International Tutors' Magazine December 2018 | Página 14

INTERNATIONAL TUTORS’ MAGAZINE
THE FORGOTTEN SERENITY
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018
photos sourced online and labeled for noncommercial reuse
Left: The famous
traditional
Sumazau dance.
BY LING MEE HUI
The states of Sabah and Sarawak of Sabah
East Malaysia blossom with vast and Kadazan Dusun, as the dominant tribe, is
mysterious indigenous culture. However, the fundamental rice supplier in Sabah’s
even Malaysians have little knowledge agriculture. To increase agricultural output,
about them, as the tribal community the tribes use the profits from their rice
chooses to live in isolation away from production to build their own irrigation
disturbance. Sabah’s population consists system. They also practice crop-rotation to
of 30% indigenous groups, including maintain the fertility of soil and sustainability
Kadazan Dusun, Murut, Bajau
of their practice. When the barren
and Rungus, while Sarawak’s
land is left unused, the tribes
Sabah and
population consists of
do not simply abandon
Sarawak
of
East
40% indigenous groups,
them but put in effort to
including the Dayak people, Malaysia blossom bring back its fertility by
the Iban and Bidayuh.
with indigenous covering the land with
organic compost. They
culture.
Indigenous culture is unique
treasure natural resources.
as it shows an interdependent
and harmonious relationship between As animists, the Kadazan Dusun believe
the ethnic group and Mother Nature. that all elements in nature, such as land
Their cultural serenity lies in their strong and water, possess spirits and souls which
upholding of values such as appreciation permit the community to grow crops.
and collaboration. People always have Such animistic beliefs culminate in the
preconceived notions that tribes are celebration of Harvest Festival (Pesta
primitive and barbaric; thus they are often Keamatan) in May, in which the tribes
not treated well. But they deserve respect honour the Rice Spirit - Bambaazon or
instead of contempt and disparagement, as Bambarayon - to express their immense
they are unique communities that we should appreciation towards the endowment
appreciate in the interest of diversity and of good quality rice. This tradition is
variety of human cultures. As the famous intertwined with an ancient myth that
British author Jay Griffiths once said, “If depicts the saintly deed of an almighty god
people can't acknowledge the wisdom of who sacrifices his daughter, Huminodun,
indigenous cultures, then that's their loss.” to free his people from famine. On the last
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Right: Some
delicious-looking
swordfish
hinava.
day of the festival, there is an election of the
Unduk Ngadau, the pageant queen, to dedicate
the tribes’ honour towards Huminodun. The
selected candidate resembles Huminodun
through shared qualities of compassion and
benevolence. After her election, the Unduk
Ngadau actively participates in social works
and promotional events for Sabah’s tourism.
During the festival, the Kadazan Dusun
also prepare various scrumptious traditional
cuisines which are only available in Sabah.
Featured ingredients include fish cooked
in various ways and the wild mango species
bambangan, used as a spice. Ripe bambangan is
fried with salty fish while unripen bambangan
is steamed together with fish to make the
delicious dish of pinasakkan. Hinava is another
dish made of steamed fish mixed with lime
juice, sliced shallots, ground chillies and
grated ginger. For the preparation of dishes,
the females help to cook while the males help
to find the raw materials. They
cooperate together to ensure
that mass preparation of
food can be done in time.
The famous traditional dance Sumazau is
another highlight of the Pesta Keamatan. The
dance is inspired by the flying eagle pattern
and shows appreciation towards the predator
bird for feeding on prey, thus
preventing crops from being
destroyed. Whenever the
dance is performed, the
tribes always bear in mind
that they are fortunate to
have the blessings from the
spirits of land and animals. The dancers also
equip themselves with sufficient strength and
agility in performance of the Bamboo Dance,
Magunatip, so that they can dance progressively
faster in gracefulness. Even when dances
honoring these natural spirits are challenging,
the dancers see it as an honor and take the
challenge upon themselves to perform well.
Kadazan Dusun
treasure natural
resources.
The celebration of the Pesta
Keamatan is a reflection of
Kadazans’ animistic beliefs. They believe that
every resource they own is a gift from nature and
should be appreciated deeply. They preserve
and conserve natural resource to ensure its
sustainability. They really develop a harmonious
relationship with nature as they respect the
land, and in turn, the land continues to give
back agricultural products for many years.
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