This article is about the Dusuns of Sabah. For the Dusun language, see Dusun language. For the similarly named Sang Jati Dusuns of Brunei, see Dusun people (Brunei). For the similarly named Barito Dusuns of South Kalimantan, see Ot Danum people.
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The Dusuns form the largest collective ethnic group in the region with rich traditional heritage, distinct dress, language and customs based on different sub-groups, with an estimated 555,647 (mixed with the Kadazans) spread across the state.[2] They have been internationally recognised as an indigenous group in the northern part of the island of Borneo since 2004 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).[3]
Other similarly named, but unrelated groups are also found in neighbouring Brunei and Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. The Dusun in Brunei have distinct traditional beliefs and customs compared to those in Sabah. Bruneian Dusuns share a common origin, language and identity with the Bisaya people of Brunei, northern Sarawak and southwestern Sabah.[4] Despite these differences, both groups are part of the broader Dusunic language family. In Indonesia, the Barito Dusun groups, located throughout the Barito River system, are part of the Ot Danum Dayak people, rather than being related to the Dusuns of northern Borneo.[5][6]
The term "Dusun people" (Malay: Orang Dusun), which carries the meaning "people of the orchards",[7] was early coined by Bruneian Malays and Chinese overlords throughout the Sultanate of Brunei administration to refer to the agricultural populations of northern Borneo.[2][8][9][10] Within the vocabulary of Dusunic languages, there is no "Dusun" word.[11] Since most of the western coast of the northern part of Borneo was under the influence of Brunei, taxes called (Kadazan Dusun: duis) (also referred to as the 'river tax' in the area southeast of northern Borneo) were collected from the Dusun people.[12] Various descriptions of the Dusuns are available throughout the British surveys and administration, the first by Thomas Forrest in 1774.[13] Another British navigator and explorer once described the Dusuns in 1884:
A 50¢ stamp featuring a Dusun man porter with buffalo transport
Following the establishment of the North Borneo Chartered Company (NBCC) and subsequently the state of North Borneo in 1881, the British administration categorised the linguistically similar twelve main and thirty-three sub-tribes collectively as "Dusuns".[15][16] The Buludupih Sungei and Ida'an, who had converted to Islam early, had preferred to be called "Sungei" and "Ida'an", respectively, although they come from the same sub-tribes.[17][18][19]
Ivor Hugh Norman Evans (1886–1957), a British anthropologist, ethnographer, and archaeologist who spent most of his working life in British Malaya and British Borneo, described the Dusuns as not a single tribe but an assemblage of tribes where the term "Orang Dusun" is not the name used by the indigenous to describe themselves; the people of each district or each assemblage of village communities employ a different term, but it is a name meaning "people of the orchards".[20] "Orang" means "people", while "Dusun" carries the meaning of an orchard used by the Bruneian Malays to denote those inhabitants of the greater part of the interior of British North Borneo.[20] The Dusun term was popularised by the British administration as a unifying term among the various North Borneo sub-ethnics,[21] who also borrowed the term from past Brunei administrations.[22] The Rungus people were part of the Dusun sub-ethnic group but formed their own distinction.[23]
Prior to the formation of the Malaysian federation in 1963, there had been a dispute over the use of the "Dusun" term among the Tangaah Dusun tribe of the Penampang and Papar districts, who resisted the use of "Dusun" to symbolise their sub-ethnicity due to previous issues throughout the British era, but with reconciliation and recognition of each other, the Dusuns in both districts are identified as Kadazan people.[notes 2] The "Dusun" terms used in present-day Sabah are different than the terms used in neighbouring Sarawak and Brunei. The Dusuns in Sabah name the sub-ethnics of themselves based on place names, river names, or tree names such as Bundu, Gana, Gonsomon, Kimaragang, Kumut, Liwan, and Tuhawon, where these names are also used as identity names and names for their dialects.[28] In Brunei, the term "Dusun" is used to describe non-Muslims living along the Belait and Tutong rivers.[4][29]
The vast majority of Dusuns live in the hills and upland valleys and have a reputation for peacefulness, hospitality, hard work, frugality, drinking and aversion to violence.[30][31] The Dusuns at one time made up the most important tribe of North Borneo and once made up almost 40% of the region ethnic groups;[32][33][34] divided into more than 30 sub-ethnic groups, or dialect groups, or tribes, each speaking a slightly different dialect of the Dusunic and Paitanic family languages, although they are mostly mutually understandable among each other.[34][35][36] The classification of northern Borneo indigenous people who lived in the geographical zone between the coast and mountainous interior as Dusuns was maintained as the basis for administrative purposes.[37]
Dusun traders as illustrated by Allan Stewart in British North Borneo by L. W. W. Gudgeon
The arrival of Christian missionaries in the 1880s brought to the Dusuns and Dayaks of Borneo the ability to read, write and converse in the English language. The missionaries were aware that their knowledge in Dusunic languages was also a key factor in the propagation of Christianity among the indigenous.[38] With improved literacy and religious education, this subsequently stimulated the indigenous to get involved in community development, with the first Dusun tribes who were first exposed to this modernisation being the Tangaa or Tangara (present-day Kadazans), who dwelt between the Papar, Membakut and Penampang coastal plains close to British administration areas.[39][40] The first attempt among the Dusun tribes to translate the Bible was by the Tangaa Dusun followed with the creation of "Tangaa Dusun Dictionary", also referred to as the "z" dialect where the Tangaa are presently known as the Kadazan ethnic group.[41][42] Throughout the British administration, most Dusuns have converted to mainstream religions such as Christianity (both Roman Catholic and Protestant) and some to Sunni Islam, although animism is still being practised by a minority of Dusuns.[33][43]
The Dusuns used to trade with the coastal people by bringing their agricultural and forest produce such as rice and amber "damar" (dipterocarpaceae) to exchange for salt, salted fish and other products.[10] The Dusuns have a special term to describe this type of trading activity, which they call "mongimbadi" (going to market).[10][44] Before the establishment of railroad and road networks connecting the interior with the coastal regions of Sabah, the area within the present Tambunan-Penampang road was the trading route used by the Bundu-Liwan Dusuns to cross the Crocker Range, where the present road was largely constructed based on the original trading route used by the Dusuns on their "mongimbadi".[45] In their traditional occupation as North Borneo agricultural ethnic groups and chief-rice producers,[46] they use various methods of farming and fishing, including using the juice called "tuba" derived from the roots of the "surinit" plant to momentarily stun fish in rivers.[47]
The Oath Stone in interior Sabah of Keningau District, an oath from the indigenous Dusuns and Muruts with the federal government of Malaysia following the Malaysia Agreement for the latter to respect traditional values of the indigenous and guarantee their freedom of religion, which in return the indigenous population will be loyal to the federal government
In present days, most of the younger Dusun generation are modernised and well-integrated into the larger framework of Malaysian society,[50] taking up various occupations as government servants and employees in the private sector, with some also becoming business owners.[51] Many have completed tertiary education both locally and overseas, with many Dusuns also pursuing their studies at Western countries' tertiary educational institutes.[52][53] With increasing modernisation and globalisation, the modern Dusun community also struggles to keep the traditional values of their community, such as the customs, taboos and languages, since many of the modern Dusun generations, comfortable living a modern life with modern technologies, have become increasingly unaware of their ethnic identities.[54] In pursuing the indigenous languages of the Dusuns to remain in place like the major community languages of West Malaysia within the federation, the indigenous community also faced tension with Malay ethno-nationalism, which has the central place in Malaysia's state nationalist project.[55]
Folk beliefs
The Dusuns have an oral history passed down through generations that their origin is tied to the legendary site of Nunuk Ragang, a giant red banyan tree where their ancestors are said to have first settled in what is northern Borneo.[56] Based on the beliefs of the original traditional Animist-Pagan religion of the Dusuns known as Momolianism, as mentioned under the Kadazan-Dusun Genesis, the origin of the Kadazan-Dusun through the Nunuk Ragang was firstly through Kinoingan and Suminundu,[57][58] the creators who also have a daughter named Huminodun, which later became the roots of the annual harvest festival celebration of Kaamatan celebrated by both the Dusuns and Kadazans.[59][60][61]
Genetic studies
According to a Genome-widesingle-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotypic data studies by human genetics research team from University of Malaysia Sabah in 2018, the northern Bornean Dusun (comprising the Sonsogon, Rungus, Lingkabau and Murut) are closely related to Taiwan natives (the Amis and Atayal) and non–Austro-Melanesian Filipinos (the Visayans, Tagalog, Ilocano, and Manobo), rather than populations from other parts of Borneo.[62] Further, in 2021, the Dusuns have been equated with one of the indigenous tribes in Formosa (present-day Taiwan), the Bunun, who have more similarities to the Dusuns than other tribes of Taiwan.[63] Based on studies, the latter deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), culture, and beliefs are the most identical, especially in the worship of paddy spirit and the presence of their own female shamans.[63]
Dusun sub-ethnic groups
The Dusun tribe comprised different sub-ethnics which were classified by the British administration in the 1800s and maintained to this day for administrative purposes.[37] Different Dusun sub-tribes lived throughout different districts of Sabah. Within the federation of Malaysia, the Dusuns are considered as one of Sabah Bumiputeras.[64] Among the well-known Dusun sub-ethnics are the Kimaragang, Liwan, Lotud, Tatana, Tobilung and many others.
Keningau Dusuns
Kota Belud Dusuns
In this district located in the northern part of Sabah's West Coast division, there are two tribes that are native to this district, namely Tindal who are of Central Dusunic stock and also Tobilung, who are interrelated ethno-linguistically to the Rungus ethnic group as well as the Kimaragang, Sonsogon and Sandayo tribes in neighbouring Kota Marudu district in Sabah's northern Kudat Division.
The main Dusun sub-ethnic group in Kota Marudu District is the Kimaragang Dusun (with numerous other tribes or sub-tribes such as Sonsogon, Tobilung and Sandayo), which is also one of the largest and oldest sub-ethnic groups within the Dusun group.[51] Numbered around 120,000 in 2023, the Kimaragang community were divided into two main groups, namely those who inhabit the Kota Marudu-Tandek area and the Pitas-Koromoko area.[65] They reside within Marudu Bay, neighbouring Pitas as well as the Malobang peninsula, working in agricultural, fisheries and animal husbandry activities, while there are also those who work as civil servants, in the private sector and in personal businesses.[51] The tribe formerly had animist beliefs, but most are now Christians (particularly Seventh-day Adventism with significant minorities to other denominations such as Sidang Injil Borneo, Roman Catholicism, Protestant Church in Sabah and so on) with a small number professing Islam owing to intermarriages with predominantly Muslim Ranau Dusuns (those who immigrated from neighbouring Ranau district as well as settled ones) particularly in the border villages of Gana, Garung, Kias, Lombiding, Mantub, Marak-Parak, Miniran, Monggis/Manggis, Mulut-Pulut, Poddi, Tandawahon, Serinsim, Surun-Surun, Talantang and Toguhu, as well as Muslim-majority ethnic groups such as Bajaus and Orang Sungei.
The Kimaragang Dusun traditional dress is kinaling with a black colour and colourful sashes made of silver and rattan, especially for the Pitas-Koromoko Kimaragang, while the Kota Marudu-Tandek Kimaragang have their lapoi and sinudot.[65] It is also graced with a cap made of rattan or bamboo woven together with a long pink fabric to complement their traditional dress to make it more attractive and unique.[51] Their traditional dance is called mongigol (men) and magandak (women) and the name of their music is pinakang with traditional instrument such as tagung and a xylophone.[51] Art music and dance from Kimaragang Dusun is different from the other Dusun sub-tribes because of its softer, melodic and harmonic melody. There are also classic literary names of bo'or, rina'at and sunda'at with singing called tabai insi and tidindot.[51] The Gobukon Dusun sub-ethnic, which is ethno-lingiustically related to other Central Dusunic tribes such as the Bundu-Liwan, Tagahas, Talantang, Tinagas and Tindal in districts such as Ranau, Tambunan, Keningau, Telupid, Beluran as well as Kota Belud including the city of Kota Kinabalu (in areas such as Manggatal, Inanam and Telipok) as well as fellow neighbouring tribes of Central Dusunic stock such as Garo and Luba native to this district, is also among the Dusun tribes with the smallest population in Sabah overall particularly in this district, mostly resides in Pinatau village. The word Gobuk in the Dusun language carries the meaning of a monkey; the Gobukon Dusun revered the primate as their saviour.[66] Another Dusun tribe that is found in Kota Marudu originating from the Central Dusunic group albeit little-known is the Lingkabau Dusun, which is in turn a sub-tribe of the Tinagas group or tribe inhabiting the Sugut River delta on its border with the Beluran District in neighbouring Sandakan division.[67]
The main Dusun sub-ethnic group in the Kuala Penyu District as well as neighbouring Beaufort, both located in the southern part of Sabah is the Tatana where their culture is different from all Dusuns since it is similar to Chinese culture but mixed with some traditional Dusun customs which are the only Dusun sub-ethnic group that celebrates Lunar New Year as their main festival.[68] The Tatana were originally pagan until the arrival of Chinese from Guangdong of China to the area of Kuala Penyu around the 1870s throughout the British administration, which greatly influenced the cultural practices of the sub-ethnic group involved to this day.[69][70]Kaamatan is also celebrated by these sub-tribes since it is a statewide public holiday festival celebrated annually by the whole Kadazan-Dusun ethnic group, with 94% of the Tatana community adhering to Christianity (mostly Roman Catholicism) including a significant Muslim minority owing to intermarriages with other ethnicities such as the Bisayas, Bruneian Malays and Kedayans, with some practising ancestral and Chinese beliefs inherited from their ancestors.[71][72]
They are known by their traditional dress of Sira Lambung (female) and Sira Dambia (male).[73] The traditional dress consists of black clothes for both men and women, with the female dress being more colourful with accessories than the male traditional dress. Their similarity is based on the black colour, the long sleeves, and the standing collar.[69] The female black dress is made of morinjon decorated with hand embroidery, pirawis (seven colours sewn as the hand lace on both sides of the dress), manik pirok (silver beads), kubamban (gold-coloured buttons), the tinukat (bracelet), the ganggalung padauk (necklace), the botungkat/rantai awak (silver-coined belts), the giring (tiny bells attached on the end in knee-length skirts), and the simbong (earrings).[69] The male dress is worn with the sigar (headgear), the sandang (a cloth worn diagonally over the shoulders), and a cloth belt.[69] Tatana Dusun is also known for their traditional dance of Sayau Moginum which originates from the moginum ritual, a special ceremony to summon the spirits of ancestors or deceased family members to attend a celebratory event.[74][75] The Tatana Dusun traditional house is called baloi. The animist-pagan Tatana Dusun still practise some traditional rituals to this day, where they believe that humans have guardian spirits known as Dewato.[76]
Ranau Dusuns
Liwan Dusun, the main sub-ethnic in Ranau District which is known to use veil for its female dress aside from the Tobilung Dusun in neighbouring Kota Belud District
Liwan Dusun is the largest Dusun sub-ethnic group in Ranau District, where it is further divided into two Liwans, namely the Sarayo Liwan and Tanah Rata Liwan.[77] The Sarayo Liwan sub-ethnic was firstly spread around Tagudon Lama as well as Tagudon Baru villages, then later in Sosondoton, Ratau, Tudan, Manantangah, Tambiau, Mohimboyon, Terolobou, Kibbas, Toboh Lama as well as Toboh Baru and its surrounding areas within the Kundasang sub-district, with the earliest villages inhabited by this sub-ethnic in Tanah Rata (Ranau proper) are notably the villages of Kituntul, Marakau, Kokob, Matan, Libang, Sinarut, Tudangan as well as Kilimu.[77] The Liwan are known for their traditional dances of Sumirid Modtomu especially to the Kundasang area of Ranau, which is deeply rooted in the agrarian lifestyle of the Liwan Dusun, particularly their rice cultivation practices. The dance movements inspired from the Mongogik, a practice to manually separates rice grains from their stalks by stomping bare feet before the advent of modern rice machines. It was an essential process to preparing harvested rice which subsequently evolved into the symbolic movements that now characterise the traditional dance.[78][79] The traditional dress for Liwan females in Ranau is the abaya.[80]
Another Dusun sub-ethnic, the Talantang Dusun is also the dominant tribe among the Dusuns in Ranau District where it has several sub-tribes that form clans and some have even formed new tribes when they migrated to neighbouring districts, such as the Tobilung Dusun and the Sukang Dusun.[81] The Dusuns in Ranau District can be considered as more closely representative of the original Dusun stock than other Dusun sub-ethnics since the area in which they reside is the origin birthplace of the entire Dusun ethnic population, the Nunuk Ragang.[82] A significant portion or large majority of Ranau Dusuns had embraced Islam from animism, especially in the area of Kundasang owing to mass Islamisation from 1940 until 1976 particularly during the colonial as well as United Sabah National Organisation (USNO) rules, while a number also adhere strongly to Christianity (in which the largest single denomination amongst them would be the Sidang Injil Borneo (SIB) church, with minorities belonging to other denominations such as Roman Catholics, Anglicanism, Seventh-day Adventism, Lutheranism and other Christian branches).[83]
Tambunan Dusuns
The "Tambunan Dusuns" sub-group term, are further divided into several more sub-groups of the Dusuns such as the Tuwawon (present-day Liwan), Tagahas, and Tibabar
In Tambunan District, the Dusun sub-ethnics there are more generally grouped under "Tambunan Dusuns",[84] where it was originally further divided into several more sub-ethnics such as the Tuwawon Dusun, Tagahas Dusun, Tibabar Dusun, Bundu Dusun, Gunnah Dusun, Palupuh Dusun and Kohub Dusuns in the early 20th century, but only three sub-tribes, such as the Tuwawon (present-day Liwan),[85] Tagahas and Tibabar, remain today.[86][87] The Tambunan Dusuns associate their ancestors with Nunuk Ragang, as revealed in the "Tambunan Dusun Origin Myth".[88] Based on the folklore that after leaving Nunuk Ragang, the family broke up and went their separate ways and made a hut with each name based on the tree and location; they ended up building a settlement which is the origins of the seven Tambunan Dusun sub-tribes.[89] Based on the research by Thomas Rhys Williams in 1965, he describes:
Prior to 1880s, the Tambunan valley was occupied, and appears to have served as a boundary zone and cockpit of head warfare for several local groups. After 1885, native police patrols under European officers of the North Borneo Chartered Company (NBCC) established a tenuous form of order sufficient to allow initial settlement on the northern fringe of the plain, settlement of the valley floor along the eastward course of the Sunsuron River proceeds rapidly in the year 1900–1925. However, continued fears of head taking slowed settlement of the central and south portions of the Tambunan plain. Those areas, along the southward course of the Pegalan River, were not cleared of primary jungle until the mid 1930s'.[84]
In the past, the Tuwawon and Tagahas Dusuns had carried on a civil war against themselves, with guerrilla warfare between the two causing the NBCC to take urgent measures when Mat Salleh, the well-known rebel in North Borneo, allied himself with the Tagahas Dusuns to fight against the Tuwawon Dusuns in the 1890s.[90] Through several campaigns led by the NBCC,[91] which allied with the Tuwawon Dusuns, and the subsequent demise of Mat Salleh after being killed by NBCC forces,[92] the British further consolidated the Dusun tribes' term to unite the Dusun sub-ethnics and to avoid further division among them.[21] The majority of the Tambunan Dusuns are farmers, and most of them are engaged in planting paddy, fruit trees, vegetables and raising various animals, with the Tambunan town itself surrounded by terraced paddy fields and seventy picturesque villages.[93] The Tuwawon mostly live in Kaingaran, Dabata, Karanaan, Sungoi, Rompon, Madsangoh, Kiawayan, Rantai, Kirokot, Tinompok, Kipaku, Laab, Garas, Pahu, Tontolob, Lubong, Mangkatai, Tikolod, Makatip, Mogong, Kusob, Moloson, Monsok, Nambayan, Noudu, Papar, Patau, Solibog, Tanaki, Sukung, Tampasak, Sunsuron, Tondulu, Lintuhun, Daar and Ragkam villages, while the Tagahas live in Kapayan, Kituntul, Ranggom and Toboh villages and the Tibabar in Tibabar village.[93][additional citation(s) needed] Another Dusun sub-ethnic group, the Gunnah Dusun, are distributed in the central area of Tambunan district mainly in the villages of Gagaraon, Botung, Pomotodon, Nouduh, Molout and Timbou.[94]
Ethnically and linguistically related to the other Dusun tribes of the Bundu-Liwan valleys of the Crocker Range, this sub-ethnic group are religiously Christians (most of them being Roman Catholics since the late 19th and early 20th centuries), owing to mass Christianisation done by the Mill Hill Missionaries in today's Diocese of Keningau especially in their home district of Tambunan after converting their fellow Kadazan kinsfolk in Penampang as well as Papar, both located in Sabah's West Coast and the Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu into the said religion, with minorities of this tribe's Christian populace being Protestants belonging to churches such as Sidang Injil Borneo, Seventh-day Adventist and many more other denominations, whilst a large non-Christian minority populace of them being Muslims especially those resident in the border villages surrounding the neighbouring district of Ranau, owing to intermarriages and assimilation factors.
A Lotud female Unduk Ngadau contestant during the Kaamatan with traditional gonob skirt
Another main sub-ethnic groups of the Dusuns is the Lotud, who reside in the Tuaran District (including Tamparuli sub-district and also Kiulu and Tenghilan villages)[95] as well as the suburb of Telipok within Sabah's capital city of Kota Kinabalu.[96] Most of the Lotuds reside in the area located between the main road connecting Ranau District with Kota Belud District.[95] Numbering around 20,000 people in 2022, the Lotud form the foundation of the Lotud customary law that is recognised by the Native Court of Sabah.[96] The Lotud sub-ethnic group was synonymous with the word "Suang Lotud" and can be found in nearly 50 villages within the Tuaran district.[97] The cultural foundation of the Lotud is based on the belief in the existence of the creator Kinorohingan or Minamangun.[98] In 2021, the Lotuds were recognised as one of the 36th major indigenous ethnic groups in Sabah.[97]
The traditional clothing of the Lotud community also symbolises their status, especially for women, with waist ornaments called lilimbo; the red symbolises "single status", the black symbolises "married status", and the brown or rattan colour symbolises an "elderly women".[99] The Lotud women were known for their traditional skirts below the knees named gonob, and the word lotud in the Lotud dialect itself also carries the meaning of a knee which are believed to be derived from the Malay word of lutut.[97][100] The Lotud has three types of traditional clothing, namely clothing used by tantagas or momolian (ritual leaders), clothing for sumayau (also known as madsayau) dancers for performance dances and wedding clothing.[101]Linangkitembroidery is a name given for geometric motifs produced based on embroidery techniques with the design and decoration dominates the gonob and kuluwu decorations in Lotud traditional clothing.[102] The linangkit patterns are characterised by geometric shapes dominated by triangles and squares, with the use of bright colours such as red, yellow, black, green and white to fill each of the geometric shapes formed into a variety of patterns.[103] Several terms for patterns commonly embroidered by the Lotud community include the piniutu (joined), linodi (connected), nabur-abur (scattered), olinsong sadur (watermelon seeds), kinuyung-kuyung (wavy), subor (additional decoration), and piniating (repeated).[103]
The Adat or Custom of Lotud Dusuns' marriage processes is divided into 35 segments such as modsuruhan (bilateral meeting), monunui (engagement), tinunui (wedding gift), popiodop (staying together), matod (wedding ceremony), and mirapou (welcoming ceremony).[104] In the Lotud tribe's traditional society, parents usually determine their son's future partner. Before a formal relationship is established, the modsuruhan serves to deliver a message to engage the female through her family.[104] The female's side will then respond with requests for a duration of days from the male's family before negotiations can be accepted; this period also allows the female's parents time to discuss with their daughter whether there are other males who have proposed or if she has already made up her mind.[104] Many matters must be clearly communicated, such as the male's family tree, background, character, and capabilities, as well as evaluating the meaning of any dreams that occurred in the female's family. If the female's side has had a bad dream, "sogit mimpi" is performed for peace. According to traditional adat, if the male has no appointed partner, he may be fined under "adat malu" by the female's family.[104]
A typical traditional house of the Lotud Dusuns
The Linangkit Cultural Village in Selupoh Village of Tuaran District became the main cultural centre of the Lotuds.[105] Apart from this centre, there are several other cultural associations established within the district, such as the Lotud Cultural Heritage Association in Tagas Village.[106] A traditional Lotud House decorated with various traditional indigenous musical instruments, coconut shells and bamboo cups is located in the Sawah Village of Tamparuli.[107] In present days, most Lotuds adhere to Roman Catholics due to the strong influence of Catholic missionaries among the Dusuns in the 19th century, while Islam is also practised by some Lotuds, especially those who intermarried with Muslim ethnic groups.[108] Before the arrival of both religions, animism was the predominant belief among the Lotuds.[109] The animist-pagan Lotud believe that their God called Kinorohingan and his wife called Suminundu (Umunsumundu) have created the customs of the Lotuds simultaneously with the creation of the heavens, the earth and their contents.[110] Humans were created from a mixture of rombituon muru-puru (cluster of seven stars) and Garau Ngadau (centre of the sun) and kondingau skin (cinnamon bark).[110]
↑ Based on the 2010 Malaysian Population Census, which is the last census categorised into specific ethnic groups,[1] there were a total of 555,647 Kadazan-Dusuns (the census combined the total with Kadazans) in Sabah alone, although the total number of Kadazan-Dusuns in other states of Malaysia was not provided in the census.[2]
↑ The "Tangaah Kadazan" of Penampang and Papar is a Kadazan-Dusun tribe who resist the "Dusun term" once coined by early Chinese and Brunei overlords due to a previous dark history related to the "Tagahas Dusun" for betrayals during a conflict by Mat Salleh in Tambunan.[9][24][25] Similarly, the Lotud Dusun of Tuaran were also against the term of "Kadazan" to referring the Tangaah of Penampang and Papar until the problem of the "Kadazan" and "Dusun" term were settled with the recognition of each other.[9][26][27]
References
↑ Samad, Joe (21 July 2023). "Removing ethnicity in Sabah statistics". FMT. Archived from the original on 16 May 2025. Retrieved 15 September 2025. In 2015, a controversy raged when the Borneo states discovered that the Malaysian federal government had removed all East Malaysian ethnicities and lumped everyone under the derogatory term "lain-lain" (others). The controversial term was removed after strong protest from the Sabah and Sarawak state governments which eventually saw the people of both Borneo states being allowed to state their ethnicity on government forms. In its 2020 Yearbook, based on a 2010 census, the state's total population was categorised by ethnicity – Kadazan/Dusun, Bajau, Murut, Bumiputera lain, Cina, India and "lain-lain" (others). The latest 2021 report, however, has removed the specific ethnic categories and instead lumped them up under 'Bumiputera lain' while maintaining the "Cina", "India" and "lain-lain" categories.
1 2 3 Kychia (9 March 2017). "田欣颖·浅谈杜顺族"[Tian Xinying: A Brief Discussion on the Dusun Tribe]. MySinchew (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 17 September 2025. Retrieved 17 September 2025.
1 2 "SEJARAH MIGRASI DUSUN DI SABAH"[HISTORY OF DUSUN HISTORICAL MIGRATION IN SABAH]. Library of Sabah (in Malay). 2022. Archived from the original on 22 September 2025. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
↑ "Batu Sumpah"[Oath Stone]. Sabah Museum (in Malay). Archived from the original on 23 September 2025. Retrieved 23 September 2025.
↑ "Harvest Festival (Pesta Kaamatan)". Sabah Tourism. 6 March 2025. Archived from the original on 17 September 2025. Retrieved 17 September 2025. Though many Sabahan indigenous peoples have now ventured into the modern way of life and moved to the cities to pursue modern careers, a sizeable number of them still live their ancestral way of life, mindful of their traditional worldviews and guided in their daily living by their customary laws known as Adats.
↑ "SENARAI SUKU/KAUM/KETURUNAN YANG DIANGGAP SEBAGAI BUMIPUTERA"[LIST OF TRIBES/RACE/DESCENTS CONSIDERED AS BUMIPUTERA](PDF). Special Bumiputera Share Allocation, Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry of Malaysia (in Malay). p.1. Archived(PDF) from the original on 18 September 2025. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
↑ Mikail, Yun (31 January 2022). "Keunikan masyarakat Dusun Tatana"[The uniqueness of Tatana Dusun community]. Harian Metro (in Malay). Archived from the original on 23 September 2025. Retrieved 24 September 2025.
↑ "Tatana showcases unique culture". New Sabah Times. 2 May 2018. Archived from the original on 23 September 2025. Retrieved 24 September 2025– via Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment, Sabah.
↑ "TARIAN SUMIRID MEDTEMU"[MEDTEMU SUMIRID DANCE]. National Department for Culture and Arts, Malaysia. Archived from the original on 24 September 2025. Retrieved 24 September 2025.
↑ "TARIAN MODTOMU SUMIRID"[MODTOMU SUMIRID DANCE]. National Department for Culture and Arts, Malaysia. Archived from the original on 24 September 2025. Retrieved 24 September 2025.
↑ Sining, Sinoretha; Low Yin Hui, Violacea; Norman, Amalin (12 March 2022). "Culture (Dusun Liwan)". The Rojak Projek. Archived from the original on 24 September 2025. Retrieved 24 September 2025.
↑ "Sejarah Dusun Talantang kurang dikenali, perlu dikaji"[The history of Talantang Dusun is little known, needs to be studied]. Talantang (in Malay). 19 July 2023. Archived from the original on 22 September 2025. Retrieved 22 September 2025. Kebanyakan puak yang sampai ke daerah Tambunan adalah puak Tuhawon dan Pahu @ Pao. Mereka membuka Kampung Sunsuron. Suku Tuhawon ini biasa dipanggil sebagai orang Liwan yang bermaksud 'orang luar dari sebelah gunung'. (Most of the tribes that reached the Tambunan district were the Tuhawon and Pahu @ Pao tribes. They founded the Sunsuron Village. The Tuhawon tribe is commonly called the Liwan people which means 'outsiders from the mountain side'.)
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Malaysia 
Christianity (Catholic, Protestants) (90%),
Islam (Sunni) and Animism (Traditional religion (Momolianism)) (10%)
