Rituals of Kaamatan
Written by Faith Richard | Edited by Shireen Ali | Published for the Komuhakan Movement
Tadau Kaamatan paints the tale of the annual harvest festival, the sacred tradition to honour the bond between Kinoingan (the Creator) and His creations, the people. The word ‘Kaamatan’ derives from the Kadazandusun root word, meaning ‘to harvest.’ The history of Kaamatan stems from the Kadazan lore of Huminodun, the beautiful and wise daughter of Kinoingan and Suminundu (Shafia et. al, 2016).
According to legend, the once peaceful days had come to an end when Ponompulan- the son of Kinoingan- destroyed the human mind, causing the harmonious relationship between Kinoingan and the humans to shatter. As punishment, Kinoingan banished Ponompulan to hell and brought catastrophe to the earth. The seventh (and final) plague afflicted upon the mortals was a severe drought, leading to hunger and famine.
Huminodun, seeing the suffering of the people, sacrificed herself by transforming her body into food: her flesh produced rice, her head turned into coconuts, her bones into tapioca, her fingers into ginger, her teeth into corn, her knees into yams, while other parts morphed into various edible plants. Through Huminodun’s great act of selflessness, the people enjoy abundant harvests (Bin Justim Karim, 2004) and the Spirit of Huminodun (Bambaazon) is believed to protect and preserve the paddy from natural damage, such as pests and floods (as cited in FlyingDusun).
Thus, to honour Huminodun and pay respect to Bambaazon, the Kadazan people celebrate Kaamatan every year to ensure prosperity and rich harvests in the upcoming seasons.
There are six main rituals involved in the festival to demonstrate gratitude to Bambaazon, though observance of the number and nature of such rituals differ by region. For instance, the Dusun people of Lotud have eight ritual stages- Mansalud, Monuras, Tumakau, Matang, Mongoi Rumali, Mogimpuun, Sumondod and Monumbui- all encapsulating similar contexts of giving thanks (as cited from the Sabah Museum).
Origin of the Kaamatan Rituals
The Kadazan tribe is known to be an agricultural society: cultivating paddy and other produce forms part of everyday routine. Dependency on staple crops as sources of food influenced the natives to believe in the existence of a rice (or paddy) spirit.
Rituals observed during Kaamatan are thought to re-enact the myth of pampang, the ‘primaeval stone from which the Creator and his wife emerged before they created the world.’ (Hussin et. al, 2018). A fundamental belief brought down through the bobohizan- the female shaman- strong adherence to pampang inspired ancestors to create traditions revolving around rice farming. Today, such customs have become markers of the Kadazandusun ethnic identity.
The four basic institutions tasked with safeguarding the values and beliefs of the Kadazan people are the Village Head (Huguan Pogun), the village consul (sinompu’uvan komohoingan), religious advisors (sinompu’uvan bobohizan) and warriors (sinompu’uvan pangazou).
As imbalance between the human world and spiritual domain is thought to spur up illness, rites observed as part of Kadazan culture are aimed at bridging and balancing the two realms. In this context, the Bobohizan plays an integral role in shaping and maintaining such balance in various aspects of life: for example, during rice planting rituals or casual home and family living. Certain taboos are also obeyed to prevent undesirable incidents.
Meanings of Rituals
As mentioned earlier, conserving balance between the humans and spirits represents one of the most crucial components of Kadazan society, lest the people endure disease and tragedy.
The relationship between Bambaazon and other spirits must be good, or ‘cold’ (osogit) and not ‘hot’ (ahasu). Several entities are involved in rice-planting to properly honour Bambaazon, one of the most prominent being the housekeeper spirit named Miontong. Rituals performed in lieu of Bambaazon are to ensure fruitful harvests as well as avoid unwanted trouble (as stated previously).
Monogit rituals are conducted during the rice-planting season, usually only once every two to three years or whenever adversity befalls the community. Monogit, guided by the leader of the female shamans known as the bohungkitas, is performed over four days and three nights to request peace and good fortune.
As part of the ritual, the sumazau dance takes place, accompanied by the beating of the gandang (drums) to music played on the sompogogungan (a musical instrument comprising six gongs). During the ceremony, the bobohizan recites the inait to rid any human spirits of malevolent entities.
Pamanta, a dish presented as an offering alongside the worship, is prepared step by step with the sequential pattern as follows: pason (order/call), matang (waking the spirit), tumingak (raising the spirit), savak (calling the spirit who left), mihung (calling the spirit to come near), sumonson (invitation to enjoy the dish), hoputan (sending back the spirit) and monoinig (grouping the remaining spirits).
During the stage outlined above, the bobohizan performing the sumazau would seem to be in a trance or possessed (nosuang) by the miontong as her movements become more frantic. Monogit is regarded to combine elements of traditional Kadazan health rituals local to Penampang as well as the performing arts (Hussin, 2008).
Rinait Bobohizan
Rinait or rinaits are known as ritual verses memorised and intoned by the bobolian to evoke and activate the spiritual powers of the komburongo, which come in various forms (such as the plant, the spirit, or ritual helper.) In Dusun culture, the komburongo was created by Kinoingan (the Creator) to help the bobolian successfully communicate with spiritual beings during ritual ceremonies. Interestingly, according to Kunsowoi- one of the most skilled bobolians in Kadamaian village- all rites were originally learnt from Sagatapon, which is the name of a fish.
Photograph by Low Kok On in 2014 (as cited in On & Ishak, 2018).
There are two differing views on the komburongo. Following the first, the komburongo is merely an ordinary plant vitalised with spiritual healing powers after performance of the rinait. In the second interpretation, the komburongo itself is a sacred plant naturally embedded with such spiritual potency. As mentioned by Evans (1953), inviting the komburongo spirits to aid the ritual specialist preceded the central rites of many ceremonies of the Dusunic people.
Former or retired bobolians are not allowed to recite the rinaits as such incantation had to be done under specific conditions only during the course of ritual ceremony. Notably, all three elements- the rinaits, komborungo and the bobolian- must work together to ensure the success of the rite. Invocation of the rinaits by someone other than the bobolian or without the presence of komburongo would render the rite ineffective. A few examples of rinaits are ‘Supik ku Komburongo’ translated as ‘I with the Komburongo spirits’ as well as ‘Buruk ku rinokian’ translated as ‘I scatter rice for the males.’ (On and Ishak, 2018).
Conclusion
Native legends have impacted the Kadazan community in all aspects of thinking, culture, and nature by establishing traditional rites and customs to both respect and appease the spirits dwelling around us. Passed down from our forefathers generations ago, these practices illustrate the ingrained Kadazan faith in preserving connections between humans and spirits; between the seen and unseen; between the believer and the belief.
Original article: https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vQwYJSfHbkQVxRGxi0rzT7-ImPe3iV7WCJLw8DU-81QVedKoB37FdVpsqBRmXlncPOzNyCARL-Ole9W/pub
References
- Bin Justin Karim, J. (2004). Kehidupan Kepercayaan Tradisional Masyarakat Kadazan Dusun Di Daerah Ranau Sabah Malaysia. Doctoral dissertation, UNIMED.
- E-Borneo. ‘The Rituals of Tadau Kaamatan (Harvest Festival), by the Sabah Museum.’ Available at: [http://www.e-borneo.com/insideborneo/leisure0205.shtml]
- Evans, I.H.N. (1953). The Religion of the Tempasuk Dusuns of North Borneo. London: Cambridge University Press.
- Flying Dusun. ‘Huminodun: The Mystical Origin of the Kadazandusun People.’ Available at: [https://www.flyingdusun.com/004_Features/010_Kaamatan02.htm]
- Hussin, H. (2008). Performing rice farming rituals by Penampang Kadazan of East Malaysia: Between sacred ritual and secular performance. Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, Vol. 13, p. 173–190. Available at: [https://jati.um.edu.my/article/view/6208]
- Hussin, H., Baptist, J.J. and Pugh-Kitingan, J. (2018). ‘Enriching the soundscape and dancescape of Sabah through Sumazau.’ Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, Vol. 23, №2, pp.181–204. Available at: [https://jice.um.edu.my/index.php/jati/article/view/15318]
- On, L. K., & Ishak, S. (2018). ‘The Spiritual Significance Of Komburongo In The Folk Beliefs Of The Dusunic Peoples Of North Borneo.’ Folklore, Vol. 71, pp. 179–206. Available at: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/The-Spiritual-Significance-of-Komburongo-in-the-of-On-Ishak/1434c505e3c45864edc8878df830eed1e51251b6]
- Shafiia, A. H., Ishakb, S., Hassanc, H., Ghouse, M., & Beguma, M. (2016). ‘Babalian and Community Rituals of Dusun Tatana Ethnic in Sabah, Malaysia: A Preliminary Study.’ The European Proceedings of Social and Behavioural Sciences. Available at: [https://www.europeanproceedings.com/files/data/article/44/1044/article_44_1044_pdf_100.pdf]
Photo references
- Header image: Paddy Plant Wallpaper, n.d. photograph, viewed 7 September 2020. <https://www.10wallpaper.com/view/Summer_growing_rice_plant_HD_photography_closeup.html>
- Figure 1: On, L. K., & Ishak, S. (2018). ‘The Spiritual Significance Of Komburongo In The Folk Beliefs Of The Dusunic Peoples Of North Borneo.’ Folklore, Vol. 71, pp. 179–206. Available at: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/The-Spiritual-Significance-of-Komburongo-in-the-of-On-Ishak/1434c505e3c45864edc8878df830eed1e51251b6]
