• Harvest festival

    31 de maio de 2022, Malásia ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    I wake this morning and having booked into a dorm expected to meet up with people but as it goes noone else was in there. I go to the toilet and after finishing turn on what I think is the bum gun but end up getting a cold shower fully clothed- didn't see the other tap. I find a local Starbucks and after a coffee take a grab to the Kdca cultural Village. I worry that I will arrive too early but when I get there its in full swing. The Village represents a living museum to preserve the multi-ethnic Kadazandusun culture. It aims to share the knowledge, history, and cultural heritage of the multi-ethnic Kadazandusun community and over these 2 days they celebrate the harvest festival where clans come from they're respective communities and sing and dance together. There are over 40 indigenous tribes in Sabah all having they're own traditional dress and also they're own way of dancing. I love to get involved and when they call me to get involved I join in. Each tribe has they're own house within the village each house being separated into 5 compartments, the loft, the kitchen , the bedroom, the veranda and the passage way. The houses are made from a round timber wood with rattan used to tie them and then planks of wood for the ceiling and floors. As I leave one of the houses a young Malaysian girl called Nirwana asks if she can interview me for her school project so we find a quiet place to sit and setup the recording. Its just a short interview asking where I'm from why I'm here and the difference between my country and Malaysia. They have travelled over 2 hours to be here so after the interview we say goodbye. I continue walking around the village and dancing in various houses.Also having a try of the Borneo trampoline and jumping between lengths of bamboo (like a Borneo hopscotch. As I'm stood watching outside one of the tribes preparing to dance I'm made aware that the president and first lady of one of the villages is due to arrive and I have front row viewing. I feel a bit guilty as this is obviously something special to them but it would probably cause more of a commotion for me to leave. Once they have passed by I make my way to the exit and bump into a young lady called Eloise who's from Birmingham. We have a quick chat and she tells me she's meeting other people from the hostel she's staying at so I ask if I can join her. We meet up with the crew and enjoy savouring the delicious endless food stalls and sharing a few drinks in the beer village. I share a grab home and at 1am fall into bed exhausted.Leia mais