My Life With the Mentawai
More than an adventure:
A cultural journey into the world of the last shamans and jungle dwellers of Siberut…
My Life With the Mentawai
The Mentawai are among the most traditional jungle dwellers whose culture is best preserved. Some clans live without electricity and modern fares, protected deep inside one of the world’s densest rainforests on the remote Indonesian island of Siberut.
I was blessed to share their life for more than four months in 1993. Their natural lifestyle, fascinating culture and kindhearted manners changed my life. By adopting me as a clan member, it put a spell on me.
Native Planet
I returned ten years later after founding the Native Planet non-profit organization to help sensitize people about preserving indigenous culture.
I then returned annually over the next twelve years to live with my tribe, document their rituals, and assist them with various humanitarian and health projects such as building traditional long-houses and malaria prevention.
My Life With the Mentawai
Award-winning documentaries
I facilitated the award-winning French documentary Rendez-vous en Terre-Inconnue with famous French movie star Patrick Timsit, and producer Frédéric Lopez.
I later hosted the world-famous photographer Sebastio Salgado to photograph the Mentawai for his Genesis documentary project.
An emotional journey
My world travel and cultural photographs have been published by National Geographic, the United Nations, and major magazines around the world. But I’ve never released any photos of the Mentawai to magazines. It’s important for me to ensure that photos of the Mentawai would only be used to illustrate the beauty of their culture, something that could only be done by a writer who has lived with the Mentawai. As one of only three westerners to ever live with a traditional Mentawai clan, I chose to preserve my twenty years of photographic work to only be published in my future photobook. My epic adventure of meeting and living with the Mentawai is dwarfed by the exceptional culture, lifestyle and people that are the Mentawai. This photobook will be a homage to these incredible people.
“Unknown indigenous people receive no help — they vanish as silently as they have lived. ”
— Jean-Philippe Soulé (excerpt from Dancing with Death)
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My Life With the Mentawai
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