Dances with the Mah Meri - DiGi

Advertorial
The stage lights are dimmed. A silhouette of a large boat
emerges from the misty shadows, then the real thing
appears on stage. Bathed in a hazy smoke of red, dancers
make their way forward, moving slowly to haunting
music. A shaman invokes the blessings of the spirits on
this new land the ancestors have discovered. One by one
they come, their graceful movements transporting you to
a land in distant memory.
The audience is completely mesmerised. Some of them
– Mah Meri grandmas clutching grandchildren to their
bosoms – are standing up to have a better view. Never
before have they seen anything like this on their island.
This scene unfolded deep in the heart of Kampung
Sungai Bumbun, a Mah Meri settlement on Carey Island.
The performers were a group of schoolchildren from the
island, as well as from SMK Panglima Garang, about a
half-hour drive away. Their performance, called Meriah
(happiness), was a sensorial feast of sound, light and
movement. What was truly amazing was that it had taken
only three months of concentrated training to produce this
dance drama which brought to life some of the myths and
legends of the Mah Meri.
“Meriah is actually an exploration, reconstruction
and a celebration of dreamtime images inspired by the
myths of origin of the Mah Meri orang asli,” explained
Ramli Ibrahim who, along with members of his Sutra
Dance Theatre – Guna, Sivarajah Natarajan and Valery
Ross – had choreographed and coordinated the entire
performance.
DiGi’s Amazing Heritage Lessons
dances
with the Mah Meri
DiGi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd ran five heritage projects
this year as part of its corporate social responsibility programme, DiGi’s Amazing Malaysians.
In the second of a five-part series on the children’s unique experiences in the projects, we
present The Woodcraft Warrior of Selangor.
“Through this project, we’re hoping to
motivate Mah Meri youth to perpetuate
their unique culture, which is not only
necessary for a sense of identity, but also
adds to Malaysia’s rich heritage. It would
be wonderful for the Mah Meri to share
with the rest of Malaysia, indeed the
world, their stories and legends, and the
artistic skills they possess by virtue of
who they are.”
– Jon Eddy, Chief Technology Officer, DiGi Telecommunications
The children
‘dancing’ the
story of how
the Mah Meri
arrived in Carey
Island 400 years
ago
They had been brought into The Woodcraft Warrior of
Selangor project by DiGi’s Amazing Malaysian Rashid
Esa, who has been working with the orang asli on Carey
Island, trying to improve their standard of living, for over
20 years. Involving 70 children, the project attempted to
“bring out” the inherent creativity of the Mah Meri by
exploring different mediums of expression such as dance,
music and art.
Other than Meriah, in which much natural musical talent
was unearthed – a group of 27 children experimented
with freehand drawing, painting, clay moulding and
batik-making, led by former director of the National Art
Gallery Puan Wairah Marzuki and her team: Mohamad
Najib, Hamid Hassan, Norma Noordin, Raja Fuziah and
Sabli Dahrin.
Khoo Kongsi
These children, like the dancers and musicians, completely
wowed visitors to Carey Island recently, when they
presented their work accomplished during the project.
Adorning the walls of the island’s Craft Centre were
vibrant watercolours, silkscreens, woodcuts and other art
works depicting mainly the flora and fauna of the island:
palm trees, frogs, turtles, snakes and rats… Though
first-timers, the children had produced works that were
incredibly beautiful, and rich with “raw honesty”, to use
Puan Wairah’s description.
As part of her project with the children, Puan Wairah took
them to a batik centre in Puchong where they were guided
in transposing their designs onto fabrics. These pieces

of batik were also exhibited at the showcase,
when the children themselves appeared on
stage, full of obvious pride and confidence,
parading their lovely, bright creations.
“The Mah Meri are generally very reserved.
They derive a lot of strength from their spiritual
beliefs. But this keeps them inward-looking.
Through this project, we’ve managed to draw
out the Mah Meri. It’s been wonderful to see
the transformation in the children over the
three months. Suddenly, there’s a new vigour
in them which I’ve not seen before. Their eyes
are sparkling with excitement,” said Rashid.
The Mah Meri have inhabited Carey Island
and other parts of coastal Selangor for more
than 400 years. They are well known for their
woodcarvings. Now, there is a chance they will
gain recognition for their musical and other
artistic talents as well.
one of the children’s
batik works
Penyu
Music
workshop
“It’s been wonderful to
see the transformation
in the children over the
three months.
Suddenly, there’s a new
vigour in them which
I’ve not seen
before. Their eyes
are sparkling with
excitement.”
– rAShID eSA,
DiGi’s Amazing Malaysian
Little Elwa posing with his watercolour
“I’m proud to be Mah Meri and I want to share
with others what being a Mah Meri is all about.
The whole village said the (Meriah) performance
made it seem like the story of the Moyang was
real, and even like a grand theatre performance.
I’d really like to become a professional dancer like
our teacher, Guna.”
– rABA’AyAh SIDIn, student
Rashid with Ruben
at the Craft Centre on
Carey Island
Someone who is passionate about heritage?
And who is willing to share this passion with a
group of youth or children?
DiGi is looking for five Amazing Malaysians
to run three-month natural, cultural, social,
built and art heritage projects next year. So,
if you know of an ordinary person doing
extraordinary heritage work, please let us
know.
Wood sculptures of The
Spirit of Water and Spirit
of Land, by Mah Meri
youth
After a quick course on how to model by najib (left), the art children proudly paraded their batik pieces to
visitors who came to see what they had achieved during the project
do yÖU
KnoW
oF An
AMAZInG
MALAySIAn
Go to our website at www.digi.com.my and submit an electronic nomination
form. If your nominee is chosen as one of our Amazing Malaysians 2007, you will receive
a mobile phone plus a DiGi postpaid line with RM200 free airtime per month valid for a
year. For enquiries, call 016 211 9718.
DeaDline: December 10, 2006