By Farouq Omaro
Recently a lot of criticism has been directed against the organizers of the state level Kaamatan. One such criticism came from the youth leadership of the Kadazan-Dusun Cultural Association (KDCA) itself. Among the criticisms were excessive drinking and provocative dancing.
I find it distressing that we need to respond to comments and posts on social media which reflect personal views.
There seems to be an attempt to water down the Kaamatan festivities by certain groups of people. The question needs to be asked is whether these criticisms reflect the desire to return to the original spirit of Kaamatan or the desire to conform to views which have nothing to do with the indigenous cultures of Sabah.
This is because, if the desire is to return to the original spirit of Kaamatan, then we should know events like the Unduk Ngadau are recent innovations and were never originally part of the Kaamatan celebrations. In fact, one of the highlights of the Kaamatan festival is the drinking of tapai (rice wine).
It is not unusual for festivals to have alcohol consumption. In fact traditional festivals like Oktoberfest and the Carnival have featured alcohol drinking for over a century. Oktoberfest originally began as a wedding festival to celebrate the wedding of King Ludwig 1 of Bavaria. Carnival is originally a Catholic festival celebrating the day before the beginning of the Christian holy month of Lent. There are many more such festivals around the world where alcohol consumption is a major feature such as Nowruz in Central Asia, Basant Bahar in India and Pakistan and many more which are too exhaustive to list.
However in recent years it is unfortunate that there have been attempts by some people through social media to try and stop this culture. If drinking in Kaamatan is considered excessive, then one should read the book Pagans of North Borneo by Owen Rutter published in 1929. According to Rutter, the traditional celebrations in a native village in North Borneo was an affair where all moral inhibitions were thrown to the wind.
Criticism against drinking, which has been an important part of the Kaamatan celebration, is surprising. It seems as though there are forces which are trying to totally change the character of Kaamatan. Back in the 1990s, the Kaamatan used to be sponsored by big alcohol companies, but probably to please some people and conform to cultural norms which are definitely not indigenous to Sabah, the festival’s organizers have had to resort to sponsorships by companies selling non-alcoholic products. This was only the beginning. Then came the criticism and constant onslaught against people revelling during the festivities on social media and the newspapers.
Yes, it is true that there are cases of some people drinking excessively to the point of being very drunk and unconscious. But these are exceptions to the general rule. At most, what the KDCA could do is to have Event Stewards to help such people to a secure location and prevent them from further drinking. As for those who accuse the traditional houses on the KDCA grounds of turning into pubs, they have probably never attended a traditional karamayan (celebaration) in a native village. Some of the celebrations and revelries in these villages can put some of the more hip pubs in Glasgow to shame. The truth is, many Sabahans have traditionally been good at throwing parties, and this is nothing to be ashamed of.
I have been the organizer of the Kaamatan celebrations in Glasgow for the past three years. A lot of the non-Sabahans and non-Malaysians who came were thrilled and delighted by how we celebrate our festival. It was not just about drinking, but how we Sabahans love to sing and dance and play traditional musical instruments and games. Also worth mentioning is the wide array of traditional food we have to showcase. In fact my events have aroused their interest so much that some guests have expressed their desire to visit Sabah and experience Kaamatan themselves.
As for excessive drinking, we have only had one case so far in the three years we organized the event. It was an elderly Scottish lady who was so drunk and began making a scene on the street. But this problem was quickly resolved with a quick call to the local police who took her safely home. I believe her behaviour stemmed from her own personal problems, compounded by her inexperience in social drinking.
Secondly, there have also been complaints against provocative dancing in Kaamatan by disgruntled commentators on social media. But what is provocative is purely subjective. Belly dancing might be provocative to some people, but it is a cultural expression in many parts of the Middle East.
From the going-ons, it seems that there are hidden forces which are trying to turn Kaamatan into a mundane food and crafts festival with only the Unduk Ngadau competition as its highlight. It is not surprising that if we continue to bow to these wishes, one day even some of the traditional attire of some Sabahan natives would be considered too provocative. The question that begs asking is whose standards of what is acceptable or not are we trying to conform to? Are some of us too embarrassed by the cultural norms of indigenous Sabahans that we are trying to please others? Are our abilities to entertain guests and organize celebrations also embarrassing to some of us?
The Kaamatan and Gawai are probably the only two remaining festivals organized by the government where alcohol drinking is still prevalent. But with the looks of things, there is a danger that even this will be a thing of the past.
On the contrary, the fact that food festivals and binge eating competitions are tolerated is quite amusing. There was a durian and mutton festival years ago where a Pahang state assemblyman died of heart attack. And if we look at some of the people who enter binge eating competitions, we would know these people should not even be there because they look like they need some serious healthy diet and medical help with the physical condition they are in. But why are these festivals which promote gluttony not spoken against?
How much of the Kaamatan celebrations will we be trimming away to conform to the cultural norms which do not originally come from Sabah? It is sad enough that some of the religious rituals involving the bobohizans are no longer present because they do not conform to our new found religious beliefs, and yet we are trying to take away more from the festival.
To those of us who think the Kaamatan is a little too much for them, I think they are free to go to some of the “more harmonious” Kaamatan festivals that have been organized since a few years ago where they do not have to worry about alcohol being served or people performing dances that may be deemed too provocative.
I have met people of many nationalities in Glasgow, Scotland. Some of them are refugees. One of the common reasons some people from the Middle East and South Asia cite for choosing the West as their home is freedom. In Scotland people are free to eat and drink what they want, wear what they want and have any type of festival they want. I am sure we do not want to lose all our youths to the West because they want to freely express their culture without the curbs imposed by self-proclaimed guardians of morality. Neither would we want to be like a neighbouring country where its people need to drive across the border every weekend to enjoy the things that are forbidden in their own country.
I think the KDCA has done a very good job of organizing the Kaamatan and there is no need for them to trim the revelry during the festivities. If any, the only suggestion would be to have Event Stewards who could help heavily drunk people to safe locations and prevent them from further drinking. Also, it would help if those in charge of the parking areas prevent drunks from driving away while intoxicated. In fact the KDCA can up the ante by bringing back the religious aspects of Kaamatan.
I am at present trying to promote the Kaamatan as a festival which would attract people from all over the world on my own initiative. However if there are constant attempts to turn the Kaamatan into another annual bazaar where people sell food and handicrafts, people might as well visit handicraft centres and restaurants selling traditional food. People love festivals because of all the great things that happen all at once. A combination of various foods, traditional games, dancing, singing and drinking all make the ingredients of a great festival. A good festival too should have something for everyone, not just drinkers. And what is more important is that people will remember it as a festival that is unique to Sabah.
Farouq Omaro
Glasgow, Scotland
