Death-worshipping Indonesian tribe COOK their ancestors’ remains every day to preserve mummified bodies
FASCINATING photographs of a reclusive mountain tribe who cook their dead ancestors insides every day to help preserve them have been revealed. The Dani people of Baliem Valley in West Papua, Indonesia also used to cut off the fingers of women who have lost a loved one with a stone axe. A 250-year-old mummified body […]
FASCINATING photographs of a reclusive mountain tribe who cook their dead ancestors insides every day to help preserve them have been revealed.
The Dani people of Baliem Valley in West Papua, Indonesia also used to cut off the fingers of women who have lost a loved one with a stone axe.
A 250-year-old mummified body of a former village chief and an elderly woman with stumps from where her fingers have been cut off are just some of the remarkable photographs shot by an Italian travel photographer.
Gianluca Chiodini, 41 spent days finding the isolated mountain tribe but after finally meeting them he was met with ‘kindness’ but said he was taken aback when he saw the mummy-preservation.
According to the photographer, the Dani are said to keep seven mummies in total but only two can be seen by foreigners.
To preserve their bodies it is greased every day with balm they’ve made from pork fat and then held over a fire, allowing the smoke to preserve the corpse.
Alongside mummification, the tribeswomen have their fingers removed every time she loses a close relative as they believe that it is symbolic and accurately represents their grief.
The tribe has been heavily linked with cannibalism in the past, although neither gruesome tradition has taken place in the tribe since the 1990s.
They prefer pig festivals to eating humans now. The men kill a pig with a bow and arrow while the women prepare an open air ‘steam oven’ from leaves.
Another tradition is that the men eat first, followed by the women.
Speaking of the village chief, Gianluca said: “The mummy is kept protected in a hut where access is strictly forbidden and only a select few are allowed to touch the dead. The mummy I saw was a village chief, his name was Wimontok Mabel and he was a glorious warrior. He lived more than 250 years ago and had 25 wives. Peace to his soul.”
most read in world news
As the photographer captured the alternative way of life, he noticed that some of the women were missing fingers.
He said: ” They told me that tradition of the Dani states that when a close relative dies, the woman is made to have her fingers chopped with a stone axe to emphasise the pain of loss and to appease the dead’s spirit.
“Today it is forbidden but you can still see the amputated hands of the older women.”
