02-27-12
It’s astounding how much of the Malaysian culture is hidden from the public eye. Although I used to travel a lot outside malaysia, this is my 1st time to
experienced my own local indigenous culture by mah meri tribe. mah meri tribe are one of the tribe that used to live in Carey Island, situated about 140km
from kuala lumpur. Carey Island is a large palm oil estate that is owned and operated by the Malaysian palm oil conglomerate Golden Hope Plantation. If you
were hoping by the name that Carey Island was a white sanded beach with miles upon miles of clear blue waters, then you’d be sadly mistaken.=)
The main appeal of Carey Island is the indigenous tribe, the Mah Meri. This small tribe has managed to sustain its existence for almost a century. While the
world around it grows with skyscrapers and shopping malls, the Mah Meri has kept its unique traditions of wood carvings and self sustainable living off the
land. Though not adverse to changes, the Mah Meri are well versed in local Bahasa Malaysia and some of them can even speak English.
every year, mah meri tribe celebrates ‘Ari Muyang’, a unique celebration for them giving thanks to the spirits for all the good things that had been bestowed
upon the villagers. On this special day, they will have a ritual ceremony where a shaman uses rice powder based solutions, mixed with flowers and leaves to
mark the foreheads and forearms. After the ritual caremony, some of them will perform a traditional dance called ‘main Jo-oh’. the dance will be accompanied
by a ritual traditional songs and music perfomed by the older generation of the tribe using bamboo, viola, drum and guitar.
It’s astounding how much of the Malaysian culture is hidden from the public eye. Although I used to travel a lot outside malaysia, this is my 1st time to experienced my own local indigenous culture by Mah Meri tribe. Mah Meri tribe are one of the tribe that used to live in Carey Island, situated about 140km from Kuala Lumpur. Carey Island is a large palm oil estate that is owned and operated by the Malaysian palm oil conglomerate Golden Hope Plantation. If you were hoping by the name that Carey Island was a white sanded beach with miles upon miles of clear blue waters, then you’d be sadly mistaken. =)
The main appeal of Carey Island is the indigenous tribe, the Mah Meri. This small tribe has managed to sustain its existence for almost a century. While the world around it grows with skyscrapers and shopping malls, the Mah Meri has kept its unique traditions of wood carvings and self sustainable living off the land. Though not adverse to changes, the Mah Meri are well versed in local Bahasa Malaysia and some of them can even speak English.
Every year, Mah Meri tribe celebrates ‘Ari Muyang’, a unique celebration for them giving thanks to the spirits for all the good things that had been bestowed upon the villagers. On this special day, they will have a ritual ceremony where a shaman uses rice powder based solutions, mixed with flowers and leaves to mark the foreheads and forearms. After the ritual ceremony, some of them will perform a traditional dance called ‘main Jo-oh’. the dance will be accompanied
by a ritual traditional songs and music perfomed by the older generation of the tribe using bamboo, viola, drum and guitar.
next week we will be close for a month. a new road less traveled journey will begin.
wish us the best of luck.
regards, azim.zainudin
12-28-11
at last, 2011 will end soon… its been a tough one for me. =/
a lot of things happened, but that’s life… its been a wonderful journey since i started travel in 2008.
3 years i have spend, a lot of money involved, and a lot of time have been sacrificed also.
insyaAllah i will keep continue doing this, after all this is what i love to do… =)
being on the road, meeting a lot people, learning about their culture and lifestyle.
these are some of my favorite from 2011 collection. =)
every picture have their own story, either its a moment, portrait or just a plain landscape picture.
hoping for a better year. 2012, please be nice to me.
maybe the last year before settle down? im not so sure. =)
all of these photos are from
- jakarta & bandung indonesia
- koh li pe island thailand
- hong kong
- macau
- bidong island malaysia
- tioman island malaysia
- penang malaysia
- cambodia
- fraser hill malaysia
- hatyai thailand
- north & south island new zealand
regards, azimzainudin.2011
05-10-11
mardiana @ nat used to be my classmate back in utp. she helps me a lot with my study!
after 7 years together with ilham @ bro… finally they decided to settle down =)
2 days working in banting with the rest of ‘we’ teams photo n video… fun time shooting them!
not to forget the other members of so called ‘gazebo’ clan… ealya, yati, zie n aisyah
while waiting for the video highlight to come out… i think better i upload this one first.
just wait for the 2nd entry of their reception.
regards, azimzainudin.
