The uma is a traditional Mentawai communal house, the place where the entire clan joins together to celebrate life’s major events. It is the training ground where young shaman
apprentices are taught to live in harmony with the rainforest and later initiated into the way of the
sikeirei. It is a spiritual refuge where the living can pray and commune with their ancestors. In short,
umas are the cornerstones of traditional Mentawai culture, which is disappearing as they do.
In an effort to subdue the Mentawai and assimilate their culture, the government has been sponsoring a major re-location program for the past three decades. These forced changes, including abandonment of the
umas, are destroying the Mentawai social structure and clan ties and threatening their culture, environment, ecosystem and health. The
Uma Project supports those who wish to preserve their culture and traditions by helping them protect and maintain existing
umas as well as by building new ones to help traditional clans move back to their ancestral lands.
Read more about the
Uma Project »
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