The public holidays on 30th and 31st May celebrates the Kadazan-Dusun Harvest Festival Kaamatan. Kadazan-Dusun is a general term denoting the majority of various ethnic tribes in Sabah. The Ibans in Sarawak have their festival on the 1st and 2nd June called Gawai Dayak.
For those of us in Kota Kinabalu, the easiest venue to visit is the Kadazan Dusun Cultural Association site in Penampang. The program for the first day, today, included the official opening ceremony (of course with all the usual speeches from the dignitaries), the obligatory sumazau by the dignitaries (and the foreign guests who could be persuaded to participate), the performance by the Bamboo Band, the special appearance by the Miss Harvest Festival 2010 (Unduk Ngadau) contestants, songs and dances contests and other activities. Tomorrow will mainly be occupied by the finals of the Unduk Ngadau contest.
The front of the KDCA Building had a straw couple (scarecrows?).
If you turn left, you see the "commercialised" sponsors tents!
Inside the hall, the program continued.
Some local lasses in their traditional wear.
The Bamboo Band from Keningau playing traditional kadazan songs. All their musical instruments were made of bamboo, even the saxophone.
Then the appearance of the Miss Harvest Festival 2010 (Unduk Ngadau) contestants.
Miss Sandakan! Taken at full zoom 28x, handheld, 1/60th sec, and ISO 800. The Image stabilisation helped, but also breathing out slowly when pressing the shutter. I forgot to bring the tripod!
The full list of the contestants, courtesy of the Digi (Malaysian Celco) poster.
I didn't know there was a contestant - Miss Tanjung Aru! She's Ms Crystal Eve Huminodun William Majimbon. I am from Tanjung Aru.
Miss Kota Kinabalu was Ms Lydia John Alai. The poster was taken with RAW setting, which allowed 3016 x 4018 pixels; so the enlargement crop of the individual photos were possible.
If you want to find out who wins, then be there tomorrow morning (finals starts at 11am).
Actually, there were much more interesting things outside! Here is a family (?) getting ready to perform, perhaps in the traditional singing or dancing contest.
The boy was holding a "traditional" electric guitar!
A traditional house (Papar).
A traditional Murut house. But the contraption made of horizontal logs underneath the house told me there was something different with this house.
There was a platform inside the house which "bounces" up and down. The platforms rested on top of the horizontal logs, which flexes up and down.
A close-up of the logs underneath the platform.
Participants entering the arena.
Yet other participants.
Ah, I recognised these ones; they were muruts in their traditional tree bark shirts.
More colourful traditional dresses.
The Bamboo Band was playing "Its Now or Never"! Did Elvis run away from America and came here?
Traditional beat from the Gongs of Kota Belud.
This was NOT traditional, I am sure!
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