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Meanings, Symbols And Local Wisdom In The Pinakang Dance Movements,

Costumes And Accessories Of The Kimaragang In Sabah

Conference Paper · May 2009

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 CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS
7th International Confrence on Local Knowldge (ICLK 2017) (2017) 159-163
Edited by
Md Naim D. Ahmad M. Shafii A. Che Lah S. Esa N. Low Abdullah N

MEANINGS, SYMBOLS AND LOCAL WISDOM

IN THE PINAKANG DANCE MOVEMENTS, COSTUMES AND ACCESSORIES
OF THE KIMARAGANG IN SABAH

Victor B. Pangayan1
A.S. Hardy B. Shafii1
Low Kok On2
1
School of Arts, Universiti Sains Malaysia,
2
Borneo Heritage Research Unit, Universiti Malaysia Sabah
vicktondig@gmail.com

Abstract
The Pinakang is a traditional dance of the Kimaragang ethnic community located in Sabah’s northern
district of Kota Marudu. It is still performed during Ka’amatan (Harvest Festival) and other formal
ceremonies. This study is an analysis of the meanings, symbols and local wisdom in the Pinakang
dance movements, costumes, and accessories. Findings of the study indicate towards three elements –
bravery and leadership in men, and fine character in women – symbolised in Pinakang. In terms of
local wisdom, the dance acts as a platform to ascertain the personality of the dancers while the
costumes and accessories are indicative of their status and social standing or positions. This
knowledge has been inherent among the Kimaragang community and culture since time immemorial.
This study contributes towards enhancing awareness of the meanings, symbols and local wisdom in
the Pinakang dance performance of the Kimaragang in Sabah.
Keywords: Pinakang dance, Kimaragang, meanings, symbols, local wisdom
Introduction
The Kimaragang1 is among the ethnic groups in Sabah that speak the Dusunic dialect (Pugh-Kitingan,
2014:170). This group is found mainly in the districts of Kota Marudu and Pitas (Pangayan, 2016a).
Like other Sabah ethnic groups, the Kimaragang have their own distinctive traditional dance such as
the Pinakang, Momiluk, Mongilag and Monongkopiring (Pangayan, 2014:1; Pugh-Kitingan,
2012:162). Among these four, the Pinakang is usually the dance performed during festive functions
such as the Ka’amatan Festival, Moginakan Festival2, wedding ceremonies and formal functions in
schools in the Kota Marudu district (Pangayan, 2016b). Analysis of the dance movements, costumes
and accessories of Pinakang dancers reveals embedded meanings reflective of the customs and beliefs
of the Kimaragang.
Concept of Local Wisdom
Local wisdom refers to the acquired knowledge, discipline and expertise derived from original local
art which is developed from time immemorial and practised as part of the social way of life. Similarly,
inherited tradition or knowledge is viewed as a form of local wisdom (Vipriyanti, 2008) and as
awareness attained based on experience or certain knowledge collection (Kamonthip, 2007:1). It is this
Kimaragang local wisdom that enables certain people in the community to ascertain the personality
and background of a Pinakang dancer based on his dance movements, costume and accessories.
Such wisdom is still demonstrated by Kimaragang elders during their community ceremonies.
Methodology and Analysis
Information pertaining to the Kimaragang traditional dance is passed down from generation to
generation. Three important levels in fieldwork were conducted by the researchers: data collection

1 The Dusun Kimaragang are the aboriginal residents that occupy many of the highland plateau in the Kota Marudu and Pitas
districts such as the Dandun area which speak the Kimaragang dialect, a Dusunic language family (Luping, 2009:25; Sansalu,
2008:60–61).
2 Moginakan festival is a special thanksgiving ceremony held by the Kimaragang after completing a successful and bountiful

paddy-harvesting season.

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through interviews, transcription of interview results and data documentation (Osman, 1991). In the
data collection process, the researchers utilised both the interview and direct observation methods.
After the data had been transcribed, it was then analysed by interpretations based on oral resources
from the respondents.
The Origin of Pinakang Dance
Dancing is the oldest art form and could be perceived as the pioneer to the art stream. The sequence of
movements is the first art form conveyed by human beings without requiring support from props and
solely reliant on the human body ( Sachs, 1963:3; Ghouse, 1994:1). The Pinakang of the Kimaragang
does not depend on any props in its presentation. According to Jubin Umbang3 (informant), the dance
was created during the making of the pinakang cloth4 in the ancient days of the Kimaragang. The
Pinakang movements resembled the gliding motions of an eagle as it soared in the sky during the
mamakang5 process of long ago (Pugh-Kitingan, 2012: 154; Pangayan, 2016b:14). The Kimaragang
view the eagle as a symbol of the agility and courage of randawi do royo 'on6 while hunting and
attacking his enemies. According to Jubin Umbang (informant), randawi do royo 'on was endowed
with sharp vision and agility – the exact physical characteristics of the eagle that enabled it to hunt and
capture its prey. Sachs (1963:49) classifies this type of dance as an ‘image dance’ since it imitates
animal movements; the Pinakang could be categorised as one such dance since it is essentially an
imitation of the airborne movements of an eagle.
Analysis of Meanings and Symbols in Pinakang Dance Movements
Four types of movement could be observed in a Pinakang dance performance: mongigol7 or
mangandak8, mitalib9, sumirid10, and mangalikapta11 with the first three more frequently presented.
The fourth, Mangalikapta, is a movement specifically for competitions and to challenge other dancers
(regardless of gender) in terms of their techniques, ability and skill in Pinakang. Due to this
competitive edge and purpose, Mangalikapta is seldom displayed in common functions and
ceremonies – understandable perhaps since the dancer first has to fully master his techniques of
controlling and balancing body weight. The Kimaragang community believe that a female dancer that
could match the movements of her male counterpart during a Pinakang performance is indicative of
her dancing prowess and skill. Dance movements and their specific meanings are as indicated in Table
1.

Table 1: Meanings reflected in Pinakang dance movements.

Dance Movement Meaning
1. Movement of male/ female dancer while dancing is The dancer has a harsh personality and is impolite in his or
rough and fast in tempo. her daily gestures.
2. Movement of male/ female dancer while dancing is The dancer is polite and has good manners.
soft and in slow and controlled tempo.
3. Movement of female dancer is not compatible to The female dancer will be disrespectful of her future husband
movement of male dancer. and not submit to him.
4. Movement of female dancer is compatible to The female dancer has good manners and is submissive to her
movement of male dancer. future husband and her parents.
5. Male dancer is not confident while performing and The male dancer lacks confidence and leadership values.
has to be led by female dancer to do the “pangkis”.

3 Interview with Mr Jubin Umbang (62 years old) in Kg. Togudon, Tandek, Kota Marudu, Sabah: 4th of Feb 2013.
4 Pinakang cloth is produced from the continuous light hitting of the timbagan (bark),
5 Mamakang or its base word pakang means ‘to hit’; this verb refers to the action of hitting the timbagan bark slowly but

continuously to produce the pinakang cloth.

6 Randawi do ro 'yoon is a title for the strongest warrior among Kimaragang ethnic community.
7 Mongigol movement is done with both hands of the male dancer open wide at chest level.
8 Mangandak movement is done by the female dancer; this is paired with the mongigol movement by male dancers.
9 Crossing movement between male dancer and female dancer.
10 Basic movement of Pinakang dance.
11 Similar to mongigol and mangandak, but done by bending the knees and lowering the body as low as possible for the

purpose of challenging the dance partner.

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7th International Confrence on Local Knowldge (ICLK 2017) (2017) 159-163
Edited by
Md Naim D. Ahmad M. Shafii A. Che Lah S. Esa N. Low Abdullah N

Kimaragang elders believe in the duality of purpose of Pinakang whereby the dance is not
purely for entertainment but also as a platform to ascertain the personality and traits of an individual.
The dancer’s movements and actions during his performance are a viable gauge of his inner thoughts
and values. Such is the community’s certainty and conviction on this that the Pinakang has become
the method of choice when parents seek marriage candidates for their sons and daughters. The
suitability of prospective children- in- law therefore is ‘assessed’ during festive functions where the
parents would closely observe the intended when he or she is dancing the Pinakang. The elders would
focus on the dancer’s execution of movements, his tempo, and his interaction with other dancers as
shown in Table 1. This form of local wisdom, handed down across the ages, is still widely practised by
the older generation of the Kimaragang community today when searching for future husbands and
brides for their young.

Analysis of Meanings and Symbolism in Costume Application and Accessories

The traditional costumes of the Kimaragang are closely linked to the history and social stratification
of the group in the past (Payne, Winakor, & Farrel-Beck, 1992: 6). Two traditional costumes are in
evidence in the modern context namely the kinaling and lapoi for women, and sinudaan and sinudot
for men (Table 2). In the past, these costumes were donned to distinguish or differentiate clearly the
Kimaragang social stratification such as the person’s marital status or their social standing or position
in their community. In the modern context, these differentiations are somewhat imprecise with the
lapoi and sinudaan the costume of choice for members of the community. It is in fact quite rare to find
the kinaling and sinudot today due to a seemingly increasing ignorance or irrelevance of the costume
differences and their significance. Furthermore, very few among the Kimaragang generation in the 40
years old and above age bracket recognise these costume differentiations (Pangayan, 2014: 2). This
could be the main reason for lapoi and sinudaan being freely worn by anyone nowadays regardless of
the costumes’ implied connotations.

Table 2: Kimaragang traditional costumes and their connotations.

Kinaling Lapoi Sinudaan Sinudot

 For older women.  For young women.  For commoners or lay  For persons of rank
 Indicates married  Indicates single status. people. such as village head,
status. customary leader or
warrior.

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Md Naim D. Ahmad M. Shafii A. Che Lah S. Esa N. Low Abdullah N

Apart from costumes, the accessories worn also denote meaning in terms of the social rank of
the wearer. For women, accessories such as galun, golong do kimo, tinggol, sinogoloi, taboi, bunga
rilit, and sisikot are compulsory. The use of these accessories would further exhibit and consolidate the
rank and social status of the wearer among the Kimaragang community itself. Likewise, Kimaragang
men in the olden days would don the, sigar ginorudaan, sigar tinagaban, sigar mandal, and tagkos
(sinabala) to clearly signify their social status. This stratification-by-accessory is described further in
Table 3.

Table 3: Kimaragang accessories on traditional costume and their connotations.

Galun Golong do Kimo Tinggol Sinogoloi Taboi

Metal belt Bangle made from Bead Necklace Copper belt Rattan belt
shells
Worn by high- Worn by high- Worn by high- Worn by women to
ranking Worn by high- ranking/ layman. ranking indicate marital
individuals. ranking/ layman. individuals. status.
Bunga Rilit Sisikot Tagkos (sinabala) Mandal Tinagaban

Hair ornament Hair ornament Belt worn by men Headgear for men Headgear for men
with high-ranking with high-ranking/ with high-ranking
Worn by high- Worn only by status. layman status. status.
ranking/ layman. Bobolian12

Conclusion
This paper has focused on several elements of local wisdom among the Kimaragang ethnic community
in assessing or determining the personality or quality of an individual from among their own people.
This method is still practised by Kimaragang elders when searching for prospective spouses for their
children. The Pinakang provides a platform for them ascertain the suitability of candidates where it is
believed that the movements would be reflective of their values and temperament. The costumes and
accessories donned during the Pinakang indicate the social background of the dancers. The inferences
drawn from the costumes and accessories, added to the dance movements exhibited by the dancer,
would likely present a cohesive picture on the personality and suitability of that person. These
methods however serve merely as guide in the wearing of the traditional Kimaragang ethnic costume
nowadays.

12 Bobolian is priestes or ritual specialist (Hussin, 2003: 19; Pangayan, 2014: 158; Pugh-Kitingan, 2014: 186)

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Md Naim D. Ahmad M. Shafii A. Che Lah S. Esa N. Low Abdullah N

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