A peak at our culture

This post has been long overdue. It is the continuation of this one.

These are the traditional equipments used in paddy planting. We can hardly find these equioments nowadays,let alone see them in use. The functions has been replaced by modern equipment that are more efficient in terms of time and energy. Nevertheless, I consider myself very lucky because I have had several hand-on experience on them way back when I was a little kid (in primary school, if not mistaken) and my parents were still planting paddy.

The name of these unique equipments :-

L-R : "kikizapan" (literally translated as 'fan' or 'kipas' in Malay) and "ragus" (sorry, I don't know the translation for this one in English and Malay...hehe..) .



The "laadu" (again, I don't have the translation for this one) and "su'ud" (literally translated as "comb" or "sikat"). The ragus, laadu, and su'ud will need the help of a buffalo and a skilled farmer to function well.

The "inai-inai" (aunties) enjoying their friend's performance of the "kudian" (accordion). Seldom can we hear this type of instrument these days...well, except at Gaya Street every Sunday. There are a band of talented blind street musicians playing the accordion besides the guitar, harmonica and tamborines. And there can sing a variety of songs too. :)

The 2nd photo was the photo session showing lovely Kadazan ladies of different ages clad in traditional costume, "boludu" or "morudu". Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the costume got its name "boludu" from the type of the black cloth it was made of, which is velvet or "kain baldu" in Malay. "Why only got photo session for the ladies only?" Well, there were photo session for the guys too but I mistakenly deleted it from my camera. No discrimination involved ya...hehe...

There were two different "magagung" (beating of the 'gongs') sessions held. The first session was performed by the guys team and the second by the ladies. Bulih tahan kama tu inai-inai magagung..jangan main-main ah... :)

The "magagung" and Sumazau dance session.

Old cloth with the "koi'ing" (small bells) attached. These cloth were used by the "Bobohizan" (KadazanDusun high-priestess) during the "monogit (blessing/cleansing)" ceromony. I haven't seen this ceremony in a long time. I remember having seen it shown on TV few years back during the live telecast of the Tadau Kaamatan (Harvest Festival) celebration at the KadazanDusun Cultural Association (KDCA) building on 30 May.

In the first photo are other common accessories, the himpogot , tatangkong and pada'ang (sword).The second photo shows the siga (headgear) on the gandang (drum/gendang) besides the baa'di. Some antic brass pots and other decoratives in the third photo.

A close-up of the brass candle-holder and miniature "bakid" (2nd photo) and a few wooden canes with head carves to resemble a snake's head and a "suling" (flute/seruling) among them. The container which the canes are put inside is called "topukon" or "tajau", a large pot made of clay.

And these are random photos of Vanessa...having a closer look at the full set of "tagong" and "kulintangan". As a kid, nothing escapes her curiosity. She wants to look closer and touch everything new to her. :)

And this last photo is of a giant tortoise shell. The tortoise was my Uncle's pet. It died a few years ago and Uncle decided to keep its shell in memory of the tortoise. It makes a unique wall decoration, don't you think so? Okay, that round-up the tour to our KadazanDusun's traditional lifestyle and culture. Its not a comprehensive one but enough to give some info. :)

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Of TV and food...

If you get a chance, would you like to be on TV? Well, I do. I don’t mean like being an actress or model or something…but just to be seen nationwide on TV would be enough. I’m not that desperate, okay. I am just curious. How would it feel to see myself on TV? Would I look different? Yeah...those sorts of things…hehe…

My wish would have came true last month if only I comply to RTM’s #1 rule of ‘Strictly no showing of legs”. I blew-up the chance of a lifetime by wearing a knee-length skirt that day. I could have worn long pants on that day if only I’ve known earlier of such a chance. Nobody to blame but myself..hehe… I didn’t ask further when Cousin A told us that there will be a group of West Malaysian coming during the gathering. I should have asked who they were… Oh, the prohibition also applies on the guys. Hehe...kesian la angkol-angkol / kazen mazen lelaki yang pakai seluar pendek…mau pigi magagung pun tida boleh. Punah harapan diorang mau masuk TV.

I only found out about them being RTM TV1 crew for their magazine-style program called Panorama. Uncle B (Mom’s big bro) house has been chosen by as the location for the shooting of a short documentary on our Kadazan Dusun traditional food and culture. There was no exact date on when this particular episode will be aired but according to the director, give or take, 3 months after the day of shooting. That means the episode will be scheduled to air sometime in July.

Okay, I hardly watch the shows on TV1. Why? Let’s just say that the shows on other channels are more interesting. (No offends). But for this particular episode, I’ll make an exemption. I am excited on the idea of watching familiar faces, people I know personally on TV.

These are some of our traditional food/dish that I have taken that day. Some of them are

rarely served nowadays.

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Makan-makan di hujung minggu

Spent my weekend with makan-makan activity. Hehe…two of my aunties celebrated their birthday and invited all close relatives to share the joy with them. Aunt #1 (my late Dad’s side) had some makan-makan at her residence on Sunday night. On the next day, also makan-makan at Aunt #2 (Mom’s sis) residence. So, there goes my diet..haha. I have been ignoring the weight scale these few days…*wink* tida berani menghadapi kenyataan bah…haha…

Aunt #2 ordered 50pcs of homemade hinompuka for her guests. So, mom was up as early as 4.30am to prepare the ingredients and cook the hinompuka. Hinompuka is one of our traditional kuihs. It is made of glutinous (pulut hitam) rice flour mix with plain rice flour, coconut milk/santan and sugar. It was wrap in banana leaf and steamed inside a large pot for a full one hour or as soon as the firewoods were burned to ashes. Hmm, it will be a lot easier to steam them on the gas stove, no need to do frequent check on the fire but mom prefers it done the old way, i.e using the traditional stove aka sagang in Kadazan.

As mom’s hinompuka was quite large in size, they were cut into half. Hehe…takut urang tida dapat kasi habis makan…LOL. As usual, mom’s hinompuka was a hit among the guests, towards the evening when we left, there were only a few pieces left on the table. :)

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Kadazan jelly

Didn't go anywhere today. Just spending my time, lazing at home, playing with daughter. Mom was busy in the kitchen, cooking this traditional dessert, nanggiu. Our Kadazan equivalent to jelly or cendol. We haven't had it in a while. :)

The nanggiu is made of sago. Bought a packet of fresh sago from the tamu on Thursday evening. A packet cost only RM1.00. Do make sure that the sago is fresh ya, or else you'll get a sourish taste nanggiu.

Easy steps to prepare this yummy dessert :-

[1] Pour the whole packet of sago into a big bowl. Soaked in water for 2 nights. The sago will sunk to the bottom of the bowl leaving the water on top.

[2] Get rid of the water and make 2 - 3 balls of sago. Boiled them for a minute or two. Take them out and put aside. Let them cool.

[3] After the were cool enough for your hands to handle, flatten them on the chopping board. Make sure you dust the board with some plain flour before you begin. You don't want the sago to stick on the board! LOL

[4] Cut the flattened sago into fine strips... not too fine though. Dust them again with flour before transferring them into the saucepan.

[5] Pour the santan (coconut milk) in and add sugar as desired. Boil until all the sago strips turn into clear jelly-like strips.

...and voila! This tasty dessert is ready to be eaten! :)

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Cry baby and Cinnamon story...

Daughter Vanessa was all cry baby when she was carried by our local Sabahan artist, Abu Bakar Ellah aka Ampal. He was the guest artist during the Fund Raising Dinner for the Annual Pesta Koningau (Pesta Kayu Manis @ Cinnamon Festival) on 25 October at the Dewan Masyarakat. We were there bcos hubby’s Auntie whose in the organizing committee had sponsored a table for us..so no excuse not to come ...hehe

I guess Ampal just couldn’t resist but carry this cute little sumandak of mine…*LOL* But obviously, daughter is not a fan of Ampal...hehe. He entertained the diners with his jokes and belted out a song from his latest album. I wasn’t really paying attention though as daughter was getting cranky…so we left. It was passed her bed time already. Leaving behind our Lucky Draw Tickets for my SIL to claim the prize…in case we got lucky this time, BUT nope, we didn’t. Seriously, I NEVER won any prize in any lucky draw before…hmmm wonder why??!

The annual Pesta Koningau is a three-days event, starting today until 09 Nov. I guess I’ll miss it out again this year. The activities include agriculture exhibition, handicratf, cinnamon products, traditional dance performance and fireworks display…sounds interesting enough. The hightlight of the festival is the crowning of the new Beauty Queen, the Ratu Pesta Koningau. During the Dinner, all the contestants were introduced…but it was kinda odd because there was a contestant from Sipitang. As far as I know, Sipitang is another district and it is far, far away from Keningau…

I was also enlightened that Keningau District is once the largest producer of cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum) in Sabah. I never knew this…hubby never told me either. The name, Keningau itself originated from Koningau, a popular term among the Hokkien community and was derived from the plant that is endemic in the district. After World War II, the British renamed the district Keningau.

Couldn’t help noticing, nowadays we celebrate all sort of festival in Sabah annually. Besides the Kaamatan Festival and Cinnamon Festival, there are also Kudat’s Coconut Festival (Pesta Kelapa), Kota Marudu’s Maize Festival (Pesta Jagung) and Kuala Penyu’s Sago Festival (Pesta Rumbia).

Have a nice weekend ya!

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