{"id":41,"date":"2022-01-11T21:48:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-11T13:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mysabah.com\/wordpress\/?p=41"},"modified":"2023-06-13T22:31:26","modified_gmt":"2023-06-13T14:31:26","slug":"murut-cultural-center","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mysabah.com\/wordpress\/murut-cultural-center\/","title":{"rendered":"Murut Cultural Center, the Largest Ironwood Building of Borneo"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Though headhunting practice is a thing of the past, Murut people are always branded as the fearsome headhunters, so Sabah can market our cultural tours to tourists who love such stories. Was Murut really a savage and simple-minded tribe? A visit to Murut Cultural Centre (Local name: Pusat Kebudayaan Murut<\/em>) in Tenom will change your views completely, when you are impressed by the rich heritage of Murut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/a>
The front entrance to the main building of Murut Cultural Centre<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

About Murut People<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Murut means “Men of the Hill”, they migrated from Asia mainland to Borneo about 20,000 years ago and majority of them settle in the interior of Sabah (e.g. Tenom, Keningau) as farmers, fishermen and hunters. Murut women are skillful in weaving and bead-work too. Murut people are famous for their beautiful traditional costumes<\/a> and energetic bamboo dance<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Sub-ethnics<\/a>
Sub-ethnics of Murut. Their traditional costumes can be very different.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

With a population of over 90,000, Murut is the third largest indigenous group of Sabah<\/strong>. Murut has over 10 sub-ethnics, eight of them are main groups, namely, Murut Tahol \/ Tagol, Murut Timugon, Murut Paluan, Murut Nabai, Murut Kolor, Murut Serudung (Murut Tawau or Serudong), Murut Baukan, and Murut Tenggala. Traditionally, Murut stays in longhouse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Largest Ironwood Building in Borneo<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Operating since 1998 and managed by Sabah Cultural Board<\/a>, Murut Cultural Centre covers an area of 33 hectares and costs RM10.4 millions to construct. And the main building, which takes up 13.3 hectares of space, is an art and longhouse by itself, and it’s the largest ironwood building in Borneo<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Side<\/a>
Murut Cultural Centre is the largest ironwood building in Borneo. It’s not too much to say that it’s a Murut palace.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You can start your cultural journey after you beat the gong three times at the entrance, to show respect to the Murut’s custom Tuka-Tuka<\/em>, a way to announce your friendly visit to a longhouse. The Sininpung<\/em> motif on the main pillar means unity, peace and harmony, to encourage goodwill in visitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Beating<\/a>
Beat the gong to announce your friendly presence, or the headhunters will take care of you. Just kidding<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ironwood Building<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The pillars of Murut Cultural Centre are made from 207 logs of Borneo Ironwood (locally known as Belian<\/em>).<\/strong> Belian (scientific name: Eusideroxylon zwageri<\/em>) is one of the most precious and hardest timber in Southeast Asia. This rainforest hardwood is resistant to insects, termites, bacteria, fungi and marine borers, so building, ports and bridges built with Belian wood can last hundred of years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/a>
Murut Cultural Centre can accommodate about 1,000 people so it’s suitable as an event site. Conference room and performance stage are available for different types of activities.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, with a rate of mean radial growth of 0.058 cm per year, this slow-growing tree needs about 120 years to reach a diameter of 30 cm, like the size of ironwood pillars found in Murut Cultural Centre. Belian is so dense that it doesn’t float on water. However, ironwood is getting rare due to over-logging and loss of habitat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Art Gallery<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There are a few sections for you to explore in the main building. The first thing visitors will see is the exhibition of Sabah theme paintings and modern sculptures in main hall. Most, if not all, of the art pieces are inspired by different subjects related to Sabah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/a>
The exhibition and art gallery in main hall of Murut Cultural Centre<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sabah artists tend to use bright colours, so looking at the paintings is like seeing the world of Sabah through a kaleidoscope. Art gallery isn’t very common in Sabah, so I would say these interesting artworks of local talents are bonus to visitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Exhibition<\/a>
Sabah theme paintings and metal sculpture in Murut Cultural Centre (Pusat Kebudayaan Murut)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At both sides of the main hall are two long corridors that display items about the tools, musical instrument, wedding culture, history and lifestyle of Murut people. For example, gong, headhunter seats, wedding dais.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Left:<\/a>
Left: Exhibition of common items found in Murut longhouse. Right: A dais used by the Murut Tagol community for wedding ceremony (Tinauh<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The important items are labeled with description in Malay and English. However, the information board that introduce the sub-ethnics and history of Murut is mostly in Malay language. There used to be a few mannequins dressed in traditional costumes of different Murut sub-ethnics, but I didn’t see them in my last visit in Dec 2021. Anyway, you can look at their photographs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jars Museum<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

On top floor of the main building is an exhibition of 10 ceramic jars (Tajau<\/em>) from the Murut community. Most of them are antique, and the finest ones are from China merchants who traded with the locals in old days. Photo-taking in this section is forbidden, so I’m afraid I can’t show you more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Left:<\/a>
Left: there is an exhibition on Murut’s history at the end of this hallway. Right: The hundred-year-old burial jar in Murut Cultural Center<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Jar is very important to Murut in the past. The jar was treated as wealth that could be exchanged for goods, passed on as heirloom, and a valuable gift in dowry. Murut uses jars for many purposes, for example, food storage, fermenting tapai (wine)<\/a>, burial. Burial? Yes, a 100-year-old burial jar (Bangkalan<\/em>) is the highlight in the Jars Museum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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