Preserving traditions - a family venture

AST: Sabah is about to launch two more tours: the Peoples of Sabah and the Arts & Crafts Tour. It's always a lot of fun researching these, partly because of the wonderful people you meet and partly because of what you learn - and there is so much to learn here in Sabah!

I had been talking to someone about the possibility of having a mock traditional wedding as part of the Peoples Tour and she rang me to suggest that we visit Linangkit Cultural Village. This is an exciting new family-run project and it was fascinating to see what a professional, quality project it is. We really enjoyed meeting the friendly people there who are committed to preserving their culture and traditions - tourism being one way of doing this - as well as using this project as a way of motivating young people to value their heritage.

Most of the photos that I am using here have been kindly provided by Linangkit Cultural Village and were taken by Ceaser Jilan and Elvin Jilan, sons of the Managing Director, Alice Tee Jilan. Others were taken by me.

Linangkit Cultural Village is in a kampong (village) near Tuaran, about 30 minutes north of Kota Kinabalu. The ethnic group is Lotud, a branch of the Kadazandusun, but with a strong sense of their own uniqueness.

As I said above, what we found at Linangkit was a family who are passionate about their cultural traditions and heritage and willing to put their funds together to create this village. They are recording their culture in photos and videos and will use this material in the museum that is currently being built. So, for example, they are keeping photographic notes of all the rituals performed by their customary priestesses, from the preparations to the ceremonies themselves.
There is a concerted and conscious effort at Linangkit Cultural Village to not only preserve the culture and traditions of the Lotud, but also to pass them on to the next generation. So the children were practising playing the traditional instruments when we were there and they practise regularly! It was great to see them playing the gongs and drums.

The name 'Linangkit' comes from the traditional knotted embroidery the Lotud do - as well as other groups in Sabah, such as the Rungus. It joins together the black sarong (skirt) that is part of the women's traditional costume. The piece being held here took Julita one and a half years to complete - working every day! When it was 3 and a half metres long, it went into the Malaysian Book of Records and she is working towards making it 20 metres long so that they can attempt to get it into the Guiness Book of Records.

And as for being able to include a mock traditional wedding in our Peoples tour, the answer is yes, we can! With a minimum number of 9 people in a group. Hmmm, I have local friends who would be interested in joining us as well...

If you have any comments, please email me at: jude@astsabah.com. And if you have any questions about Sabah or travelling here, I would love to hear from you!

Truly weird and wonderful!

September was a fantastic month for me as I accompanied two photographers around Sabah. It gave me the chance to go back to so many of the places I really love - Sabah Agriculture Park in Tenom and Mt Kinabalu National Park, for example - as well as go to new places that are also really wonderful. These were mainly on the east coast of Sabah in Sandakan, on the Kinabatangan River and in Danum Valley (near Lahad Datu).

What I discovered was that there are some really weird plants out there - things that I have never seen in any books about Sabah! Well, a couple of them are.

Have a look at this flower:

It is in the books and it's called Amorphophallus paeoniifolius. Even its name is more than a mouthful! It stands about 30-40 cm high and just grows out of the ground with nothing else around it - reminiscent of rafflesia. It has a lovely colour and the large bit that sticks up is just like a semi-deflated (or semi-inflated) balloon. (Depends whether you're a half-empty or half-full person, I guess...) What a creation it is! It is supposed to have a strong, bad smell, but there didn't seem to be one when I was there. And this is another similarity it has with rafflesia.

And here's a close-up of a rafflesia. See the two flies? They are attracted by the rotten smell - but, again, I couldn't smell anything. Rafflesia have no roots, stems or leaves and the buds take 6-9 months to mature. They're quite difficult to find, so I've been lucky over the past couple of months to come across flowers in the Poring area.

The rafflesia have been studied in depth and you can buy books about them - but not the next two flowers! I've never seen anything like them. If you know what they are, please let me know!

This first one looks to me like something out of a science fiction movie - where they removed someone's brain and then attached it to something else to keep it alive (and I don't even like science fiction!). What do you think? It grows on a vine and is quite firm and papery to touch. Interesting colour - but look at the vein-like bits! As if you're looking at someone's very pale skin. Weird!

Then there's this next one. Attractive shape - like some regal, floating bird. But what is it? Please let me know if you have any idea. The elongated spoon-bill shape is appealing to me and so is the colour - but it's really strange! Again, it grows on a vine.

If you know anything at all about these fabulous plants, please let me know. You can email me at: jude@astsabah.com. And if you have any questions about Sabah or about our tours, please get in touch - I'd love to hear from you.

Oaths, stones and black cockerels

In August, we were invited to a celebration to end a seminar about the rights of indigenous people. There is great concern about this in Sabah, as elsewhere in the world, and the hope that improvements will be made at the government level since the UN has provided a baseline with its Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, adopted in September, 2007.

And what a sight the ceremony was that opened this day of celebration!

The priestesses (or Bobohizan) were there with their large, swaying headdresses, looking regal and focussed. The priest who led the ceremony seemed dignified, other-worldly and sensitive. His assistant, who kept a close watch on him, was more relaxed and grounded, somehow. Mind you, he was in charge of the rooster, holding it gently in his arms!

The ritual began with the priest muttering a long prayer at the peace rock which was planted in 1995 at the first celebration of Indigenous Peoples’ Day. He gave thanks for the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People and renewed the oath of those present to strive for peace. He spoke very quietly and everyone listened intently. There was no disturbance in this scene of black cloth, highlighted with gold and silver thread, coloured beads, twinkling buttons. The atmosphere was one of respect and timelessness.

After the prayer was finished, the priest and his assistant laid the rooster on the stone as a sacrifice. Its blood both cleansed the rock and reinforced the renewal of the oath to continue to strive for peace. The blood of the black cockerel spread thickly over the top of the rock. Later I was told that a bird used for this purpose cannot be eaten.


There are so many different thoughts that come to me at a ceremony like this. First of all, I feel that it’s a real privilege to be able to attend. Secondly, it’s wonderful to have this dynamic presence of tradition right here and now, being practised with such pride and dignity. Then come the concerns that I know are so real for the Kadazandusun about the future of the Bobohizan (female ritual specialists) that arise from the changes in people’s lives today - changes that impact on their attitude towards their own indigenous customs and practices. However, there is no doubt of the importance among the Kadazan people of maintaining their cultural knowledge and it is significant that there are individuals and organisations here in Sabah that are committed to doing that, such as the PACOS Trust. For more information about the Trust, have a look at their website (http://www.sabah.net.my/PACOS/ ).

If you have any questions or comments, or you would like to find out about our tours in Sabah, please contact me at jude@astsabah.com. I look forward to hearing from you.

Mt Kinabalu

On a Special Day, you can see Mt Kinabalu from all sorts of points around KK, even though it's a two-hour drive away. But that's why this is called 'Kota Kinabalu', City of Kinabalu. The stately mountain is there all the time, at the edge of our vision, deep in our hearts, occasionally revealing itself, only to be swiftly enveloped in clouds again. It really is wonderful to see it rising up in the distance, with its distinctive granite outline - which is captured, by the way, on the Sabah flag.

One of the best viewpoints - and only about 30 minutes from downtown KK - is on the Mengkabong Bridge. From here, the mountain seems to rise up out of the water and the mangroves and is in contrast to the tiny boats darting in and out along the river and the fish eagles soaring between patches of cloud.

There are some great spots to see the mountain when you're driving up to Kinabalu National Park as well. Like a lot of mountains, Kinabalu tends to be clear first thing in the morning and then to cover up from mid-morning on, so that you play a bit of a cat-and-mouse game trying to get a good picture. The clouds can come and go in a matter of seconds!

Once at Mt Kinabalu National Park, there are more photo ops, with the lush forest enhancing the implacable granite of the mountain top itself. The walks that are available in the park give you a great feeling of the richness of the forest and the amazing diversity of plants that grow here - including native orchids and pitcher plants.

If you stay up the mountain, you are sure to get some amazing views of it both in the evening and in the morning. Well, unless there's lots of rain and mist. The town just past the park entrance is called Kundasang, sometimes described as the market garden of KK. You will see black plastic-draped buildings as you reach the end of your drive to the national park and these have mushrooms growing in them - a thriving business. There are also lots of vegetable gardens and even some flower gardens, so you can buy really fresh veges at the Kundasang market. There is also a dairy farm here that provides fresh milk for KK.

But the real reason for me to go up onto Mt Kinabalu is the mountain itself - it's somehow formidable and also skittish, towering and yet not threatening, ever-present and yet so often hidden. I love it - and I love living in Kota Kinabalu and knowing that on Special Days I can see it. Today it was there, lightly covered in cloud and you could just see it as if through a veil. Lovely.

If you have any comments you would like to make or any questions about KK, Sabah or our tours, please just send me a note at: jude@astsabah.com.

Harvest Festival Month in Sabah!

May is when the whole of Sabah celebrates the Harvest Festival - the Tadau Kaamatan! There are celebrations involving dancing, singing and traditional games - as well as drinking rice wine (lihing).

The month kicks off with the Sabah Fest which has the theme of 'Harmony in Diversity' this year. And the grand concert which I attended at the beginning of the month really showed this. What a glittering display! The concert ended with more than 200 dancers gathered on stage. This is something that Sabah does very well. The traditional costumes were lovely - the dancers were young, energetic and enthusiastic - the music was an enticing mixture of gongs, drums, flutes and other local instruments - the atmosphere was delightful!

There were also some handicraft stalls set up where women were busy weaving cloth, hats and beads, as well as doing embroidery. I really love seeing these things - as well as having the opportunity to buy! The sarong in the picture is being held up by the woman who made it. The four points in the design are embroidered but the vertical join is actually done as series of tiny knots - a bit like tatting but done with a needle. Just beautiful! And the woman who made it (and sold it to me) was dressed beautifully as well. See what she had around her waist! She is from the indigenous group called the Rungus.

There is so much joy in the traditions here in Sabah - the dance, the customs, the handicrafts - and in the people themselves that events like the Pesta Kaamatan are really a lot of fun!

If you have any questions or comments, please send them to me at: jude@astsabah.com. I'd love to hear from you!

After launching the website!

Last week was certainly an interesting one as we launched the AST: Sabah website. Thanks to many of you for sending in such positive comments and helpful suggestions. Someone said that they had found a missing fullstop and capital letter but we probably weren't interested in things like that. Not at all! I'm still trying to find them. If you know where they are, please let me know at: jude@astsabah.com.

One comment / concern that came up was that there are no costings for the tours on the website. You can, of course, get a quote by sending me a note, asking for them and, believe me, our rates are competitive. But I know how you feel: what's the point of even considering taking a tour when you have no idea how much it is going to cost? We're talking about what to do about this - so stay posted!

These orchid photos were taken at the Sabah Agriculture Park in Tenom. It's a wonderful place and has (among lots and lots of other things) two orchid gardens: one for the hybrid orchids that we know so well - lots of large blooms on a stem, incredible colours - and the other for native orchids. These are very different and can be so tiny and delicate that you can hardly see them. It's much more difficult to photograph orchids than I thought it would be, though! Any tips gratefully received.
If you have any comments you would like to have posted, please send them to me: jude@astsabah.com.

And if you have any questions about Sabah, just ask me. Same address!

Welcome to the AST Community Blog!

Helen (on the left), Ron (or Griffin, as I call him) and I are delighted to be able to design tours for people like you. I'm Jude. You can find out a bit more about us on our website - http://www.astsabah.com/.

We all love Sabah and are committed to living here and sharing some of our wonderful experiences with you.

There is so much great stuff here. The day this photo of us was taken, for example, we had just had lunch at an Indian restaurant near the waterfront in Kota Kinabalu - or KK - that is well-known for its home-style cooking. It was delicious - and I'm sorry you can't see what we ate, but it wasn't easy getting a presentable picture of all three of us!

I plan to add bits and pieces to our blog to let you know some of what I've been up to for the last few months as I have been putting our first two tours together. It's been a time of meeting very interesting people, going to lovely places and finding out where KK people really like going to eat. Food is quite a passion here! One of the lovely places I have visited is the aviary at Lok Kawi Wildlife Park - where you can see some amazing birds. The egret in this picture is quite typical of KK - they migrate here from places like China and then some seem to stay on! I can understand why.

After you've visited Sabah, we'd love you to send us your comments and photos so that they can be put on the blog as well.

If you have any questions about KK or Sabah, please ask me at: Jude@astsabah.com