History. Fret not.
It's better than the text books.
Okay. Here goes.
I live in a country with various types of ethnicity, race, religion, languages ie. Malaysia. Because we live in such a multi-cultural country it is hard not to miss the decorations, advertisements and preparation when a celebration is about to commence; and it is common for us to visit our friends and take part in these celebrations.
Great food. Great atmosphere. Great time.
Recently I had the opportunity to visit the Monsopiad Cultural Village which is located not far from KK city. This village basically is a privately owned museum that displays the Kadazandusun culture. (one of the many ethnics in Sabah state) It is a great place to learn about the culture of Kadazandusun's from their traditional dances, food and wine making to legendary stories.
While we were there, we were treated with some local wine and traditional food. There was a performance on traditional dances (Sumazau, Bamboo dance, Blowpipe shooting etc) Before each performance there would be a brief explanation on the dances and how it was performed as well as the objective behind each dance. We had the chance to participate in these dances as well! Next we were given a brief tour around and got to try out a very interesting delicacy known as the 'Rich man's meal' which is basically a huge juicy sago worm. Yes. WORM! (not for the faint hearted) We learnt how the people used to make traditional wine/ vodka from distillation processes and also visited the legendary House of Skulls where there are skulls of real humans, weapons, traditional artifacts and images are displayed. The tour guide also told us the story of the legendary Monsopiad; a warrior who grew up at the same village and protected the people with his fighting skills. It is said that he collects the heads of other warriors who terrorized his village as trophies. Hence, the House of Skulls.
All in all it was a very productive and interesting day besides the fact that we were attacked by huge HUGE swarms of mosquitoes that left us dancing and prancing around.
Note: DO NOT WEAR SHORTS. Please cover up. Unless you are willing to feed these bloodsucking monsters with your blood.
Another NOTE:
The entrance fee's are a bit pricey because it is privately owned because there's huge amount of money needed in order to keep the village running properly and to preserve the place.
I would like to not only encourage the tourists but also the locals to visit this place to show support for a dying culture because sooner or later these traditions will not be around for you to experience. It is important to understand and appreciate the people we live with in a country filled with interesting cultures.
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| Traditional herbs for making wine |
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| Borneo Vodka |
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| Sago worm |
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| Lighting fire with dried bamboo |
A video of my trip would be uploaded on my YouTube channel soon! Stay tuned!
More info on the Village here:
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