Angalang & Magunatip

Lo and behold, Angalang, the dance of Murut warrior arrived!!!

The Angalang dance was performed by a solo male dancer in full Murut’s warrior regalia. The male dancer is wearing a loincloth embroidered with colourful threads called aba puputul, which is wound around the waist and passed between the legs. The jacket made of puputul tree bark with red and black motif is called babaru puputul. The headdress decorated with the beautiful long feathers of the Argus pheasant called tupi sinulatan complete the warrior regalia. Not to be missed are bones tied to the red strings hanging on the neck that clearly proclaimed “don’t play play with me” :D

In the olden days, Angalang was performed to celebrate victorious battles and successful headhunting party! Yes, you read correctly “headhunting party” :D

The Murut people were warrior headhunters and their reputation struck fear in the hearts of their enemies. Collecting heads of enemies as trophies, or for buried in paddy field as token for bountiful harvest, or beneath a bridge to ensure it last forever and most important as dowry for the newly betrothed bride to proved his manhood were part of the Murut’s customs and spiritual beliefs. Of course the practice of head hunting has stopped, but the celebration to the Murut’s brave spirit has not.

Nowadays the Angalang is performed during social occasion such as wedding and festival likes the Pesta Kalimaran (Murut’s harvest festival).

The Angalang dance start on very serious steps with the dancer eyes looking stern, without a single smile, holding firmly on his shield with his right hand and wielding a spear cum blowpipe with his left hand that can be a deadly weapon when use with poisonous dart.

First, look down the earth for enemy hiding among the bushes.

Next, look up the sky for enemy hiding above the trees.

Now look straight and he spotted your head :P

A loud and eerie battle cry of “Yiiiii” was sound out and he gonna delivered a deadly dart lol :D

Binggo!!! A trophy head for his sweetheart :P

Another Murut warrior jumped out and scout around for head :O

Oh NOOoo! He spotted and aimed the deadly dart at my cutie head *( Hey cut the head but don’t mess my hair :P

Now see their bloody smile for they collected trophy head each and time to head home to redeem their beloved sweetheart.

Wow, what a beautiful and lovely smile of a Murut maiden seeing the bridegroom returned with the trophy head as dowry for the wedding.

Another beautiful and lovely Murut maiden, smiling for the triumphant returned of her bridegroom. No wonder the Murut warrior die die also want to cut-off my cutie head :D

But my bride is lamenting at home lol :P

Now let celebrate the triumphant headhunting party with Magunatip !!! The "Magunatip" word is derived from the "apit" word, which means "trapped".

In this dance, the dancers show their agility and dexterity in jumping and putting their feet between the clapping bamboo poles without being trapped!!! It is a dance of happiness that was performs after the powerful Angalang.

This dance does not accompanied by any instrumental music because the rhythmic clapping and stamping of the bamboo poles produce a loud, harmonized, beat and interesting sound or rhythm. Thus it is also called the bamboo dance.

Later all the guests were invited on stage for the torturous but exciting Magunatip dance. They start on the slow tempo to lure everyone in.

Then the clapping speed of the bamboo will become faster and faster and FASTER until everyone keep jumping frenziedly with loud groaning of Oohs and Ouchs. It is aka to catch-my-legs game :D

You’re curious about their lovely costume? The female dancers wear costumes known as pinongkolo which is elaborately embroidered with colorful tiny beads. On their heads is an ornate headpiece called salupai, which is made of long beads in front, strands of smaller beads, flowers and two beautiful long feathers of Argus pheasant at the back. A beautiful necklace consist of colorful tiny beads called rarangkol completed the costume.

I’m extremely awed with the simple yet graceful traditional costumes and dances of the Kadazandusun, Bajau and Murut peoples. The dancers not only delivered marvelous performance but taught me an important lesson “if only peoples of different religions and skin colors willing to understand and steadfastly uphold the unity in diversity, then we will be able to appreciate and cherish each other unique differences truly”. What about you?

All right this marked the end of my posting for Monsopiad Cultural Village ;) Coming Next .... Oop let you make the wild guess first :D