Kota Kinabalu (KK) is located on the coast of the island of Borneo, in the Sabah state of Malaysia. Borneo is the 3rd largest island (not continent) after Greenland and New Guinea. The country of Malaysia occupies 2 main areas: the Malay peninsula (below Thailand) and the northern area of Borneo. Malaysia is known for its beaches, rainforest and diversity of ethnicities and cultural practices. The capital, Kuala Lumpur, is located on the Malay peninsula.
Our excursion was to the Mari Mari Cultural Center in the jungle outside of KK. "Mari Mari" means "come, come" in the Malay language. The center showcased the lifestyle of the 5 largest tribes in northern Borneo years ago:
1. Dusan: farmers who lived in multi-family longhouses
2. Bajau: Muslims who lived in coastal areas; often called sea gypsies
3. Murut: warriors and headhunters who lived in the hills
4. Rungus: traders
5. Lundayeh: hunters
If you were a male in the Murut tribe, you needed to kill someone and take their head in order to prove your manhood and to use as an offering to a future father-in-law when you wanted to marry his daughter.
Mari Mari had replicas of wooden huts used by the 5 tribes; provided samples of their coffee, rice wine, honey, meals cooked in bamboo stalks, and sweets; and demonstrated skills like fire starting, making clothing from tree bark, henna tattooing, and blowing darts through long wooden pipes. The visit ended with a performance of music and dancing. A very entertaining and educational tour.
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| Malay dancers outside our docked ship |
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| a beautiful Muslim Mosque in Kota Kinabalu |
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Entering Mari Mari Cultural Center
Had to cross a swinging bridge |
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| Demonstrating how honey was made |
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"steps" into the houses were
notches in a log |
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| Where married couples relaxed after the wedding |
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| Preparing treats that were like sweet pancakes |
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| Chief of the Murut tribe welcoming visitors |
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| Demonstration of the blow pipe |
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| Getting a henna tattoo (lasts about 7 days) |
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| Dance performance |
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| Dancer with musicians behind |
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