Young girls are shuffling here and there with their hair tied up in a fancy bun; loud gongs can be heard from a far and everyone is rocking the Sumazau.
For native Sabahans, this is a normal occurrence for the month of May. Tadau Kaamatan is not complete without the Sumazau Picture: kdca. The next generation to continue Tadau Kaamatan customs Picture: kdca. Harvest Festival, or commonly known as Tadau Kaamatan, is a sacred tradition to honour the bond between the Creator and Creation.
According to legend, this is to give thanks to their god, Kinoingan, for sacrificing his daughter, Huminodun, by cutting her to pieces and spread it across the field which then produced a fruitful harvest of the paddy.
This belief stems from the Kadazan-Dusun tribe and although it is highly practice by the community, it is now widely celebrated by the whole of Sabah; illustrating the strength of our unity. In the past, the costume was usually worn to indicate the marital status of Papar Kadazan women, worn with soundung a headscarf then a decoratively-coloured hat made of bamboo called siung. The hat which is decorated with coloured feathers is for unmarried women, with feathers and flowers for married women and undecorated for widows and grandmothers.
The accesssories are 3 korusang golden coin brooches and bolilit a silver bangle on each arm. Adorning the blouse are kubamban golden buttons on the front as well as on each sleeve. The himpogot silver dollar coin belts are worn on the hip in which women who are unmarried will wear 3 belts, while married women will wear 2 belts and 1 belt for widows as well as elders. Dusun Tambunan Sinombiaka Tinombunan blouse and gonob a knee-length skirt Before the design was modernized, this costume was made of kain tuit cotton textile instead of black velvet cloth.
The black velvet blouse and the skirt are decorated with golden laces. Besides, a white fabric is worn around the stomach called tinggot and the old folks say that it used to be worn by pregnant women to prevent oginan stomach ache.
The accessories worn with it are such as 3 botungkat silver dollar coin belts and 3 tangkong sinsing Tambunan rings assembled on rattan strings which differ from the Penampang tangkong rings. It is also worn with sunduk a hood that has many giring tiny bells attached on the end. During a ritual, Bobolian Dusun priestesses use the sound of the bells for sunduwan to communicate with the spirit.
Dusun Ranau Lapoi Bunduliwan blouse and gonob a knee-length skirt Back then, this costume was made of cotton textile until it was replaced by black velvet cloth. However, the original form of it is still being used by the Ranau Dusun women as a costume up until today. The modernized version is comprising a black velvet blouse that has a V-neck adorned with golden laces. Its accessories including 3 tangkong brass ring belts , 3 botungkat silver coin belts and other accessories.
It has sunduk a hood , a blouse and a skirt which all have giring tiny bells attached on the end. Dusun Lotud Tuaran Sukub Kopio blouse and gonob a knee-length skirt The modernized version is a short-sleeved black velvet blouse that has a collar, adorned with laces and sequins including linangkit embroidery on the skirt.
The blouse is decorated with tombuku golden coin brooches as if they are buttons. It has kuluwu a circular sash with golden lace along the edges. A hip accessory such as the lilimbo a wide girdle of interconnected rattan strings is worn around the hips in which red is for childless women, red-black is for mothers. Loti is a white cotton strip with a chain of small silver coins running over the middle of the lilimbo.
Then, botungkat a silver dollar coin belt is worn below the lilimbo. Lotud women wear only 1 botungkat. Then, simpai silver bangles are worn on an upper arm and lansung silver anklets are worn on both ankles.
In the old days, the lansung were solid brass made by the Rungus people. Dusun Tindal Kota Belud Sinipak blouse and gonob a knee-length skirt The sleeves of the blouse have hand-embroidered panels on the upper arms. Just at the elbows, the sleeves are slit, extended and several pieces of multicoloured fabrics are sewn in. Lolopot are 2 folded clothes woven using yarn from processed pisang lanut Manila hemp , which are placed diagonally over the chest and secured at the waist.
The lolopot is also known as kain dastar and often seen on Dusun Tindal newlyweds during weddings. This vibrant-coloured costume has gonob a skirt and sunduk do sunalatan a hood in which both have tiny bells attached on the end. Adorning this costume are Betawi buttons on the blouse and numerous rows of antique beads strung together to form kinokogis a hip-belt that stretches from the waist down to mid-thigh.
On top of the kinokogis, 4 simpogot silver dollar coin belts are worn. Silver earrings are worn and saring pirok hand-engraved silver bangles are worn on each arm. Lastly, kuapu hand-engraved silver pouches with chains; used to store tobacco are worn around the neck.
Dusun Kimaragang Kota Marudu Lapoi Kimaragang blouse and gonob a knee-length skirt This costume is adorned with laces which appear red from a distance. It is made of black velvet cloth and has accessories such as bangle on each arm, 3 tangkong brass ring belts and 3 limpogot silver coin belts. The sunduk hood , gonob skirt , anklets and the blouse all have tiny bells attached on the end.
Dusun Tatana Kuala Penyu Sira Lambung blouse and gonob a knee-length skirt It is made of black velvet cloth called marinjon in Tatana language. This unique costume is adorned with golden laces as well as sequins. It has long sleeves and 12 Betawi buttons and women in the past who could afford more buttons were considered high-status or wealthy. 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!
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.
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.
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 - One day, Kinoingan started a farm, but after ploughing he realised that he had no seeds to plant.
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