A MUSEUM OF SPIRITS

CAREY ISLAND, MALAYSIA

The western coast of Malaysia is home to a seafaring, nomadic, aboriginal people known as the Mah Meri. In ancient times they lived on boats as fishermen and traders, but to avoid capture by pirates, they eventually settled inland on Carey island. Their animistic beliefs predate modern religions, and they believe that the spirits of their ancestors are causally woven into nature. There are only around 2,000 Mah Meri people still living in Malaysia, and they are renowned for their masterfully crafted wooden masks, which today exist in the hallways of museums, despite still being integral aspects of their culture’s current traditions. Although many of their ancient traditions have faded into history, every lunar new year, they reconnect with their sea-faring ancestors during a festival called Hari Moyang Puja Pantai. 

According to folklore, a Mah Meri fishing boat was once caught in a violent storm off the coast of Carey island, and against all odds, a spirit salvaged the vessel and carried it ashore. Every year, the tribe returns to the sea to seek guidance from the same spirits and to appease their ancestors. This bond that they share with their past guides them into the future, but in these changing times, a new kind of storm is brewing for their people inland. 

The natural world that connects them to their ancestry is slowly being undone by unnatural forces. Industrialization is eroding the delicate ecology that sustains their way of life, but as their past has shown, The Mah Meri are a people who adapt to their adversities.  With resources pillaged, they now use their ancient art to survive. Hari Moyang Puja Pantai is now marketed as an exotic ethno-tourism event, and their way of life has become something of a performative stage. Identity is now an asset of survival. Uncertain as the mythic storm that nearly killed their ancestors, the Mah Meri rely once again on their beliefs to survive, but can their ancient spirits adapt to the storm of modernity that is slowly encroaching on their way of life?