Mentawai : Land of Sikerei
Our trip to Siberut Island, the Mentawai Islands, was a journey full of joy and curiosity to see and feel firsthand how the legendary Mentawai people live, people who still maintain hundreds of years of tradition, still not touched by the modern world, people who are still loyal to maintain the balance of the ecosystem. Considered one of the oldest inhabitants of the archipelago, the Mentawai people still carry on their traditions. Separated from mainland Sumatra Island for thousands of years, the Mentawai people still survive with the culture of hunter and gather.
After the flight to Padang, then take a fast boat to Siberut Island and follow the river to get to the border between the modern world and the world of Mentawai people at a place called uma (Mentawai traditional communal house) in Rorogod, after we walked through dense forest with wet surfaces and swamps. , finally arrived at the village of the Mentawai tribe
The dense forest supports the daily life of the Mentawai tribe, therefore they guard and care for the forest very wisely. Their ability to maintain balance cannot be separated from the role of a sikerei. Sikerei is a term for a shaman in the Mentawai tribe, who is considered to have supernatural and healing powers and being a liaison with their gods, as well.
The Mentawai people really respect sikerei because they are seen as people who have maturity and wisdom in carrying out traditions and customs. As well as services and abilities in providing treatment including its role to uma members. People who are not sikerei are called simatak which means raw. However, differences in designations do not create class or social strata differences in the life of the Mentawai tribe
