Located just off the mainland, Carey island is well known for the unique Orang Asli or aboriginal community known as the Mah Meri. The Mah Meri have assimilated into modern life with jobs in the nearby plantations and farms but they retain their unique culture and way of life.

Apart from exhibitions of their traditional dance and music, the Mah Meri are particularly known for their sculptures which is made from a kind of swamp hardwood known as "Nyireh Batu".

Each artwork has its own mythological story told by the medicine man or the shaman (moyang). The story helps the childlike mind to understand the secrets of life and nature without the use of abstract reasoning. Through myths and beliefs in the spirits, thay are able to create their concept of cosmology. The belief in ancestral spirits has made the Orand Asli more creative compared to other communities.