Introduction
Beautiful Mentawai Islands are located on the beautiful island west of Sumatra. This archipelago consists of Siberut Island in the North, Sipora Island in the middle, and Pageh Island in the South. This archipelago has an area of about 65.255 km2
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Social Life and Culture
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There is uniqueness in terms of computation of time for the Mentawai people. They do not know the time. For traditional Mentawai people time is divided into the “life cycle”, ie, Birth, Youth, Marriage, Illness and Death.
Mentawai people do not wear much clothing. Their bodies were decorated by tattoos that laden with meaning of life. Tattoos are known as the “titi”. Tattoo designs vary depending on the tribe and their village. Tattoo signifies strength, masculinity, beauty, character, and also represents the life experience of each person. Clothes of Mentawai traditional communities are also rich with supporting accessories such as, necklaces, bracelets, flowers and leaves to decorate the body in accordance with their natural state.
Livelihoods
Some aspects of traditional culture in Mentawai are the remnant of an ancient Neolithic and Austronesian. In daily life, the livelihood of Mentawai people are hunting, fishing, looking for food provided by nature, fruit, sago, flour is extracted from palm tree trunks, etc.. The division of labor is determined by gender.