Kaamatan ends on a high note

A Murut girl preparing their traditional food inconjunction with the Harvest Festival celebration at KDCA in Penampang yesterday. (May30) NORMIMIE DIUN/The Star

KOTA KINABALU: Traditional activities and sports were among the main highlights of the month-long annual Kaamatan or harvest festival held over the weekend.

While activities such as “tumutu” or pounding padi to momolastic (shooting with slingshot/catapult) were just part of the natives’ everyday lives in the olden days, it has now been incorporated in the state level harvest festival as part of the traditional sports competition this year.

Sabah Sports Board chairman Datuk Louis Rampas in a press conference on Friday said that the traditional sports were part of the Kadazandusun (KDM) community’s culture and needed to be introduced to more people.

“These are great activities not only for the KDMs to make a living, it also encourages good sportsmanship between people,” he said.

“That is why we need to have more traditional games and activities especially in cultural events such as the Kaamatan festival so that it will not go extinct,” he said.

The Tobilung ethnic group.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman when launching the traditional sports at the Kadazandusun Cultural Association (KDCA) in conjunction with the harvest festival on May 30 threw a spear with a banana as a bull’s eye to mark the start of the competition.

The “manandus” or spear throwing is part of the 11 games including “monungkava kalabau” or lassoing a buffalo, “mangapui” or lighting fire, “monopuk” or shooting with blowpipe, “mipulos” or arm wrestling, “rampanau” or walking on stilts, and “migazat” or tug-of-war opened for public for participation.

Participants from all over the state including prison wardens, professional sportsmen and tourists took part in the events that was new to many, and a norm for some.

He was accompanied by the Huguan Siou (KDM paramount leader) Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan, Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun and Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Dr Maximus Ongkili, who is also the KDCA deputy president among other local leaders.

Later in the evening, hundreds of visitors took part in the traditional sports while thousands visited the traditional bamboo and wooden houses such as the Kota Belud, Tambunan, Penampang, Murut, Bisaya, Lotud and Rungus house.