Rungu (Borneo ethnic group)
Encyclopedia
The Rungus are an ethnic group
of Borneo
, residing primarily in northern Sabah
in the area surrounding Kudat
. A sub-group of the Kadazan-Dusun
, they have a distinctive language, dress, architecture, customs, and oral literature
.
; however, coconut
and banana
groves provide cash income. Women weave cloth on backstrap looms, and make containers from vine or beadwork. Many Rungus now work in town, and have abandoned the communal life of the longhouse for modern Malaysian society. Traditionally animist, with female shamans, most Rungus are now Christian
.
with outward sloping walls provides a place for socializing and communal work. The Rungus longhouse is quite different from the Murut
longhouse. The houses are not perched on high stilts, but are usually only three to five feet above ground. The roof is low, and the walls are outward sloped. In olden times, longhouses of over 75 doors are said to have been common. Now, they rarely exceed 10 doors. Usually single story, more modern two-story versions of the longhouse also exist. Single family houses are sometimes built near the longhouse – these take the same form, but are curiously short, looking like a slice from a cake.
coils around their arms, legs and necks. Brass arm coils are often accompanied by white and coral
shell bracelets. Rings of brass may also be worn around the waist.
The sandang is a pair of long beaded strands, mostly with matching beads. These are worn crossed over the chest like the pinakol.
The sulau is a flat beaded choker worn around the neck with two clamshell discs, one in front and one in back. Small bells are attached in the front. They make the discs out of plastic nowaday The tinggot is a short choker, either single beaded or with narrow beadwork. Men and women wear these.
The togkul is a necklace some 26 inches (66 cm) long with beads similar to the sandang but smaller and worn around the neck.
The sisingal is a narrow beaded band worn around the head.
The rampai is made of cotton, flowers and beads worked into the hair.
The orot. "Little brass rings and antique beads looped through thin strands of stripped bark (togung) becomes a wide and colorful hipband. To wear this the orot is slowly and carefully coiled around the hip. Then a last string of beads (lobokon) is hung loosely from the coil. The orot is hand made by the Rungus men as the technique is known only to them." (Benggon 1992:14)
The bobolizan originates with the Tuaran Lotud group of Sabah, but according to Rose Sabala sometimes Rungus wear bobolizan to talk to spirits in the old language.
There are also sad'ang, earrings that sometimes have beads attached.
Many of the beads used by the Rungus are plastic and glass imitations of older heirloom beads. Adrian said that his grandmother uses plastic spoons, heating them over a flame and winding the hot plastic onto a metal rod to make yellow beads.
, Rungus people also celebrate Kaamatan
This festival is usually celebrated on 31 May every year. Even though there is many similarities the way of celebration between this two race but there is also comparison.
Ethnic group
An ethnic group is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture and/or an ideology that stresses common ancestry or endogamy...
of Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
, residing primarily in northern Sabah
Sabah
Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...
in the area surrounding Kudat
Kudat
Kudat is a town in Sabah, East Malaysia, on the northern tip of Borneo island. It serves as the administrative center for the Kudat Division, which includes the towns of Kudat, Pitas, Kota Marudu, and some offshore islands....
. A sub-group of the Kadazan-Dusun
Kadazan-Dusun
Kadazan-Dusun is the term assigned to the unification of the classification of two indigenous tribes in Sabah, Malaysia—the ethnic groups Kadazan and Dusun.- History :...
, they have a distinctive language, dress, architecture, customs, and oral literature
Oral literature
Oral literature corresponds in the sphere of the spoken word to literature as literature operates in the domain of the written word. It thus forms a generally more fundamental component of culture, but operates in many ways as one might expect literature to do...
.
Subsistence
As with most indigenous ethnic groups in Borneo, culture revolves around riceRice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
; however, coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
and banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
groves provide cash income. Women weave cloth on backstrap looms, and make containers from vine or beadwork. Many Rungus now work in town, and have abandoned the communal life of the longhouse for modern Malaysian society. Traditionally animist, with female shamans, most Rungus are now Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
.
Longhouses
Considered one of the most traditional ethnic groups in Sabah, many Rungus live in longhouses, with each family having its own separate quarters off a common hall. At the edge of the communal hall, a well-ventilated platform of split bambooBamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
with outward sloping walls provides a place for socializing and communal work. The Rungus longhouse is quite different from the Murut
Murut people
The Murut is the warrior tribe of indigenous ethnic groups inhabiting northern inland regions of Borneo. The Murut comprise several people groups that are scattered in parts of Borneo Island including Brunei, Kalimantan...
longhouse. The houses are not perched on high stilts, but are usually only three to five feet above ground. The roof is low, and the walls are outward sloped. In olden times, longhouses of over 75 doors are said to have been common. Now, they rarely exceed 10 doors. Usually single story, more modern two-story versions of the longhouse also exist. Single family houses are sometimes built near the longhouse – these take the same form, but are curiously short, looking like a slice from a cake.
Dress
The traditional Rungus dress is black, often with hundreds or even thousands of dollars worth of antique beads. Traditionally all Rungus women wore heavy brassBrass
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin...
coils around their arms, legs and necks. Brass arm coils are often accompanied by white and coral
Coral
Corals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of...
shell bracelets. Rings of brass may also be worn around the waist.
Beadwork
This beadwork and its designs easily distinguish the Rungus from the other ethnic groups of Sabah. "The beadwork often tells a story and this one in particular tells of a man going spear-hunting for a riverine creature" (Benggon 1992:14). The pinakol consists of a pair of flat beaded bandoleer-type belts worn crossed over the chest and back.The sandang is a pair of long beaded strands, mostly with matching beads. These are worn crossed over the chest like the pinakol.
The sulau is a flat beaded choker worn around the neck with two clamshell discs, one in front and one in back. Small bells are attached in the front. They make the discs out of plastic nowaday The tinggot is a short choker, either single beaded or with narrow beadwork. Men and women wear these.
The togkul is a necklace some 26 inches (66 cm) long with beads similar to the sandang but smaller and worn around the neck.
The sisingal is a narrow beaded band worn around the head.
The rampai is made of cotton, flowers and beads worked into the hair.
The orot. "Little brass rings and antique beads looped through thin strands of stripped bark (togung) becomes a wide and colorful hipband. To wear this the orot is slowly and carefully coiled around the hip. Then a last string of beads (lobokon) is hung loosely from the coil. The orot is hand made by the Rungus men as the technique is known only to them." (Benggon 1992:14)
The bobolizan originates with the Tuaran Lotud group of Sabah, but according to Rose Sabala sometimes Rungus wear bobolizan to talk to spirits in the old language.
There are also sad'ang, earrings that sometimes have beads attached.
Many of the beads used by the Rungus are plastic and glass imitations of older heirloom beads. Adrian said that his grandmother uses plastic spoons, heating them over a flame and winding the hot plastic onto a metal rod to make yellow beads.
Festival
Like the Kadazan-DusunKadazan-Dusun
Kadazan-Dusun is the term assigned to the unification of the classification of two indigenous tribes in Sabah, Malaysia—the ethnic groups Kadazan and Dusun.- History :...
, Rungus people also celebrate Kaamatan
Kaamatan
The Kaamatan festival is an annual event in the cultural life of the Kadazandusuns of Sabah since time immemorial. In its deepest sense, Kaamatan festival is a manifestation of Creator and Creation relationship, as well as Inter-Creations relationship...
This festival is usually celebrated on 31 May every year. Even though there is many similarities the way of celebration between this two race but there is also comparison.