Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Rural rhythms

I came across this lady and her brood of four while on an overnight camping trip at the upper reaches of the Kiulu River along the Crocker Range. 

This Kadazandusun ethnic family were just returning home from harvesting fruits including bambangan (a type of mango, usually to be pickled or used for cooking) and naturally growing vegetables such as wild ferns locally known as pakis.

After carrying the heavy load for more than a kilometre to the family simple wooden house, she would carefully pack the produce and hitch a one hour ride in a van or four-wheel-drive vehicle to sell them at the weekly tamu or traditional farmers' market at Donggongon town in Penampang district. Just like what her parents had done.

For some of Sabah's rural folk, their rhythm of life remains unchanged.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Sometimes, I envy those people for their "unchanged lives". Its simplicity, along with its redundancy, makes such a life predictable. And yet somehow, I can't help but be envious of such a lifestyle.