This hand-made basket has a horizontal open weave pattern on the sides with rattan supports. It is strengthened by a band of four, thick rattan vines on top. Such baskets were worn like backpacks and used by both men and women to transport food and produce.The Mentawai also known as Mentawei or Mentawi, are the native people of the Mentawai islands located in the Indian Ocean in West Sumatra. The islands consist of Siberut, Sipora, and North and South Pagai . The Mentawai, whose roots can be traced to the Neolithic period, live a semi-nomadic, hunter-gatherer lifestyle, characterised by animistic beliefs.
