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A Bobohizan (Tangaa' Kadazan term) or Bobolian (Bundu Liwan Dusun term) is a high priestess, a ritual specialist and a spirit medium in Kadazan-Dusun pagan rites. [1] The office of Bobohizan or Bobolian, is also the chief preserver of Momolianism, i.e. the philosophy and way of life of the Kadazan-Dusun people.
One of the primary roles of a Bobohizan is to appease the rice spirit Bambaazon during harvest festival or Kaamatan. During the event, she will lead a procession of people from her village through the paddy field under the full moon, to give thanks and to seek a bountiful harvest for the rice-cultivating Kadazan-Dusun people. [2] A Bobohizan also plays a role as a mediator between the spirits and the people. One of the commonest duties of a Bobohizan is to heal and cure illnesses with herbal remedies and rites.
Bobohizan is said to stem from the first ancestors of the Kadazan-Dusun people, Kinoingan and his wife Suminundu. [3] It is not certain whether the calling of Bobohizan (Bobolian in the Bundu-Liwan dialect) exist prior to or after the settling of the ancestors at Nunuk Ragang. Long after the first ancestors passing to Hibabou (Heaven), the rites, prayers, and incantations (Rinait or Inaait) were lost and forgotten. This is when Suminundu sent a spirit to earth to teach the people about the rinait. The spirit came every evening, calling upon anyone brave enough to learn. The call was repeated for years but no one was brave enough to come forth until one day a brave woman went out and meet the spirit in the dark. She soon learned the art of rinait and rites from the spirit and passed it on to other women in the village. According to legend, because of the woman who was brave enough to meet the spirit, all Bobohizan in Penampang was by custom, women only.
A Bobohizan plays a pivotal role in a daily life of the Kadazan people before the advent of Christianity. This ranges from appeasing the rice spirit during 'Kaamatan and Magavau festivals, appeasing the skull spirits during the Magang celebration, [4] appeasing and offering sacrifices to the spirits of the sacred jars (gusi) and to exorcise evil spirits. Bobohizans are also involved in charms, reading omens and to a lesser extent augury. [5]
Dusun is the collective name of an indigenous ethnic group to the Malaysian state of Sabah of North Borneo. Collectively, they form the largest ethnic group in Sabah. The Dusun people have been internationally recognised as indigenous to Borneo since 2004 as per the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
The Kadazans are an ethnic group indigenous to the state of Sabah in Malaysia. They are found mainly in Penampang on the west coast of Sabah, the surrounding locales, and various locations in the interior.
The Momogun Rungus are an Austronesian ethnic group indigenous to Sabah, Malaysia. They primarily live in northern Sabah especially in Kudat, Kota Marudu and Pitas districts with small minorities in the Beluran district of the east coast Sandakan Division. A sub-group of the Kadazan-Dusun, they have a distinct language, dress, architecture, customs and oral literature from other Dusunic sub-groups. There are around 74,000 Rungus people in the state.
Kadazandusun are the largest ethnic group in Sabah, Malaysia, an amalgamation of the closely related indigenous Kadazan and Dusun peoples. "Kadazandusun" is an umbrella term that encompasses both the Kadazan and Dusun peoples. They are also known as Mamasok Sabah, meaning "indigenous people of Sabah". Kadazandusun tradition holds that they are the descendants of Nunuk Ragang. Kadazandusun is recognised as an indigenous nation of Borneo with documented heritage by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) since 2004. Kadazandusuns are part of the bumiputera in Malaysia having been endowed with rights concerning land, rivers, education and maintaining their own customary laws.
Nunuk Ragang is a site traditionally considered as the location of the original home of the ancestors of the Kadazan-Dusun natives who inhabit most of northern Borneo. The site, nearby a village named Tampias, is located at the intersection of the left and right branches of the Liwagu River to the east of Ranau and Tambunan in Sabah. The two river branches joined up to flow into the Labuk river and drain out into the Sulu Sea. At the site, and under a giant banyan tree, a settlement referred to as Nunuk Ragang was founded. The giant banyan tree was said to be able to give shade to a longhouse sheltering 10 families in it. The legend about Nunuk Ragang had been passed down via oral traditions to the younger generations. No archaeological dig has been carried out to establish the veracity of the legend.
Kaamatan or Pesta Kaamatan is a form of harvest festival celebrated on 30 and 31 of May annually in the state of Sabah and Federal Territory of Labuan in Malaysia.
Coastal Kadazan, also known as Dusun Tangara, is a dialect of the Central Dusun as well as a minority language primarily spoken in Sabah, Malaysia. It is the primary dialect spoken by the Kadazan people in the west coast of Sabah especially in the districts of Penampang, Papar and Membakut.
Malaysian folk religion refers to the animistic and polytheistic beliefs and practices that are still held by many in the Islamic-majority country of Malaysia. Folk religion in Malaysia is practised either openly or covertly depending on the type of rituals performed.
Central Dusun, also known as Bunduliwan, is an Austronesian language and one of the more widespread languages spoken by the Dusun peoples of Sabah, Malaysia.
The Dusunic languages are a group of languages spoken by the Bisaya and Dusun, and related peoples in the Malaysian province of Sabah on Borneo.
Sedomon Gunsanad Kina MBE (1894-1966) was a native chief of Keningau, in North Borneo, who later became a politician in unified Malaysia. He was the son of Gunsanad Kina and the older brother of G.S Sundang.
The sumazau is a dance performed by the Kadazandusun from Penampang and adjacent areas in west coast Sabah. It is usually performed during Kaamatan. The dance involves male and female pairs who are dressed in traditional clothing. The rhythm of the dance is set by the beat of hanging gongs. It is performed by raising both arms to shoulder height and flapping them.
Lihing is a type of Malaysian rice wine that originated from the state of Sabah. It was made from "pulut", a glutinous rice and is a traditional rice wine for the Kadazan-Dusun people. The rice wine is also referred as hiing, kinarung, kinomol, kinopi, linahas, sagantang as well tapai. They are different from one another, but all are made from rice-based drinks. Lihing is sold widely in Sabah including in some major hotels.
Momolianism is a belief system of the Kadazan-Dusun people of Sabah, Malaysia.
Huminodun is a character in a myth of the Dusun people. According to legend, Huminodun was a maiden sacrificed to feed her famine-stricken people.
Sabahan cuisine is a regional cuisine of Malaysia. As in the rest of Malaysian cuisine, Sabah food is based on staples such as rice with a great variety of other ingredients and different methods of food preparations due to the influence of the state's varied geography and indigenous cultures that were quite distinct from the regional cuisines of the Peninsular Malaysia. Sabah along with its neighbour of Sarawak is famous for their multi-ethnic population.
Sabah is the third most populous state in Malaysia, with a population of 3,418,785 according to the 2020 Malaysian census. It also has the highest non-citizen population, at 810,443. Although Malaysia is one of the least densely populated countries in Asia, Sabah is particularly sparsely populated. Most of the population is concentrated along coastal areas, with towns and urban centres seeing the most population growth.
The Penampang District is an administrative district in the Malaysian state of Sabah, part of the West Coast Division which includes the districts of Kota Belud, Kota Kinabalu, Papar, Penampang, Putatan, Ranau and Tuaran. The capital of the district is in Penampang Town.
Tenghilan is a small town and mukim under the administration of the Tamparuli minor district office. It is located in the Tuaran District of the West Coast Division of Sabah, Malaysia. The Tenghilan area is centered around a small town of the same name located near the road that connects Kota Kinabalu and Kota Belud. In 2010, its population was estimated at 203 inhabitants, mostly of Kadazan-Dusun origin. The town, which covers about 400 hectares of land, is located about 17 km northeast of Tuaran, and 25 km southwest of Kota Belud.
The Sino-Native, often referred to simply as Sino, represent a population with a diverse background resulting from marriages between the Chinese community and indigenous people in Sabah. They are distinguished by their mixed genealogical heritage, resulting in a fusion of oriental and local cultures. This blending of traditions has given rise to distinct sub-groups within the Sino community, such as Sino-Kadazan, Sino-Dusun, Sino-Murut and to some extent, Sino-Rungus. each reflecting a unique combination of Chinese and indigenous influences.