There are more than 30 different ethnic groups in Sabah; speaking more than 50 languages, in over 80 different dialects. The largest of these groups is the indigenous Kadazan Dusun which covers the various ethnic subgroups that fall under the Dusunic language community.

The Kadazan Dusun in their traditional garb

As the predominant ethnic group, it accounts for 18.4%* of the total population in the state (including the Federal Territory of Labuan), concentrated mainly in the plains of the west coast and in the interior areas of Kota Kinabalu, Penampang, Ranau and Keningau.

The Kadazan Dusuns generally regard themselves as belonging to certain lineage groups but through time internal migration has brought about intermingling and as a result, a geographical classification seems to have become the chief way of describing them, as opposed to the old tribal names. [Godfrey A. Chatfield, Sabah A General Geography (Eastern Universities Press Sdn Bhd)]

Examples include the Tuaran Dusuns (or Suang Lotud); the Minokok; the Rungus; the Tempasuk Dusuns (or Tindal); the Orang Sungai (River People) who reside along the eastern rivers; and the Dusuns of Ranau and Tambunan. Many however prefer the simple term of Kadazan or Dusun.

Rungus girls performing the Mongiggol dance

Small differences in the customs, habits and even the physique of the different Kadazan Dusun groups are apparent but they share the same language (Austronesian, with dialect differences), and recount a similar legend of their origin.

However, the “when and how” tale of their arrival in Sabah, and the larger part of Borneo, remains sketchy. The discovery of human remains in the Niah Caves of neighbouring Sarawak, however, show that the island of Borneo was inhabited as early as 38,000BC. The Kadazan Dusuns are generally believed to be part of a drift of peoples out of southern China, belonging to Proto-Malay stock.

Traditionally, they are a farming community, living in large kinship groups in longhouses and working the fertile hills and plains of Sabah. Their principal crop is irrigated rice, which they supplement with the nomadic slash-and-burn agriculture that produces dry rice, corn and sweet potatoes.

This explains why their animistic system of beliefs revolve around rice-planting and harvesting, as so grandly demonstrated during such festivals as the Harvest Festival or Pesta Kaamatan.

They were also feared as headhunters; the legend of Monsopiad being a stern reminder of this gruesome past.

Nowadays however, much have changed. Headhunting is now illegal. The younger generation has moved on with the wave of modernisation, diversifying into different professions.

Many have left the communal dwellings, choosing instead to live in modern houses; the only Kadazan Dusun tribe which continues to live in the longhouse is the Rungus. Also, the majority of the Kadazan Dusuns have embraced Christianity, while many have converted to Islam.

That's not to say however that the Kadazan Dusuns have altogether left behind their rich culture and traditions. One only needs to look at their arts, festivals, rituals and of course, their age-old tradition of hospitality, to realise this heritage is still thriving today.

*Percentage derived from the Population and Housing Census of Malaysia, 2000, Yearbook of Statistics, Sabah 2001, Department of Statistics Malaysia