How to Live With the Mek Tribe

Indonesian ocean view.

The Mek tribe lives in West Papua, Indonesia in a jungle once described as "hundreds of miles of dark and screaming," according to the Discovery Channel. The Mek culture has a history of sorcery, witchcraft and tribal war and has lived in this jungle in the central highlands of West Papua for thousands of years. Live with the Mek tribe at extreme caution; it will be very challenging to reach them, expensive to get all the necessary vaccines and supplies, and challenging to move to the jungle.

Things You'll Need

• Water
• Food
• Backpack
• Passport
• Compass
• Money
• Mosquito net
• Malaria medicine
• Diarrhea medicine
• Iodine tablets
• Water filters
• First aid kit
• Required vaccines for traveling to Indonesia, or as recommended by your doctor

Instructions

1. Learn all you can about the Mek tribe first: their culture, history, customs, spiritual views, food choices and social and political structure. Watch the documentary "World's Lost Tribes: New Adventures of Mark and Olly," which aired on the Discovery and Travel channels. It featured explorers Mark Anstice and Olly Steeds, who lived with the tribe for four months.

2. Visit a health-care provider at least 4 to 6 weeks before your trip to get the required vaccinations and allow time for the vaccines to take effect. Start taking medicine to prevent malaria, if you need it.

3. 

   Hire Indonesian porters and an interpreter who knows Mek.

   Hire Indonesian porters and interpreters who can speak Mek.

4. 

   An interpreter will help you explain to the Mek why you are there.

   Hire a plane to get to the Welarek, the step-off point for the long trek through the woods needed to reach Mek territory. This plane will need to have supplies for however long you plan on staying with the Mek. With assistance and direction from your Indonesian porters, hike through the jungle for days to reach Mek territory. Enter Mek territory and prepare to be confronted by the chief as he asserts himself and challenges you to leave his territory. Ask the interpreter to explain why you are there.

5. 

   Use nonverbal gestures to communicate.

   Learn tribal customs, respect the chief, help prepare and hunt for food and generally be as helpful as possible. Integrate yourself into the Mek tribe. Use nonverbal communication like tracing a picture in the dirt with a stick and using your body to communicate an idea through gestures.

6. Learn Mek language by pointing to your mouth and pointing to a Mek person's mouth or in some other way signifying your desire to speak the language. Sit and listen. Grab objects and point to them, as if to say, "What do I call this in Mek?"

7. Attain a penis gourd if you are male, as this is a sign of acceptance into the Mek tribe for life. The chief will know when you are ready and will explain the initiation process, either verbally or nonverbally, depending on your Mek language skills. The penis gourd is worn by adult males over the genitals to signify their role as men in the tribe.

Tips & Warnings

• Prepare for the journey, purchasing books on the Mek, West Papua, The Merengman and anything else you can think of that will suit your journey. Remember, you will be trekking through thick jungle, so prepare with supplies such as tents, food, water, knives, a compass, a lighter and so forth.

• Try some Mek delicacies, like tadpole kabobs and frog legs.

• Have money ready in case you have to bribe the Mek village chief. In the program "World's Lost Tribes: New Adventures of Mark and Olly," the chief asked the producers to pay the chief $800, which they declined to do.

References

• Discovery Channel: World's Lost Tribes
• Hebrides; The Mek of Merengman; Sam Maynard
• Center for Disease Control and Prevention: Health Information for Travelers to Indonesia