How Indigenous life and spirituality remain bound to forests undergoing ecological and political pressure in Indonesia’s Mentawai Islands
In this extensively reported feature for Ekuatorial, journalist Dewantoro documents the lives of the Mentawai Indigenous people in West Sumatra, exploring how land, ritual and identity are inseparable from the forest, even as external pressures threaten both cultural continuity and ecological balance.
The story centres on communities in Siberut, where the forest is not simply a resource but considered a living, spiritual entity. Through the voice of Sikerei, traditional healers and spiritual leaders, Dewantoro reveals a worldview in which land is governed by ancestral memory, ritual obligation and strict customary law. Figures like Walter Samalelet describe how every act, from planting crops to building canoes, must be preceded and followed by ceremonies that honour the spirits believed to inhabit the land. Hunting, too, is bound by ritual and taboo, reinforcing a system that historically maintained ecological balance.
At the heart of this system is sago, a staple crop that anchors both subsistence and culture. Forests provide not only food, but medicine, materials and spiritual grounding. Land is collectively held by clans, or umma, and regulated through customary rules that impose fines for violations such as illegal logging or unauthorized harvesting. These systems, while restrictive on the surface are understood locally as mechanisms of care, designed to preserve harmony between humans, nature and the unseen world.
Dewantoro highlights how migration, economic pressures and the encroachment of state and corporate interests are reshaping Indigenous life. Logging concessions, conservation policies and unclear land rights have created tensions between communities, the government and private investors. Although much of Mentawai is classified as state forest, Indigenous communities maintain that all land is ancestrally owned.
Environmental change is also evident in shifting their hunting practices. Traditional methods, once governed by ritual and restraint, are giving way to more efficient technologies such as rifles, often used by younger generations less bound to customary norms. This shift has contributed to the decline of species like the bilou, an endemic primate considered sacred by some groups. Where once cultural taboos protected such animals, those protections are now uneven, raising concerns about long-term ecological sustainability.
At the same time, the cultural systems that underpin this balance are themselves under threat. The traditional leadership and healing role of the Sikerei is becoming harder to sustain, requiring years of training, strict taboos and significant material resources. Younger generations, facing economic pressure and changing aspirations, are increasingly reluctant to take on the role. As older healers age, communities fear a loss not only of medical knowledge, but of the oral histories and territorial knowledge that define their identity.
Ultimately, Dewantoro’s reporting presents the Mentawai not as relics of the past, but as communities actively negotiating change. Their struggle is not only for land, but for the survival of a worldview in which humans, forests and spirits are still intertwined.
The original article ‘Kisah Hidup, Hutan dan Harapan Masyarakat Adat Mentawai’ by Dewantoro, was first published in Indonesian on March 3, 2026, by Ekuatorial.
It is available here.
Ekuatorial is an Indonesian environmental journalism platform focused on in-depth reporting on climate change, biodiversity, Indigenous communities and natural resource governance. It produces long-form features, investigations and multimedia storytelling, often highlighting voices from remote or underreported regions.
Summary by ZN
