Gezicht op Tobadi - Collectie stichting Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen - TM-60009997

The Mentawai, an indigenous people of Indonesia, live on islands in the province of West Sumatra. The tribe is characterised by tattoos and the custom of decorating their dwellings with the skulls of hunted animals. Settlements on the Mentawai islands are usually located near rivers and consist of several houses. They are inhabited by extended families. Each village has a hereditary shaman. The Mentawai trust only the shaman to communicate with the spirits of the ancestors and the spirits of the jungle, on which they believe the well-being of the family depends.