Dusun
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dusun is the collective name of a tribe or ethnic and linguistic group in the Malaysian state of Sabah. They are now also known as Kadazan-Dusuns.
The ethnic group, makes up, at one time, 30% of Sabah population and are broken down into more than 30 sub-ethnic, or dialectical groups, or tribes each speaking a slightly different dialect of the Dusunic family language. They are mostly mutually understandable.
Coincidentally, Dusun is the Malay word that means "orchard" and is derived from "Orang Dusun" or "men of the orchards" as their houses are surrounded with fruit trees. However, this Malay word is not the origin of the Dusun name. At one time there was a serious dispute between those who want the group to be called "Kadazans" (saying that "Dusun" was deragotary), and those who want to continue with the original "Dusun". The pro-Dusuns argued that "Kadazan" originates from the word "Kakadazan" (a place of many shops--"Kadai" is "shop" in Kadazan), thus "Kadazan" can also be said to originate from Malay! Those Dusuns in the Penampang and Papar district now prefer to be called Kadazans. Those very much pro-Dusuns often insist that the people's name should be "Dusunkadazans".
The name "Kadazandusun" was adopted after the dispute in the past which led to political clashes and splits. Consequently, the name "Kadazandusun-Murut", or KDM (the plural forms are "Kadazandusun-Muruts", or KDMs). This is a political tag meant to unite the two (not three!) major ethnic groups of Sabah.
They KDMs were for the most part animists, but most have become Christians, and a smaller percentage, Muslim. They live mainly in the hills and upland valleys and have a reputation for peacefullness, hospitality, hard work, frugality, drinking, and are averse to violence, although in the recent past they did indulge in headhunting as part of their tribal wars. Now they have very much been modernised and absorbed into the larger framework of the Malaysian society, taking up various occupations as government servants, and employees in the private sector, as well as becoming business owners. Many have achieved tertiary education both locally and overseas (in America, England, Australia and New Zealand).
In their old traditional setting they use various methods of fishing, including using the juice of the roots of a plant they call "tuba" to poison fish in rivers.
Kadazandusuns are known as the Latin artists of the East, being famous in the state for love and passion for music. Their traditional dances appear attractive and gentle full of passion for life, making the Kadazandusun culture a popular and beautiful one, and much sought by tourists to Sabah.
Even though Kadazandusuns are known for their peaceful nature, they are also well known for their bravery and defiant nature towards oppression and foreign rule. Monsopiad the legendary warrior of the Penampang district who lived in the 1700s to 1800s took 48 heads in the heat of battle before being overwhelmed. Warriors in the Marudu district (the most fearsome being Kulindod), and in Tuaran fought off attacks of enemies--Irranuns in Marudu, and Bruneians and Irranuns in Tuaran.
The Kadazandusuns' biggest problem now is the fact that their percentage within the enlarged population of Sabah (now 3 million) has been seriously reduced, and the fact that they have actually become a minority.
[edit] Further reading
- L. W. W. Gudgeon (1913). British North Borneo, pp. 22 to 39. London, Adam and Charles Black.
- Monica Glyn-Jones (1953). The Dusun of the Penampang Plains, 2 vols. London.
