Febrianti

Ardila Saleleubaja, 26, from Maileppet Village in South Siberut, shows her tattoos, which feature an intricate combination of traditional Mentawai tattoo designs, including fishing hooks, stars, and uma rooftops, to showcase her identity as a Mentawai person.

Mentawai’s Young People Reclaim a Once-Forbidden Tattoo Tradition

22 July 2025

Colonial rule, missionary campaigns, and post-independence Indonesian policies suppressed Arat Sabulungan, the Mentawai belief system in which tattoos are sacred links to nature, spirits, and

Febrianti

Mentawai’s Young People Reclaim a Once-Forbidden Tattoo Tradition

Langganan Nawala Kami