Introduction to ultra-native songs to understand the minority democratic culture in Malaysia

If you have been familiar with my articles for a long time, you should know that I went to Sabah, East Malaysia, to work for two years because of the government's assignment. For those who are not familiar with Malaysia, Malaysia is made up of 13 states, which are divided into West Malaysia and East Malaysia by the South China Sea. West Malaysia, also known as "Peninsula", consists of 11 main states, and the remaining 2 states are located in Borneo, also known as "Sarawak and Sarawak", namely Sabah and Sarawak.

In fact, for those of us who grew up on the peninsula, we actually don’t know much about Sabah and Sarawak, especially a few decades ago, when the Internet was not so developed, there were no oil pipes and low-cost airlines. We rarely come into contact with East Malaysia in our daily life, and there is a large sea in the middle, and many people from West Malaysia have probably arrived very large, and have never set foot in East Malaysia. However, since I lived there, I fell in love with this land immediately, to the point where my sister kept telling others that my sister was Sabahan (meaning Sabahans). Hahaha. . . Today, I would like to introduce some local music and culture of Sabah to you. I believe it goes without saying that everyone knows that Malaysia is a multicultural country. In addition to the three major ethnic groups, Chinese, Malays, and Indians, we also have many indigenous peoples. Among them, the relatively large indigenous groups include the Kadazan people in Sabah and the Iban people in Sarawak. Although I am not a Kadazan, I would like to tell you some of my knowledge of Kadazan today.

I don't know, do you understand this song? Every Chinese in Malaysia has its own dialect, and the more common dialect in Sabah is Hakka. Sino kadazan actually refers to the descendants of the Chinese and Kadazan people. Since immigrants from all over the country moved into Sabah, marriages of various ethnic groups are very common. Because the Chinese have fair skin, many second-generation mixed-race people are very good-looking, especially the girls are very attractive. This song mainly praises the beauty of Sino Kadazan. The mv reminds me of the classic song "Alishan Girl" when I was a child, because the scene is also the most proud of the sacred mountain of Sabah. Probably because of the feeling of having a home in Sabah, I like this song very much, in addition to integrating a lot of ontology culture, in addition to the Chinese and Kadazan dialects in the lyrics, the arrangement also has a strong indigenous flavor and musical instruments. The scenes in the MV are also frequented by us. Staying in the back compartment and driving across the river are also part of our daily life. I miss them very much!

Next, I will introduce a super classic song - Sayang Kinabalu

This is a very old Malay song that almost everyone in Sabah can sing. Whenever there is any festival or celebration, camping or K song, there will definitely be this song. As soon as the music is broadcast, the audience will enter into their own atmosphere. Hi state, have danced. I chose a relatively new cover, mainly because of the good visual effects. The white face is wearing the traditional clothes of Kadazan. Although the singer's pronunciation is not so standard, it is very good for a foreigner. Let's translate the lyrics for you. Although the meaning of the lyrics is a bit messy, they all revolve around the sacred mountain that everyone respects and admires.

Sayang Kinabalu

Tinggi-Tinggi Gunung Kinabalu - The mountain is so tall and strong

Tinggi lagi sayang sama kamu - but my love for you is doubly high

Biru-Biru hujung Kinabalu - The pinnacle of the mountain is incomparably blue

Tengok dari jauh hati saya rindu - my thoughts from afar

Kinabalu dekat di Kundasang - the sacred mountain located in Kundasang (name of the region)

Banyak sayur bule pilih-pilih - lots of vegetables to choose from (due to the climate, Kundasang has a lot of fresh vegetables)

Apa guna pergi luar negeri - Why go abroad?

Naik kinabalu hati saya rindu - I miss the mountain

Sumandak-sumandak pun ramai menunggu - Crowds of beautiful women are waiting

Menari-nari lenggang Sumayau - Everybody get up and dance the Sumayau

Sekali melihat melepak kulitnya - A look at her skin

Saya jatuh cinta - I fell in love right away

Sayang-Sayang saya Kinabalu - Dear Mount Kinabalu

Keamatan pesta bulan lima - Harvest Festival in May

Sayang-Sayang kita pergi tamu - we go to market together

Jalan tamparuli hati saya rindu - Tamparuli road (the only way to climb the sacred mountain) I miss

Finally, let me introduce to you a relatively new song - Original Sabahan

This super popular song, in addition to the main Malay language, also added Dusun language, as for some of the lyrics, the YouTube has its own translation. I read it once, and it is quite complete. Of course, I don't know the part about Dusun and I myself, but I checked it online, and there shouldn't be much difference. The meaning of this song is quite interesting. It is mainly used by this little brother to convince the young lady that he is a pure Sabah native. For fear that the young lady will not believe it, he even sang it in Dusun (Du Shun) words. In the MV, everyone spreads their hands and swings up and down. It is a local traditional dance. On celebratory occasions, whether formal or informal, everyone spreads their hands like this and sways to the rhythm of the music. If you listen carefully, you will also find that the second and third songs have a cry similar to Tarzan, which is also a feature of the Kadazan people's arrangement.

The translation of youtube is only in the part of the song, the following is the part where everyone translates the narration:

previous narration

Man: Hi everyone, looks good, a lot of people!

Woman: Are you from Sabah?

man: yes

Woman: Where is Sabah?

Male: Nuntunan from Kota Kinabalu

Female: Yi. . . I don't believe it, where is the evidence?

back narration

Woman: Oh. . . i believe

Man: Let's go, let's go eat together

Woman: Is there Tuhao (traditional food)?

Male: yes

Woman: Let's go. . . let's go,* hums a short chorus

Okay, the above is my personal recommendation. Sabah is a good place with mountains and rivers. You are welcome to play!