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The Mentawai Islands Regency are a chain of about seventy islands which are approximately 150 kilometers (93 miles) off the western coast of Sumatra in Indonesia.
The Mentawai language is an Austronesian language, spoken by the Mentawai people
The Mentawai, also known as the "Flower People", never harvest a plant or take the life of an animal without asking for their spirit's forgiveness
women in mentawai sharpen their teeth as a sign of beauty.
teeth sharpening is also a very popular rite of passage in mentawai
As our beauty standards are perfect white teeth mentawai people have completly different views of one's smile.
This ritual of sharpening a women's teeth until they're narrow with a pointed shape is an ideal beautystandard to Mentawai people. It helps to maintain the balance between body and soul. When Mentawai women reach adulthood, and are ready to seek a husband, the teeth sharpening ritual occurs to help bring positivity to their life and prolong death
Around the age of 13, women usually announce that they would like to get their teeth sharpened.
The village then holds a feast a few days before the procedure.
The tribe members of the village, then call on the shaman of the village (medicine man) to prepare the sharpening tools.
The day of the procedure the young woman is taken to the medicinal hut.
The objects used in the procedure of teeth sharpening, are a piece of iron and a hammer.
The only type of pain relief the patient is given is something to bite on.
After the painful procedure, the woman will return home and rest for several days, before going back in to the village to celebrate her "beauty."