LANSARAN GAME

Lansaran originated from the Murut ethnic word ‘lumasar’ means 'tossed' or 'swinging'. This tradition is an ancestral heritage of the Muruts in the districts of Tenom and Keningau, Sabah. Previously, this tradition was closely related to appeasing or worshiping the spirit of the skull, specifically the worshiping of the spirit of the human head obtained during ngayau or wartime. Now, this game is played in gatherings such as weddings or moving to a new longhouse. The lansaran place measures eight to 30 square feet and can accommodate approximately 30 players is built by mutual cooperation in a space in a longhouse. Several hard round tree branches are as big as an adult’s arm and are tied with rattan to accommodate the place for this game that is built suspended a foot below the house floor level. The gameplay is that a player goes down to the lansaran surface and then feels his body is 'tossed' by itself due to the up-and-down tossing effect movement of the lansaran. Sometimes a prize is placed at the top level of the lansaran and a player tries to 'toss himself' to get the prize.