Kota Kinabalu, Borneo and Mt. Kinabalu excursion
There are any number of legends about this extraordinary mountain that rises from the sea to tower over Northern Borneo. The barren jagged peaks stick up from the base of the mountain like knotted fingers shrouded in cloudy linen. We were able to just catch a few glimpses of the peaks before the clouds veiled the sacred summits. Of the fingers four of them are higher than 4,000 meters, with Low’s Peak the highest at about 4,195m and still growing, which makes this perhaps the youngest volcano in SE Asia. It is the tallest peak south of the Himalayan region on an island that is the third largest, after Greenland and Papua New Guinea, in the world. Our young guide, K.D., was able to share three legends from the people of his clan who live in the region. In relating them, he was very clear that nowadays most people here are Christian and that is evident from the incredible number of Catholic churches that line the road up to the National Park, it seemed like there was just about one every 3 km., but that they still told the legends and didn’t entirely disregard them as they are part of their cultural heritage. He said that the spirits of the ancestors live on the top of the mountain and protect the people from its summit. For a long time it wasn’t permitted to climb the mountain, as that would have upset the ancestors and the deities who lived there, but in the mid 1800s a British climber arranged for a special blessing ceremony asking the spirits for permission to climb and protection during the climb. The tribal chiefs then allowed the ascent and now the ceremony is performed in a much-condensed form before every climb. The normal climb takes two days and one night as in about 8km one ascends 2,500m. from the headquarters at the National Park. The last part is usually undertaken in the middle of the night so that one can be on the summit for sunrise, but we didn’t speak with anyone who had actually done this due to the heavy rain and slippery slopes. We were also told the last part is basically like climbing a rope and in the cold and wet it was too dangerous for the climbers over the time we were there.
One of the legends that caught my attention was one that is repeated told in various cultural adaptations, the basic story of the girl who turns to stone waiting for her lost love to return. On Mt. Kinabalu, (Kina means girl and balu means widow) a Chinese prince came to North Borneo on a trading mission. He fell in love with a local girl and after awhile they were married. A few years later he felt the urge to return to his homeland to see his family and fulfill his obligations there, so he left with the promise that he would return and they would be reunited. The girl thought that if she could climb the mountain she would be able to track the progress of his ship and see his return, so after obtaining the gods’ permission she went to the summit and waited, and waited and waited until she finally turned to stone. This is basically the same story as that of Mt. Timpanogas along the Wasatch Front where the Indian Princess lies down waiting for her warrior prince to return. The crest of the mountain looks like a girl with her hands crossed across her breast wearing a feather headdress.
Another legend from Mt. Kinabalu says that not only the ancestor spirits reside there, but also dragon spirits, which can be unpredictable. In order to appease the spirits the chief priest or priestess (it can be either) sacrifice an all white rooster, and offer its blood along with rice, rice wine and eggs to the spirits of the mountain. These ceremonies still continue periodically throughout the year.
The island of Borneo is home to three nations, Indonesia, whose Kalimantan section comprised 73% of the island, Brunei with 1% has lost most of its former territory including Sabah, which now belongs to Malaysia along with its other province Sarawak. The latest census showed 19 Million people on the island, which is an increase of a full million over the 2009 census. Most of the increase is from immigration to the island from China, the Philippines and elsewhere.
Just a few notes from the Sabah Museum:
The men’s headcloth is called ‘kain dastar’ and is just under a square meter of cloth that is folded in an intricate pattern with a fan-shaped front. There are two main kinds in Sabah depending on how they are woven. One is embroidered and which is called kain pis and the frame the women in the Kulat District use is called a bangkaran. The other is made on a backstrap loom called an aulen by the Iranum women from Kota Kinabalu.
Hats are an important part of a person’s traditional attire. Natural fiber hand-laced hats come in three basic color schemes: the natural color of the reeds and or grasses, or those with black or red motifs. If the latter the motifs can be geometric designs or those from the flora and fauna of the region.
There are a number of ethnic groups in Sabah, only a few of which are involved in rice production. They include the most populous Kadazandusun, the Bajau, the Murut, the Brunei and to a lesser extent the Chinese in the Kudut region.
Basket weaving varies according to the function and tradition and availability of local materials, including various grasses, reeds and bamboo. Men make the larger baskets, while women make the smaller to medium sized ones.
Northern Borneo’s indigenous population has a plethora of musical instruments, some of the more unique ones include a turali, a nose flute; a suling – a horizontal mouth flute, sompton, a multi-reed with gourd mouth flute, and the more common gongs, drums, xylophone and stringed instruments including a Biola, which looks like a mini-violin, Gambus, a 5 string oval body lute; a Sandatong – a long-necked 2 string slightly wide body rectangular body instrument made out of jackfruit wood.
Borneo is famous for its headhunters and even today the skulls the ancestors collected are honored and respected. In the country they still provide protection for the family and clan. The museum had a series of photos of famous head hunters and exhibitions of their instruments. The blow-pipe, called a sapok, was not supposed to be longer than 5 feet and had a knife attached to it like a bayonet. The tip of the knife and the Lufua, darts, were dipped in poison derived from locally found venomous animals. The darts were kept in a Kofon, a bamboo quiver. The warriors also used machetes to decapitate their enemy or a Mandau, which is a long curved sword.
For the Kadazandusun there were three main ways in which head-hunting took place:
1) by a large group in which case the heads obtained belonged to the community
2) by a small group that kept the heads within the family
3) by an individual to prove his courage and win a bride.
The fights between groups that led to this practice could be started by any kind of disagreement, large or small, and then carried on over generations in a McCoy-Hatfield perennial feud.
The freshly cut heads were not permitted to splash blood within the village; they had to be kept outside the residential area until they had been blessed so that any evil or malignant spirit did not enter. The ritual cleansing was conducted by a bobolian/bobohizan. Until this ceremony took place the heads were hung on trees or kept in a special temporarily built shelter. The ceremony was often not immediately conducted but could be delayed for various reasons for up to about three weeks. Once the heads were dried and purified, they were tied up with silad leaves, sometimes also including sea shells and animal bones, and hung from the rafters of a Kadazundusun house. The heads would then ensure the household’s good fortune and protection.
The Bobolian/Bobohizan used a set of very specific tools for their ritual cleansing. These include the stem and rhizome of the Kombuongo plant which is tied together sometimes with small brass gongs or coins and bone. A small set of gongs, called Ganding or Sindawang were used to accompany the Bobolian/Bobohizan’s chanting; and a It Osungan, a small porcelain jar which contains Diwato’s dwelling place. Diwato is the deity who assists the Boblian/Bobohizan in their tasks.
One of the ceremonies in the Keningau district is the Mensilad ceremony to please the spirits of the skulls and to obviate any mischief that might befall through neglecting them. The museum mentioned instances where this ceremony was performed as people moved into new houses as late at 1982. There was nothing more current listed, but that could be because the exhibit hasn’t been updated since then.
People have been in Northern Borneo for millennia. There is evidence of fairly sophisticated stone tool making prior to the eruption of Mt. Toba in Sumatra in 74,000BCE. The geological evidence suggests that this explosion covered the entire region from India to the South China Sea in ash for over 14 days, wiping out everything in its wake. The next time there is evidence of human habitation comes about 17,000 BCE where there are signs of cave dwellers in the Baturong and Madai caves for about 5,000 years. These people left stone tools, mortars, food bones and shellfish behind. Around 12,000 BCE the Baturong Shelter and Madai Caves were abandoned for a few millennia with a brief interlude again of use between 10,000 -7,000 BCE, when they were left once more for a longer period of time. The next usage was probably sometime between 1,000- 500 BCE when the Madai Caves were used by pottery users as the remaining shards indicate. About 2,000 years ago, they were used as tombs for intricately carved wooden coffins, which show an Indian influence in the patterns of the wood, with oxen faces on either end of the coffin and diamond shaped designs filled with circular floras patterns within the geometric signs. There were also Indian and Persian Carnelian beads found in the caves. Bronze and iron metallurgy came late to the island. It appears infrequently before 1,200 AD and perhaps even later in Sabah.
About 500 years ago Chinese traders developed a market for swallows’ eggs and the caves were a perfect place to collect them. The bird’s nest village was probably started sometime in the late 18th C.
The Bukit Timpang Dauag Burial Site is a small Timbong Dayang Hill about 7 km from Banggi, Kudat. The site is ca. 1,000 yrs old and is the only known Bronze Age burial site to be found in Sabah.
The most important discoveries include a Vietnamese drum made ca. 2,000-2,500 yrs. Ago & uniquely decorated pottery and ceramic shards. As well as Carnelian beads from India dn Persia, all of which is thought to be burial gifts.
Samang Buat Cave is located ca. 26 km from Lahad Datu town and there were two 3,000 year old 12 ft.wooden coffins found in it.
The coffins from Asop Batur Tulung and Batu Tulog Dan Agop are about 900 yrs. Old and are possibly of Chinese origin. The are the ones with the ox heads and diamond shaped design.
Megalithic stones are found throughout Sabah and No. Borneo. The oathstone (menhir) is a symbol of Malaysia and represents the agreement between the Federation of Malaysia and the local peoples to maintain the people’s interest in land, religion and custom.
Magellan landed in Borneo in 1521 and named Mt. Kinabalu, Monte San Paulo. It was depicted on sea charts for over 200 yeas as Monte San Pedro in Portugese, Mont St. Pierre in French and St. Pietersberg in Dutch.
The museum also has a large skeleton of a Bryde’s Whale at the entrance.
The museum is a bit away from the main part of town, but is well worth going to, even if it does usually involve a lengthy cab ride. The city Kota Kinabalu is mired in traffic jams. It is amazing how many cars try to fit onto these roads. Apart from that, the city is known for its many malls and delightful waterfront market. It is much easier to walk around the city than to try to take a cab, except for places like the museum. On the other hand, boats are easily available and once on the water, it is just a short boat ride away to a stilted village with amazing views of the island and the mountain. We didn’t get to any of the dive sites as the weather was not conducive for either swimming or diving, but for those who come in the summer, some of the best places on earth to see sea life lie off the coast of Kota Kinabalu. This city and the surrounding country and seas are definitely worth visiting.
