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.

Faces of Kaamatan

A boy adjusting his dastar or ethnic Bajau headgear while taking a break at the Kaamatan or Harvest Festival celebrations on May 30 and 31. More pics of Sabah's indigenous communities at this year's festival can be viewed on a slideshow here.

Cultural beat

Sabah's month-long Kaamatan or Harvest Festival celebrations came to an end with a two-day state level fest at the Hongkod Koisaan grounds in Penampang on May 30 and 31. Having covered the annual event for seemingly countless years, this year's festivities was a tad refreshing in that some of Sabah's lesser known indigenous communities came to the fore. The pictures will tell the story.

11-year-old Izan Julip deftly playing the kulingtangan or a set of small gongs at a stall showcasing the Kadazan Tanggara of the Sabah southwestern Membakut district. Click here to watch the video.

A girl from the Dusun Tombonuo community wait for her turn to perform at the Kaamatan festivities. The community are primarily from the northastern Pitas and Paitan districts as well as Tongod in the upper reaches of the Kinabatangan River.

Cultural dancers garbed in their eleborately and colourfully decorated costumes of the Murut community at the Kaamatan celebrations.

More pictures will be posted on this year's Kaamatan festivities.