walking in a circle

Ok, here’s another entry for today regarding on Kaamatan festival. yosh, the great Kaamatan fiesta. I would like to pinpoint some of the issues regarding on this great season. Yup, no other than the culture and the lifestyle. Here comes the shot.

Kaamatan brings the people of all walk here in our homeland to celebrate the harvest festival and mostly by the Kadus including the Murut. Yeah, of course it’s really great for such an annual event but there is some thing kinda spoil it, the drinking. I mean, yes, we are celebrating a fiesta but come on, we don’t need to do it like there’s no more tomorrow, do we?

I am referring to some of our friends out there who is having the kind of thinking of ‘drink and get drunk until you die because this it the month of moginum..yeahhh’. Wow. Let’s just say if 50% of sabahan population is having that kind of thinking, man .. nda payah cakap la, hancur bah! I wonder what makes our people to have that kind of lifestyle when it comes to the month of May?

People will just open heartedly or simply giving excuses just to start a drinking session which lasted for days with all the tapai, the montoku, linutau, bahar and other traditional alcohol based drinks. Now that the beers are sold for RM10 3 or RM10 4.. bah, ngam laitu. Not to mention the other brands which are more cheaper than the ones of Carlsberg, Tiger, Heinekein, etc. I do drink this kind of stuff, I’m a drinker myself but still, I can’t take it for 24 7.

I was looking at my village folks that day especially the young ones, and man, we are a hundred years away from a so called a developed state, an advance culture apart from the drinking habit. WE always win when it comes to that. If you don’t believe me then go to any club around Bukit Bintang if your are in kolompo and take a good look around because you might find a group of people drinking beers or liquors like water and speaks sabahan. My uncle used to hang out there with his friends with towers of beers and they were the only ones who drank that much.

It’s even easy if you are in sabah, just go to any place where the good stuff are sold, be it kedai kampuang, restaurant, etc. and surely, you can see the people of all ages and they are every where. I am kinda pity to the young kids who don’t have the chance to see the outside world apart of drinking here and there. I mean, not that they don’t have the chance, really but they prefer to not have it. Spending time with friends and ended drunk is always the main priority.

Much of the development mainly the mindset of the kids were automatically stopped when they start to drink. I’m referring this more to the rural areas especially my hometown, Keningau. Where ever there is tapai, this kids will be there even if they need to walk for miles, you know. Hyper active kids, I must say. For me, I can’t stand tapai, thanks for the unknown alcohol level. It’s a beast!!

Anyway, I’m not against any taboo or cultural believes to this drinking sessions during this Kaamatan fiesta. It’s just that I’m not really agree with the thinking of minuuuuuuuuuuum saja. Mati la ba juga. But that’s one’s opinion. It depends, really. Just take care of yourself and watch out for the contagious sicknesses of others. I’ll blog again later on this kaamatan subject.

Happy Harvest Festival.