Today is our first fieldtrip to Carey island, a place that I have never heard of in my life, and I couldn’t believe myself when I googled for it’s location and found it to be somewhere in Banting, Selangor. Luckily there was Google, otherwise, I would have gone there expecting beaches like in Redang. HAHA!
So we woke up for breakfast like any other ordinary days, but filled with more anticipation. In my mind, I was curious about the Meh Mai tribe that we will be meeting. I guess I was more worried as to how I am going to communicate with the people around-language barrier, I would say.
The journey was long and wet, the skies turned dark as drops of rain starting to fall. I stared from the window pane, praying for a better weather, but no, it just got worse. We reached Carey Island at about 12pm on a heavy rain.
After going on a tour around the island, we were taken to the Mah Meri’s village at sg bumbun. From afar, I’ve noticed a few ladies clad in their traditional attire, eager to attend to the visitors they about to meet. The rain did not deter us from getting down the bus and have a first-hand experience of their unique culture.
We were greeted with an origami headgear as a welcoming gift. I was excited when I saw the origami, the effort alone was enough to feel their sincerity. The drizzle didn matter at all as we go on with their traditional dance and at one point, all of us joined in the dance, it felt awesome, the unity and the joy, something I have not experienced for quite some time. 
A demonstration of their wedding ritual were next as Max and Alicia were the ‘celebrated’ couple.
The most appealing ritual was the last ritual where coins were thrown off the sarong cloth as a pail of water was poured over the couple. The Mah Meri kids were in joy as they rushed forward to collect the coins. It amazes me how that few cents of coins which I would have never been bothered to collect even when I come across it on the ground could bring so much joy and happiness to the kids. The innocence and naiveness were pure, it really got me thinking, of the priorities in life? Earning as much money as possible was a lifetime goal but as I am writing this down, I had mixed emotions and inner conflict. The things I hold on to, the dreams and aspirations of mine, does it really matter now? I don’t know.
The only word I can summarize of the Mah Meri – simplicity.
cheers. ♥
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