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At present I am retired and spending my time mostly on fishing and photography. I bought my first SLR way back in 1982. It was a Minolta XG1. My last film camera was the Maxxum 9000. When the fantastic Sony Alpha 100 was launched, I changed over to the digital system. My Alpha 580 was acquired followed closely by my Alpha 77.

My main interest in photography is lifestyles, sports, sceneries, nature, birds and macro shots. Lately, I have spend more time on bird and nature shooting. As a regular contributer to some fishing magazines, I shoot quite a lot of photographs of anglers too....hence my photography blog is named 'SHOOT THE HOOKER'.



Having grown up near the confluence of two, the Kangsar and the Perak Rivers, it is not surprising that one of my main interest is fishing. My younger days were spent swimming and fishing.... with a bamboo pole, line and small hooks.Now while fishing, my friends and I do take a lot of photographs of anglers in action. The anglers must be careful so as not to accidentally hook on to a photographer. So I think as a reminder, I would like to name my fishing blog as 'HOOK THE SHOOTER'.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Ancestor Day (Hari Moyang) of the Mah-Meri Orang Asli tribe of Malaysia.

This article was published in the SJ Echo March 2015 issue.
     Mah-Meri (pronounced: Max Mri) one of the Aborigines tribes of Malaysia are confined to the state of Selangor of Malaysia. They are mainly living near the coast and are mostly fishermen. Being skill carvers and weavers, their labour of love are highly valued by art lovers and collectors.

The Moyang Bojos. A main character of the Jo'oh Dance.




The ancestor shrine being
prepared for blessing ritual.
     The Mah Meri are very respectful of their ancestors and as such set aside a day each year as Hari Moyang (Ancestor Day). On this day, the community pays respect to their ancestors and seek their blessings for bountiful harvests.




     Rituals and blessings are offered to all that come to seek. The Jo'oh Dance is performed by women dancers. Masked male dancers called the Moyang Bojos join in the dance too. They dance around a symbolic mountain (weaved out of leaves of the pandanus trees), that represent their belief of how the world come into being. Music is provided by a group of percussionists and singers.
Blessing ritual in progress.
    
     The women dancers wear blouses made from pounded barks of the Terap tree. While their hairs are decorated with objects and things in their daily lives, weaved from the leaves of the pandanus trees.





The Jo'oh Dance.
     On this Ancestor Day, the villagers and (outsiders too) are encouraged to bring food and drinks as contribution to the celebration. These are then displayed on long tables and serve as refreshments after the rituals, ceremonies and dance performances are over.





They are highly skill weavers too.


Some sing too.




Heads of women dancers
decorated with weaved objects.

The percussionist performing.





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