Mah Meri’s Main Jo-Oh (Hari Moyang Puja Pantai Ritual Dance): From Traditional to a Tourism Art Entertainment

Hari Moyang Puja Pantai is the traditional ritual still being practised by the Mah Meri indigenous tribe in Malaysia. The ritual celebrated is to seek protection, forgiveness and requests for a better fortune and faith of life for the next new year to come. From their ancestorial spirits and ancestors. On this note, this study emphases only the ritual dance named Main Jo’oh demonstrated during Hari Moyang Puja Pantai ritual ceremony. Focusing on the capability of Main Jo’oh ritual dance transforming into the art of dance performance as a tourism perspective. The research objective that will be discussed is, to identify and explore the capability of this Main Jo’oh ritual dance through dance performance of Poetics Method by Aristotle, as an art of dance to the tourism art performance. It is a qualitative method, emphases on observation approaches. Using the Poetics Method by Aristotle as instruments for data collection and analysing process. The sacredness of this ritual setting has been deconstructed into the element of tourism setting. In the sense of the crowded spectators: tourists and media, who at this extent establish the concept of Main Jo’oh is an art of tourism art of entertainment. Drawing the Aristotle Poetic to the notion of Main Jo’oh ritual dance, interestingly, the six Poetic structures designed by Aristotle did not signify the element of SETTING as part of the structure. Which to the ritual ceremonial, the element of setting contributes to most important structure to the ritual dance such as Main Jo’oh.