Sumazau dancers, consisting of men and women, usually wear plain black clothes decorated with red or gold thread. In general, this dance comprises a set of clothing from the Kadazandusun Penampang ethnic group known as 'Gaung' clothing for male dancers and 'Sinuangga' clothing for female dancers (Mazizy J. Lomodi, 2024).

The 'Sinuangga' attire for female dancers features a sleeveless shirt with a black U-shaped collar embroidered with red and golden yellow threads. This thread does not really stand out along the neck, sleeves, or side seams. On the back of the shirt, five to seven pairs of Betawi buttons that are not sewn on the shirt are joined and matched with a skirt called 'Tapi' (Azam et al., 2022).

This female dancer's dress is decorated with 'Husob', which is a red scarf, especially batik fabric, that is placed crosswise on the dancer's shoulders. Accessories on the waist include 'Hinogot' or 'Himpogot' made of silver coins (trade dollars) and a set of 'Tangkong' made of copper. On the neck decoration, sometimes dancers use red or white pearls as an additional decoration or use 'Hamai' in the form of a chain made of gold or silver. For hand accessories, dancers wear 'Tinongkos' or 'Gohong' bracelets, which are circular bracelets made of copper or silver. For headdresses, dancers only use red or white flower decorations known as 'Titimbok' to give a make-up aura to female dancers.

The 'Gaung' attire worn by male dancers features long sleeves with a black cekak musang collar complete with subtle red and golden yellow thread embroidery along the collar, shoulders, sleeves, back and wrists and joined with five to seven Betawi buttons sewn on the front of the shirt. The use of 'Gaung' is matched with long pants called 'Souva' (Azam et al., 2022).

The male dancer's attire is not loaded with decorations. Instead, it only uses the tanjak known as 'Sigar', which is made of cloth embroidered with various motifs, measuring square, folded and wrapped according to a certain technique. On the shoulder of the male dancer will be hung a type of accessory made from Daun Silad Kering at waist level, which is tied using 'Ongkot' or gold or red cloth around the male dancer's waist.

Usually, the musical instruments that accompany this dance are drums and five types of gongs, namely 'Naananagon', 'Haahambatan', 'Kuukulimpon', 'Tootongan', and 'Taatavag. The beating of gongs and drums will be combined to accompany the Sumazau dance performance.

Sumazau dance does not have a variety and complex movement patterns. This dance is performed by raising both hands to shoulder level, where the hands are fluttered like bird's wings to the slow and gentle rhythm of the music. Pairs of male and female dancers dance face to face with small steps while heels are raised and lowered to the rhythm of the song. The movements of the hands are coordinated outwards and swing up and down, resembling a bird flying. Each dancer moves at a close distance from each other, but without touching, adding harmony to the performance.

Here are the basic types of Sumazau dance:

Mazizy J. Lomodi. (30 Tahun). Kampung Limbanak, 89650 Penampang, Sabah. 12 Oktober 2024.