Sabah - Myths to be shared. Review on Sabah

Yes, people, I know. I disappearedagain. I?m so sorry!

But I was sent to the Borneo Isle for work and have only recently returned to the mainland.

What was it like to be in paradise for a few months? Heavenly (pun intended grin)

So people, I was in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah as a debate adjudicator and what?s there to say about this place?

Known to the locals as the ?Land Below the Wind?

Sabah is a state rich with culture, tradition, myth and magic. Not only that, the state itself is beautiful, almost untarnished by civilization. Rich in flora and fauna. A trip to Sabah is always worth it.

I think Ashford already did a great job in talking about the city as a whole so I won?t spend time dwelling on it.

Rather, let?s talk about some of the local legends surrounding the city and the mountain.

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The Chinese Widow

Some say that the name Kinabalu originated from the name Kina (Cina/Chinese) and Balu (widow).

According to the legend, It's about a Chinese Prince seeking a huge pink pearl that exists at the very top of the mountain and guarded by a ferocious dragon.

After a terrific battle he slayed the dragon and took the pearl, whereon he married local Kadazan woman. He got homesick and deserted his wife to return to China and the heartbroken wife wandered to the mountain and was turned into the mountain.

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Of course, another story is that the name originated from the local dusunic language Aki Nabalu which means 'The revered place of the dead?.

I?m not sure about the story behind that name though.

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Bambarazon ? The rice spirit

In Sabah, the Kadazans have a legend that in ancient times, man had to live on wild fruits and animals.

Rice was just plain grass by the wayside, with empty hulls. One day, Bambarazon (the Spirit of Rice) saw how difficult people's lives were and her compassionate heart touched, she decided to help the impoverished hunter-gatherers.

One evening, she secretly slipped into the fields, and pressed her breasts with one hand until her milk flowed into the barren stalks.

Although she squeezed until her breasts almost ran dry, it wasn't enough to make all the grains full; so she pressed once more with all her might, and a mixture of blood and milk came out. Now man could eat rice, and was even able to choose from the white grains made from Bambarazon's pure milk, or the ruby red ones formed out of the mixture of her milk and blood.

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I can share more stories from Sabah, but then I would never have enough space on this page.

In a land so romantically named ?Land below the Wind? you can bet that it was truly a magical experience being there :)