Kg. Monggis is found in the District of Ranau, Sabah around 50km from the town of Ranau. Villagers in this village are indigenous people who come from the Dusun sub-ethnic groups of Dusun Liwan, Dusun Tindal and Dusun Tagahas in Sabah. There about 274 people in this village who work as farmers and also in the government and private sector. In our daily life, we still practice Dusun customs in planting hill paddy.

In the past, Monggis villagers practiced a form of hill paddy cultivation known asPitounan which means rotational. The practice of rotational hill paddy farming is one method of maintaining soil fertility. Furthermore, it provides good yields that are safe from chemicals.

That activity of hill paddy cultivation is actually part of our own identity because it involves practices that have to be obeyed and followed. The process of traditional hill paddy cultivation from preparation of the field till harvest of the crops involves many customs, traditional knowledge, taboos, language, music, dance, festivals and seasons which forms the Dusun identity.

Loss of traditional hill paddy cultivation will mean the loss of Monggis Dusun identity. This loss of identity will make villagers more prone to commercial agriculture which then makes the practice of gotong-royong even more forgotten and village life more individualistic.


? Traditional planting of paddy (process from beginning to end)

According to stories from our forefathers, all activities that they did had to be carried out through gotong-royong by the whole community and this can even involve the communities of several neighbouring villages. Works carried out during gotong-royonginclude preparing fields for cultivation, planting of paddy,harvesting of paddy, building houses, marriage ceremonies, funerals, constructing irrigation systems, and catching fish among others.

In the past, gotong royong was practiced by the village community to work together to ease the work and at the same time to strengthen the relationships between the community members. It is also a part of theMonggis community identity. But today, this practiceis gradually being forgotten in the communityespecially the youths due to lack of exposure by their parents and elders and with everybody doing the work by themselves.

The main reason whygotong-royongis practiced has been forgotten due to changes in lifestyle. Most of the villagers are working full-time (such as working with the government and the private sector) in the competition to improve their economic situation and that of their own families due to the economic demands that rely too much on money.Those who can afford pay with money and do not need to participate in gotong-royong anymore.

Threats of loss and change in lifestyle has caused the community to be more prone to commercial agriculture which in turn causes the practice of gotong-royong to be gradually forgotten and the community act more individualistic.

The efforts of this project will document the traditional hill paddy cultivation processes so that the culture, traditional knowledge and taboos may be put into book form as a guide to educate future generations.