A few days ago, I went with the American Association on a very interesting trip to Carey Island, Malaysia, to visit an Orang Asli village. In particular, the Mah Meri tribe. The following was taken from the Office of Tourism in Malaysia website.
Carey Island is famous for two things - great seafood and the indigenous Mah Meri (pronounced Mak Miri) people who have a reputation for some of the world's finest wooden masks.
Located just off the mainland, they have assimilated into modern life, with jobs in the nearby plantations and farms, but they retain their unique culture and way of life. Apart from exhibitions of their traditional dances and music, the Mah Meri are also known for their evocative sculptures, fashioned from a kind of swamp hardwood known as "Nyireh Batu".
We drove 1 1/2 hours west of KL to Carey Island. We came to observe dancers and musicians celebrating Hari Moyang, their new year. This was the entrance to the village. The Mah Meri tribe is well known for their wood carving and their beautiful palm weaving. You will see lots of examples of palm weaving, as seen here. Kim is modeling her woven headband, which we all received.
These decorations were lining the path to the celebration.
At the end of the path was this clearing, where the traditional dancing had already begun.
I just couldn't get over the intricacy of their woven costumes.
The shirts was made from tree bark.
The men were so interesting, in the carved wooden masks.
These are small people. I am only 5'4".
There was a large gazebo in the center of the village, where all the villagers brought food share.
Everyone, meet Adelle! She is a follower of this blog, and she recognized me. It was so cool to meet someone who reads my blog!
We spent a couple of hours at the village. The dancing took place several times.
Back view of one of the dancers. I especially liked their 'hair'.
The musicians. I am not sure just how original the violin is, but it sounded lovely.
An important part of the New Year festivities was the blessing from the tribal priest. Here is one of the ladies from our group. She had an interpreter tell the priest her request. He brushed this rice flour mixture on her forehead and palms and then she blessed him in return and brushed his arms.
Some carvings outside the 'altar'. Not quite sure what to call this structure.
Woven fencing
This was the priest at the end of our time in village. As you can tell, he went through a lot of blessings in the day.
Here is Angie, in the middle, our tour guide. She has been arranging trips to visit the Orang Asli for many years. This is the second tour I have done with her. She asked us ladies to bring small toys for the village children, along with clothing and household items. We were distributing them here.
Here is Angie's card. She does not have a website, but if you email her, she will put you on her email list to inform you of upcoming tours and excursions. It is a little hard to see, but her email address is heritagemalaysia@gmail.com.
It was a wonderful day! It is always great to learn more about Malaysia.
