For those who wonder what it is like to live in a Rungus longhouse, the Maranjak Longhouse Lodge in Kudat is the place for the experience.
Built in 2005 by Maranjak Malarag on a piece of land that he had inherited at Kampung Bavanggazo in Matunggong - approximately 40 kilometers away from Kudat town, the Maranjak Longhouse Lodge is built of bamboo, a traditional building material of the Rungus in Kudat.
Maranjak used his own savings to build the 21 twin-room longhouse.This home-stay longhouse is operated by Maranjak’s family with help from the village community.
To give visitors an authentic experience of Rungus life, the Maranjak Longhouse allows their guests to take part in daily kampung activities such as fishing using the bubu (a traditional fish trap made of bamboo), jungle trekking and cycling around the village.
The home-stay also serves traditional Rungus food at dinner and arranges demonstrations of Rungus cooking as well.
In the evening, after dinner, visitors are entertained to traditional Rungus musical and cultural performances by the villagers in the lounge area.
Clad in traditional Rungus costumes, they would play music using the turali (traditional nose flute) and mongurunding (two-stringed lute) and dance the mongigol sumundai, mangatip-atip and the manaradan dances.
During the day before nightfall, the women of the village would come to the longhouse to display and sell their ware of handmade beads and other handicrafts on the longhouse corridor.
Visitors can also see demonstrations of how various Rungus handicrafts are made - from their famous bead-necklaces and other knick-knacks to their intricately woven tapestry called kain pudang.
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