Top 20 fun things to enjoy in Kota Kinabalu! (8. Visit Mari Mari Cultural Village)

Getting to Mari Mari Cultural Village

Today we’ve travelled around 30 minutes from Kota Kinabalu’s city centre to Mari Mari Cultural Village. It’s located in foot-hills on the edge of the rainforest in Kampung Kiansom (Kiansom village) and the journey has taken us from sea level to around 250 metres asl so it’s a little cooler than Kota Kinabalu.

Mari Mari Cultural Village: an introduction

Our Mari Mari Tour Guide Ben gives us a warm Sabah welcome and introductory briefing. We learn that there are over 30 different ethnic races in Sabah with over 80 local dialects spoken. These ethnic groups live harmoniously with each other, and also with their fellow Sabahans including Malay and Malaysian-Chinese.

Understandably the local peoples are keen to preserve their own cultures, customs, traditions and festivals – ever more important in this modern digital world where everyone possesses a smartphone.

Our fun programme is based around five major tribes, with visits to their traditional houses and some demonstrations of skills and customs together with a chance to sample food and drink!

Kadazan-Dusun Tribe

Translated as ‘People of the Land’, the Kadazan-Dusun people live quite near to Kota Kinabalu in the towns of Tambunan and Ranau. Mostly of Christian faith (Roman Catholic), they celebrate Harvest Festival each May that is marked by two public holidays in Sabah with the highlight being the crowning of the ‘Harvest Queen’. We visit the Dusun house made of bamboo, and are offered a sample of Lihing, which is a traditionally made rice wine.

Rungus Tribe

The Rungus people reside in the northern part of Sabah near the towns of Kudat and Kota Marudu and are famous for living in longhouses where in past times a longhouse could contain over fifty rooms and be considered a village in its own right. We visit a longhouse and learn about their skills including bead and gong making and sample some liquid stingless bee honey that soothes the throat and tastes like nectar, but the most memorable part of the visit is the traditional fire-making demonstration using bamboo and bravo to visiting guest Martin from Perth, Australia who managed to make fire in the traditional way!

Lundayah Tribe

Translated as ‘upriver’ people, they live in the interior of Sabah and are farmers who also lived in longhouses that were made from bamboo and bark with roofs made from leaves. Their people straddle borders also living in the adjoining Malaysian state of Sarawak and the Indonesian state of Kalimantan.

Bajau Tribe

Main home is Kota Belud, a town around a couple of hours north of Kota Kinabalu, the Bajau are known as the ‘Cowboys of the East’ due to their horse-riding skills and also as ‘Sea Gypsies’ for their seafaring skills. In the Bajau house we’re treated to Kuih Jala that is a fishnet cookie made from rice flour, sugar and water and cooked in oil. It’s triangular in shape, to represent unity and is delicious. This is washed down with Pandan Juice, made from Pandan Leaf, sugar and ginger and apparently good for digestion, insomnia…and as a hangover cure!

Murut Tribe

These peoples were the last headhunters, a practice employed in settling disputes and displaying manliness; and it was believed that keeping heads as ‘trophies’ protected families and indeed whole villages. Don’t worry, headhunting finished in the 1950s and the people are very friendly and mainly reside in the fertile plateau near the town of Tenom. In the Murut house we’re offered Pomelo (similar to grapefruit), Tenom Coffee and steamed bananas – all very fine.

There’s also a demonstration of Lansaran which we’re invited to participate. It’s matting that sits on wood and acts as a trampoline – the heights that the local guys can jump using this method have to be see to be believed!

The morning concludes with some traditional music and dance followed by a very nice buffet lunch.

In conclusion, a great and fun way to learn about Sabah’s indigenous and universally friendly local peoples. Our Tour Guide was a star and never stopped smiling and his insight and knowledge provided another enjoyable dimension to the overall experience. A great morning out!

Top Tip for Visitors:

Wear comfortable shoes, trousers, and a cap.

About Martin

Martin is a British expat living in Kota Kinabalu who arranges tailored tours within Sabah primarily for British and Western tourists on behalf of Blue Kinabalu Travel Agency.