MENTAWAI TATTOOS

Mentawai woman with tattoos and festive ornaments in the 19th century

The Mentawai live on the Mentawai Islands off the west coast of Sumatra. Also known as the Mantawai, Mentawei, Mentawi, Mentawaians, Mentawaier, Orang Mantawei, and Poggy-Islanders, they live as semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers in the coastal and rainforest environments and are one of the oldest tribes in Indonesia. According to Joshua Project the Mentawai, Siberut population in the early 2020s was 82,000. [Source: “Encyclopedia of World Cultures, East and Southeast Asia” edited by Paul Hockings (G.K. Hall & Company, 1993) ~]

The Mentawai are famous for their intricate and elaborate tattoos. It is common to see them covered from head to toe in tattoos. The art of body tattooing is not only an artistic expression but is part of one’s life cycle where tattoos signify age, social status, as well as profession. At the age of 11 or 12 years, children are given their first tattoos beginning from the upper arms. At age 18 tattoos are applied on the thighs while in the final phase the entire body is tattooed from head to toe. [Source: indonesia.travel /=/]

The Mentawai follow various traditional tribal rituals, and their tattoos identify their roles and social statuses. This tattooing tradition, called Titi, uses cane and coconut charcoal dye, a nail, a needle, and two pieces of wood fashioned into a hammer-like stick by a shaman called a Sikerei. The shaman prays over the charcoal before using it to make a tattoo. Tattooing on the island represents the people's identity, as well as their personal and communal relationship with nature, called Arat Sabulungan. However, there are design and motivational differences among regions and clans.

Mentawai tattoos are considered to be among the oldest in the world according to studies made by Ady Rosa, researcher at the Padang University. On the island of Siberut, tattooing has been done from the time the Mentawai tribes first settled on the islands around 1,500 B.C. to 500 years B.C. Whereas, Egyptians were found to have started tattooing since 1,300 BC. The Mentawai tattoos have been found to resemble those of the Dongson of Vietnam, and similar motifs have also been found worn by a number of clans in Hawaii, the Marquesas, the Rapa Nui on the Easter Islands and the Maori of New Zealand. /=/

Importance of Tattoos to the Mentawai

tattoos on a Mentawai man in 2017

The Mentawai believe that “dressing” themselves up with tattoos forms an essential part of life and their culture, since in the afterlife they will be able to recognize each other and their ancestors through their tattoos. The Mentawai also believe these tattoos allow them to bring their material wealth with them to the afterlife. Additionally, to the Mentawai communities, tattoos also symbolize harmony and balance in the natural world. And for this reason, they tattoo animals, flowers, or rock formations on their bodies. [Source: indonesia.travel /=/]

Lars Krutak wrote: “Another way the Mentawais keep their souls “close” is by beautifying the body. Individuals, be they male or female, who neglect their bodies by not keeping them beautiful with beads, flowers, sharpened teeth, and especially tattoos will cease to be attractive to their souls. In such cases, the soul may decide to leave its human host and roam about the body free. But if the soul does not return to its home, it may decide to withdraw to the ancestral world at which point that person must die. Shamans like Aman Lau Lau, Aman Toshi, and Aman Berita are experts at beautifying themselves. And almost every day flowers adorn their hair, beads their necks and wrists, facial paint accents their rigid faces or their strong bodies are smeared with fragrant ground turmeric. [Source: Lars Krutak, Tattoo anthropologist +++]

“Continual care for one’s soul is one of the guiding principles in the life of the Mentawai people. And permanent decoration of the body through tattooing keeps it near at hand. So does good food, music, and dance because each are a religious means of benefiting the members of the community and longhouse (uma) by pleasing their souls, as well as their “Grandfather.” Traditionally, tattooing was performed after a religious ceremony called punen lepa. This was held to wipe out the evil influence of blood spilled in the village or longhouse (uma). A special porch was constructed in front of the uma, so that no blood would fall to the ground. If it did, Pagete Sabbau or Teteu (“Grandfather”) would be summoned, and an earthquake soon followed. +++

“Because the soul is pleased by beautiful and complete body tattoos, the Mentawai believe that it allows them to bring their material wealth into the afterlife. The Mentawai also say that their tattoos (titi) allow their ancestors to recognize them after death. More importantly, however, many forms of tattooing are specifically believed to protect their owners from evil spirits lurking in the jungle.

Mentawai Tattoos as Life Cycle Events

making a Mentawai tattoo in 1938: black dye is applied with small needles under the skin in a pattern that varies by tribe, Mentawai Islands

According to arat sabulungan—Mentawai's ancient animism belief—tattooing reflects one's initiation into adulthood. It is a rite of passage. "The first tattoo [A Mentawai native] has to make is an outrigger canoe on their back which represents a balanced life between the present and afterlife,” tattoo enthusiast Rahung Nasution told the Jakarta Post. “The next tattoo is on their arms, with lines resembling a crocodile's tail as respect to the water deity. There are also other important tattoos that resemble sago leaves which is their staple food and young fern which is their sacred plant because it can get rid of evil spirits” popularity.[Source: Keshie Hernitaningtyas, Jakarta Post, May 28, 2013]

Lars Krutak wrote: Tattoos are applied by a designated tattoo artist called asipaniti or “man who makes the needle” at specific stages in life. Traditionally, when a girl or boy reached the age of seven, they received their back tattoos; now this practice begins in the mid-teens, if at all. Then, after waiting one or two years, their upper arms and the backs of their hands were marked. Next, the tattooing of the upper thighs and legs was executed (note: traditionally these marks were made just before marriage), and followed by the intricate tattoos of the chest and neck. The final stage of tattooing, which usually commenced after the individual reached forty years of age, was completed when the calves, shins, and the forearms were tattooed. [Source: Lars Krutak, Tattoo anthropologist +++]

“Of course, different Mentawai clans observed their own customs when it came to the different stages of tattooing. Bai Lau Lau, Aman Lau Lau’s wife, who is from a different region of Siberut told me that her hands were tattooed first (all in one day); then she waited one year and her chest and back were tattooed (all in one day)! Aman Ipai has many tattoos, including a crucifix-like crab tattooed on his right forearm. Although he is not a shaman, crabs are invoked by Mentawai shamans during healing and other rites because they are believed to never die (e.g., they can discard their old bodies and obtain new ones or regenerate severed limbs). +++

“Bai means “wife of” and Bai Lau Lau told me that, “I am proud of these tattoos not only because they are beautiful, but they also remind me of my father who made them for me. I will have them the rest of my life.” Bai Toshi is perhaps the oldest woman in Butui with a complete set of tattoos. “When I was a young girl, everyone had tattoos,” she said. “Now, virtually no one does.” +++

Mentawai Tattooing Process

traditional Mentawai tattooist from Siberut Island practicing tattooing on a Mentawai man at the Mentawai Charm Festival in Mapadeggat, Tuapejat, in 2016

The art of tattooing is a most painstaking (and obviously also very painful) application where the event itself must be preceded by prescribed rituals and fasting, the process of which can take months. Rituals are led by the tribal chief, known as the sikerei. While the head of the household must first hold a feast for the entire village by slaughtering a large number of pigs and chicken. Therefore, just preparing a family member for tattooing already requires quite a sum of money. [Source: indonesia.travel /=/]

Tattooing is executed with traditional, natural tools. First the design - which has remained unchanged through the centuries because they denote symbols of identity and culture, - is drawn with sharp palm leaf splintered ribs (or lidi). Designs are drawn following a measure of distance, as for example one finger width, two fingers and so on. Once drawn, the design is then carefully etched into the skin with a pointed needle made from animal bone or sharpened wood. The handle is then beaten to allow the color to seep into the skin. Coloring consists of natural dyes made of sugar cane syrup and charcoal from burnt coconut shells. When the entire body must be tattood, work begins from the palm of the hands, the soles of the feet and only then on to the body. In compensation and thanks for his meticulous work, the master tattooer, called the sipatiti, will receive pigs or chicken as token of gratitude./=/

Keshie Hernitaningtyas wrote in Jakarta Post, “Using a sharp splintered rib of a palm leaf and natural ink made of sugar cane syrup and coconut shell charcoal, a Mentawai tattoo artist, or sipatiti, meticulously draws a simple design on his client's skin. Satisfied with the result, he then attentively etches the design into the skin using a mabiau hammered down rapidly with a lili 'pat. A mabiau is a pointed needle made of animal bone or sharpened wood attached to a wooden stick, while a lili 'pat is a long wooden stick. [Source: Keshie Hernitaningtyas, Jakarta Post, May 28, 2013 +/]

"It hurts and bleeds and can take a long time to heal. But the sipatiti has a special herb from medicinal plants to stop the bleeding," local tour guide Rilus Saleleu Baja, 40, told The Jakarta Post at Manai Koat Guesthouse in Mentawai Islands regency's Siberut island in West Sumatra recently. Rilus said that he had endured the pain of tattooing some two years ago, even though it was not something that he had wanted to do. "My clients wanted to take pictures of someone with tattoos but none of them wanted to do it themselves. So, in the end, I got the short stick," Rilus recalled. Due to the painful process, his first Mentawai tattoo is only a half-finished artwork. +/

Mentawai teeth sharpening in 1938

Lars Krutak wrote: Traditionally, Mentawai tattoo artists sometimes used a sharpened piece of bark taken from the karai tree as their skin-plying tool. Others used a lemon thorn set into a small bamboo stick which was hand-tapped into the skin with a wooden mallet. Among the indigenous Atayal and Paiwan of Taiwan, and the Kalinga of the Philippines, thorns of the mountain orange tree were used in this capacity. However, the coastal peoples of Papua New Guinea, who are essentially Polynesian, also used the lemon thorn as a tattooing tool. [Source: Lars Krutak, Tattoo anthropologist +++]

“Before Iman Ipai was tattooed, fetish poles or kera were placed at the entrance and all around his uma to keep away evil spirits and the diseases they bring. It is believed that flowing blood attracts them. Sometimes kera are hung with magical plants and thorns. However, it is not the sticks that do the work; it is the spirit (kina) that resides within them. Traditionally, the Mentawais believed that if someone had been killed or had shed blood inside the uma, all of the fetish poles would bring sickness. To resolve this misfortune, a tattooing ritual was conducted to cover the blood of the dead man. The blood of the dead man goes under the blood of the tattooed person and is lost under the earth of the village.” +++

Mentawai Tattoo Artists

Lars Krutak wrote: “Anyone in the Mentawai community could become a tattoo artist, but only those people with sufficient skills and talent actually found work. Aman Bereta, who tattooed me and several of the Mentawai men living in Butui with and old brass nail, learned the art from his father who was a renowned artist. Unfortunately, there are not many practicing tattoo artists working on Siberut today, and the reason why Aman Bereta is not fully tattooed is because there is no one in his community that can properly tattoo him. [Source: Lars Krutak, Tattoo anthropologist +++]

“Aman Bereta is the tattoo master of Butui, and he learned the art from his father. His tattoo equipment rests on the floor, including his hand-tapping tools and sugarcane sticks that are squeezed to release their sticky fluid into a coconut bowl of carbon-based pigment. His lack of tattoos stems from the fact that he is the only regularly practicing tattooist in the region. Aman Lao Lao tattooed him on his belly in the past, but Bereta wasn’t impressed by the quality. He asked me to give him some ink, but I am certainly not a tattooist, and I didn’t want to end our friendship! +++

“Moreover, tattoo artists like Aman Bereta cannot find apprentices who have the talent or patience to learn the traditional techniques. Of course, some Mentawai people who wish to get tattooed cannot afford these expensive markings either. For example, the cost of a full suit of tattoos, which takes a lifetime to receive, is high by Mentawai standards: 1 medium size pig; 1 durian tree; 4 sago palm trees; 1 coconut palm tree; and 1 chicken basket with several chicks! But if you want to become a “real” Mentawai man, woman, or shaman, tattooing is the necessary vehicle; because it is the apex of everything that comprises Mentawai identity.” +++

Meaning of Mentawai Tattoos

When making a tattoo there are rules to be followed according to a persons’s origin of village or clan, since this is required to denote the individual’s identity, status and clan membership. Both men and women are tattooed. Tattoos on a clan chieftain or sikerei , therefore, are distinct from those of a hunter, for instance. A hunter will have designs of his prey, such as birds, pigs, monkeys, deer or alligators. While a sikerei will have the sibalu-balu star on his body. [Source: indonesia.travel]

Keshie Hernitaningtyas wrote in the Jakarta Post, “Local administration representative Minarsih said that, in the old days, everyone in Mentawai had to have a tattoo, as it was seen as a person's badge, much like an ID card is used nowadays in modern societies. Indigenous people from Matotonan and Butui villages in Siberut, for example, have similar tattoos since they come from the same clan. "There are five types of tattoos available, in accordance with the number of Mentawai clans. So, when people from different clans meet, they can easily recognise where the other person comes from just by looking at their tattoos," Minarsih said in Siberut. Other than as identity markings, Mentawai tattoos also acknowledge the bearer's life story. For example, there are special tattoos for a person who is good at hunting animals, has killed another person, or works as a sikerei. popularity.[Source:Keshie Hernitaningtyas, Jakarta Post, May 28, 2013 +/]

Lars Krutak wrote: “Tattoo can distinguish people regionally, and I was amazed that the Mentawai with whom I lived with could tell me which community a man or woman was from by the style of their tattooing. In the past great headhunters were easily distinguished by their markings including tattoos of frogs on their torsos or shoulders. And today in some regions of Siberut, the intricate body tattoos of the Mentawai are said to represent the “Tree of Life” or sago palm: the stripes on the upper thighs represent the veins and trunk of the sago; long dotted lines running down the arms symbolize the prickly fronds of its branches; patterns on the hands and ankles may mirror the bark or roots; and the curved lines on the chest represent the sago flower. Some Mentawai elders say that this “Tree of Life” must be tattooed on every shaman, because there can be no death when one is part of a tree of life. Of course, the sago palm is the staple food of the Mentawai people, and all of their domestic animals eat it too. [Source: Lars Krutak, Tattoo anthropologist +++]

“But the Mentawai of Butui told me that their tattoos do not necessarily depict the “Tree of Life” for them. For example, the barbed tattoos running down their arms represent the thorny fronds of the rattan palm. Small marks tattooed on the inner thighs and tops of the feet of men (that resemble chicken’s feet) are dog’s paws; a kind of sympathetic magic that enables the men to run as fast as their hunting companions. The intricate tattoos that appear on the chest (dudukat) and wrists are tattooed beads (ngalou: note that this word also means “talisman”) which “tie-in” the soul and keep it close to the body.

The hook-like tattoos on the backs of the hands have a similar function, but Aman Lao Lao also told me that they help you catch fish and game animals more easily by making your fingers and hands more dextrous. The rosettes tattooed on the shoulders of men (sepippurat) and the bold starburst patterns (gaylan) inked on the shoulders and backs of women symbolize that evil should bounce off their bodies like raindrops from a flower. Of course, no evil will find someone marked in this way, because it is the protective shield of the Mentawai. +++

There are about 160 different tattoo motifs on the island of Siberut. Tattooed Mentawai men or women usually have dozens on their bodies. Unfortunately, the unique tradition of tattooing among the Mentawai is fast disappearing. On the island of Siberut, this tradition can be seen only in the villages of Madobak, Ugai and Matotonan. /=/

Keeping Mentawai Tattooing Alive

Keshie Hernitaningtyas wrote in Jakarta Post, “Rilus' reluctance to continue his tribe's long-held tattooing tradition is shared by many Mentawai people nowadays, especially those from the younger generations who consider the art as nothing more than an old-fashioned custom. The fact that the tattoos are closely associated with Mentawai's ancient animism belief called arat sabulungan, which the younger generations no longer practice, is also a major factor behind its significantly waning popularity.[Source: Keshie Hernitaningtyas, Jakarta Post, May 28, 2013 +/]

Since 2009,tattoo enthusiast and video maker Rahung Nasution has collaborated with Jakarta-based tattoo artist Aman Durga Sipatiti in a project called Mentawai Tattoo Revival which involves creating tattoo workshops and documentary videos in Siberut's remote villages. The project aims at helping Mentawai people and sikerei (shamans) to motivate their younger generations to continue the tattoo tradition. +/

As body art, Mentawai tattooing is internationally regarded as unique thanks to its traditional technique. "It offers an artistic romanticism that you don't get from instant and modern [tattooing] techniques. Many people are interested in doing it simply to get the spiritual experience of traditional tattooing," Rahung said. +/

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: “Encyclopedia of World Cultures Volume 5: East / Southeast Asia:” edited by Paul Hockings, 1993; National Geographic; New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Lonely Planet Guides, Library of Congress, Smithsonian magazine, The New Yorker, Time, Reuters, AP, AFP, Wikipedia, BBC, CNN, and various books and other publications.

Last Updated December 2025