All posts tagged: malaysia

Rungus women keep tradition alive

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Away from urbanisation, the Rungus community in Kampung Bavanggazo, near Tinangol in the Kudat district, lead a simple lifestyle where the women rely on handicraft as a source of income. These women, mostly aged above 40, are known as the makers of inavol, which is a dying tradition. Monuraging Monzipal, 60, said inavol is a traditional woven sash with geometric motifs worn crosswise across the chest. It is also famous as a gift for tourists. She said it was normally worn by the Rungus men together with their traditional costume during rituals. “However, inavol-making is slowly dying out because the younger generation is not keen on learning the skill.

A noisy village not far from the Northern Tip of Borneo

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AS the clock strikes 8am, villagers of Kampung Sumangkap in Kudat district  never fail to rise to the continuous sound of metal smacking. This noisy small village is  about three hours drive from the State capital (Kota Kinabalu). For some, hearing the sound of metal smacking first thing in the morning can be unbearable and  a nuisance, but for  these  “disturbers of  peace”, who  are  gong makers from the Rungus community, they are eking out a living as well as keeping  the tradition of gong making alive.

From Sabah to Ipoh for bachelorette party

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In September last year, I packed my bag, flew to Kuala Lumpur, and boarded a train to Ipoh, Perak. It was a last minute plan for a reunion trip to celebrate TK’s bachelorette party. There were four of us. I live in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah while my friends live and work in Kuala Lumpur. We had not seen each other for five years since graduation. During our uni years, we were coursemates and were always together. We called ourselves the Ivory Sisters – a name TK picked up as our ‘company’s name’ for our advertising and business courseworks/assignments. So when Joan, Candy, and I learnt about TK’s plan to tie the knot (she got married on 24 January 2015), we decided to meet up and chose Ipoh as our destination because we had always wanted to visit Joan’s hometown.

Next stop … Ipoh

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I had a four-day leave to attend a long distance cousin’s wedding in Kuala Lumpur and a day off cum family date the following day. My holidays, from Sept 19 to 23, were well spent with close friends and family. I am now sitting in front of my computer screen and typing all this while waiting for my 3.30pm assignment. Today is a welcome-back-to-work day but unlike the usual back-to-busy-schedule week, I get to spend another day of work tomorrow before packing again. This Friday, I will be flying to Kuala Lumpur and taking a train to Ipoh, Perak. I haven’t been to Ipoh since my last visit in 2000/2001 and I couldn’t remember anything about Ipoh because I was there for a sport competition and that was it. So for this coming trip, I am definitely looking forward to visit Kellie’s Castle and other places worth visiting.