In the Mentawai Islands of Indonesia, Indigenous youths continue to practice Arat Sabulungan, a cosmology that sees nature as filled with spirits, while blending it with Islam and Christianity.

Researchers documented 11 rituals linking spirituality to forest management, such as offerings before tree felling and periods of abstinence, showing how traditions are adapted across generations.

Scholars note that rituals can both restrain overuse and legitimize extraction, highlighting the complex role of Indigenous cosmology in shaping human-nature relations under modern pressures.

Ongoing logging, land-use change and weak government support have stripped large tracts of forest from the Mentawais, undermining the islands’ ecosystems and the cultural practices tied to them.