Nunuk Ragang: The Mythical Origin of the Kadazandusuns
Written by Velvette Rozelle | Edited by Faith Richard and Sonia Yashoda | Published for the Komuhakan Movement (@komuhakan )
In the same way as many other indigenous peoples do, on the island of Borneo, Kadazan folklore plays a significant role in Kadazan traditions, customs, and worldviews. One of their most popular folk tales is the myth of their origin. According to the mythology, all tribes are believed to have come from one common place called Nunuk Ragang. Nunuk Ragang’s folk legend tells about the Kadazandusun people’s origins and the story is still held dearly in the minds of (most) the indigenous Kadazandusun people today.
With regard to the concept of a long-standing Kadazan identity, Ongkili claims that until the fifth decade of the twentieth century, “there was no such thing of Kadazanness” — no sense of a shared identity among the numerous Kadazan contending for economic resources and self-defense; there were never expressions of either knowledge or awareness of a unifying Kadazandusun identity. The sense of belonging to a single broad ethnic group was inconceivable as long as tribes were hostile to each other.” Ironically, it became the basis for group identification used by those who identified as Kadazandusun.
Nunuk Ragang and Its Etymology
According to Kadazandusun legend, the Nunuk Ragang is the name of a small village in Tampias, Ranau where the Kadazandusun people are thought to have originated. The name Nunuk Ragang is derived from two Kadazandusun words; “nunuk” which refers to a type of banyan or fig tree and “ragang” which comes from “aragang” or “aagang,” which means red. This affinity to the colour red has been used to relate to one of the many theories that the Kadazandusun people are close relatives to the Bunun ethnic group in Taiwan (the Bununs were known as the “Red Head Tribe” during the Qing Dynasty) The two words together thus refer to a red-colored banyan tree. The term “tampias’’ on the other hand denotes “sprinkled” or “dispersed”.
In the context of the Kadazandusun Nunuk Ragang mythology, the phrase was used by the Kadazandusun ancestors to depict a scenario in which river brothers would perch themselves in huge numbers on the branches of the gigantic ficus tree to bask in the sun. When viewed from a distance, this would give the impression that the entire ficus tree top was reddish in colour. Another tale claimed that the roots of the nunuk tree produced a reddish latex or sap with medicinal values that could cure a variety of skin ailments. Many people found relief by bathing in the water around its roots and until this day, the latex of certain nunuk trees is still used to treat rashes and other minor skin irritations.
Location of Nunuk Ragang
As for the location of Nunuk Ragang, Kadamaian’s Gansiau (a Dusun informant) indicated that he once had a narrative from an old Kiau woman that the site was in the hills between Kiau (on the slopes of Mount Kinabalu) and Saiap. However, this statement about Nunuk Ragang’s position contradicts the general belief as Kaianggus, a male Kadamaian priest, claims to have heard a story that it was placed somewhere in Ranau (in the interior).
Another Tambatuon myth is that the original settlement was located near the place where the memorial was built in Tampias, where the paddies grow bountifully. At the site, and beneath a giant banyan tree is where it was founded. The site is situated in the intersection of the Kogibangan (left) and Kawananan (right) Liwogu (deep and calm) river that merged to form the deep river pool which then fed further into the greater and mightier Labuk river before emptying into the Labuk Bay. (Reid 1997:122; Topin 2008:86). Labuk Bay, just north of Sandakan, is where the Labuk River meets. However, over time, due to frequent changes in river courses and points of confluence, the exact location could only be approximated at 54 kilometres, of the Ranau-Telupid-Sandakan Highway.
When the first Kadazandusun people arrived from the Philippines probably more than 3,000 years ago, the Labuk River would have been teeming with wildlife including elephants, rhinoceros, tapirs, and orangutans all feasting on the fruit of the Nunuk Ragang figs trees that lined the river’s banks. Its numerous branches and huge thick foliage provided great protection for these animals. The giant banyan tree as told by Widu Tambunan measured six outstretched arms in circumference, allowing it to give shade to a longhouse sheltering 10 families in it (or seven joined Kadazandusun houses of approximately 10–12 by 20 feet).
Cultural Roots
In theory, in the early days of human civilization, a group of people moved south from mainland Asia and found their way to Sabah after enduring unforgiving weathers, floods, tempestuous seas, and predator-infested steamy rainforests. Benedict Topin (an anthropologist and the KDCA’s Head of Documentation, Research and Communication) who has conducted research on the Nunuk Ragang myth, wrote in a piece for the 2008 state-level Harvest Festival celebration souvenir programme that it was at the site of this tree that a group of Kadazandusun who had migrated from mainland Asia “founded a civilization,” and it was there where they “first communed to organize themselves to cultivate and harvest the land, the streams, and the forest, ordered and disciplined by their customary laws’’ (Editoron, 2012). In one of Mr. Topin’s interviews, he mentioned that Nunuk Ragang was the “first place where there was a confluence of cultures,” particularly in the form of interactions between the Kadazandusun and Chinese.
The Tale and Historical Beliefs of Nunuk Ragang
This particular legend has been told and retold numerous times. Each tribe has its version of the origin, but one thing they all have in common is that their forefathers came from Nunuk Ragang. According to one version of the legend, the early Kadazandusuns at Nunuk Ragang enjoyed carefree lives, relying on the abundance of food and other necessities provided by the richness of nature that surrounded them. This was when the community first encountered Chinese adventurers who had settled in the Kinabatangan and Labuk areas. The initial meeting with outsiders was then followed by the first marriage of a Kadazandusun chief’s daughter to one of the Chinese heroes, who was considered wealthy enough to marry her.
After a period, the population grew, making it more difficult to obtain food from neighbouring sources. The river’s banks have also deteriorated significantly. As a result, residents of Nunuk Ragang began to bend lower and lower into the river pool until the Chief ordered them to depart on expeditions in search of suitable new settlements. They travelled west to Ranau and Tambunan, then east to the plains of Penampang, and finally east to Labuk and beyond, where the Kadazandusuns are found to this day. That was basically how the Kadazandusuns propagated.
Rivers and their tributaries were the primary navigational aids, and wherever a suitable location could be found, a longhouse was constructed to provide unity and power against the wilderness and other local settlers. As they spread ever further west, the Kadazandusuns met the Bruneis and other West Coast inhabitants. The Kadazandusuns obtained gongs, copper and silver girdles, necklaces, and bangles through barter trading with the Bruneis. When territorial disputes arose, it often ended in tribal warfare, whereby the warriors used “Gayangs” (long headhunting swords) and blowpipes loaded with poisoned darts. When groups banded together to form larger groups, headhunting became even worse.
When the Nunuk Ragang tree was cut down, it marked the beginning of the migration process of the Kadazandusun tribes from the final Nunuk Ragang. The Liwogu tribe, according to some oral stories, is the Kadazandusun tribe that cut down the Nunuk Ragang tree. Thus, the civilization that began in 661 AD gradually collapsed (due to the population’s follies and undisciplined acts) and came to an end around 1780 AD, when the tree was chopped down, and the last Kadazandusuns subsequently relocated to areas of Sabah. This dispersal, according to Topin, “formed the basis of Kadazandusun multi-ethnicity and multi-culturalism” (2008:86–87).
Religious and Cultural Life
The belief system and culture of the Kadazandusuns first began at the Nunuk Ragang settlement. The ancient Kadazandusuns had no word for “religion,” and it was just a sort of relationship between the seen and the unseen to them. Some people would equate this to Animism. This belief system is centred on their livelihood and rituals to maintain balance, order, and harmony between themselves and their environment, which in turn provides conditions for bountiful cultivation and harvests, as well as the race’s continuing existence.
At the settlement also began Momolianism, a philosophical system that, when coupled with the belief system, guided the Kadazandusun people’s lives till the current day. Nature and nurture created the foundation for the creation and expansion of the Kadazandusun religious system and cultural heritage, which was surrounded by thick primary forests filled with species.
There used to be a Kadazandusun fairy, also known as “Tompuvan’’ in the Tangaah dialect, who was a cursed outcast due to jealousy and hatred towards “her”. Using the power of the occult, the vengeful witch cursed the unfortunate lovely person and turned “her” into a “stray”, a zombie-like person who is awful by day, but gorgeous by night. She is forced to wander in the jungles or woodlands, living in or under the canopy of the banyan tree. She is frequently depicted wearing a long black or white gown and having long hair down to her waist. The Kadazandusuns believed that Tompuvan was not malevolent and that this curse could be lifted one day, allowing her to return to her original self.
Economic Activities (Food Production)
According to oral traditions passed down from elders, the Nunuk Ragang were practising vegeculture. Vegeculture is the cultivation and propagation of plants by utilising the suckers of plants or root crops — for instance yam, sweet potato, and cassava, eliminating the need for seeds and long-term storage, allowing for rapid migrations. Bamboo and Rattan were the primary materials used for home construction and storage. To start a fire, the settlers used dried cottony bark scraped from the Polod palm tree. Metal for dangol (short machete) and pais (carving knives) was obtained through barter trading with coastal peoples.
Nunuk Ragang settlers also became hunter-gatherers and trappers in order to adapt to their surroundings. Salt, a key food enhancer and preservative, was only intermittently available from the far coastal region, prompting the Nunuk Ragang settlers to search out for sosopon (natural salt lick) frequented by wild animals. Due to the persistent shortage of salt, two major ways for meat and fish preservation emerged: memangi and manalau. Memangi produces pinongian or bosou (fish meat preserved using the fleshy kernels of Pangium Edule tree seeds), and manalau, smoked meat known as sinalau.
Leadership and Social Hierarchy
The Huguan Siou leadership, a unique position to defend the culture, rights, identity and dignity of the Kadazandusun, was non-existent at Nunuk Ragang. In fact, this leadership position, which had its roots at Guunsing, Penampang was only institutionalised after the formation of the Federation of Malaysia in 1963.
Although the Nunuk Ragang was mainly a more egalitarian society, they were led by warriors who were instructed by the words of Bobolians (Bunduliwan Dusun term) or Bobohizans (Tangaa’ Kadazan term), as revealed by divine revelation from spirits at times of struggle or crisis. These Bobolians or Bobohizans were predominantly female priestesses. After some time had passed since the inhabitants had left the location, only then the governance of the villages and villagers evolved, and four institutions were formed: one of these was the Huguan Siou system. His role in the society was to protect the community and villages. He was nearest to a kinship system.
There used to be some confusion over the terms Penghulu and Huguan Siou. According to reports, a Federal Minister stated that these two terms are synonymous, meaning that they both refer to the head or chief of a village. This is obviously an error as four institutions have arisen under the Kadazandusun system of hierarchical village governance namely the Orang Tua institution (village chief), the village elders, the Bobohizan group, and the Huguan Siou. These institutions were equally important: the Orang Tua was chosen as head of the village because of his extensive grasp of Adat, the universal laws of the community. It was the Orang Tua who interpreted whether these Adat have been flouted or abused. Meanwhile, Bobohizans were there to assist in the reconciliation of the spirit world, who might have been enraged by the flouting of Adat. Women thus play an important role in the early Nunuk Ragang society.
The Significance and Honouring of Nunuk Ragang
The rich history and origin of Nunuk Ragang is commemorated every year since 1996 by the leaders running the Kadazandusun Cultural Association (KDCA) so that the communities would remember where they came from and why they belonged to the same stock of people. In 2004, the quasi-government organisation had set up a monument shaped like the base of a giant banyan tree near Tampias which has since become an auspicious location that is attracting many pilgrimages and tourists. The first Sunday in July was then designated as Nunuk Ragang Day. For decades now, KDCA has been reemphasizing the legend and traditional theology surrounding the concept that the Kadazandusun people originated from Nunuk Ragang to construct a coherent legend and quasi-history of the people. (Abdullah, 1970)
Today, the association still actively conducts annual pilgrimages to the location, which coincide with the inauguration of its paramount chief, the Huguan Siou. Not only the association, but the Kadazandusun people will also pay Nunuk Ragang a visit in honour of their ancestors and beginnings, as legend has it that their people’s civilizations originated here. The remembrance is often referred to as the Moginakan Festival; the annual Reunion Festival of the Kadazandusun community. The public’s presence is crucial not just to allow them to witness the events being commemorated, but also to foster unity among the people (from all walks of life and not limited to only the Kadazandusuns).
In Essence
A story, a place, a site traditionally considered as the location of the original home of the ancestors of the Kadazandusun natives who inhabit most of northern Borneo — that is, the Nunuk Ragang. However, some may disagree with the belief because no research or concrete evidence has risen to support these claims. Even now, there are still ongoing discussions or questions raised on whether the Kadazandusun people truly descended from Nunuk Ragang, as is accepted belief by most local leaders, especially those in the KDCA which is led by Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan as the president and Huguan Siou.
The possibility of pinpointing the actual origin of the Kadazandusun from before the Nunuk Ragang settlement was further enlightened during the official visit of Taiwan’s Minister of Council of Indigenous People’s (CIP), Icayang Parod in early June 2017. Masidi Manjun, the former Minister of Tourism, Culture, and Environment in Sabah also referred to the many similarities between the indigenous people of Taiwan and the Kadazandusun, notably in terms of tradition, culture, ethnic languages, and dialect.
Anyhow, such similarities may not be a big deal and are still plausible after all. Throughout the millennium, the Kadazandusun’s ancestors could have migrated to Borneo from Taiwan and vice versa, or the Kadazandusuns could just be descendants of a tribe that migrated from the Philippines to Borneo and Taiwan; who knows? Nonetheless, the Nunuk Ragang civilization is still the main reference point for the current generation of Kadazandusun in their attempt to demystify their historical origins, identities, and fate as a multi-ethnic community.
Original article: https://docs.google.com/document/d/163M0svd8KJfvT64MABDknRN7JNklbbFb06kkOzRuok0/edit
References
Abdullah, M. K. bin. (1970, January 1). The Kadazandusuns Origin Retrieved from http://malaysiansmustknowthetruth.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-kadazandusuns-didnt-originate-from.html.
Annual KDM Fest in RANAU: Daily EXPRESS online — Sabah’s leading news portal. Home. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news/139448/annual-kdm-fest-in-ranau/
Connelly, F. M. and Clandinin, J. (1990). Stories of experience and narrative inquiry. Educational Researcher. Vol. 19 (5), 2–14.
Editoron. (2012, July 8). Nunuk Ragang day to commemorate past and present. Borneo Post Online. Retrieved from https://www.theborneopost.com/2012/07/08/nunuk-ragang-day-to-commemorate-past-and-present-huguan-siou/.
Encyclopedia.com. “Worldmark Encyclopedia of cultures and daily life. Retrieved from https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/kadazan.
Fee, Lee Yok and Low Kok On. (2012). Investigating the Relationship between Kadazandusun Beliefs about Paddy Spirits, Riddling in Harvest time and Paddy-related Sundait. UKM: Southeast Asia Journal of General Studies.
Flora of borneo. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.etawau.com/Flora/IndexFlora.htm.
HUMINODUN the divine human Mystery: Kopisunduan Series. Retrieved from https://steemit.com/culture/@madeve/kopisunduan-huminodun-the-divine-human-mystery-serie
Killjols. (2011, December 12). Kadazan people. Kadazan People. Retrieved from https://killjols.blogspot.com/2011/12/kadazan-people.html.
Kitingan, J.G. and Ongkili, M.J.(eds.) 1989, Sabah: 25 Years Later 1963–1988, Kota Kinabalu: IDS.
Losttraveller. (2009, June 24). Nunuk Ragang. Lost Borneo. Retrieved from https://lostborneo.wordpress.com/2008/11/21/nunuk-ragang/.
Nunuk Ragang legend and Huguan Siou: Daily Express online — Sabah’s leading news portal. Home. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/read.cfm?NewsID=952.
Puyok, A. (2008, January 29). Kadazandusun progress: What needs to be done? Malaysiakini. Retrieved, from https://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/31862.
Reid, A. (1997) Endangered Identity: Kadazan or Dusun in Sabah (East Malaysia) Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 28(1) 120–136.s-02.
Reid, A. (2010). Imperial Alchemy: Nationalism and political identity in Southeast Asia. Cambridge University Press.
Simok, M., Marcel Simok View all posts, posts, V. all, Admin, & Tan, T. (2010, April 18). Nunuk Ragang: THE KADAZANDUSUN ORIGIN. Citizens Journal Malaysia. Retrieved from https://cj.my/5885/nunuk-ragang-the-kadazandusun-origin/.
Superuser. (2015, December 19). Sabah, Taiwan indigenous peoples have similarities. Borneo Post Online. Retrieved from https://www.theborneopost.com/2015/12/20/sabah-taiwan-indigenous-peoples-have-similarities/.
The mystical origin of the kadazandusun — huminodun. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.flyingdusun.com/004_Features/010_Kaamatan03.htm.
Uluulublog (2019, May 12). Ficus racemosa, Kinabatangan river, Sabah. THE FIGS OF BORNEO. Retrieved from https://borneoficus.info/2017/02/06/ficus-racemosa-kinabatangan-river/.
Wikimedia Foundation. (2021, March 4). Kadazan people. Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kadazan_people.
Wikimedia Foundation. (2021, May 20). Nunuk Ragang. Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nunuk_Ragang.
Wikimedia Foundation. (2021, September 7). Icyang Parod. Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icyang_Parod.
