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Kaamatan Harvest Festival in Sabah

Kaamatan Harvest Festival in Sabah

Kaamatan-Harvest-Festival-Sabah Kaamatan Harvest Festival in Sabah

The Kaamatan Harvest Festival in Sabah is the biggest single holiday which is state wide and celebrated throughout North Borneo for a full month.

The end of May marks the final days of the festival where it will be held at the KDCA (Kadazandusun Cultural Association) or Hongkod Koisaan center in Penampang.

Thousands of locals and tourist will head here for the closing ceremony and also the finals of the  very unique and special Unduk Ngadau Harvest Beauty Queen Contest.

Kaamatan Harvest Festival in Sabah

At the KDCA grounds, there will be an exciting and totally different atmosphere where locals will be seen with song and dance while visit to the many ethnic homes offer guests a tasting of local foods and playing the traditional games here.

All sorts of stalls line a section of the grounds with demonstrations of agriculture and ethnic handcraft.

Souvenirs locally made are sold and abundance of food and drink stalls are readily available for the hungry.

For any visitors coming here, you are going to have a unique experience for the Kaamatan Festival here which is on the 30th and 31st of May every year. 

kdca-sabah-entrance Kaamatan Harvest Festival in Sabah
KDCA in Penampang, Sabah

While the KDCA is located about 15-20 minutes from Kota Kinabalu town, this will be the main area where everything will be happening over the last two days of May.

Many of the ethnic cultures from around Sabah will be here showcasing their traditions, food and culture.

There are a number of original ethnic houses located throughout the premises here and each are fully decorated by the individual tribe.

Performers in each home entertain visitors with song and dance while some offer the local food and rice wine called Tapai or Lihing.

bobohizan-priestess-sabah Kaamatan Harvest Festival in Sabah
Bobohizan priestess and her family

Kaamatan Bobohizan

The Kadazan Priestess called Bobohizan is one of the most important people of the Kaamatan Festival. She will determine the official harvest festival date and officiate it.

As this ceremony goes back hundreds of years, the involvement of a Bobolian is crucial to the ceremony here.

At the KDCA, you will have a chance to see the priestess in person while her direct descendants will be around here.

As the Bobohizan is a very respected and serious person, please do not approach her and ask her for a photograph.

bobohizan-ritual-items-sabah Kaamatan Harvest Festival in Sabah
Some of the ritual items used by the Bobohizan for the Kaamatan Festival
unduk-ngadau-dog-sabah Kaamatan Harvest Festival in Sabah
Even pets are dressed for the Kaamatan Festival
If you are planning on visiting the KDCA for the end of the Kaamatan Festival, I suggest you go early to witness this.

The many ‘Open Homes’ will be an interesting visit while overall, it could take up to half a day here or even a full day if you want to witness the Harvest Queen Finals inside the main building.

Overall, it is an experience to remember if you do visit this place. One of my highlights here was the stunning and intricate costumes of the various Borneo people.

Every home I visited showed me something different and unique. See for yourself in the pictures. Below, are pictures taken by me during the Kaamatan Festival in Sabah.

Kaamatan Festival Photos in Sabah

sabah-traditional-attire Kaamatan Harvest Festival in Sabah
A local ethnic lady in full traditional costume

cloth-weaving-sabah Kaamatan Harvest Festival in Sabah
Cloth weaving demonstration

fruit-cow-sabah-kdca Kaamatan Harvest Festival in Sabah
 A cow decorated with all sorts of local fruits

harvest-festival-sabah-kdca Kaamatan Harvest Festival in Sabah
A common scarecrow which are found in the fields on display here
 walai-tindal-sabah Kaamatan Harvest Festival in Sabah
Walai Tindal – A very small ethnic group from the Kota Belud district in Sabah

unduk-ngadau-traditional-crafts-sabah Kaamatan Harvest Festival in Sabah
 Display of local handicraft and tools used for harvesting

kaamatan-festival-kdca-sabah Kaamatan Harvest Festival in Sabah
A local headman in traditional costume

 

kdca-grounds-penampang Kaamatan Harvest Festival in Sabah
The main grounds at the KDCA. Games and contests are also held here.

sabahan-girl-traditional-costume Kaamatan Harvest Festival in Sabah
A dancer in interesting headgear

sabah-ethnic-girl-kaamatan Kaamatan Harvest Festival in Sabah
 An ethnic lady poses with a Tagung (gong)

 

sabah-traditional-headgear Kaamatan Harvest Festival in Sabah
 A traditional headgear on display. Very intricately done.

sabah-tribes-traditional-costumes Kaamatan Harvest Festival in Sabah
Couple in full traditional attire

tapai-drinking-kaamatan-sabah Kaamatan Harvest Festival in Sabah
Tasting the local Tapai or Lihing (Rice Wine)

tapai-kaamatan-sabah Kaamatan Harvest Festival in Sabah
People trying out the various brews of Tapai and Lihing
I have to say that attending last years Kaamatan 2010 was an eye opener for me in learning more about the Sabahan ethnic cultures.

As this is the biggest festival, it is also one of the best places to see the many different tribes in just one area.

I love the fact that they were all in full traditional costume while most of them had the local dance and also featuring some of the specialty dishes that the tribes cook.

Tapai and Lihing Drinking With Straws

While some showcase the local Rice Wine called Tapai and also a more potent brew called Lihing, many of the adults are seen moving around the homes testing the drinks out.

Long straws are inserted into jars where everyone takes a sip as they walk pass. Anyone is a friend and welcomed here, hence if you walk pass, the locals will invite you to have a go at the Tapai or Lihing.

Apparently the festival starts early in the mornings and end very late at night, and is a jovial event with old and new friends catching up.

I was told that the party gets to be very merry once the sun goes down. Children are seen having a merry time while adults are catching up with old friends in this merry occasion.

Competitions are also held  and by noon, most of the visitors will start to head into the main hall to see the harvest beauty pageant.

kaamatan-2010-finals-sabah Kaamatan Harvest Festival in Sabah
Traditional performances inside the main hall before the Unduk Ngadau Pageant

kaamatan-luky-draw-prize-sabah Kaamatan Harvest Festival in Sabah
Check out the grand prize! 

For more articles on Sabah, I have written over 50 articles on the Land Below the Wind.  This is because I have extensively traveled all over Sabah for work from 2007 until 2014. 
That make it a total of eight years of exploring Sabah and sharing my experiences through Malaysia Asia, and also my social media platforms. 

More information;
Organiser : Kadazandusun Cultural Association (KDCA)
Venue : Kadazandusun Cultural Association (KDCA), Penampang
Contact Person : Dr. Benedict Topin
Telephone : +60 88 713696
Fax : +60 88 713350
Email Contact : bovis@asia.com
Dates: 30th and 31st May 
Please Take Note: During the Kaamatan festival, the entire state of Sabah will be on national  Public Holiday.

That means on the 30th and 31st which is a Monday and Tuesday, it will be a very long holiday over there.

Almost everything will be closed so be prepared for this if you are visiting during this time of the year.

Conclusion

Finally, a note of thanks goes out to Sabah Tourism for making my trip possible. I spent a good two days here to fully experience what the festival is all about and learned a lot from these amazing people.

As for this year, I took a pass on visiting again so maybe next year, I will make another visit to catch the next Kaamatan Harvest Festival in Sabah, which takes place at the end of May. 

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vectorise

kotobian tadau tagazo do kaamatan.. 😉

comments user
Malaysia Asia

Vectorism – are you going for it?

comments user
May

Interesting

comments user
vectorise

david- haha nope.. been there last 2 week.. hope next year can enjoy the colorful of the festival 😉

comments user
jamie – cloud people adventures

love the photos of the locals in their national dress. i had no idea the get-up in borneo was so amazing!

comments user
robin

I certainly never entered a competition where the prize was a live buffalo. I doubt there's enough space in my apartment…

comments user
The Travel Chica

I love learning about traditional festivals around the world. They wear such bright and beautiful costumes.

comments user
gbeejipp

I went there this year and while it really was exciting, thump-downs on the lack of (open) toilets. Had to get on a long queue to get your business done. I hope the organizers will look into this as it really is such a turn-off esp on something that involves a lot of drinking and eating.

comments user
aviewtoathrill

I love the idea of experiencing so many different cultures in one place…sweet! Also, it goes to show you, that pets can be 'victimized' in every culture…lol. Poor thing!

comments user
jade

okay- that dog is the most adorable thing ever! love his costume!

comments user
The Dropout

This festival looks amazing. I hope we can catch it next year. We are so close to Malaysia … yet haven't had a chance to explore everything over the causeway.
I LOVE that dress-up dog. He KNOWS he looks good, doesn't he?

comments user
Malaysia Asia

Thanks May. If you have the chance, go next year.

Vectorism – Awesome! I wish I was there as I read it was a fun celebration too. I will go for Kaamatan 2012.

Jamie – If you have the chance one day, do visit Sabah Borneo, seeing the in real life is another experience all together.

Robin – LOL, yes, when I saw that, I was thinking where would I store a live buffalo!

comments user
Malaysia Asia

The Travel Chica – Bright is not only the fun thing here, it's the overall atmosphere of the festival. Hope you have a chance to witness this one day when you visit Borneo.

Jipp – Sorry to hear about that and I think the last time, I used the KDCA Hall toilets. But anyway, I hope the authorities improve on this for Kaamatan 2012

aviewtoathrill – Trust me, I had to stop and look again when I saw the cute little fella all dressed up for the festival.

Jade – Seriously, he WAS the main star there. Every year he's there too.

The Dropout – I hope you get the chance too. Where abouts are you now? If you're passing Kuala Lumpur, give me a shout. Lets have some coffee/beer.

About the Kaamatan Dog, I am sourcing around to see what it wore for this years festival and will post it here. If any locals have pictures of the cute dog, please email me and thanks.

comments user
Anonymous

I'm so proud as a Sabahan and Kadazan/Dusun…

comments user
Andy

Hi, will this event be organised again in 2012?

comments user
Malaysia Asia

Yes, this happens every year in the month of May. If you have the chance, visit Sabah during this time.

comments user
traveleray

Hey,
I am traveling solo to KL next month and hope to have a blast with co-travelers I connected with on http://www.mingletrips.com/
Its new, free and has really exciting and fun people!

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