Pesta Kaamatan or also known as Tadau Kaamatan is a harvest festival celebrated annually in the state of Sabah in Malaysia. It is celebrated by the ethnic Kadazan-Dusuns as well as other ethnic groups in the state. The festival lasts for the whole month of May and ends with a public holiday on May 30 and 31.
Pesta Kaamatan or also known as Tadau Kaamatan is a harvest festival celebrated annually in the state of Sabah in Malaysia. It is celebrated by the ethnic Kadazan-Dusuns as well as other ethnic groups in the state. The Kadazan- Dusun are the largest indigenous group in Sabah.
The festival lasts for the whole month of May and ends with a public holiday on May 30 and 31.
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Pesta Kaamatan dates back to a time when most of Sabah’s tribes held animistic beliefs and is one of the few surviving legacies of the old tribal way of life in Sabah.
The festival is celebrated to honour the commitment shown by their God, Kinoinga who gave them the gift of Rice, their staple diet. According to the Kadazan-Dusun’s legend, Kinoinga sacrificed his only daughter, Huminodu and sowed her body as parts of seeds, which later grew to become paddy (rice).
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During Pesta Kaamatan, various ceremonies are conducted as attribute to Bambaazon, the spirit of their God, Kinoinga’s daughter, Huminodu. During the Pesta Keaamatan, the Magavau ritual is conducted to invite the spirit of Bambaazon to the Festival.
Pesta Kaamatan is the time for thanksgiving for the bountiful harvest and also the time for a get-together, to feast and to renew communal relationships. Representatives from each district come out in numbers while donning traditional costumes, showcasing Sabah’s rich and diverse cultural heritage.
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The celebration continues with a beauty pageant known as Unduk Ngadau being held and it ends with a newly crowned Unduk Ngadau in the annual host district of Penampang. Then there is also a dance performance called the Tarian Sumazau, a singing contest called Sugandoi, a bodybuilding competition, and other arts and crafts performances. Competitions such as hitting the gong and folk sports have also become one of the main events in this festival.
Kaamatan is also a time to share traditional food, such as the 'hinompot' (rice cooked and wrapped in leaves), hinava (raw fish marinated with lime, bird’s eye chilli, sliced shallots and grated ginger) and nomsom bambangan (a type of mango pickle).
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Popular drinks during the festival are “tapai” and “kimono”. Tapai is drunk from a small bamboo vessel known as a sumbiling or from special glasses called singgarung, also made from bamboo.
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