MIBABAS and SOGIT

Mibabas. This is a Kadazan word that means 'to make peace' with someone we have hurt or when a person who has hurt us makes amend for what he or she has done. It is a way of saying, "I am sorry for hurting you and here is my peace offering as a sign that I am truly sorry."

The peace offering may be a chicken, a pig or a buffalo. The peace offering is determined by the village headman. In the absence of a headman, the norm is followed. This raises the question of what the norm is. The norm in one village or community may differ from that of another village or community. In reality, the seriousness of the wrong determines the type and size of the peace offering. The peace offering is called 'sogit' in Kadazan.

Sogit comes from the word 'osogit' which means cold. The sogit is intended to cause the enmity or antagonism between two people or two groups to cool down. It is believed that the sogit will ward off any bad luck or any untoward incident that may harm the one who caused the wrong.

However, sogit is also offered when something that is a taboo or prohibited occur. For example, a man may have molested someone's wife or daughter. Here the sogit is over and above the penal punishment and / or fine meted out by a court of law.

In the case of a serious offence, only a buffalo will suffice as the sogit. The animal peace offering has to be slaughtered and shared among the people of the village. The buffalo meat (or pork) will be distributed among the villagers. It is believed that by doing this, any calamity that may befall the village will be prevented. When a serious wrong is done, it is believed that it makes the village 'hot' ('ahasu' in Kadazan) meaning it is under some kind of curse.

Peace loving people may like this
Any person who values peace between people or between communities may love this native custom of mibabas and giving sogit.

But an increasing number of Kadazan refuse to adhere to this native custom. Society's values have changed due to outside influence. The world has become smaller because of enormous progress in the way people communicate as the result of great advances in technology. And the younger generations are susceptible to such influences because they were born in this technological age and are technology-savvy. Being constantly bombarded with values alien to their people, many refuse to follow the native norm.

In the past, a man would have to pay sogit if he held the hand of a woman who was not his wife. This was taboo. Because of changing values, one will often see a man holding the hand of a girl or woman without any fear of any sogit. You may even see a man and a woman hugging each other in public. And very often nothing will happen until the girl or woman becomes pregnant. And even then, leniency seems to be the rule of the day. Sometimes, the sogit will never be given and there is nothing that the parents of the girl can do.

It appears that sogit is losing its influence. There may come a time when it is totally considered irrelevant.When that time comes, people will come to appreciate the importance of the 'sogit' and 'mibabas.'


Created: July 27, 2016

PLEASE Don't Undermine the Dignity of Kadazans

In days long gone, there was this place where people call themselves "Kadazan". However, the Bruneis who took the liberty to claim the land as their own called these people "Dusun" because they saw that these people worked in farms, tilling the land and planting rice, fruits and vegetables.

This place was Papar. Owen Rutter ("The Pagan Tribes of North Borneo", 1929) confirmed that these local people had always called themselves "Kadazan" long before the British came. Papar still exists today and the descendants of the original Kadazan live there to this very day. With the rise of nationalism among the people, the name "Kadazan" was adopted wholeheartedly by the "Tangaah" of Penampang and the surrounding villages.

With this new development, Kadazan was chosen as the language for the first local radio broadcast. Kadazan was taught in Native Voluntary Schools that were established in the 1960s. There were the Kadazan Cultural Association (KCA) and Koisaan Komuhakan Kadazan Sabah (KKKS). There was also the United National Kadazan Organization (UNKO) renamed later as United Pasok-Momogun Kadazan Organization (UPKO).

Now, there are the Kadazan-Dusun Cultural Association (KDCA), formerly KCA, the Kadazan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), UPKO (United Pasok-Momogun Kadazan Organization, Kadazan Society Sabah (KSS) and other organizations that are much smaller. And there is the Kadazan Chair at UMS.

Do not make a mistake that may prove costly
MNC (Momogun National Congress) proposed to use "Momogun" for three groups of  natives, namely, the Dusunic, Paitanic and Murutic groups of people, thereby conveniently subsuming Kadazan under Dusunic. Based on Sabah Tourist Association list, Paitan is classified under Kadazandusun. Murut is in a separate grouping.

KDCA had already made known its stand that the agreed name is 'Kadazandusun' and will not accept 'momogun'. KDCA had issued a press statement on this. Why must KDCA agree to a proposed name that was very recent whereas the name 'Kadazandusun' adopted in the 1960s - affirmed by KDCA Congress in 1989 - has been proven as acceptable to the native people comprising of more than thirty tribes? Why must MNC open the wounds of old between the two camps of Sabahan natives, namely, the Kadazan and Dusun? Who will gain from any renewed rivalry?

Refrain from repeating the mistake of the past. Many of the things that the natives enjoy now were the results of the hard work and dedication of certain Kadazan leaders. Let us acknowledge the important contribution of Kadazans.

This is not to deny that natives, whether Kadazan or Dusun, are way behind other races in many areas including in the economic field. But when someone says that the 'momogun' (to use MNC's proposed name for these people) are weak or disunited politically, surely it is not the ordinary Kadazan or Dusun who caused the disunity but leaders. When people say that the 'momogun' lag behind other races in business, who is to be blamed? Why didn't 'momogun' leaders do something concrete and practical for their people for the past fifty years? Why did elected 'momogun' representatives forget the pledges they made during political campaigns? Why didn't all of these leaders support KDCA's educational objectives so that 'momogun' students could be sent to study in universities overseas?

The ordinary 'momogun' is not expecting to be given financial handouts every month to send their children to school, college or university. They just want to be given opportunities to get affordable loans, perhaps soft loans, for various purposes. They just need opportunities to earn an extra ringgit in order to make ends meet.

Further to this, why must a people burn a house that is still strong and only needs innovative improvements? Which people in the world do not want to succeed financially? Which race in the world do not want to be united, to be respected and accorded due recognition, to progress and prosper? Which people in the world do not aspire to have some degree of control over events that have a bearing on their future and, thus, determine their destiny as a people?

It takes years to build a people. It takes only one mistake to undo everything good gained so far. Native leaders cannot afford to make that mistake. If changes are indeed needed, these need to be studied in depth before proceeding further. 


Note: This blog is not meant to belittle the noble aims of MNC and its leaders.
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First created on July 7, 2016

KADAZAN: My People, My Race

This blog is an explanation of the Theme of the Blog "Kadazan: Tuhun Ku, Tinau Ku".

This blog tries to explain who these people calling themselves "Kadazan" are. This name refers specifically to the native people who live within the region between Penampang-Nosoob and Papar.

This name is combined with "Dusun" to give a general meaning that refers to all Kadazan and Dusun people.

In the past, the British colonialists named these people "Dusun" after the Brunei "orang dusun" which means people of the orchards. Official (British) documents stated that the people who live within the said region were "Dusun". But these people continued to call themeselves as "Kadazan". Owen Rutter made this very clear in his 1929 book.

Kadazan was used in Radio Sabah broadcast starting 1956. The problem seemed to be that the Kadazan personnel at Radio Sabah failed to take the Kadazan Language to a higher level. There was a reason for this. There were very few educated Kadazans at that time, what more having college education. The colonial government had little interest in helping to develop the language because of the perception that there would be little financial return. The British Chartered Company was established for one and one purpose only. Commercial gains!

Disunity seems to dog Kadazandusuns. To prevent disunity from getting worse, the people agreed on the group name "Kadazandusun"  which comprise of both Kadazans and Dusuns. This classification include more than thirty tribal groups including the Paitanic tribes.

Now, a ripple is threatening to divide them. Again! May those involved ask who will gain from disunity among themselves. Those who belong to groups other than Kadazan and Dusun should refrain from interfering in the affairs of Kadazan-Dusun.

This blog will say more on this and other matters in future.