Month-long harvest festival kicks off in Sabah

To bountiful crops: Musa (centre) cutting paddy stalks to mark the start of Kaamatan at Pisompuruan Square in Tambunan as Kitingan (left) looks on.

KOTA KINABALU: A symbolic harvest marked the launch of Sabah’s month-long Kaamatan (harvest) festival in the scenic Tambunan valley.

Amid the beating of gongs, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman sliced several padi stalks as Huguon Siou (Kadazandusun paramount leader) Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan, who is also the deputy chief minister, looked on.

The harvest festival will now be held in various districts throughout the month before culminating on May 31.

While launching the festival – marked with indigenous music and dances at the Pisompuruan Square in the district – Musa said the event was a unifying factor for the multi-racial Sabahans.

“Although Kaamaatan is synonymous with the native Kadazandusun and Murut people, citizens of other race and religions come together to celebrate the season,” he said.

He added that it was also one of the events that brought tourists to the state.

Musa was also touched by the warm welcome from some 3,000 locals in the area, saying that it showed how peaceful Sabahans were.

More than 40 members of the Commonwealth Parliamentarians Association (CPA) who were present were impressed with the way Sabahans celebrated each other’s festivities despite the differences in race and religion.

Meanwhile, Pairin said this year’s Kaamatan, themed “Peace and Unity Through Vulture”, aimed to remind people about the importance of unity and understanding.

“We have to remind our youth that it is important to be united and to preserve the peace and harmony enjoyed since independence,” he said.