However, unlike other members of the Dusun tribe, the Tatana are different when it comes to festivals as they consider the Chinese New Year, and not the Harvest Festival, as their main annual celebration.
The small community of about 25,000 Tatana reside in the district of Kuala Penyu, about 120 kilometres from here, and the families have been celebrating Chinese New Year for centuries, including performing ancestral worship at home or at the temples.
Tatana Cultural Association president Wences Angang said the cultural fusion between native Tatana and the Chinese was due to interracial marriages between the two groups long ago.
“It just so happened that, other than Kudat in the north, Kuala Penyu is the closest port to China. Hence, when the Chinese came to Sabah, they landed in Kuala Penyu and chose to stay here.
“The Chinese traders brought their culture and religion to Kuala Penyu. When they married the locals, their children also practised Chinese culture and many became Buddhists. For example, the current Kuala Penyu assemblyman, Limus Jury, is a Buddhist,” he said.
Angang said after the arrival of Christian missionaries in the district, many of the Tatana people embraced Christianity but they still celebrated Chinese New Year.
The only difference is some of those from the younger generation who embraced Christianity no longer perform ancestral worship as it is against their religious beliefs.
“In the old days, each Tatana home would have a small altar for the ancestors. Some of the houses still keep these out of respect for the elders who still live in the house. However, the majority no longer want to have anything to do with the old beliefs,” he said.
He was also saddened that many from the younger generation no longer considered Chinese New Year as an important celebration.
“They just lost interest because they have so many festivals. Harvest Festival, Christmas, Easter, Hari Raya. So for many of them, Chinese New Year is just one of many,” he said.
New Year’s feast over three days
However, for Kg Gorowot village head Nuri Suram, celebrating Chinese New Year remains the highlight for his family, including his children, who have gone on to embrace other religions including Christianity and Islam.
Every year, he said he would diligently perform the ancestral worship and prepare the New Year’s feast for his family and friends to celebrate together.
Unlike the mainstream Chinese, Nuri said the Tatana celebrate the day extravagantly with three big meals for three consecutive days.
“Our food bill could come up to thousands of ringgit. The food will include normal Chinese food such as noodles, oranges, meat and of course, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.
“But we also serve traditional Tatana food such as tinimbu (dumpling), jackfruit cooked in coconut milk, local vegetables, sago worms if we can get some, and traditional wine,” he said.
Nuri said he performed prayers three times prior to the actual new year. He said the first would be performed at noon, the second at around 7pm and the third at midnight.
“Each time after the prayer, family members will burn paper money and light up fireworks, and whenever possible, they will fire a shotgun at the same time,” he said.
Unfortunately, he said, nowadays the number of families still observing the traditional way of celebrating Chinese New Year has dwindled.
Two years ago, he said, there were 23 families in his village which observed the tradition. Now, only 13 do so.
“I am not optimistic. But I believe the people will continue to celebrate the new year, just maybe minus the ancestral worship, once the older generation is gone,” he said.
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