Salam Malam Jumaat,
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| One of the famous attraction in Sabah, a cultural village about the most famous warrior @ headhunter. Monsopiad. |
A long time ago a woman named Kizabon was pregnant. One day, Dunggou, her
husband, saw that a sacred Bugang bird had nested on the top of the roof of
their house, and had laid its eggs. Dunggou looked upon this coincidence as a
good omen and a sign that their child would have special powers. The month
passed and when the time came for the child to be borne the Bugang birds to
hatched, too. Kizabon and Dunggou were filled with joy, for their child was a
son. It was named Monsopiad, and whenever the baby was given his bath, Dunggou
took the young birds down from their nest, to bathe them with the baby. Then he
returned the birds carefully to the nest. This practice was diligently observed
until the birds were able to fly and leave the nest.
Monsopiad was born and brought up in a village called Kuai, where his
maternal grandfather was the headman. It was a rough time then, and often
marauding Balinini pirates came down from Marudu. They would try every river
along the coast in search for sliver and canons, slaves and food, and the Moyog
River was not saved. The pirates plundered the villages they found, and like so
many, Kuai offered little defence or resistance. During each attack, the
villagers had no choice but to retreat and hide in the nearby jungle if they
valued their lives dearly, until it was safe to return to their ransacked
homes. However, as the grandson of the village headman, Monsopiad received
special training as a warrior.
Monsopiad turned out to be a natural fighter and
handled every weapon with ease, and soon he had grown to a handsome and
promising warrior. Yet, Monsopiad saw nothing special in himself, until one
day, when he was tilling his rice field, a group of women came to him and
started rebuking him for working so hard. "What a waste of time, here you
work hard, every day, under the hot sun, but once you harvest everything your
labour will be enjoyed by the robbers!" the most beautiful mocked, and her
friend reminded him: "They always strike right after the harvest!"
The women continued to ridicule the men of the village and called them
weaklings for not being able to defend their village effectively. Monsopiad,
angered by such mockery, made a vow then and there that he would start looking
for the robbers the next day and finish them off. He promised to cut off the
head of their leader and bring it back to the village as proof and trophy to be
hung from the rafters of his house.
Indeed, the next morning, Monsopiad set off, taking along three young boys
to bear witness to his deeds. The boys were to return to Kuai ahead of him to
announce his success and herald his impending arrival by blowing on a bamboo
trumpets. But before Monsopiad left, he threatened the women: "When I come
back successfully, you must put on your best costumes, bear bamboo trays and
give me a grand warrior’s welcome. If you don’t honour me properly, I will kill
you all!" Intimidated, the women promised to do as he wished.
Monsopiad set out with the three boys in search of the robbers who had been
plundering their village again and again. Five weeks later, he found them and a
bloody fight ensued. As he had promised, Monsopiad fought the leader of the
pirates and beheaded him. Seeing their leader dead, the other robbers fled for
their lives. The three boys who had been watching the battle sped back to Kuai,
Monsopiad following triumphantly.
When the people of the village heard the bamboo trumpets, they grew
confused and frightened for they had not expected Monsopiad to succeed. The
women who had mocked him were terrified for they had never before welcomed a
warrior home, and only remembered too well Monsopiad’s threat to kill them if they
would not fulfil their promise. Fortunately, the Bobohizan priestesses knew
what they had to do and gave them instructions: the women put on their best
costumes and fineries, and were then led by the Bobohizans in a long and solemn
procession. They all bore bamboo trays to ensure that the spirits surrounding
Monsopiad would know they are honoured, too. As the priestesses and ladies went
out to greet Monsopiad the entire village joined the procession. They sang
songs of victory as soon as Monsopiad entered the village, and the sight, it is
said, moved Monsopiad so much that it inspired him to vow to wipe out all the
enemies of his village.
As the years passed, Monsopiad continued relentlessly with his self-imposed
mission and in time, no robber nor evil warrior dared approaching the area of
Kampung Kuai. However, Monsopiad had become an obsessed person who resorted to
provoking other men into fighting. This gave him an excuse to kill and behead
them. Soon, the other villagers, including Monsopiad’s close friends were very
wary and extremely afraid of him, until a group of brave warriors got together
and decided that despite his heroic deeds, Monsopiad’s uncontrollable desire to
kill had made him a threat to the village. He had to be eliminated. Thus, one
moonless night, the warriors silently and carefully approached the house
Monsopiad was sleeping in. They attacked the hero who put up a fierce fight but
found that he no longer had the strength he possessed while fighting the
enemies of his village.
Monsopiad realised too late that by abusing the special
strength bestowed on him by the sacred Bugang bird, he had gradually become a
common man. Fighting for all he was worth, he was wounded so badly that night
that he lost all strength and collapsed. He was left for dead. When he came to
himself, he knew he was wounded mortally and not even the best priestess would
be able to save him, so he arranged for his impending death.
Everybody gathered
and he recognised his fault. He asked that his descendants look after the
spirits in the skulls of his enemies, so that they could look after them for
generations to come. The family and villagers still held Monsopiad dearly in
their hearts for he was, after all, the man who had vanquished their enemies.
He had, in total, collected the heads of 42 powerful warriors, a feat that no
other man could equal. His promise was granted, and until now the direct
descendants keep and look after his headhunting trophies, and his legendary
sword. To continue the memory of the great Kadazan Warrior Monsopiad they have
now erected a small cultural village so that even generations to come can learn
about how Monsopiad, and the Kadazan, used to live not so long ago, and keep
the vivid legends and his memory alive.
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| The famous headhunters of Borneo, and yes during the British's Rule this arts have been ban. For extra information, before the British came to Borneo. There is no outsider dare to conquered Borneo, when most are afraid the infamous headhunters. Thus coming to Borneo is kinder you came and lost your heads. |
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| In the Monsopiad's Cultural Village, you able to see the head or trophy by this infamous headhunter. Extra information, they will shown you how they prepared to preservative the head before been display in the long house. Don't worry its wasn't the actual, like you going to the museum. Is better unless you know about this famous past history. |
Kampung Kuai Kandazon,
Peti Surat 740 Malaysia,
Penampang,
89507 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah,
Malaysia
For more info visit : www.monsopiad.com/
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