Pesta Kaamatan /Pesta menuai

May 11, 2007 | By Kay Stanford Jr Kastum In Daily Stuff |

Month of May marks a very important day for the KadazanDusun people in Sabah. Pesta Kaamatan as it is known is a celebration to mark the end of planting season after all the padi has been harvested. We celebrate this in Sabah every 31st May. In fact, not only the KadazanDusun people are celebrating this occasion. We have the Rungus, Murut etc too. Not only that, there are so many other cultures that also celebrates the harvest festival. Rice is a staple food in Asia and this is why we celebrate this life giving plant.
As for us Sabahan’s, we still celebrate this occasion no matter where we are. Below are some photo’s I took last Sunday in our church. Yes, it was rather early. Anyway, we had a special Mass with a harvest festival theme and the readings were spoken in native languages. There was also some cultural dance elements added in the mass celebration.

The Choir