IP: 183.171.64.188 On: Wed, 16 May 2018 04:24:56 Copyright: American Scientific Publishers Delivered by Ingenta Copyright © 2018 American Scientific Publishers All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America RESEARCH ARTICLE Advanced Science Letters Vol. 24, 4798–4801, 2018 The Healing Ritual Context of the Magunatip Dance of the Murut in Sabah, Malaysia Low Kok On 1 * , Suhaimi Magi 1 , Supyan Hussin 2 , A. S. Hardy Shafii 3 , and Norfarizah Mohd Bakhir 3 1 Borneo Heritage Research Unit, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Malaysia 2 Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Malaysia 3 Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia Magunatip is one of the most popular traditional dances among the Murut ethnic community in the Interior districts of Sabah, Malaysia. Once performed in healing rituals, the modern-day Magunatip is mainly performed during celebrations such as bride wealth exchange ceremonies, weddings, and harvest festivals. Based on oral sources, Magunatip is believed to have evolved either from a folk game played duringpaddy pounding sessions or a ritual invoked during healing ceremonies. This paper presents an investigation on the healing ritual context of Magunatip as told in the form of legends by elderly Murut informants. By analysing the healing ritual context of Magunatip, the significance of the dance in relation to the culture and traditional beliefs of the Murut community could be ascertained. Keywords: Magunatip Dance, Murut, Legends, Ritual Context, Healing Ritual. 1. INTRODUCTION The Murut community is the third largest indigenous ethnic group residing in the state of Sabah, Malaysia. A 2010 population census in the State identified the 97,000-strong community to be mostly centered in the Interior District of Sabah. Owen Rutter, 8 an early ethnographer engaged in field work in Borneo perceived the Murut of the remote Interior to be the most interesting subject among all the North Borneo native tribes: For here (North Borneo) one may find man (the Murut) in his primitive state, still almost untouched by outside influences: he is, as it were, a living fos- sil; in the course of centuries, his habits and cus- toms, handed down with rigid conservatism through the ages, can have changed but little, and he rep- resents a standard of culture that must have been prevalent among the primitive races of Southeast Asia two thousand years ago. In Rutter’s study, 8 the Murut of Sabah is classified into two main groups i.e., “Hill Murut” which consists of seven subgroups and “Plains Murut” with three. Although each subgroup has its own specific name like Tahol, Bookan, Paluan, Nabai, Kolor, Timugon, Sembakung, Selungai, Tengara, Serudung, Kalabakan, Beaufort and Keningau Murut, the term ‘Murut’ is the common * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. generic name used by other local communities since they belong to the same Murutic family. The Nabai for example is one of the selected Murut subgroups in this study. Based on the Sabah Population Census Report in 2010 (Department of Statistic Malaysia), out of a total of 97,300 Muruts in Sabah, 28,200 are found in the Tenom district, fol- lowed by 27,900 in Keningau and 23,600 in Nabawan. These three districts are homes to an estimated 82% of the total Murut population in Sabah at present day with the majority residing in the Interior districts of Keningau and Tenom (Sabah Map 1). Our informants are from the Paluan, Nabai and Timugon Murut subgroups. Before the emergence of the British North Borneo Chartered Company (BNBCC) in Sabah (formerly known as North Borneo) in the late 19th century, like many other tribal groups in Borneo, the Murut lived in longhouses, and were occasional headhunters. Slavery was practiced to a certain extent in connection with inter- tribal warfare. Traditionally, the economy of the Murut revolved around swidden agriculture with sago, hill rice and cassava as staple foods. This diet based on subsistence farming was sup- plemented with fish, birds, and hunted animals such as deer and wild boar, and a variety of wild vegetables and fruits. 10 Ismail Abbas and Shaong, 2 who examined the traditional dances of Sabah, reported that there are four types of Murut tra- ditional dances namely the Lansaran, Andui-andui, Anggalang and Magunatip. The first three dances are not the focus of this study. 4798 Adv. Sci. Lett. Vol. 24, No. 7, 2018 1936-6612/2018/24/4798/004 doi:10.1166/asl.2018.11203