The Nunuk Ragang Affair

I've heard and have been curious about Nunuk Ragang for a long time but have yet to visit the place. So when the Unduk Ngadau Committee received an invitation to escort 7 UNK2010 winners to witness the 26th Anniversary of the installation of the Huguan Siou (Paramount Leader of the KadazanDusun people) on the 10th July, I jumped at the idea. Together with the Unduk Ngadau Chairperson, Puan Jornah and one of my best buds, Teri, we became baby sitters to these lovely girls. We were supposed to begin the 3-hr journey at 6am but the make-up sessions for the girls stretched up to 7.30am! We didn't want to be late for the 10am rituals and certainly didn't want to arrive after the Huguan Siou! Talk about a stressful journey, the long and winding road up to Ranau was a challenged for our driver as he was torn between the safety of his 12 passengers or to speed up to reach the destination on time. Coupled with the long and never ending winding road, we also seemed to be forever trailing behind slow moving cars and trucks laden with gas tanks. I won’t even mention the uneven roads ruined by the landslides!

the background - Nunuk Ragang monument. It is inside this building that the rituals are held.

About a 6km from Nunung Ragang, a convoy of luxurious cars zoomed past our van. Hey.. wasn't that the Huguan Siou's procession!? Then we began to really panic.  Our driver drove so fast now and everyone held on tightly to their seats! From afar, I saw the Nunuk Ragang monument which resembled a fort, with holey windows built on a hill. What a strange and surreal looking building..

Huguan Siou,

The Hon. Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima Joseph Pairin Kitingan

and Puan Sri 

The Bobohizans 'blessing' the Huguan Siou.

When we arrived, the Huguan Siou and wife were just about to board a special vehicle just 500 metres from the Nunuk Ragang entrance. We cautiously drove past the crowd 'cos we didn't want to draw their attention. So we managed to arrive first and the girls hurriedly arranged their sashes and everyone stood ready to welcome the Huguan Siou and processions.

 The man in armour, a bodyguard of the Huguan Siou supposedly looked like this in the olden days.

This Nunuk Ragang event not only commemorates the Huguan Siou's installation but also serves to commemorate the original settlement of the Kadazandusun community before spreading to other parts of Sabah. This two-day event made up of a series of interesting events lined up such as the Nunuk Ragang Adventure Challenge, cultural performances and open market or tamu.

Nunuk Ragang is derived from two KadazanDusun words – Nunuk and Aragang. Nunuk is the local name for a banyan tree, and Aragang means red. It was said that there was a giant red banyan tree in the original village which provided shelter and food for the inhabitants. According to the legend, the Nunuk Ragang is the name of the village where the Kadazandusun people originated. It is located at the intersection of the left (Liwagu Kogibangan) and right (Liwagu Kawananan) branches of the Liwagu River to the east of Ranau and Tambunan.. The also legend tells us that the first encounter the KadazanDusun had with outsiders was with Chinese adventurers who had settled in the Kinabatangan and Labuk areas. This first encounter was followed by the first marriage of the daughter of a KadazanDusun chief to one of the Chinese heroes, who was rich enough to afford the dowry of 7 huge jars plus copper and silver wares.

The monument built by the KadazanDusun Cultural Association (KDCA) in 2004 is believed to be erected in that original settlement and now KDCA conducts annual pilgrimages to this site, timed to coincide with the installation anniversary of the paramount leader, Huguan Siou, The Hon. Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan, held usually in the month of July.