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.

totem at monsopiad cultural village

 

From archive: Totem at Monsopiad Cultural Village. Ethnic and ceremonial crafts.

~Lightbox~ / Monsopiad Cultural Village set

 

i will take this colour.

 

Ma'am shops for batik. Photographed at the Sunday market, Gaya Street, Kota Kinabalu.

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Bright and sunny morning at the Sunday market at Gaya Street. The street is in the middle of Kota Kinabalu city and is closed to traffic for the weekly market. A popular place for both the locals and tourists.

Here, you can find many interesting things to shop for. It is crowded by 8 a.m. as many visitors shop early to avoid the mid-day heat. There are also many coffee shops along this 0.3 km stretch of road. Along this street and nearby, are many backpackers lodging. My Gaya Street set on Flickr.

sweet sound of the gong.

 

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

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in·de·pen·dence /n/ ~self–sufficiency, self-dependence, self-reliance, self-subsistence, self-support.

Blind musicians at the Sunday market, Gaya Street, Kota Kinabalu.

Blind musicians at the Sunday market, Gaya Street, Kota Kinabalu. Raw and talented. One singer and two guitarists. They are brought to the market every weekend and are stationed near the Jesselton Hotel. **31st August is also Malaysia’s Independence Day. {Wikipedia}

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Sabah Society for the Blind website~.

“Help the blind to help themselves.”

“The Sabah Society for the Blind (SSB) established to help those with little or no sight to optimize their opportunities by providing specialist staff, information and technology resources to meet individual needs.”

Jesselton Hotel at Gaya Street.

old things, new sounds.

Old things at the Sunday market, Gaya Street, Kota Kinabalu.

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The gamelans sit on strings held up by the carefully spaced sticks. It is said that no two gamelan ensembles are the same. The ones found in Sabah are much less elaborate compared to the Javanese and Balinese ensembles, and they are tuned differently (western influence). They are hit firmly with sticks. The notes are sweet. (I should have recorded a short video clip of this scene.)

The gamelans are played in accompaniment of the larger and vertically suspended gongs. The photo below, from tamu Donggongong, shows an ensemble of the larger gongs in use:-

Ethnic sounds at tamu Donggongong.

ethnic fabric and designs at tamu Donggongong.

Ethnic shawls, scarfs, sarongs and mats. I like these, and she looks beautiful in that dress in ethnic-influenced design. Photographed at tamu Donggonggon.

A ‘tamu’ is a weekly market. It is both a market and a social meeting place. And Donggonggon is a township just 10 km from Kota Kinabalu city. The community here is mainly Kadazan. They hold their tamu every Thursdays and Fridays.

The young lady is a local who has been living out of town for some years. I think that’s her mum in the photo. Before this, she had asked me for help to take a photo of her, with her camera. .. Donggongon on Wikipedia. .. Kadazan on Wikipedia.

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happy shopper at a pet stall

Early morning at the Sunday market, Gaya Street, Kota Kinabalu... and a pet stall is where you will find some of the happiest faces on the street.

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gaya street is popular among travellers

Travellers at the Sunday market, Gaya Street, Kota Kinabalu. There are many backpackers' lodges here and along the nearby streets.

another day, another story.

Learning and teaching.. gratitude and kindness..another day, another story. Photographed at the tamu at Donggongon township. Donggongon holds their weekly market on Thursdays and Fridays. The township is 10 km from Kota Kinabalu city.