FEW traditions in South-East Asia have the antiquity and universal acceptance of betel chewing. The custom is over 2,000 years old and has survived from ancient times into the twentieth century. Its use cuts across class, sex, or age: ‘The habitual and universal solace of both sexes is the areca nut and betel…which is rarely absent from the mouth of man or woman,’ wrote the Honourable George N. Curzon, a nineteenth-century observer. Its devotees include farmers, priests, and kings, men, women, and children. The homeliness of the name belies its importance.
Three ingredients—an areca-nut, a leaf of the betel-pepper, and lime—are essential for betel chewing; others may be added depending on availability and preference. The leaf is first daubed with lime paste and topped with thin slices of the nut, then it is folded or rolled into a bite-size quid. The interaction of the ingredients during chewing produces a red-coloured saliva. ‘If a person speaks to you while he is chewing his “quid” of betel, his mouth looks as if it were full of blood,’ reflected Isabella L. Bird, an intrepid woman traveller of the nineteenth century. Most of the betel juice is spat out. The tell-tale residue looks like splotches of dried blood. Indeed, the resemblance is so close that some early European visitors thought many Asians had tuberculosis. The splotches of betel spittle are spaced consistently enough for use as measurements of time and distance in rural areas. A short time is ‘about a betel chew’ and the distance between two villages, for example, may be ‘about three chews’.
Traditional priestesses and ritual specialists, or tantagas, are nearly always women, and are skilled in memorizing the rinait, the long ritual chants and prayers that are addressed to the Lotud deities. As among other Dusunic peoples, rinait constitute a unique genre of poetic oral literature. They consist of series of biambic lines--the first in the everyday language, the second (having the same meaning) in the ritual language. They tell of the Creation of the World, the exploits of the deities, the origins of rice, prescriptions for moral living, ritual practices and other aspects of cultural life. Recitation of "rinait" may involve loud chanting or soft whispering, and can last for hours or days, according to the context and occasion.
The tantagas constitute a female hierarchy, with the most elderly who are grandmothers having the greatest spiritual knowledge and power. Younger women learn the rinait and the rituals from older tantagas (the novice is called tantagas wagu), while the most senior one is known as tantagas lawid). In addition to her personal name, each tantagas has a ritual name which is the name of her first grandchild prefaced with the title Odun (Grandmother).
A traditional Suang Lotud house, consisting of a veranda, kitchen and dining area, elevated sleeping and living area and storage attic, is said to replicate the houses in the spirit world of the Suang Lotud belief system.
The Lotud traditional longhouse is a remakable form of architecture. It is in fact the most sophisticated achievement in architecture in the whole of Sabah. This is because it is made of planks (in the old days) strenuously carved with the adze (Malay: beliung) without the facility of saws! The whole house uses not a single nail (as nails were almost impossible to obtain in the old days) but clever slip-in techniques of fitting beams, as well as tying up conenctions with rattans. A unit of the longhouse consists of a sleeping area (ko'odopo'), a kitchen (ropuhan), an attic (tilud), a corridor (olot-olot) separating the walled part of the house and the common varendah (soliw). The number of poles or stilts depends on the length or the number of living units. In the Tuaran district,.
Dusun Long House.
Root top Of Dusun House Build By Palm Leaves/"Atap"
The flooring is made of stems of palm- trees split into laths, and in other cases of cane, bamboo or even twigs.
A model house Of Suang Lotud,Borneo.
Mangrove Palm or Nipah palm;
Palm leaves ; if the latter the nipa leaves are used when procurable. The flooring in some villages is made of stems of palm- trees split into laths, and in other cases of cane, bamboo or even twigs. The laths or bamboos allow a delicious current of air to permeate the apartment. The outer walls are of plank or nipa leaves, the inner of bark. No nails are used, the beams or rafters are lashed together with rattan and secured by wooden pegs. The posts are innumerable and of hard wood.
Some
description may well be given here of the dress worn by the women of tuaran
dusun lotud on ceremonial occasions, as this differs vary materially from that
in everyday use. The ceremonial head dress consists of stiff bunches of
feathers, those of the cock or the argues pleasant are used, cut and dress into
the form of a shuttlecock, having a long pin of bamboo fixed into the under
surface. They are ornamented at the top with pieces of red cloth, and are
insert into the hair so as to form a sort of crest running backward from the
front of the head, where, owing to the hair being piled up, the hindermost
clump of feathers is the most elevated, the crest thus having an upward slop
from front to back. From the top of both the foremost and also of the
hindermost tuft of feather depends a string of green beetles wing. Below the
crest of the feathers there surrounds the head a fillet of red cloth backed
with rattan cane, which is ornamented with oblong and square plate of silver
gilt; these are embossed with various patterns. The body from the neck to the
waist is clothed, in most cases, in a tight fitting blue or black jacket of
Chinese cloth, and over this is an elaborately draped scarf of Borne an
manufacture. These scarves, which are very old, are said they are very high
valued, and are only worn on occasions of ceremony. Their color is generally is
a mixture of red and yellow. Around the waist are red, black or natural colored
rings made of rattan cane, such as are affected by all dusun lotud tuaran
women. Below these is a short ceremonial skirt of variegated cloth, the
material of which resembles that of a scarf, and this also is old and
considered very valuable. The majority of the dusun lotud women taking part in
the ceremonies wear round their necks and hanging down the breast, long, many-folded
necklaces composed of old Chinese and Dutch beads; among these are round beads
of cornelian, and also long bugles of the same stone, strung on the necklaces
are long, ornaments of embossed silver, from about 3 to 31/2 inches long, which
are hollow, but are filled with plugs of wood round at the top. The cones are
so disposed on the chain that they hang in pair with their points directed
downwards to form a sloping series on each side of the jacket. This necklace
are termed a “KAMUGGI”, and a good specimen of many folds will often fetch a
good price.
Another
form of ceremonial neck ornament as the “OKOB”, together with an inferior
specimen of the :KAMUGGI” ..............
A) Women head-dress of cocks feathers. The four tufts of feathers are fastened to bamboo pin which are inserted into a receptacle of palm-wood, usd as a mere holder.
B) Ceremonial necklace (kamuggi). C) Ceremonial necklace (Okob),The plaques are of silver;backe with copper-The head mark 1 are of cornelian.
D) Tetubit used in ceremony of menghadji padi X 1/4.
In May, the people of Sabah celebrate their harvest season. Though mainly a festival of the Kadazandusun,which makes up one third of the total population of the state,
it is celebrated by every Sabahan.
They give thanks to the gods and spirits for blessings and a good paddy harvest, asking for guidance; they dance and eat and drink amidst much merrymaking! During this harvest festival, the Pesta Ka'amatan, known locally as “Tadau Ka’amatan”, Sabah natives wear their traditional costumes and enjoy a carnival-like atmosphere, which usually stretches from dawn to dawn. Tapai’, as their homemade rice wine is called,
is freely served during the festivities.
Although many young native Sabahans have been assimilated into urban settings, living and working in the cities and towns, they return to their ancestral longhouses and villages to join in the annual celebrations of their traditionally agricultural societies.
The origins of Ka'amatan, which means "after harvest", can be traced back to the animistic beliefs of the Kadazandusun. The Kadazans believe in the worship of ancient gods and in the existence of the five main spirits – Kinoingan (Almighty God and Creator), Rusad (Spirit of all living things other than Man), Koududuvo (Spirit of the Living), Tombivo (ghostly Spirit of the Dead) and Rogon (evil Spirit).
According to popular belief, the spirit of the padi plant is said to be part of the Kinoingan commonly known as the Bambaazon, who is revered as the overall creator, an omnipotent source of life and existence. Thus the spirit of Bambaazon is revered in the rice plant, the rice grain and the cooked rice. To the Kadazandusun, paddy is not only their staple food - it is also a sacred plant, a living symbol of Kinoingan's love for his people.
Many believe that “without rice, there is no life”Rituals performed during Ka'amatan are conducted by the much-respected Bobohizan or Bobolian, who are High Priests and Priestesses. There are several major components that make up Ka'amatan. There is the home coming of the Bambaazon, which is an integral part of the festival, thus ensure an abundant harvest if it is invited to dwell in the best ears of paddy, which have been selected for the next planting season.
Next, there is the Magavau ceremony, where the Bobohizan are given the onerous duty of searching, salvaging and recovering Bambaazon which have inadvertently been lost, stolen or led astray - by pests and predators, natural phenomena such as floods and droughts, careless harvesters,
and the like - reciting a long summoning prayer in the beginning of the harvest to cajole and persuade the Bambaazon to return to the rice barns.
Then, there is the Unduk Ngadau, a traditional beauty contest, in which, of course, the fairest in the land will participate, and a Ka'amatan Queen will be selected. This is however no ordinary beauty contest, as it apparently owes its origins to the legend or story of the Kadazandusun's genesis,
and their creator, Kinoingan's sacrifice of his only daughter Huminodun, for the love of his people.
One of the many variant legends relates the following -
The Legend Of Kaamatan( Harvest
Festival )
One day, Kinoingan started a farm, but after ploughing he realised that he had no seeds to plant. So he set off in search of some seeds with his valuable brass gong which he carried everywhere on his shoulder. On his way, he met birds and animals, and asked them if they had any seeds, to which they replied that they did not have any yet, having just been created by him. Even though Kinoingan knew that they had none, he nevertheless purposely asked this question to make them all realise that they would have to work hard for their livelihood.
Because there were no seeds in the world then, Kinoingan in the end resourced to sacrificing his only, beautiful and obedient daughter so that all his people would have seeds to grow food they needed. Her head gave rise to coconuts, her flesh became rice padi, her blood (the most precious part) red rice, her fingers ginger, her teeth maize, her knees yams and other parts of her body many more edible plants.
When the padi began to ripen, Kinoingan's wife, Suminundu was requested to first pick a little of it, thresh it, fry it, mix it with coconut flesh and its water and share it with her people and pets. Later, when the harvest came and Suminundu cut the stems of the padi with her sickle the voice of her daughter was suddenly heard requesting her to be careful.
When the time came for Kinoingan and his wife Suminundu to ascend to the heavens Kinoingan informed his wife that they had yet to perform some ceremonies, including a great feast for all the people he had created. For it was the request of Huminodun that it be done to "bestow their love and respect to her for the inheritance of the people of this world". But first he wrote down the customs of each country to guide the people. For those who could not read, he taught priestesses prayers for festive days and for curing sicknesses.
But when the time for the feast came, Kinoingan was not happy. He felt a deep paternal longing for Huminodun and thought that she would surely be leading the feast if she were to be alive. Sadly, he played a tune with his bamboo flute and called his daughter's name.
Miraculously, Huminodun came out of a big jar that was used to hold the remains of the threshed padi. Her return to life added untold joy to the festivities. When the feast was over, Kinoingan, his wife and his daughter disappeared in the heavens, bidding farewell to their guests.
Besides the solemn rituals and ceremonies that form the main function of Ka'amatan,
a variety of other activities are held in the villages as well as on a state level including traditional sports such as buffalo races, blow pipe competitions traditional dances and arm,
