The sikeireis know the secrets of every plant in the rainforest that surrounds them. Many plants are edible or medicinal, some are magical and some provide sweet-scented perfumes. Others are deadly poisons but, conveniently enough, their antidotes usually grow close by..The Mentawai people live in the densest remote rainforest of Siberut Island, off the coast of Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia. Traditional clans on this remote tropical island have long resisted cultural assimilation; their...
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The sikeireis know the secrets of every plant in the rainforest that surrounds them. Many plants are edible or medicinal, some are magical and some provide sweet-scented perfumes. Others are deadly poisons but, conveniently enough, their antidotes usually grow close by..The Mentawai people live in the densest remote rainforest of Siberut Island, off the coast of Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia. Traditional clans on this remote tropical island have long resisted cultural assimilation; their lifestyle has been unchanged for generations. The tattoo-covered sikeireis, or traditional shamans, are knowledgeable herbalists and lead the tribe in the practice of Jarayak, a form of animism: medicine men, rituals, ceremonies and taboos still define the Mentawai lifestyle...The endangered indigenous lifestyle of these Mentawai is one of the best preserved and most fascinating, yet one of the least known and protected. ..For more information on the Mentawai, visit Native Planet (www.nativeplanet.org), an NGO that we support.
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