Intercultural Communication

Centuries ago, there lived a lady called Kizabon, daughter of the Kuai Village’s headman and she was married to Dunggou. During her pregnancy she realized that a sacred Bugang bird had nested and laid eggs on their rooftop and for them, this was good omen and a sign that their newborn child would be blessed with extraordinary powers. The couple named their son Monsopiad and when kazibon gave birth, the eggs also hatched. Dunggou once again saw this immense twist of fate as a good premonition and sign that his son would undeniably be sanctified with exceptional supremacies. It became a norm that whenever Monsopiad took his bath, Dunggou would also acquire special care in seeing that the young birds would be taken down from their nest to bath with him. When done, he would soon after return them to the safety of their nest. Growing up in the Kuai village where his maternal grandfather held the pose of a headman, Monsopiad matured into a very handsome young man over and above a promising warrior possessing the talent of being able to be a natural fighter that handled every weapon with simplicity. Balinini pirates from the land of Marudu frequently came down to plunder and ransack his village, Monsopiad swore on his life that he would hunt and kill the pirates and bring back their heads as trophies.

Below , is an article taken fromhttp://www.flyingdusun.com/004_Features/010_Kaamatan01.htm explaining the origin of Unduk Ngadau. The site was given to me by and very culturally bound family friend of mine from Penampang, that suggested that the site explains clearly the meaning many ancestors try to convey

There are a number of stories trying to explain why there should be an Unduk Ngadau Beauty Contest during the Harvest Festival, and one goes as follows:

It happened once, so the lore, during one of the Ka’amatan Festivals that questions from the younger minds arose as to how Bambaazon or Huminodun looked like. So the Kadazandusun Bobohizans and elders sat together and made a selection from among the most beautiful, modest and humblest of the young ladies around to provide a resemblance of Bambaazon and described her as the "Unduk Ngadau".

This was how the "Unduk Ngadau" or Ka’amatan Festival Beauty Queen Selection came into being as one of the highlights of the Ka’amatan Festival today.
In every Ka’amatan Festival the "Unduk Ngadau Contest" normally assumes the highlight of the day's occasion. More than being a highlight, to the Kadazandusun the Unduk Ngadau is the culmination of all the activities undertaken, and a symbolic response to Kinoingan's ever-abounding love for his people.
Unduk Ngadau owes its origin to that part of the Kadazan Genesis that pertains to the sacrifice of Huminodun, Kinoingan's only daughter. One of the many variant legends relates the following (for a different legend click here):

One day, Kinoingan started a farm, but after ploughing he realised that he had no seeds to plant. So he set off in search of some seeds with his valuable brass gong which he carried everywhere on his shoulder. On his way, he met birds and animals, and asked them if they had any seeds, to which they replied that they did not have any yet, having just been created by him. Even though Kinoingan knew that they had none, he nevertheless purposely asked this question to make them all realise that they would have to work hard for their livelihood.Because there were no seeds in the world then, Kinoingan in the end resourced to sacrificing his only, beautiful and obedient daughter so that all his people would have seeds to grow food they needed. Her head gave rise to coconuts, her flesh became rice padi, her blood (the most precious part) red rice, her fingers ginger, her teeth maize, her knees yams and other parts of her body many more edible plants.

When the padi began to ripen, Kinoingan's wife, Suminundu was requested to first pick a little of it, thresh it, fry it, mix it with coconut flesh and its water and share it with her people and pets. Later, when the harvest came and Suminundu cut the stems of the padi with her sickle the voice of her daughter was suddenly heard requesting her to be careful.

When the time came for Kinoingan and his wife Suminundu to ascend to the heavens Kinoingan informed his wife that they had yet to perform some ceremonies, including a great feast for all the people he had created. For it was the request of Huminodun that it be done to "bestow their love and respect to her for the inheritance of the people of this world". But first he wrote down the customs of each country to guide the people. For those who could not read, he taught priestesses prayers for festive days and for curing sicknesses.

But when the time for the feast came, Kinoingan was not happy. He felt a deep paternal longing for Huminodun and thought that she would surely be leading the feast if she were to be alive. Sadly, he played a tune with his bamboo flute and called his daughter's name.

Miraculously, Huminodun came out of a big jar that was used to hold the remains of the threshed padi. Her return to life added untold joy to the festivities. When the feast was over, Kinoingan, his wife and his daughter disappeared in the heavens, bidding farewell to their guests.

To this day the elderly Kadazandusun believe that when harvesting, such customary practices should be observed, otherwise padi stubble might cut them during the harvest, and they would get sores when consuming rice. Underlying this practice is a universal morality of not taking for granted the abundance of food, and not to waste anything edible.

  

As stories of old, the Kadazan Dusun have many tales and legends to its authenticity. Although thought by many as a made up word by the political derivative around the late 1950's, the people itself was in legend thought to be originated from a village or settlement called Nunuk Ragang. Located along the Ranau-Sandakan highway and about an hour drive from Ranau, this original settlement was thought to be the place where the civilization of the Kadazan Dusun took birth. Derived from two Dusun words - Nunuk and Aragang -  Nunuk Ragang is the collaboration of the two meaning of those words. Nunuk which is the local name for the fig tree or banyan, and Aragang means red. For them, why Nunuk is so special is because - it is said that the giant fig tree in their original village had provided them of all the essential needs that one can ask for which is food and shelter. In the past, this was critical for the survival of the community and with luscious growth of the Nunuk tree, the people who seek shelter there revered the tree as their savior. As for Ragang, in past- the villagers there would climb up the tree and bask in the warm morning sun. From afar, this gave the tree a reddish color. It was also said that the latex of the tree flowed into the river giving the river a reddish color. It was also said that the latex of the tree flowed into the river giving the river a reddish color. For whatever the reason, this made it known as the Red Fig Tree or Nunuk Ragang which one of the most famous attraction if you ever visit Sabah.