Mentawai Medicine Men
There is Arat Sabulunga in the local belief of the Siberut community in the islands of Mentawai. It is a belief that the universe is under the control of savior spirits that protect them from natural disasters. These spirits will punish the people if they break the rules or do wrong. So the Mentawai people often conduct rituals to protect them from disasters. To help them connect with the supernatural world, they require the services of a sikerei.
January 20, 2009
WHILE singing quietly, Rakkut Sakukret, 85, carefully plucked several kinds of plants and put them into a bag made of tree bark. The variety of plants from the Siberut forest in the islands of Mentawai would be used to heal a skin disease suffered by a youth in his village.
A bare-chested Rakkut wears only a pair of shorts and a head cover made of beads, leaves and flowers, and a necklace and bracelets of dominantly red-colored beads. This is t
...