The heartbeat of Kaamatan: Inside the Kadazandusun's sacred ‘Magavau' ceremony that calls the rice spirit home

Malay Mail

2 days ago

KOTA KINABALU, May 31 — The Kadazandusun people of Sabah are known not only for their vibrant traditions — such as gong music, rice wine, and dance — but also, as the largest indigenous ethnic group in the state, for their deep spiritual connection to the land from which they draw life and livelihood.
To them, the land and all living beings are imbued with spirit, history, and meaning. This belief is reflected in their rich traditions and rituals — from birth to death, from planting to healing, and every action in between.
At the heart of their identity is a reverence for the Bambarayon, the rice spirit and essence of life. To them, rice is more than just food or sustenance — it is life itself. They believe it is their duty to respect, protect, and live in harmony with the natural world.
This belief forms the basis of their many sacred rituals, including those practiced during Kaamatan, the annual Harvest Festival.
The Magavau ceremony is perhaps the most well-known, sacred, and traditional ritual of the Kaamatan Festival, centred on giving thanks to the spirits for a bountiful harvest. It is performed annually at the Kadazandusun Cultural Association (KDCA) during the state-level launch event.
Magavau means 'to recover' in the Kadazandusun language and the ceremony is a thanksgiving ritual to honour and appease the rice spirit after the harvest.
Sabah Native Council Affairs president Benedict Topin said that Magavau also derives from the root word tavau, which means 'fragrance', as the bobolians (high priestesses) use the scent of new rice to communicate with the scattered parts of the rice spirit, Bambarayon.
According to tradition, when rice is harvested, parts of the rice spirit may become scattered or lost. Pests and predators such as insects, birds, and animals, as well as calamities like floods and droughts, can harm or carry away parts of Bambarayon.
These parts can also be carelessly dropped during harvesting, transporting, winnowing, pounding, or milling, leaving them at the mercy of environmental hazards. Even discarded rice wine can cause the spirits to be lost.
The Magavau ritual is performed to 'recall' the spirits to ensure continued blessings and bountiful harvests in the future.
The ritual is conducted by a bobohizan or bobolian, the traditional priestess or spiritual leader of the Kadazandusun. She leads chants called rinaits, which can be in the form of songs, dances, and symbolic gestures to invoke the spirit of Bambarayon and guide it back to the rice barns and homes of the community.
For the Kadazandusun people, rice is more than just food or sustenance — it is life itself. — Picture by Sayuti Zainudin
'Magavau has enriched meanings, typical of the creative compositions of the rinaits (bobolian recitals) using rhyming words to maximise intentional meanings and purposes of words,' said Topin.
The ritual chants begin with a circle of bobohizan and bobolians of a certain number, all chanting in ancient Kadazan language to communicate with the spirit world. It is said that the priestesses may enter a trance-like state during the ceremony.
The rinaits serve to beckon the spirits to reunite with the whole Bambarayon spirit, symbolised by the Toguruon — seven ears of paddy hoisted on a bamboo pole.
They repeat the chants continuously until they rise, place their hands on each other's shoulders, and move together in a circle.
A male bobohizan normally takes the front of the line, waving a 'sword' while the others continue to chant to beckon the strayed Bambarayon to come home with them.
Intermittently, a pangkis (triumphant war-cry) may be released by the male bobohizan as an expression of joy each time a part of Bambarayon is found and recovered.
Throughout the Magavau ceremony, the bobohizan and their followers must stay close together, with their hands on the leader's shoulders. This is to maintain an orderly procession and to reduce the risk of stumbling at night, which could anger the many unseen spirits in the soil, water, wind, and vegetation.
Sometimes, offerings such as cooked rice, chicken, rice wine (tapai), and traditional cakes are prepared and presented to the spirits. The priestesses may also use items like bamboo containers, rice stalks, and cloth to symbolically 'gather' the spirit.
At some point, a gong ensemble and Sumazau dance will accompany the ritual, especially in the bigger district or community level rituals.
With the adoption of religion and modern beliefs, such rituals are becoming rarer, but a symbolic ritual is still performed during the state-level Kaamatan closing ceremony to celebrate and promote Kadazandusun culture among the public and younger generation, reminding them of their ancestral beliefs.