Tattoos and chiseled teeth are as much a part of the Mentawai culture as Barmitzvahs are to Judaism. To the Mentawai, they represent symbolic beauty and rights of passage.

Tatoo artists are paid in chickens. Their work is carried out at different phases of life, traditionally starting at around age seven with the chin and back and moving on to the hands, chest, thighs, buttocks and finally the shins.