a potpourri of culture

a potpourri of culture.

A potpourri of culture and religion. It is depicted in our handicrafts. Photographed at the Sunday market, Gaya Street.

ethnic heartbeat.

Portrait of a gongs-man at tamu Donggongong. Volunteers sometimes get together to play a gongs ensemble at the tamu,

~Lightbox~ My tamu Donggongong set.

A gongs ensemble consists of nipple gongs of various sizes. The sound is muted and harmonious. The larger ones are hung vertically, while the small ones are horizontally suspended on ropes. Wikipedia infornation about gongs.

chinese new year celebrations – street lion dance.

 

Street lion dance performance outside the premises of a company. Loud, colourful, exciting and entertaining.

~Lightbox~

 

lihing making utensils and ingredients

 

Traditional Lihing (rice wine) making utensils and ingredients. Photographed at Monsopiad Cultural Village. {***Don't drink too much lihing.. it makes you TOO happy. 😀 }

~Lightbox~

Rice wine is widely consumed in Asia (sake, anyone?), and “Lihing” is Sabah’s very own rice wine. It is a popular one and it’s 13% ~ 21% alcohol content will make you happy quite quickly. It is still made the traditional way, except for modern concessions like using plastic for covering the jars, or using ready-made yeast. Lihing may be further distilled to make a more potent drink (40% ~ 50% alcohol content) called “talak” or “montaku”{schnapps}. {Don’t mess with this one!}

The recipe is simple enough.. “pulut” {glutinous rice} cooked with just enough water, then spread on the “kohintung” {tray made from bamboo, pandan or mengkuang leaves (pandanus} to cool. The “sasad” {yeast} is pounded, mixed with the rice, and transferred to the “topukon” {jar} or container. It is sealed with banana or tarap leaves. In two weeks, it is ready for drinking from the jar, with some water added. For storage in containers, the jar is drained after a month. The remaining mash of the rice may be distilled for “talak” or “montaku” {schnapps}.

There are customs and superstitions associated with making good lihing. Read more here.

Some corktails and more imaginative ways to drink lihing here.

laadu and kikizapan (traditional tools for padi farming)

 

The laadu (plough) and kikizapan (contraption for extracting rice) at Monsopiad Cultural Village.

~Lightbox~

The “laadu” is made from ironwood (ulin tree) and is pulled by buffalo to loosen the ground. The “kikizapan” is a curious looking contraption made from wood (and metal). Introduced by the Chinese settlers, the name is derived from the Malay word “kipas” which means “fan”. That explains the circular shape on one end of the contraption. It is turned by hand, generating air flow which blows the husks from the padi.

local fruits stall at tamu putatan

 

Local fruits stall the 'tamu' in Putatan township, Kota Kinabalu.

~Lightbox~

She was arranging the mandarin oranges (local) on her stall. The other items (front to back) are; bag of dried anchovies, ‘langsat’ {Lansium domesticum} before the mandarins, pineapples, sweet potatoes, and small pumpkins. {‘Langsat’ on Wikipedia.}

Putatan township is about 15 km from the center of Kota Kinabalu city. They hold their weekly tamu on Saturdays and Sundays.

What is a “tamu”?
The ‘tamu’ is a weekly market/bazaar and every township/district holds their tamu on a separate day of the week. So, there is a tamu somewhere every day of the week.

The tamu nearer to Kota Kinabalu are more ‘commercial’, meaning many of the stalls are ‘re-sellers’ or traders. The ones further away are more ‘ethnic’. At the tamu in Putatan, there is a good number of stalls selling produce from their own farms. Tamus are a great place for interaction with the local communities.

Tamus (weekly markets) throughout Sabah:-

Sunday: Kota Kinabalu, Kota Marudu, Sikuati, Kota
Belud, Tuaran, Putatan, Papar, Membakut,
Tenom
Monday: Tandek
Tuesday: Kiulu
Wednesday: Tamparuli
Thursday: Donggongon, Telipok, Tenghilan, Pekan
Nabalu, Sipitang, Tambunan, Keningau
Friday: Donggongon, Sunsuron, Weston, Mesapol,
Kundasang
Saturday: Putatan, Babagon, Kinarut, Beaufort,
Sindumin, Matunggong, Ranau (tamu besar every
1st of the month)

The Tamu on SabahTravelGuide.com

sweet sound of the gong.

 

An elder woman testing one of the gongs for sale. Photographed at tamu Putatan.

~Lightbox~ 

street painting

 

Painting on a pillar at the ruins next to Chartered Bank, Kota Kinabalu. The building was destroyed by fire a long time ago.

~Lightbox~

On Sundays, some local artists are gathering at the ruins next to Chartered Bank in Kota Kinabalu. Besides working on their paintings, they also paint their work onto the walls, pillars and some parts of the floor. The place is uncovered, so rain will spoil the day for the artists…

daiman bona

 

 

Daiman Bona, local artist, putting the finishing touches to a watercolour painting. Photographed at the ruins next to Chartered Bank, Kota Kinabalu.

 

~Lightbox~

Mr Daiman was putting the finishing touches to his painting depicting life on a padi field, with the iconic Mt Kinabalu in the background. It is a scene which can still be enjoyed in real life at various locations outside Kota Kinabalu.

Photographed at the first outing of local artist at the ruins. They also painted the walls, pillars and parts of the floor.

101010 Do more for mother nature.

A sketch by local artist Boy. Photographed at the ruins of a building next to Chartered Bank, Kota Kinabalu.

~Lightbox~

I chanced upon a gathering of artists at the ruins of a building destroyed by fire a long time ago. It was the first gathering of Sabahan artist at this place. I learned that they will be there every weekend. They also painted walls, pillars and some parts of the floor.

The gathering attracted many curious passer-bys, including me. I was fortunate to meet and chat with the Director of Sabah Art Gallery, Datuk Mohd. Yaman Hj Ahmad Mus, who was visiting the artists.

The artist, Boy, had just finished this sketch. I thought it is an appropriate photo to show for 101010.