I can recommend the guide I went with, but if you go with someone else, make sure they’re licensed, have good reviews, and most importantly, speak the local language. This isn’t the kind of trip you want to wing.
And just so we’re clear, this isn’t a five-star jungle resort. There’s no infinity pool or pillow menu. It’s muddy, sweaty, basic, and absolutely beautiful. If you’re like me and enjoy living a little rough, learning from cultures wildly different from your own, and saying yes to things most people won’t, this one’s for you.
A Final Thought
Not everything in the jungle is timeless.
During the trip, our guide shared something that’s stuck with me ever since: this may be the last fully traditional generation of Mentawai. The younger members of the tribe are growing up with smartphones, wearing modern clothes, and many are dreaming of a life outside the jungle, one with jobs, schools, cities, and what they’ve been told is a “better future.”
And who can blame them? The world is changing fast. But it’s still bittersweet to see such a rich, ancient culture slowly fading.
If these traditions do disappear, at least we can say we listened. We learned. And we remembered.
Do you want help creating your very own trip to see the wonders that Sumatra holds? Contact me here for expert advice and trip planning.
