The staple diet for the Mentawai is seasonal fruit that grows on land that each person owns (each Mentawai Uma owns their own plot of land). These fruits include durian, rambutan, sour apples, and soursop. They also eat something called “sago,” which is actually a tree. Yes, you heard that right, a tree. So the sago tree will be chopped down and taken back to the Uma where the sago flour inside will be removed and ground into a finer flour. Afterwards, the flour is wrapped in Sago leaves and cooked over an open fire, and there you have it, freshly cooked Sago. This is the main food that the Mentawai eat. To me, it tasted a little like cheese, but it definitely wasn’t unpleasant. They also keep some livestock, such as chickens and pigs. They give them free roaming and only kill them to eat on special occasions. Because the Uma is on stilts, sometimes during the night the pigs would come underneath and eat any scraps that were dropped. They would fight, and when a fully grown boar is screeching less than a metre from your face, it is sure to wake you up. I always enjoy sleeping outdoors and listening to the sounds of the jungle.

The Mentawai are also skilled hunters and hunt all animals that dwell in the jungle, from monkeys and hornbills to palm grubs (like witchetty grubs). It’s important to note that the Mentawai 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. When I travel, I have a rule when in situations such as these. That rule is that I never say no and I try to immerse myself in their culture, so you can best believe that I ate whatever was offered (the grubs tasted like a watery mushroom soup) and wore nothing but a loin cloth.