ARTS AND CULTURE INFORMATION GATEWAY
Immerse yourself in the colorful world of art and culture! From traditional heritage to contemporary works, discover uniqueness that reflects the nation's identity and identity
Jabatan Kebudayaan dan Kesenian Negara, Sabah, Kompleks JKKN Sabah, Jalan Tasik Off KM 4 Jalan Penampang, 88200 Kota Kinabalu Sabah.
Picture
1
Video
No record
Today's Visitor
4
Number of Visitors
89
Introduction and history
The Kadazandusun community in Papar District, Sabah, has traditional dress named “Sia Do Binoikian” or “Sia Do Tinahajaan”, made of cotton or velvet. Normally using velvet called boludu toitom because of the black colour.
Previously, it was believed that the Kadazandusun community in Papar just used black cloth and thread to make clothes because of insufficient ingredients unlike the present. Hence, there are differences between a genuine attire and the modern traditional one in terms of decorative accessories and beads. In keeping with modern trend, this traditional attire is added with golden beads to enhance the attire’s glow.
Accessories can signify the wearer’s status and group as in the wearing of botungkat, bolilit, sinsing and the siung’s decorations. According to beliefs, before the Unduk Ngadau (beauty pageant) competition existed this attire was worn by Bobohizan totally in black in rituals like appeasing the spirit of paddy (magavau), monumbui, babalai, modsuung, and modsuau. The attire can’t be washed or stepped over as it is believed to have sundu (soul). The colour black is also believed covers the bad ‘soul’ on the Bobohizan while performing the rituals.
This attire is worn at wedding ceremonies and largely worn during Harvest Festival celebrations celebrated in every month of May.
This attire has an inner white blouse and an outer long sleeve black velvet called sia. The main stitch that curves on the chest part of sia is called sinangau sangau according to the shape of caribou’s horn. On the sleeve are fine stitches (vinagas) to join the beads around the sleeve.
Eight pairs of golden buttons (kubamban) are sewn from the blouse’s neck part towards the chest part using golden thread. Two pairs of tombohu buttons are sewn on the blouse’s neck part on the left and right. Golden decorative lace (siling) and sequins are sewn around the sia’s sleeve folding and neck.
The attire’s accessories, among them, are one sinorundung, three gold coins (amas paun), eight pairs batawi buttons, a pair of tombuku button on the neck and seven pairs on the sleeve, normally four pairs of belts (botungkat or limpogot) of silver coins, and a pair of bracelets (bolilit) that three girds are normally worn by unmarried women. A small silver coloured belt (sinsing) tells that the wearer is from a well-to-do family. Lastly, a black cloth (soundung) decorated with gold coins is tied on the head to cover it.
This attire is paired with a black skirt called gonob, decorated with linangkit or rinangkit embroidery of coarse and fine threads, sewn vertically and horizontally in the middle of the gonob, that appeared akin to the shape of a cross. The linangkit colours are red, white, yellow, green, blue and pink.
The attire is modelled with siung (head cover), decorated with animal’s fur or bird’s feathers for the unmarried women and flowers for the married. The designs on the siung are called tongkuyu, kinaban, sinalapa, lawangan, sisiit, sinusahati and inonggom kara.
Siung is made of poring and vuhu bamboos as well as rattan. The bamboo is sliced thinly to obtain fine pieces. To acquire the siung’s red and black colours leaves of the loputung, rambutan, rhododendron and kolipapoh plants are burnt then the rattan and bamboo slices are smoked. Next, the rattan and bamboo slices are rubbed using togumamahi young leaves to sustain their colours. The duration to finish a siung is two weeks and the present price is estimated at around RM250.00.
Location
State JKKN Contact Information
Puan Nurshahrinna Syahrial
Cultural Officer
Jabatan Kebudayaan dan Kesenian Negara, Sabah
Kompleks JKKN Sabah,
Jalan Tasik off KM4 Jalan Penampang,
88200 Kota Kinabalu
SABAH
088-205070
Use the form below to contact the Informant/Figure/Editor/Researcher directly. We will respond to your inquiry as soon as possible!
