Penampang District Chief Officiate Closing of Handicraft Workshop at Kg Babagon, and gave a name for a new creation.

PENAMPANG. The native cultural heritage such as the methods and skills in producing our handicrafts must be documented and published by our own people because this is our intellectual property. Similarly, researching and documenting our traditional beliefs in taboos should also be published in books by our own graduates when they return to their villages upon graduation.

This will prevent our intellectual property from being lost forever, or taken over by foreign researchers who comes to study the local crafts and then claim as their own. These publication can be another source of economy for the locals. The government through the Sabah State Cultural Board (LKNS) is giving full support by assisting in the publication of such materials submitted to them and every local Sabahan is welcomed.

 

Our graduates should not feel that it is a waste of their time to "Balik kampung" and carry out detail research of all our cultural intellectual properties and document them as it can provide them with extra income while hunting for their first job.

Newly appointed Penampang District Chief Brian Lojingon said this during a simple closing ceremony of handicraft workshop carried out at Kampung Babagon on Friday 25th April 2014, at 2 pm.

The course was attended by 15 participants including ten youths who learnt to make nearly all the handicrafts seen in the market including sompoton, wakid, sirung, baraait (knapsack) and others as well as learning to play the musical sompoton and bamboo gongs. The course was sponsored by Yayasan Sabah Social Activity and Economy Department and the tutor is a local skilful craftsman, En Gatail Guntaba.

Yayasan Sabah Officer Theresa Yong informed that certain villages are assigned to produce one type of handicraft and approval for courses are normally given to rural villages.

Meanwhile, Lojingon suggested a name for a newly created bamboo drinking set which can fill several mugs with one pour. The name was “Singgarung Gumu” or “drinks aplenty” since the elders of Babagon could not give the name when queried.

 

JKKK Chariman Dennis John, District Chief Brian Lojingon and Yayasan Sabah Officer Theresa Yong (right) watching a demonstration by Village Chief Andreas Doon Molinggun, how to use the new multi-pour bamboo utensil, named "Singgarung Gumu" by Brian.

 

Close up of the Singgarung Gumu or "Drinks Aplenty" placed on a "kohintung" or bamboo tray, usually used in winnowing padi.



And below are a few videos taken during this short event.

GOOD FRIDAY CROSS AT TIVUNG ON THE BRINK OF COLLAPSE

A group of old boys from St. Michael’s School Penampang (names too long to write) believe that the Good Friday this year is the last that the 120 years old famous landmark, the Cross on Tivung Hill will be seen. The onslaught of unregulated development and hill cutting has put the cross on the brink of collapse.

The suggestion that if the hill collapse, the cross can be re-erected at the same location but at a lower height is dismissed by the group as having an ulterior motive.

According to them, church records show that the first hardwood timber cross was erected by a German Mill Hill Missionary priest known as Rev. (Tuan) Father Duxneuner in 1893 in protest against the plan by the British Chartered Company to turn a large farming land surrounding the hills into a Rubber Estate, with support from the local natives.

For several decades the hill became a focal point for the local parish to perform the Station of the Cross Prayers but had to stop since the foot of the hill was sold to a developer.

Last Christmas a local engineer Banie Lasimbang and friends lighted up the cross using solar technology in protest for the loss of this landmark but no champion of history or heritage came to support publicly.