Kota Belud Tamu Besar

In English : Kota Belud Big Sunday Market.

While Mark and Walt were climbing Mt Kinabalu, Jane and I, together with 9 other cruisers hired a van and drove to Kota Belud for the annual Tamu Besar.

vegetable vendor

vegetable vendor

fish vendor

Kota Belud is situated 70 km northeast of Kota Kinabalu and is known as the "Land of the Cowboys of the East".  It is a melting pot of cultures and customs with a blend of the largely Muslim Bajau community and the many tribes of the Kadazandusun and the Irranun.  The Kota Belud tamu (Sunday open market) is a venue for the people of the various communities to meet and trade.

The best time to view Kota Belud's striking cultural mix is during the annual Tamu Besar. It is Sabah's biggest open-air market where farmers, fishermen and vendors offer their best produce and wares for sale to the public.  We had fun walking around, watching the vendors doing their crafts.  There is this one lady making neat baskets out of newspapers and coconut sticks.  She rolls the newspapers into tight tubes and weaves them into baskets, then paints them with polyurethane lacquer.  Another lady was making colorful hats out of rattan.

weaving a hat with rattan

the finished hat

newspaper, lacquer

the beginning

end products

I was a little sad about some of the seafood on display, which should be left in the sea.

sharks without their fins

rays

parrot fish

After the market, we walked over to the field where we waited for the Bajaus, resplendent in their costumes, to stage a grand parade of ponies and perform a spirited display of their riding skills.  However, it started to rain about the time they were going to start the parade.  We were going to sit it out but as the downpour got worse, we decided to abandon the wait and drive back to Kota Kinabalu.  It was such a disappointment to have missed the chance to witness such a display of culture.  We did however, take some pictures of the cowboys and their horses while we waited.

horses grazing

horse getting dressed up

Bajaus with their horses

kid on his horse