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People of Mah Meri tribe walking to pray house at Pulau Carey village on December 03, 2016 in Selangor, Malaysia. The Mah Meri people are one 18 tribes of Orang Asal (indigenous people) living in west Malaysia. The Mah Meri are know for thei wood carvings and also for the richness of their songs and dances. One of the most well-known dances of the the Mah Meri peole is the mask dance, called Mayin Jo-ah-a traditional dance perforfmed to invite the ancestral spirits, or Muyang, to join in the festivity. In this dance, the performers wear grotesque masks and perform with movements and gestures to relate everyday events such as fishing and celebrations. The mask worn in the Mah Meri Mask Dance depict the spirits of birds and other animals that inhabit the Mah meri's sorrounding, such as the swamp and the sea. The female dancers wear skirts of “mengkuang” leaves and plaited “mengkuang” head dress. The female performers dance anti-clockwise around an earthen mound, called a busot, while the male masked dancers performed clockwise around the women. The dance is performed accompained by the music from the tuntog (bamboo stampers), jule (viola), tambo (double-heade drum) and a-tawa (brass gong). (Photo by Yuli Seperi/Sijori Images/Barcroft India)
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