Mari Mari Cultural Village, Sabah, Malaysia

This is Janis blogging today.  David didn't join me on March 3rd when the ship docked at Kota Kinabalu ("KK"), Malaysia, because he was nursing a cold (he's better now).

Geography:  KK, a modern city built after its predecessor, Jesselton, was destroyed by Japanaese bombing during WWII, is the capital of the Malaysian state of Sabah.  Sabah is located in East Malaysia on the island of Borneo.  KK is named for Mt. Kinabalu, a jagged mountain in Sabah that is 13,435 feet high, the highest mountain between New Guinea and the Himalayas.  It is located in Kinabalu Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Malaysia is composed of two noncontiguous regions: West Malaysia (Malaysia Barat), which is on the Malay Peninsula; and East Malaysia (Malaysia Timur), which is on the island of Borneo.  We will go to West Malaysia later in March after stops in China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Singapore.

As exotic as Malaysia sounds to my ear, Borneo sounds even more exotic, conjuring up images of unfriendly tribespeople.  So when the guide on my excursion announced, "Welcome to Borneo," I was taken aback.  Three countries occupy the island of Borneo: Malaysia in the north, Indonesia in the south and Brunei, which is a carve-out country within the land mass that is East Malaysia.

Background:  Malaysia is a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy.  It had been part of a British-ruled territory during the 18th and 19th centuries known as North Borneo, and was occupied by Japan from 1942-1945.  The territory reverted to the British at the end of WWII but, according to our guide, the British were financially unable to reconstruct the areas damaged during the war, and in 1948 the British-ruled territories on the Malay Peninsula, except Singapore, formed the Federation of Malaya, which became independent in 1957.  Malaysia was formed in 1963 when the former British colonies of Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak on the northern coast of Borneo joined the Federation.  The transition to independence was challenging due to a communist insurgency, confrontations with Indonesia, Philippine claims to Sabah and Singapore's withdrawal in 1965.  The country is now stable.  Much of the stability is attributed to the prime minister who served from 1981-2003.  The king, currently King Muhammad V, installed in 2016, is largely a ceremonial postion but the king appoints the prime minister.

Approximately 31 million people live in Malaysia, 3.8 million of whom live in Sabah and 500,000 of whom live in KK.  There are 32 tribes in Sabah and 80 dialects are spoken.  Our guide told us that Malaysia, including Sabah, continues to be a tribal culture.  The tribes are known for specific skills such as farming of rice and fruit, horsemen, and hunters.  Nonetheless, young people go to school, including college and seek jobs in their fields.

Islam is the religion of the majority of the people.  The majority Muslim ethnic Malay are dominant politically as well as in business, education and the civil service, however the ethnic Chinese minority, who are predominately Christian and Buddhist, hold their own economically.  There are also people originally from India, including Sikhs.  Our guide told us that the various communities co-exist in relative harmony.

Manufacturing, logging, palm oil plantations, tourism and climate change are threatening the environment, including the rainforests in northern Borneo.  Unfortunately, this is not a new story.

My day:  We began with the usual warm local welcome at the port.

      

I went to Mari Mari Cultural Village in the lush interior outside of KK in the state of Sabah, also known as the jungle.  For the first time on this trip, I used insect repellant because we were told to expect mosquitos.  If there were mosquitos, they must have been repelled by the Cutter Back Woods spray I used because I was unaware of them.  To reach Mari Mari, we drove along the South China Sea with mountains in the background until turning inland.  It was a hot and humid day with temperatures in the 90s.

Mari Mari, which means "come", is a living history center that consists of various homes that represent the five primary tribes that shaped Sabah's history and continue to have a presence.  Each home was built by descendants of the tribes they represent.  We visited each house and saw the traditions of each tribe from making blowpipes (historically used with poison darts as weapons but now used in games to hit targets and break balloons), starting a fire using bamboo, making rice wine and various sweets from rice and palm sugar, cooking food stuffed in bamboo over hot coals, raising non-stinging honey bees and harvesting honey and bees' wax, making clothes from tree bark, and jumping on a sisel trampoline-like floor to reach a hanging object in order to win the hand of a chosen woman (no reach, no woman).  Women did the cooking, wine making, honey gathering, weaving and child rearing.  Men did the other tasks, including making the clothes from tree bark. (See the photo of the drying tree bark.)  In each house, there was an elevated sleeping area accessed by ladders where the daughters slept.  We were told that because it was common for opposing tribes to kidnap or try to kidnap girls, while the girls were sleeping, the ladders were stored in the parents' rooms.  Note photo of me sitting in a ceremonial wedding area.

                

  
  
  
  
  
    
  


One of the most interesting visits was to the Murut tribal house.  The Murut tribesmen were head hunters until 1915.  Our local Mari Mari guide prepared us for the visit, including the ritual approach that relied upon a chief chosen from the group to meet the chief, engage the ritualistic greeting of putting one hand on the shoulder of the other and communicate that the group came in friendship.  I was chosen as the chief and was initially startled by war-like shrieking from several tribal members as they jumped at us from unexpected places.  Our local guide translated what the the tribal chief asked me in his native tribal language.  I answered in English and the chief understood.  As you can see from the photo below, it all went well and our group was welcomed into the tribal area.

After visting the Murut tribe, we attended a performance of traditional dance and music.  The musical instruments were all hand made from available materials, such as pans and tree parts.

    

Our local Mari Mari guide was a member of one of the tribes represented in the cultural center.  He recently graduated from a university in Malaysia with a degree in marketing and an emphasis in tourism.  I had the sense that his current job is just that.  He was well-spoken, mindful and considerate.   

I enjoyed the excursion. As with many things on a cruise, making my choice to see the Mari Mari Cultural Center meant that I didn't get to visit the city or other areas surrounding it.  Nonetheless, I am interested in cultural issues so this was a logical excursion for me. 

Yesterday we visited Manila.  David will blog about that soon.  We are now at sea and will be for the next three days as we head to Shanghai.