Mothers wearing KDM traditional dresses celebrating the Kaamatan festival.
KENINGAU: Mothers at Kampung Tudan Baru, through their high level of commitment and cooperation, managed to organise two programs in one, namely the Kaamatan Festival and Mother’s Day.
The celebration was held for two days on May 30 and 31, where various cultural events and traditional sports were held at the village field.
With the love for art and culture, the mothers wore traditional costumes of the Kadazan Dusun and Murut (KDM) community which enlivened the Harvest Festival celebration, even thought it was celebrated moderately.
The festival was also participated by children and youth with full colourful traditional dresses.
Among the events held during the festival were traditional sports, Unduk Ngadau for children as well as cultural performances.
The village population consists mainly of KDM although there are also other tribes as a result of mixed marriages.
On the night of May 31, the Mother’s Day celebration was held at the village hall, with a variety of exciting events including karaoke singing, traditional dances as well as lucky draws, and highlighted by the Mother’s Day cake cutting event.
Liawan community development leader Sahanip Jamil, when opening both events, said unity and strong cooperation among the villagers had made the celebration successful.
“I hope other occasions, not only to celebrate Harvest Festival and Mother’s Day, will maintain the village community’s cooperation.
“For me, this kind of event can strengthen friendly relations between mothers as well as children and the fathers who had also provided support to this occasion, showing the cooperative spirit in their hearts,” he said.
Sahanip, representing Assistant Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Datuk Haji Sairin Karno, also asked the village management to increase healthy activities to benefit youth in this village.
He said through the activities, youth could be cultivated and prevent them from unhealthy activities, especially drug abuse.
Sahanip expressed hope that the villagers could make any celebration a platform to create a caring and concerned community.
Also present at the ceremony were village head Haji Sadi Raji, Kampong Bangau village head Abi Katinggal, JKKK chairman Sarimin Musiman and WKAN Rusli Suman.