Tatana – Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment Sabah (KePKAS)

Odou Bakanjar potential as tourism product

KUALA PENYU: The Odou Bakanjar celebration of the Tatana community has the potential to become a tourism product, especially in Kuala Penyu district. Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal said the richness of the country’s ethnic and cultural treasures is an important asset in the tourism industry, which in turn drives the economy of Sabah’s people and state. He said Sabah had many ethnicities and was rich in its cultural traditions. For example, the Tatana ethnic community in Kuala Penyu is one of the most important ethnic groups in Sabah. “As such I hope that ethnic festivals like Odou Bakanjar will be a tourism product as it will attract more tourists from within and outside to Sabah,” he said, at the 6th Odou Bakanjar Celebration, at the Cultural Village, here, Saturday. The text of his speech was delivered by Sabah Rural Development Minister Datuk Ewon Benedick. Shafie said the Odou celebration also serves as a field to showcase the customs, art and culture of the Tatana people so that this heritage continues to be passed on to the younger generation. “I hope the younger generation has a strong interest in learning and inheriting this valuable culture. The younger generation should not be overwhelmed by the sophistication of gadgets and social media alone. “I believe this effort will preserve the ethnic culture which includes food, dance, traditional music, clothing, language, literature, customs and so on which is an ethnic identity,” he said. Shafie hopes through the Odou Bakanjar, the spirit of friendship and unity among the community would continue to thrive and be preserved. “This is because unity is an important asset to drive the development of the state,” he said. In addition, understanding the culture of a society and ethnicity is important as it will foster a sense of brotherhood within the community.“The high spirit of brotherhood will further strengthen the friendship and unity among all ethnic groups in the state. This unity will ultimately help to maintain a peaceful environment in Sabah and Malaysia in general,” he said. Source: Daily Express

Tatana showcases unique culture

KUALA PENYU: The Harvest Festival, or Kaamatan, is related to rice harvest and may have always been celebrated by the Tatana people in Kuala Penyu but many youngsters particularly those below 15 years of age may never have seen how rice is cultivated. This is because rice cultivation in the district has ceased for around 10 years, with many rice fields having been turned into residential areas or left for buffalo grazing. So when a rare showcase of paddy processing methods was shown at the inaugural Tatana Culture Carnival (Karnival Budaya Tatana) in Kampung Bundu, here, last week, many in the audience thought it was a ‘strange’ ritual. The process, known as tumutu (pounding of paddy grains to turn them into rice) was one of the competitions held during the carnival, intended to ‘educate’ the young of how their elders derived their rice from before the advent of machines. Tumutu became obsolete long before farmers abandoned rice farming. The other interesting competition was mantangon which is Tatana Folklore story telling by school children. The contestants’ mastery of the language surprised many ‘old folks’ as it was believed that Tatana language in its purest form has gone extinct as less and less people can speak it and those who do are in their twilight years. Apart from the competitions, visitors to the Carnival were able to see traditional dance performances and Tatana’s very own beauty pageant ‘Busak Mosongon’. The carnival was organised by the Sabah Tatana Cultural Association (STCA) in its attempt to preserve the ethnic group’s unique cultural traditions and language. Its president, Tan Sri Wences Angang said that they are planning to make the event an annual or at least biennial event depending on funding availability. “Since STCA was established, we managed to make Pesta Bakanjar an annual event that is listed in the state’s tourism calendar. Although bakanjar showcases the Tatana’s traditional beliefs and culture, it does not cover other traditional ways of life such as paddy cultivation and story-telling. “Through the story telling competition in this carnival, we are able to attract the interests of the young to learn the language again, and subsequently preserving it from extinction,” he told New Sabah Times. According to him, the carnival was also supported by political leaders including incumbent Beaufort Member of Parliament, Datuk Azizah Mohd Dun and incumbent Kuala Penyu Assemblyman, Datuk Limus Jury. Source: New Sabah Times

Tag - Tatana

Odou Bakanjar potential as tourism product

Tatana showcases unique culture