Kalimaran Festival to be held in Tenom in July

KENINGAU: The state-level Kalimaran Festival will be held at the Sabah Murut Cultural Centre in Kampung Pulong, Tenom in July.

Sabah Murut Association (PMS) president Datuk Rubin Balang said the festival held over the past ten years will highlight the various customs and culture of the Murut communities in the state.

“The festival aims to unite Muruts so that we can elevate and showcase our customs and culture to the present and future generations,” he said.

Speaking to reporters after officiating the district-level Kalimaran Festival at Kampung Limbawan here on Saturday, he said the customs and culture of the society inherited from their ancestors will continue to be maintained.

Rubin, who is also Kemabong assemblyman, said that PMS had been teaching the Murut language as the mother tongue of the Murut ethnic group in the state over the past few years.

“PMS and Murut communities thank the federal government for giving special provisions to the Murut Language Teaching Bureau headed by Senator Datuk Dr Lucas Umbul who has pioneered the teaching of native language in this community.

“The state government led by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Musa Haji Aman has also allocated sufficient funds to organize this festival at the state level to be held at Sabah Cultural Murut Center at Kampong Pulong Tenom where the Sabah Cultural Board and PMS are jointly organizing this celebration,” he said.

Rubin said a total of RM300,000 will be allocated for financing the festival at the state level this year.

He said for the past three years from 2015 until this year, PMS had organized this festival at the district level where Murut tribes live in this state.

Continue reading at: Kalimaran Festival to be held in Tenom in July

.
.

30,000 visitors expected for Kalimaran Festival in Tenom

The 11th Kalimaran Festival, an annual Murut cultural celebration, will be held at the Sabah Murut Cultural Centre in Tenom from April 11 to 13.

Kalimaran refers to craftsmanship by the Murut ethnic.

The festival celebrates the richness of culture of the Muruts and presents most of their cultural aspects.

Assistant Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Kamarlin Ombi said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Musa Haji Aman was expected to officiate at the event at 7pm on April 13 at the Sabah Murut Cultural Centre.

The festival is co-organized by the state government through the Sabah Cultural Board and Tenom District Office in collaboration with the Sabah Murut Association.

Kamarlin said a new programme was added to the three-day event this year, that is the Tolak Bala ceremony to be held at 2pm on April 11.

He said the aim of the ceremony was to fend off any undesirable elements like bad weather to ensure the programme ran smoothly.

The 10th Kalimaran Festival held over three days in 2012, attracted 15,000 visitors.

“This year, we are targeting 30,000 visitors,” Kamarlin said in a press conference here yesterday, adding that the event was not held last year due to the 13th General Election.

“The event not only draws visitors from Keningau, Tenom and Nabwan, but also from Lawas and Sarawak as well.”

As of now, hotels in Tenom are reportedly fully booked during the duration of the festival.

He also believed that foreign tourists would participate in the festival.

The state government has adopted Kalimaran Festival as a state-level event since 2003, the first being held on April 4-5, 2003.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: 30,000 visitors expected for Kalimaran Festival in Tenom

.
.

Places of Interest in Sabah: Murut Cultural Centre, Tenom

The Murut Cultural Centre is situated in Kampung Pulong, about 10 kilometers away from Tenom town.

The location of this cultural centre is conspicuously located just by the roadside, on the left hand side of the road if you’re heading from the direction of Kota Kinabalu.

The centre covers an area of 33 acres and lies next to the Pegalan River. The humongous building of the Murut Cultural Centre alone stretches out to 20 acres large. The cultural centre houses an interesting gallery which displays many artifacts such as jars, gongs, and traditional designs of the indigenous Murut inhabitants.

The impressive buildings of the Murut Cultural Centre are mainly constructed out of local timber. The gigantic pillars epitomize elements of Murut architectures. Chiseled carvings on the pillars and the buildings’ interior panels offer a glimpse of the authentic Murut architecture.

The Murut Cultural Centre is open daily from 9am to 5pm.

Source: Sabah Tourism

NOTE: Photo Copyright to e-borneo.com

ED NOTE: A recent visit on a sleepy Sunday found the Murut Cultural Centre to be 'sleeping'. We were not greeted by anyone and we simply tour the compound on our own. The Centre normally only comes alive once a year during the Pesta Kalimaran cultural celebration in April. It would be a shame if this impressive work of art and culture is left lifeless during the majority of the year. It would definitely be hard to impress tourists (both local and foreign) who walk-in to the Centre. More crucially, the colourful Murut culture will lose the opportunity to be introduced to visitors. But, it is still worthwhile to drop by at the Centre when you are in Tenom. With well-written information along all the displays and exhibits, a self-guided tour will be equally intriguing to learn more about the culture of the Muruts, one of the indigenous people of Sabah.

.
.

Sabah Tourism: 9th Pesta Kalimaran, Tenom

Date: 07 - 10 April 2011

Pesta Kalimaran (Kalimaran Fest) is an annual cultural celebration of the Muruts. It celebrates the richness of culture of the Muruts and presents most of their cultural aspects. Therefore, to know the Muruts closely, Pesta Kalimaran is the venue.

The word Kalimaran refers to the craftsmanship activities of the Muruts. It is derived from the Murut's words ralaa and alimar. Ralaa means young lady and alimar means hardworking, strong-minded, diligent and trustworthy. According to the story, there was a young Murut lady called Ralaa. She was a hardworking, strong-minded, diligent and trustworthy young lady. But her brother Yolomor had to sacrifice her for the benefit of their community. Before she was sacrificed she managed to produce many handicrafts like the Tikar, Silaung, Tikalis, Buyung, Lintoyog and Onot by using raw materials like bamboo, rattan and bamban. Ralaa ended her kalimaran by weaving cloth, sampoi (scarf) by using thread, which was produced from Timahan roots. Finally, Ralaa was sacrificed by Yolomor to get seeds for his cultivation farm.

Sabah state government has adopted Pesta Kalimaran as a state level celebration in the year 2003. First state level Pesta Kalimaran was on the 4th and 5th April 2003. Since then it is celebrated in April every year at Sabah Murut Cultural Centre. It is co-organised by Sabah state government through Sabah Cultural Board and Sabah Murut Association in collaboration with Tenom District Office. For this year’s (2011), some of the activities have to relocated to be Tenom town due to the ongoing upgrading works of the Murut Cultural Centre (please refer to the Kalimaran detailed programme). See you there!

Sabah Murut Cultural Centre (Pusat Kebudayaan Murut Sabah) is a cultural centre for the Muruts of Sabah. It is located at Kampung Pulong, 13 km from Tenom Town. The construction of the unique building started in 1994 and completed in 1996. The construction cost was more than twelve million (Malaysian Ringgit). It is unique in a sense that the building itself is a manifestation of the most aspects of the Muruts' culture. What's more, it is the biggest Belian (hardwood timber) building in Borneo (popularly known as 4B building)!

Source: Sabah Cultural Board

NOTE: Photo Copyright to Sabah Cultural Board
.
.

Murut community open house debut at Kalimaran Festival

TENOM: “Ansaluang” or Murut community open house was held for the first time yesterday at the Murut Cultural Centre here.

The inaugural open house was the much-awaited event at the Kalimaran Festival which began on Friday.

Among the food served at the open house were Murut traditional dishes like Umbud Imbalua (wild vegetables), Umbus (tapioca leaves), Lamu Binulu (rice cooked in bamboo), Linopod (rice wrapped in leaves) and others made of bamboo shoots, preserved fish and buffalo bones.

Various stage performances and dances were also performed by Murut sub-ethnic groups in the spirit of 1Malaysia.

Yet, the centre of attraction at the open house was probably Daud Udin from the Murut Lundayeh tribe who was believed to be the oldest of Murut men.

Local and foreign visitors were seen taking one picture after another with the 112-year-old man who was dressed in his traditional Murut outfit.

“This is the second time I participated in the Kalimaran festival,” said Daud who hails from Kampung Kuala Punti, Membulu in Keningau.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: Murut community open house debut at Kalimaran Festival
.
.

Glimpse into Murut people's culture

TENOM: Sabah's Murut community showed off their culture at the Kalimaran Festival here over the weekend.

Among the activities organised were a beauty pageant, exhibitions by private and government organisations, traditional sports, food tasting and song and dance performances.

Bright red loin-clothed men wearing vests made from tree bark, women in black costumes with sparkling beads, joined by community and state leaders wearing tall woven hats, added colour to the two-day event at the Murut Cultural Centre.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Tan Sri Bernard Dompok closed the festival on Sunday while a day earlier, state Culture, Environment and Tourism Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun represented Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman at the opening ceremony.

Continue reading (incl. pics) at: Glimpse into Murut people's culture
.

Pesta Kalimaran: Best means of keeping heritage alive

Tenom: Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman said holding various ethnic cultural festivals is important in ensuring continuity of the State's cultural heritage which can, otherwise, be easily forgotten due to globalisation.

He said these ethnic festivals not only make the ethnics concerned more known and popular but attract more tourists.

Last year, Sabah continued to record an increase in tourist arrivals to 2.3 million, compared to 1.25 million in 2003.

The country is also estimated to receive over 24 million tourists by next year and the expected income to be generated will be about RM59 billion.

In terms of employment, this is expected to provide 520,700 jobs.

Musa, who is also State Finance Minister, was speaking at the Kalimaran Festival 2009 themed "Kalimaran Towards Progressive Community" held at the Murut Cultural Centre in Polong, about 13km from town, Saturday.

His speech was read by State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun.

He is also proud with the tourism development in Tenom which apart from the cultural centre also had other interesting and popular tourism products including white water rafting, Sabah Agriculture Park in Lagud Sebrang, Crocker Range, Tenom Coffee, and so on.

Musa also suggested that Kalimaran Festival be upgraded into one of the State's tourism products.

Continue reading at: Pesta Kalimaran: Best means of keeping heritage alive
.

Sabah Tourism Upcoming Event: Pesta Kalimaran

Date: 04 - 05 April 2009

Join the folks of Tenom, who will be highlighting the rich culture of the Murut people, through colourful and fascinating cultural performances, handicraft demonstrations and sale booths plus many other exciting activities.

Further Information:

Organiser : Murut Cultural Centre
Venue : Sabah Murut Cultural Centre
Contact Person : Mackey Apison
Telephone : +6088 268812 / 268884
Fax : +6088 264235
Email Contact : Mackey.Apison@sabah.gov.my
Event Website : http://www.sabah.gov.my/lks/page.asp?v=kalimaran

Source: Sabah Tourism

NOTE: Photo Copyright to Sabah Tourism

.

Interesting events at Pesta Kalimaran

Kota Kinabalu: A string of interesting events including unorthodox rewards in the forms of ox and goats for winners have been lined up for this year's Pesta Kalimaran on April 3-5 at the Murut Cultural Centre in Tenom, according to the Sabah Cultural Board.

Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman will launch the celebration on April 4 at 10am, as he has done over the past couple of years.

But a full day of exhibitive and drawing activities will start almost at the crack of dawn on April 3, the highlight being a preliminary Kalimaran beauty contest at 2pm.

Exhibition on agricultural products and their sales will start on day one at 7.30am, featuring both government and non-government agencies and their respective booths.

A central component of the exhibition will be the best of Murut handicrafts, including live handicraft making demonstrations and of course, sales.

For culture buffs who are attracted to diversity, Murut sub-ethnic groups will be out to showcase their cultural variations through exhibitions of their own, till 10pm.

Continue reading (incl. pic) at: Interesting events at Pesta Kalimaran
.

Pesta Kalimaran - Celebrating the rich culture of Muruts

THE annual Murut cultural festival known as Pesta Kalimaran celebrates almost a complete range of their famously rich culture that distinguishes Sabah from its neighbours.

Not surprisingly, one way to appreciate and understand the culture of Sabah's indigenous Murut people is to head for the Pesta Kalimaran which will be a three-day affair between April 3-5 April in Tenom.

According to a culture officer with the Sabah Cultural Board, the word 'Kalimaran' refers to the craftsmanship of the Muruts.

It is rooted in two words: ralaa and alimar.

Ralaa means young lady and alimar means hardworking, strong-minded, diligent and trustworthy.

The story has it that there was a young Murut lady named Ralaa who had all these wonderful personal virtues: hardworking, strong-minded and trustworthy.

The sad part was, in the interest of their community, her brother named Yolomor believed he had to sacrifice her.

But before that tragic event, she managed to produce a flurry of handicraft of excellent quality such as Tikar, Silaung, Tikalis, Buyung, Lintoyog and Onot by using raw materials like bamboo, rattan and bamban.

Continue reading at: Pesta Kalimaran - Celebrating the rich culture of Muruts
.

April dates for Kalimaran Fest

TENOM: The Kalimaran Festival, a traditional Murut celebration that was scheduled on 28 and 29 March this year has been postponed to 4 and 5 April.

Chairman of the Sabah Cultural Board Datuk Wilfred Madius Tangau said the delay was due to reasons that could not be avoided.

Nevertheless, he assured all the programmes that had been planned earlier remained unchanged with more interesting highlights to be included.

The Kalimaran Festival that will be officiated by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Haji Aman will feature among others, a colourful display of the cultures and traditions of eight Murut sub-groups in Sabah.

These are the Tagol, Timugon, Paluan Baukan, Nabai, Kolor, Gana and Sambakong that can be found in Tenom, Nabawan/Pensiangan, Sipitang, Keningau and Tawau as well as the sub-districts of Kemabong, Sook and Pegalungan.

Continue reading at: April dates for Kalimaran Fest

Kalimaran Fest to only showcase Murut culture

KOTA KINABALU: Kalimaran Fest 2008, which will be held for two days beginning today in Tenom, will only exhibit original Murut art and culture, said Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun.

He said the decision was made to preserve the originality of Murut art and culture from being mixed with other ethnic entities.

“This is why we decided to minimise the exhibition on other community art and culture,” he said here recently.

He said the approach was aimed at giving an opportunity to the Murut ethnic group, as well as visitors and tourists, to enjoy real Murut culture.

Masidi said the Kalimaran festival, which means art festival in the Murut language, would be held at the Murut Culture Centre in Kampung Polong, Tenom.

Continue reading at: Kalimaran Fest to only showcase Murut culture

Over 10,000 expected for Kalimaran annual festival in Tenom

KOTA KINABALU: More than 10,000 people are expected to attend Pesta Kalimaran, an annual festival that honours and celebrates the Murut people and their tradition, in Tenom from 26 to 27 April.

Visitors can watch and take part in a myriad of traditional dances and games or view the intricate designs on the Murut attire particularly from the largest sub-groups of the Tagol from Nabawan and Timugon from Tenom. These events will take place at the Tenom Murut Cultural Centre and will be declared open by the Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Musa Haji Aman.

The highlight of the two-day event will be a popular song Murut chart competition organised by RTM. Those who come between 7am and 10am on April 26 will be given lucky draw tickets for free and stand a chance to win electrical goods at the draw on the same day at 12.30pm.

Continue reading at: Over 10,000 expected for Kalimaran annual festival in Tenom