The Sound Arrives Before the Colour
You hear Kaamatan before you see it. A low, rhythmic gong — somewhere between a heartbeat and a temple bell — drifting across the car park at KDCA Penampang while you’re still figuring out which gate to enter. Then the singing starts, layered voices in Kadazan that you can’t understand but somehow feel in your chest. By the time you push through the crowd and actually see the dancers, you’ve already been pulled in.
The Kaamatan Harvest Festival runs May 30–31 every year, Sabah’s two-day thanksgiving to Bambaazon, the rice spirit. It’s the closest thing Malaysian Borneo has to a national holiday — government offices close, schools break up, and the entire Kadazan-Dusun community turns out in traditional dress. For a traveller, it’s the most direct access point to a living indigenous culture that doesn’t perform for tourists. The tourists just happen to be there.
The Sumazau Is Slower Than You Expect
If you’ve seen festival dances elsewhere in Southeast Asia — the frenetic Balinese kecak, Thai classical movements — the Sumazau will catch you off guard. It’s slow. Almost meditative. Dancers line up shoulder to shoulder, arms extended, and sway with a gentleness that looks deceptively simple until you try to join in and realize your timing is completely wrong.
The arm movements are meant to mimic birds, though which birds specifically seems to depend on who you ask. At the main KDCA stage in Penampang, the performances are polished and choreographed. But the version worth seeking out is the village Sumazau — smaller groups, less formal, sometimes performed on somebody’s front porch with tapai being passed around in plastic cups. The difference is like hearing a symphony orchestra versus a family playing music after dinner. Both are real, but one lets you sit closer.
Penampang is about 15 minutes from Kota Kinabalu city centre. Most visitors base themselves in KK and grab a Grab car out to KDCA, which works fine. The road gets congested on the 30th and 31st though, so leave earlier than you think you need to.
Unduk Ngadau and the Story Behind It
The Unduk Ngadau beauty pageant is the event’s headline act for a lot of visitors, and it’s worth understanding why it matters beyond the spectacle. The contestants represent districts across Sabah, and the pageant honours Huminodun — a figure from Kadazan creation mythology who sacrificed herself so that the rice harvest would flourish. Her body became the first rice plant.
So no, it’s not a beauty pageant in the Western commercial sense. The women wear full traditional Kadazan-Dusun costume, which is elaborate and specific to each district. The judging apparently considers cultural knowledge as well as appearance, though I haven’t been able to confirm exactly how the scoring breaks down.
The pageant final happens on May 31, the second day. If you only have one day, that’s the one to pick. The first day has opening ceremonies and preliminary events, but the atmosphere peaks on the 31st.
What You’ll Actually Eat and Drink
The food at Kaamatan is the best reason to go, and I don’t think the original article stressed this enough. Hinava — raw fish cured in lime juice with sliced shallots, chilli, and grated ginger — is something you genuinely cannot get anywhere outside Sabah in this form. It tastes clean and sharp, like a Southeast Asian ceviche but with a ginger edge that’s distinctively Kadazan.
Tuhau is the other one. It’s wild ginger (the stem, not the root) pickled in vinegar and chilli. Strange texture, a bit crunchy, and it grows on you after the third bite. Vendors at KDCA sell it in small plastic bags. I’d suggest buying some even if you’re sceptical — it’s cheap and you’ll probably snack on it later at the hotel.
Then there’s tapai. Calling it ‘rice wine’ is technically accurate but misleading — it ranges from mildly sweet and fizzy to something that hits like cheap brandy, depending on how long it’s fermented and who made it. At KDCA you’ll mostly get the milder version. In the villages, proceed with caution. People offer it freely and refusing can feel awkward, so pace yourself.
Getting There and the Logistics Nobody Mentions
Flying into Kota Kinabalu International Airport (BKI) is straightforward. AirAsia runs multiple daily flights from KL, and there are direct connections from Singapore, Manila, and a few Chinese cities. Flight time from KL is about two and a half hours.
Here’s what catches people out: accommodation in KK during Kaamatan week books up fast, and not just the nice places. Even the budget guesthouses in the Gaya Street area fill up because domestic Malaysian tourists come in from Peninsular Malaysia. Book at least three to four weeks ahead. Agoda has decent coverage in Sabah — there are a few places in Penampang itself if you want to be walking distance from KDCA, though the options are limited and basic.
The weather will be hot and humid. Sabah in late May averages around 32°C with afternoon thunderstorms that blow through fast. Bring sunscreen, a hat, and a light rain jacket. The KDCA grounds are mostly open-air with some covered areas, but if it rains hard during the Sumazau, everyone just keeps dancing. That’s actually one of the better things to see.
The Bobohizan Ceremonies
This is the part that makes Kaamatan more than a harvest fair. The Bobohizan are high priestesses of the Kadazan-Dusun tradition, and their rituals to appease the rice spirit Bambaazon are the spiritual core of the festival. These aren’t performances — they’re actual religious ceremonies, and the number of practising Bobohizan has been declining for decades as younger generations move toward other faiths.
Whether you’ll see a full Bobohizan ceremony depends on timing and luck. At KDCA there are usually scheduled demonstrations, but they can feel somewhat staged. The more authentic rituals happen in rural communities, particularly in the Tambunan and Ranau valleys. If you have a local contact willing to bring you along, that’s ideal. Otherwise, ask at your guesthouse — some places in Penampang can point you toward village celebrations happening in the days before the official festival.
Photography etiquette: ask first, always. Most people in traditional dress are happy to pose, but the Bobohizan ceremonies are sacred and not everyone is comfortable with cameras. Read the room.
A Few Days More in Sabah
Kaamatan is good reason enough to visit Sabah, but if you’ve flown all the way to Borneo, extending by three or four days makes sense. Mount Kinabalu is the obvious addition — the two-day climb is manageable for anyone reasonably fit, though you need to book the permit and lodge well in advance because capacity is limited. Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre, near Sandakan on the east coast, is a five-hour drive or a short flight from KK. KLOOK sells day tours that bundle the transport and entry, which saves the hassle of arranging it yourself. Not cheap, but convenient.
Closer to KK, the islands of Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park are a 15-minute boat ride from Jesselton Point. The snorkelling is decent, not world-class, but it’s an easy half-day trip if you need a break between festival activities. KKday has island-hopping packages if you’d rather not negotiate with the boat operators at the jetty, which can be a bit of a process.
Before You Go
The official Kaamatan dates are fixed: May 30–31, every year, no exceptions. But village-level celebrations start from around mid-May and some continue into early June. If you can arrive by the 27th or 28th, you’ll catch the build-up, which is honestly when the atmosphere is most relaxed. By the 30th, KDCA is packed.
One thing worth knowing: Sabah is majority non-Muslim, which makes it different from Peninsular Malaysia in practical ways. Alcohol is widely available, pork dishes are common, and the general vibe is more laid-back about dietary restrictions. This matters because some visitors arrive expecting the same social norms as KL or Penang and are surprised.
Probably the best souvenir from Kaamatan is a bottle of good tapai, but getting it through airport security is another story. Most people end up buying the commercially bottled version from a supermarket in KK, which is fine but not quite the same thing.