Tuaran village’s 600kg Tagal haul

TUARAN: Dry season would normally limit the activities and daily routine of villagers, but for those staying near rivers, it is an opportunity to gotong-royong in catching fish which are then distributed equally to each family.

This unique or traditional practice, observed by Kampung Raganan residents in Kiulu, here, is known in the Dusun dialect as Mongukab Tagal which means “to open the conservation.”

Tagal or Bombon is a nature conservation system or where a certain area (in this case rivers) will be off limits to the public to ensure continuous resources through biosphere management methods.

This means fishes in the river will be maintained for a certain period of time when people are allowed to capture them.

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Large size fishes will be allowed to be brought home while smaller sized ones will be released to maintain its habitat.

To preserve the resources from extinction, people are prohibited from catching the fish and if found guilty, the offender will be charged and ordered to pay a sogit (fine).

As early as 10am, about 50 families began to work together to fill sand into plastics which serve as weight on some nets. This is carefully done to ensure the nets can sustain against the Sungai Kiul current when dozens of fish get caught in the net before being pulled up every hour.

In addition to fixing nets, some use homemade crossbows (made of wood and iron) to shoot at fishes hiding behind river rocks.

The event is not only participated by residents who live in the village, in fact, relatives working far away will return to the village to participate in the event held once or twice a year.

The event will normally end at 5pm. What makes it interesting is that after the fish distribution is complete, residents will gather to enjoy a sumptuous fish meal.

Besides soup, some of the fish are grilled and villagers will use this free time to catch up with relatives who have returned for the event.

Janius Ikat (pic), 49, said the event which began in the 1980s has never disappointed the villagers, adding that the latest catch which reached up to 600kg of fresh water fish is divided equally among the 50 families.

Janius said some of the fish such as pelian and sinsilog weighed up to 6.4kg, while fish like Barob, Sarawi and Lampam Sungai or in the Dusun dialect known as Gayomato can weigh up to four kg.

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“This event is more lively compared to last year, because we have many relatives and fellow villagers returning home to catch fish together,” said Janius.

Janius said excitement from fishing is not because of the huge catch but the cooperation from all villagers who come together making it a happy occasion for all.

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