SIPITANG: The Anggalang Mangunatip dance performance during the opening of the Unduk Ngadau Kaamatan (UNK) final competition in conjunction with the Sipitang District Kaamatan Festival 2024 at the Sipitang Multipurpose Hall on May 18 amazed the audience with their agile and creative performance.
The dance group consisting Sindumin National Secondary School (SMK) students consists of 14 students, seven boys and seven girls representing the Murut Sipitang Community Association (PMMS).
PMMS for the first time was invited to perform a traditional dance in the ceremony.
According to PMMS President Eric Suab Boh, the Anggalang Mangunatip dance is a traditional dance of the Murut tribe in the interior of Sabah. It displays bravery, prowess and the beauty of the environment with movements that depict hunting activities and daily life.
This dance is accompanied by traditional music such as gongs and kulintangan and is accompanied by singing with the skill of crossing the bamboo which was struck simultaneously to produce the sound and rhythm of the dance that arouses the spirit.
Meanwhile, this dance group is under the auspices of SMK Sindumin’s Art and Culture Club led by Terry Henry Tsen.
Among the group’s achievements, they won the Art Appreciation Festival for All competition and was awarded the best choreography and the award for the best male dancer in the secondary category at the Sipitang District level 2023.
They won fourth place in the 2023 Malaysian Hostel Culture Carnival and Sabah State Level Day Hostel competition and the first prize medal in the international Art Media Contest “World Art Games” online at the international level with 92 out of 100 points.
The group was also active in performing dances for formal and informal occasions.
