Kaamatan Festival Greetings

The Kaamatan Festival or Harvest Festival is an annual celebration by the Kadazandusun community in the Malaysian State of Sabah, which is located on the island of Borneo. Sabah is known for its cultural diversity consisting of over 30 different ethnic tribes each having their own unique traditions and customs. The largest ethnic tribe is the Kadazandusun community who in the past were mostly farmers and amongst others planted rice.

The Kaamatan Festival celebration by the Kadazandusun community to thank for the successful bountiful harvest of rice and to pray for an even more bountiful harvest the following year. It is celebrated throughout the month of May in different districts in Sabah and will end in a grand celebration at the end of the month of May, that is 30th and 31st May. The grand celebration is usually celebrated at the Hongkod Koisaan, a cultural center of the Kadazandusun located at the State capital.

For the overseas visitors and even for the locals, this is a good opportunity to witness and see the colorful traditional costumes of the kadazandusun communities as they will come and celebrate the Kaamatan Festival using their finest traditional costumes which they will only use for this occasion or usually during marriage only. The Kaamatan Festival is therefore a great opportunity for photographers for both amateurs and professional alike to click their cameras away as you will see people in beautiful traditional costumes amidst a vibrant festive atmosphere.

For the Kadazandusun community, this is an important celebration as it reinforces their commitment and pride to preserve and maintain their traditional culture and pass it to the next generation. This is also a good opportunity for them to meet other communities from the different districts and to see themselves and others in their traditional costumes gives them a sense of pride and appreciation for their own culture.

The Kaamatan Festival is not only celebrated by the Kadazandusun community but will be joined by the other communities and overseas visitors alike where they will be able to enjoy and witness traditional games, cultural dances and shows, ethnic crafts and souvenirs as well as taste traditional food and drinks.

The highlight of the Kaamatan Festival celebration will the selection of the Unduk Ngadau, a mythological story of a daughter named Huminodun who sacrificed herself to save her community. The winner of the Unduk Ngadau is selected based on who most represent Huminodun. Its not merely a beauty contest but the Unduk Ngadau epitomises the transcendent character attributes of Huminodun whose willingness to suffer ultimate personal pain and loss eventually brought widespread wellbeing and happiness to the community at large. A thanksgiving feast was given to the daughter Huminodun and that is the essence of the Harvest Festival.

So what are you waiting for? Download and install this Kaamatan Festival Greetings App and join in the celebration by sending and wishing your family and friends a happy kaamatan festival to help them celebrate.

This Kaamatan Festival Greetings App contains beautiful graphics which you can send by the touch of your fingertips once its downloaded and installed in your mobile devices or desktop and laptop devices.

You can also share the Kaamatan Festival Greetings App on other social media platforms such Facebook, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instragram and many others.

Araimaiti and cheers everyone!