KADAZAN RITUAL - MOMODUNSAI

A neighbour passed away few days ago at around 6.00 o’ clock in the morning but only the sound of beaten gong was heard around 9.00 o’clock. That was a normal as a time to inform relatives to help with the family who just lost a dear family member would take time. In a Kadazan custom especially in Penampang, it is a must to beat the gong if someone passed away.

The ritual of beating the gong if someone passed away amongst the Kadazan Penampang is a must when someone passed away. It is taboo and no no to beat the ‘DUNSAI’ as you like. It is an eerie sound when you heard it whenever the gong is beaten to the sound of ‘DUNSAI'.

It was the first morning of the death of the person and before the sun rises and still dark say around 5.00 am, the ‘Dunsai’ or gong must be beaten. I was awakened by the unfamiliar sound of the gong beaten as some of the sound mixed with the sound of a normal gong beating as the ‘Sumazau’ beaten during a happy occasion. I realised that the gong beaters were not familiar with the ‘Dunsai’ beat, of which you have no time to learn the beating. The beating of the ‘Dunsai’ is not a hard to learn but depended on the individual to follow the tempo and one has the ability and passion to try it. If you can beat the normal beating of the gong then you have no problem beating of the ‘Dunsai’ sound. Dunsai cannot be learn by beating any time you like but learned it on the actual time when the deceased inside the coffin. It is more worst if the number of gong beaters is less than six persons and whoever is available have to beat it.

With the passing of time and the conversion to Christianity by the Kadazan people this ritual will no longer be practiced in time to come much earlier. People will not wake up early in the morning just to beat the gong as some of us are getting ready for work and to manage the children for the school.

The reason of why the beating of the ‘Dunsai’ in the Penampang district is not clear as other Kadazan people in other district does not practice it. What I believed and conclude about it is their way to inform the people nearby of the death of someone during the time of which no communication was available to inform relatives and friends about the death.

As there are available caretaker for the dead, I believed when we are short of people to help there is always the caretaker to help whatever we need them to take care. They can do anything even to cry for the deceased.

TEENS IN THEIR TRADITIONAL DRESS

It was applaud able of the various ethnic groups to involve their young people to their just concluded festival by donning with their ever beautiful and colourful traditional attire which is superb and laced with traditional accessories.

It was indeed in the right direction that young people is expose at their young age about their tradition and custom so that they will carry on with it so that it will not fade away with the older generation.

Although there was some modification about the attire to suit with the time and fashion of today which emphasis more on the body fit attire, the basic of the traditional dress was still there and kept guarded by the elders so that the originality of it remain the same.

Looking at the facial expression of the youth donning the traditional dress, I would say they were happy and enjoy with the celebrity status as they were asked to posed for the camera throughout the parade of traditional extravaganza while waiting for the dignitaries.

It is indeed a good sign that majority of the people donning the traditional attires that day were the younger set of people and hope that they will carry on with their traditional custom. Hopefully as time goes by and the spirit the young people sow during the festival will be pass on to their friends so as more people from this group will be able to learn more about their traditional dress.

TRADITIONAL PRAYER BY A BOBOHIZAN

I have attended ceremonies involving the traditional Magavau, monogit or praying for the sick and the praying for the soul of a dead person by a Bobohizan or priestess.

SANDAVANG - pieces of metal and some says pieces of human bones tied together used during the chanting of prayers by Bobohizan.

The most basic items used for the ceremony are a gantang of rice, paddy seeds, knife, a jar of alcoholic drinks, chicken, pig and many other things. Usually it depended what type of prayer was about also. This is only my observation and might be not totally correct.

The ceremony begins just after sunset and the bobohizan or priestess and her attendants sit on the floor in the living room and start chanting prayer. This goes on far into the night and it depended wholly by the bobohizan whether gong is beaten throughout the ceremony.


A mixture of metal and some says bones from human were used for making sound as the bobohizan chants prayer with her hand moving the metal and bones to make a sound, a very eerie sound indeed. The object is called the Sindavang and nobody could use it except the bobohizan.

The ceremony ended the next day with the merry making as a mark of thanksgiving. Part of the cooked food like the chicken and pig was given to the Bobohizan and attendants as a token of appreciation to them.

It was some of my vivid memory of the traditional prayer and the memory of getting the food my grandmother get as an attendant to the bobohizan.

TRADITIONAL FOOD COMPETITION @FOOD CARNIVAL

In conjunction with the Kaamatan festival (Harvest Festival) the main organizing committee organized a traditional food competition at the Hongkod Koisaan building in Penampang last Sunday. I went there before noon and taken pictures of the many types of food for the competition.

I will post later of all the food that you have not seen or tested before but alas audience was not invited to sample the food except for the judges appointed by the organizing committee. It was announced that food will be served to all but I didn’t wait for it.

To tease you all, I will post pictures I took outside the main hall of the Hongkod Koisaan building. Items posted here are the traditional winnowing, Wakid and traditional replica of the Wakid.

Visit again to see pictures and stories of the traditional food competition.

PESTA TAGAL aka RIVER CARNIVAL

Tagal is a KadazanDusun word means prohibition of catching fish in certain rivers for one year or more. It has been the custom of the KadazanDusun for a long time but recently has been highlighted for the benefits of other villagers to revive it at their village. The ban is lifted one day in a year and that selected day will see throngs of villagers coming to the river to catch the fish.

The Tagal system not only will multiply the number of its habitat especially fish but it will also improve the quality of the river. As the quality of the river improves tremendously, many activities can be organized by the villagers, which will generate revenues in the form of eco-tourism.

The committee of the ‘Tagal’ imposes a set of rules and whoever breached the rules is liable to punished in the form of either a buffalo or Pig.
During the opening of the Tagal, everybody is allowed to fish using traditional methods like using the net, traps or any traditional methods. The catch would be divided among the villagers and some are cooked traditionally along the river for a grand feast. Its carnival atmosphere in the village as there is fishing and dining on the catch together among the villagers.

LAST PART - HERITAGE VILLAGE

As promised, here is the last batch of pictures taken during my visit to the heritage village at the Sabah Museum, Kota Kinabalu Sabah. So friends or tourists who happen to visit Sabah, are encourage to visit our Museum to experience the architecture of our traditional houses right in the city of Kota Kinabalu.

There are many uses of Bamboo and one unique way was the roofing of the traditional house as can be seen in the pictures. When inside the traditional house you will feel the cool atmosphere as the cooling effect generated by the bamboo roof.


It is not a toilet as I first thought but a bathing hut used by the villagers.

Below is the Murut traditional house. In the middle of the house is the Lansaran. A lansaran is made from wood and the floor pranks. A Lansaran is where a group of people jumps as much as possible to get a target tied as high above the Lansaran. It is a game whereby the team that who get the target declared as the winner. It requires much energy, perseverance, skills, abilities and capabilities of the participants to get the target.

Pictures of traditional houses that can be seen at the Heritage Village right in the City of Kota Kinabalu.

HERITAGE VILLAGE IN PICTURES

Here are the pictures I took inside the traditional houses where some of the items they used like the beautiful colourful woven basket, Jars, a Murut lady donning a beautiful dress and Murut gong beaters.




I was curious what was inside the jar, the lady informed me that there should be a row of the jars but at the Heritage village it’s only one. I tried to peek inside the jar but it’s very dark. Instead I took a picture of it and was disappointed that some uncivilized person put empty plastic bottle inside it.

Butizaon: Kau tengok apa dalam tanjau ini?

Lady: Sia pun tidak faham kenapa ada orang masukan botol plastic dalam ini.
Budak-budak bah yang masukan benda itu.



I let her see the pictures on my camera.

Almost every heritage houses organized their activities and the most popular was the Sumazau dance where tourist was invited to participate in the dancing. It was really humorous seeing them dancing trying to get the rhythm of the music and swaying in tandem with their partner.


A very understanding Murut girl donning the traditional Murut attire inside the Murut house.

A group of youth beating the gong inside the Murut traditional house.

A very beautiful basket of the Murut tride mostly found in the district of Tenom.

I will be posting the last part of my visit to the Heritage village later.

SABAH NATURAL CHARMS

As promised I posted pictures of a cultural experience at Sabah Museum’s Heritage Village which will end today. I will focus my visit with the rarest ethnic groups of Sabah and singled out in this case the Bonggi people, who mostly live in the island of Banggi, Kudat.


The first thing you saw when you enter the compound of the Heritage village where most of the traditional replica houses were built was the stand-alone tower of the Bonggi tribe. I did not have the opportunity to ask why there was a stand alone tower upfront the house since there was nobody manning the house at the time. I had this impression that the elevated tower was used as a place to escape from dangerous wild animal or something to do with a place for the villagers for the look out from their enemies.


When I entered the hut I noticed a master-piece of polished ladder beautifully invite you to step on it to the main hut. It was beautifully sculptured and remembered at one time I used to climb on it at our ancestors house a long time ago.

It was indeed surprisingly interesting to see the unique traditional Nipah-roofed as compared to the popular Sago palm roof of the other traditional house at the heritage village. The wall of the house was made from the bark of a tree and it must have been a quite a job of removing the bark from a big tree.


It was very beautiful scenery and view of where the Bonggi house was built at the heritage village as can be seen from the verandah of the Bonggi house with tourist appreciating the uniqueness of the traditional houses which can only be seen of the natural charms of Mystical Sabah.

Skull – Trophy for bravery

Every time I come across a place where skulls are kept reminded me where a neighbour kept skulls at the roof of the main house. Although we were neighbour at the time, I tried to avoid going there because I was horrified to see the skull hanging on the roof of the house.

I was taught and brainwash during those time that we must not be disrespectful towards the head or a skull or be punish by the spirit of the dead and probably get sick. I was also made to understand that to profit of the mystical benefits the head must be treated with the proper ceremony, and rites ensuring the successful victory enable the spirit dwelling in the skull to become friends, guardian to the warrior and of his family.

Headhunting was a way of earning prestige, fame and hero in those years and the number of heads or skulls proves the prowess of its inhabitants.

Part 2 - coming soon.

COMING SOON – HERITAGE VILLAGE PICTURES

Mystical Sabah

A cultural Experience at the Sabah Museum’s Heritage Village to see with your own eyes the Traditional Houses, rituals, Dances and the Warmth of Sabah’s People.



Beautiful pictures will be posted here very soon. A sample of the pictures I took for you to see.