At the rice cultivation & conservation area of the Penampang plain not far off from the District's By-Pass Highway... Guess why they flock together...
MegaLONG - one of the landmarks at the Heartland's township, Donggongon, is the State's longest shopping mall at 373 metres.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Kadazan Dusun Heartland: The Heartland...
Kadazan Dusun Heartland: The Heartland...: "Penampang District, considered as the heartland, has a bustling township which is a suburb of Kota Kinabalu City, the State's capital. The n..."
Kadazan Dusun Heartland: The Human Anatomy in native Kadazan language
Kadazan Dusun Heartland: The Human Anatomy in native Kadazan language: "abdomen - tizan; ankle - tampangi; anus - buhus; appendix - tapang; arm / forearm - hongon; armpit - pohikok; armpit hair - pohitung /..."
Friday, February 18, 2011
The Human Anatomy in native Kadazan language
abdomen - tizan; ankle - tampangi; anus - buhus; appendix - tapang; arm / forearm - hongon; armpit - pohikok; armpit hair - pohitung / vuhu pohikok; back - hikud; big toe - mohoing kangkaam; bile - paa' tompodu; blood - zaa'; body - tinan; boil - kolumputos; bone - tuhang; brain - tutok; bun - tinimbuku; breath - pinuobo; burp - tontiob; buttock - pakou / buhus; calf - bodtung; cheek - pingas; chest - kangkab; chest hair - vuhu kangkab; chin - lo'o; coccyx - gontui; colon - tinaii; cough - tikod; crotch - papaangan; dead cells or particles on skin - duong; dimple - piuk; ear - tohingo; eardrum - tomuhok tohingo; earwax - tontohingai; elbow - siku; eye - mato; eye dirt / discharge - bihas; eyeball - hunsou mato; eyebrow - kudou; eyelash - kiop; eyelid - sokub mato; face - voos; faeces - ta'ii; fart - tontut; fat - hunok; finger - tuntuu'; finger nail - hindusu; fist - tonggom; fleck - tinggahangan; fore / index finger - tuntudu'; forehead - labas; gall bladder - tompodu; grey hair - tuvan; hair - tobuk; hair filament - vuhu; hand - pahad; hand hair - vuhu hongon; head - tuhu; heart - tunduundu'; heel - totod; hiccup - sodu; hindknuckle - hu'ak; hump / hunch - binongkud; incisor tooth - nipon pongotop; jaw - hakang; joint - pihangadan; kidney - huuhunsou tavak; kneecap - totud; lap - dompungan; leg - takod; leg hair - vuhu takod; lip - munung; little / baby finger - nangkis; liver - tongkovizau; lung - topos; marrow - tutok tuhang; middle finger - andavi; molar tooth - nipon pongogop; mole - tinggahangau; moustache - dongit; mouth - kabang; mucus - hangou; muscle - popot; nape - hiou / tipus; navel - pusod; neck - tatahanan; nose - todung; nostril - tatangasan; palate - kaad; palm - dangau pahad; pimple / acne - giavat; (tooth) plaque - nindud; pubic hair - togitung; (eye) pupil - tanak mato; pus - nana'; rectum - tataizan; red blood cell - sel zaa' taagang; rib - kagang; ring finger - sinsingan; saliva - biis; scar - pihat; shin - bangku; shoulder - bahazan; shoulder blade - boihang; skin - kuhit; skin whitespot - buhita'; skull - tinompuung tuhu; small intestine - kinoloi; sneeze - tontiho'; snore - tinggook; sole - hapap; spine - tountud; spittle - duha'; spleen - taip; sternum - tuhang kangkab; stomach - gituko; sweat - tumos; tears - lomou; teeth gum - monsis; temple - poihing; thigh - poo; throat - tontolugukan; thumb - golohing; toe - kangkaam; tongue - diha'; tooth - nipon; tooth pulp - tomuhok nipon; trachea - pomuoboan; urinary bladder - sosobuvan; urine - sobu; vein - tuat; waist - tavak; wart - babag; whisker - jamping; white blood cell - sel zaa' topuak; wound - ganit; wrinkle - kuludot; wrist - hunggazan
Friday, February 11, 2011
MT. KINABALU INTERNATIONAL CLIMBATHON @ Kinabalu National Park
Extract from my Pocket Book THE LAND OF MT. KINABALU . 2nd Edition, available as print on demand or eBook at http://lulu.com/spotlight/alpeusstephen
The Climbathon which is deemed as "the World's Toughest Mountain Race" is the ultimate challenge for the adventurous to prove their endurance by running up and down Mt. Kinabalu for a total distance of 21 kilometres. But annually this Climbathon attracts athletes who want to conquer the peak within two hours and thirty minutes.
The first climbathon was started in 1987 by Sabah Parks with the purpose of scouting for people to be in a squad for rapid rescue comprising rangers who are able to bring down injured climbers in a short time possible especially during harsh weather or when helicopters are not available. At this time the participants were Malaysians only, but in the following year it was opened for international participation.
This annual event was then organised by Sabah Tourism Board since 1995 and the Climbathon is now very popular to mountain runners in Europe. They make up the majority members in the World Mountain Running Association (WMRA). Malaysia is the first country in Asia as a member to WMRA. The Climbathon received a major boost when Malaysia won its bid to host the World Mountain Running Trophy in 1999 at Kinabalu National Park.
The 15th World Mountain Running Trophy 1999 was held on September, 1999 which involved running along a 12-kilometre route around Mount Kinabalu Park. (The usual Climbathon itself is running up and down the Mountain.) Hundreds of participants from tens of countries took part to compete for the Trophy. A week later the 13th Climbathon was held and the participation was also very satisfactory.
The 19th Climbathon in 2005 was endorsed as one of the 7 official races of the Federation for Sport at Altitude (FSA) for the Sky Running World Championship Circuit (racing on high altitude). Managing skyrunning from 1995 onwards, FSA regulated and coordinated the world series and the Kinabalu circuit of this series was the only race that is held outside Europe.
Today the Climbathon is organised in cooperation with the International Skyrunning Federation (ISF). Its headquarters is in Italy with registered office in Switzerland. The ISF is the only authority representing skyrunning to promote it and similar sport activities at altitude on a worldwide basis according to Olympic Charter. It was founded on July 19, 2008 in Canazei, Italy, by representatives from 10 countries together with the board and members of the FSA, which it replaces.
On October 22, 2010, after its 2nd General Assembly in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, the ISF has 16 member nations and 3 Associate Members. In the next Climbathon and the consecutive years more and more participations are expected to be registered for the men, women and veteran categories.
MT. KINABALU - the Summit of Borneo
Extract from my Pocket Book THE LAND OF MT. KINABALU . 2nd Edition, available as print on demand or as eBook at http://lulu.com/spotlight/alpeusstephen
Mt. Kinabalu is popularly the highest mountain in Southeast Asia at 4,095.2 metres (13,435 feet). It dominates Kinabalu National Park which was established in 1964 as one of the national parks of Malaysia.
The Park with a size of 754 square kilometres and located on the west coast of Sabah on the Island of Borneo was designated by UNESCO in December 2000 to be Malaysia's first "World Heritage Site" due to its role as one of the world's most important biological sites.
The Park is a natural paradise which is home to incredibly diverse range of flora and fauna. Rafflesia, the largest flower in the world, is found here and its giant blossom can reach a diameter of over 80 cm.
The botanical wonders of the Park's Mountain consist of amazing varieties of flora and fauna because they range over four climate zones, that is, from the luxuriant dipterocarp rainforest of the lowland through tropical montane forest of oaks and rhododendrons, moving next to coniferous forests, then to alpine meadows and finally to stunted bushes of the summit zone. The mountain is famous for numerous orchid species that are rare and endemic. It is also habitat to a multitude of animal species that are endemic too.
The hundreds of square kilometres encompassed by the Mountain's surrounding slopes, from sea level up to the jagged granite edges of its many peaks (12 altogether) constitute the Kinabalu National Park.
Today the allure of Mt. Kinabalu on this Park attracts adventurous climbers from all corners of the world. The Park Headquarters is located at its southern boundary with an elevation of 5,000 feet. Visitors' accomodations, restaurants and other facilities are found here including the Park's offices.
The climb up the Mountain is one reason why numerous visitors come to the Park. In spite of its daunting view, Kinabalu is not really hard to climb if it is done for the normal two to three days. Each year thousands of visitors take the expeditive climb and somewhere along the trail of the climb, accomodations are even available, with the highest lodging at the Sayat-Sayat Hut, an elevation of 12,500 feet.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
"LOST WORLD" Maliau Basin of Sabah, Malaysia in northern Borneo
The Maliau Basin is an area in Sabah which represents a geological catchment surrounding the Maliau River and located around south central Sabah. It was designated as a conservation area in 1981. In 1997 it was gazetted as a Class 1 Protection Forest Reserve with a total of 588.4 sq. kilometres. The area features Mt. Lotung (1,667 metres), the seven-tier Maliau Falls and Lake Linumunsut.
The Basin was discovered in 1947 by a pilot but it was only in 1988 that a major scientific expedition was organised to explore it. The saucer-shaped Basin has an almost circular perimeter, clearly delimited around by cliffs or very steep slopes reaching up to 1,500 metres high. Mt. Lotung is deemed to be the highest point on the north rim at over 1,800 metres high. The Basin, which is 25 km. in diameter, resembles a volcanic caldera, but it is actually a sedimentary formation mainly of gently-inclined beds of sandstone and mudstone.
The Basin represents a single catchment and is drained by tributaries of the Maliau River, one of which descends as a series of waterfalls known as the Maliau Falls. The River then gorges out into the Kuamut River which in turn feeds into the Kinabatangan River, the longest in Sabah at 560 kilometres.
The first major expedition to Lake Linumunsut (Sabah's only true lake) at the northern part of the Basin was conducted in 2001. Though only a small percentage of studies have been done by then, more new species of flora and fauna were already discovered. In 2002, HRH Prince Henrik of Denmark con-celebrated the ground breaking for setting up the Maliau Basin Field Studies Centre with the Director of Sabah Foundation, a large, semi-governmental Foundation which manages the Basin as State resources for the people.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
The World's # 1 Ecosystem in Marine Biodiversity
Extract of entry in my pocket book The Land of Mt. Kinabalu . 2nd Edition, available at http://lulu.com/spotlight/alpeusstephen
Evidence by a team of 18 Dutch, American and Malaysian marine scientists point to Semporna District in Sabah as having the world's highest marine biodiversity. They confirm the 'paradise' on Earth tag which TIME magazine used to describe Darvel/Semporna Bay. This was announce at a press conference, December 20, 2010.
The members of the Semporna Marine Ecological Expedition 2010 spent three weeks including about 1,000 hours underwater in December to examine and explore the reefs of Semporna, a priority conservation area, and documenting the species richness there for mushroom corals, reef fish, gall crabs, ovulid snails and algae.
Initial coral counts show Semporna leads the pack with the highest coral diversity compared to other study sites in the 5-million square kilometer of the Coral Triangle. So, if the Triangle is epi-center of global marine biodiversity, the Darvel/Semporna Bay is now practically identified as actually the 'apex' of the Coral Triangle.
Where a high richness of Mushroom corals was found, was also usually found an extremely high richness of other corals as well because Mushroom corals can be used as proxy (representative) for other coral richness.
In a roving census of fish counts, the fish team of the group encountered 844 species. The count for reef fish was 777 species at online citing; 90 over for coral shrimp species and about a 100 over for algae species, the all-important base of the food chain group of organism.
The scientists stated that while Semporna is a world-class diving site and destination, it is also within the Coral Triangle and therefore the world's top hot-spots for marine biodiversity. And this scientific detail of its diversified ecosystem is new and also updating a report first made by a British marine scientist Dr. Elizabeth Wood in the early 1980s for WWF. The report said the same thing. Professional divers and amateur divers also said it. Everybody knew it is the best in the world and this is attributed to Semporna's rich mix variety of reef types and habitats namely fringing reefs and pre-atoll reefs, dubbed the Borneo Barrier Reef, and the oceanic island reefs of Sipadan. It is no surprise then for other sites with names like Boheydulang (which is now an atoll, but was previously rims of a massive volcanic crater), Mabul, Kapalai, Mataking, Roach Reefs and Ligitan Group.
Sabah Parks co-purview Sipadan Island, the top diving spot, as it is within the 300 sq. km. Tun Sakaran Dandai Marine Park, and the natural heritage is managed for benefitial fishing, tourism and aquaculture in the district of Semporna.
Some of the organisers, namely the Department of Zoology, NCH Naturalis, Netherlands (represented by Dr. Bert Hoeksema, and as expedition leader); WWF-Malaysia, and Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) conducted the expedition with participation, among others, from Old Dominion University, USA; Sabah Parks, Sabah Fisheries Department and including the owners of MV Celebes Explorer, the live-aboard boat.
The Heartland...
Penampang District, considered as the heartland, has a bustling township which is a suburb of Kota Kinabalu City, the State's capital.
The name Penampang originated from the name of a village in the district. The etymology of the name is a Kadazan word "pampang", meaning "big rock" derived from the abundance of rocks at the river nearby.
Now the name Penampang refers to the district while Donggongon is its township. The name of this town itself also had origin evolving from the word "tundoongon", meaning a resting area, related to its role as a stop-over for people from the hills who journeyed down to the coast for trade long ago before roads and means of transport were available.
The District is administered by a district council and a district office. It is deemed to be the heartland of the Kadazan-Dusun community, and also the main centre for their political and cultural development. The cultural complex of the community , especially the main building, KDCA Hall, is a famous venue for the community's traditional festivities, chief among them is the annual Lamai Kaamatan or 'Harvest Festival' which is the most important cultural event. The district also has the State's longest shopping Mall at 373 metres long - the 'MegaLONG'.
The proximity of this district from the capital City Kota Kinabalu is one of the factors that attract tourists especially for those interested in knowing more about the local cultures here.
There is abundance of interesting places to visit here. To name a few are: KDCA Cultural Complex, Lok Kawi Wildlife Park, Monsopiad Cultural Village, Inobong Station of the Crocker Range Park, Babagon Freshwater Aquaculture Station, Gunung Emas Highland Resorts, and the native open-air market (Tamu) at Donggongon Town every Thursday & Friday where the natives converge to buy and sell myriads of produce including rare items.
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