Asia Dance Channel

Cerita Ori – Heritage of the Peninsular’s Original People

13 January 2010

Annexe Gallery, Central Market, KL

By Tan Yi Ling

It was my first time at the Annexe Gallery, so I arrived early for event. As the time drew nearer towards 8.30 pm, more and more people turned up for the event. It was not very crowded but there were enough people to fill more than half the gallery.

As I walked through the gallery, the ambience resonated of rural life. The ‘kampung’ atmosphere was further enhanced by the dim yellow lights. There were ornamental leaf weavings of fishes and birds hanging everywhere – these are made of ‘nipah’ palm fronds and shoots, an art by the Mah Meri tribe. These caught my attention immediately.

Stories from the book "Orang Asli Animal Tales" by Dr. Lim Boo Liat were extracted, framed and displayed on the walls of the gallery. These are Orang Asli stories about jungle animals such as rat, elephant, tiger, and other animals. I found that this book was written for adults instead of children.

Dr Lim began his zoological career with the Institute of Medical Research as a laboratory assistant in 1947. In 1969, he was awarded a Medical Research Council Fellowship (London) to pursue an M.Sc at the University of Aberdeen. He went on to obtain his Ph.D. from Universiti Sains Malaysia in 1977, and in the same year was seconded to the World Health Organisation, where he remained until his retirement in 1987. Lim is a founder member of the Malayan Nature Society and Malaysian Society of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine. In addition to numerous scientific papers and popular nature articles, he has authored and co-authored five books including the Poisonous Snakes of Peninsular Malaysia, Turtles of Borneo and Peninsular Malaysia, and A Pocket Guide: Amphibians of Ulu Muda Forest Reserve, Kedah. He has many Orang Asli friends who are an invaluable help to his work.

Other than stories on the wall, there was a mini-bazaar by Gerai OA (Orang Asal) selling various traditional arts and craft created by the Orang Asli from Malaysia and also books published on Orang Asal. ‘Orang Asal’, a Malay term for ‘Original People’, represents the indigenous peoples of Peninsular and East Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak), while ‘Orang Asli’ refers specifically to the indigenous minorities of Peninsular Malaysia.

Featured on the left side of the loft and the wall was documentation of a mask-making workshop that was held at Kg. Sg. Bumbon, Pulau Carey, on 2 and 3 January 2010 for local children to educate them about the uses of masks in the old days. In earlier times, woodcarving of characters or moyang masks and figures from folk stories were used in spirit huts and left in the jungle as offerings to the ‘forces’ of the forest. All Mah Meri agree that the mythological characters are supreme. They believe some of the moyang masks influence health, illness, and healing. There were also stories of the Orang Asli being painted on the wall in earth colours. These are the colours of the environment at Kg. Sg. Bumbon, Pulau Carey captured through the eyes of the workshop participants.

The programme commenced at 8.45pm. Dr. Colin Nicholas gave an introductory speech on oral tradition and stories of the Orang Asli. While giving his speech he showed us pictures of the Orang Asli through the projector. Everyone listened carefully to what was told.

Dr Colin told that the teachings or 'ancient wisdom' of the Orang Asli are usually transmitted through storytelling, mythmaking, or via ritual and symbolic art. All these are assembled by past generations and passed down to its present inheritors. It is used to amuse, to teach, to record, to remind, and to explain. The Orang Asli creates stories and narratives not only to make sense of the world but to impart important social and ethical mores to ensure community living and continuity.

As the original settlers of Peninsular Malaysia, the Orang Asli communities have been creating and collecting stories of this land that they've inhabited for countless generations. These stories which are rich with cultural significance and anecdotes have been passed down verbally from mothers to daughters, fathers to sons, forming not only an intrinsic core of the culture of these communities, but building upon a shared continuum of mythic dreaming where nature and humanity are inseparable.

Sad enough, this unique heritage is fast disappearing. The displacement from their forest homelands and assimilation into modern lifestyles has drastically affected the Orang Asli's traditional way of life. Without the practice of storytelling, younger generations are being deprived of the knowledge, wisdom and imagination of their ancestors. Dr. Colin hope to highlight these issues faced by the Orang Asli communities and to share their invaluable wealth of stories with others.

Then it was the turn of the writer, Dr Lim to share his stories in writing the book, which features a compilation of indigenous oral stories portraying animal tales gathered from Orang Asli across Peninsular Malaysia. Everyone listened intently to his stories and some parts were pretty hilarious. Dr Lim may be old but he is still as strong and alert as a dragon! Dr Lim was so engrossed sharing his experience during his early research days that he exceeded his speaking time slot. Although everyone wanted to hear more, he had to cut his stories short. His book was sold at the event for only RM20.

The next event for the evening was a dance performance by dancers of Akademi Seni Budaya dan Warisan Kebangsaan (ASWARA). Dasar in Malay means "No matter how far we travel, somehow we will return to the beginning..", was a collaborative dance and music performance by Shafirul Azmi, Mohd Fairul, Melinda and Naimshah accompanied by Rahman Bah Tuin who played the ‘pensol’, also known as nose-flute. Dasar refers to our roots, the beginning, the foundation of everything in life.

The lights in the gallery were all turned off, and the focus was on the four dancers in white top and batik sarong. They danced to the tune of the pensol played live by the musician who played ‘Puteri Gunung’, a Semai music piece. The melodic tunes played on the pensol usually feature dream songs sung during healing rituals and celebratory occasions.

The night came to an end with a round of applause after the dance performance. Refreshment was served with local delicacies. This was my first ever experience attending a dance and cultural event. Although there were no huge fancy stage or set ups, I was rather impressed with the whole event. It was certainly an eye-opener to me.