Orang Asli masks to be among VMY2020 highlights

KUALA LUMPUR: The famous wood masks produced by the Mah Meri tribe from the Carey Island have been selected as one of the country’s handicraft products to be highlighted in conjunction with the Visit Malaysia Year 2020 (VMY2020).

Kraftangan Malaysia Selangor branch craft designer Suzita Mohd Sawi said the masks had been adapted into various products including bookmarks and refrigerator magnets.

“This is a collaborative effort between the Mah Meri tribe carvers and Kraftangan Malaysia designers during the recent production laboratory session held in Kampung Sungai Bumbun, Carey Island,” she told Bernama.

Suzita said the carvers and designers involved in the session have produced five products for sale for both the domestic and international markets.

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The production of these craft products could create job opportunities as well as to generate side income for this Orang Asli community on the island, she said.

For the uninitiated, the Mah Meri carvers have been widely regarded as one of the best mask makers and wood carvers in the world, with many of their crafts received the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) Seal of Excellence.

The unique masks have become important symbol used in this Orang Asli community’s ritual ceremonies, including worshiping their ancestors’ spirits and treating diseases that inflicted the community.

Suzita said various unique and intricate carving such as the ones featured on the Moyang Pengkol and Moyang Bojos masks gave the products their own distinctive characteristics.

Craft products, painstakingly crafted from the durable mangrove wood known as nyireh batu, a red, rare mangrove hardwood from the mahogany family, would be on display for the first time at the Johor Craft Festival this year, she said.

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She said, apart from the masks, the Mah Meri community also produced costume jewelry from colourful pandan weaving as well as the ecoprint shawl using leaves from trees found on Carey Island.

The Mah Meri’s handiwork will also compete against 1,400 other new products in the Malaysian Good Design Award to boost the VMY2020, she said. – Bernama

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