PENAMPANG: The Kadazandusun Cultural Association (KDCA) introduced the practice of “eating salt” traditionally used to resolve disputes during the Kaamatan season.
State Kaamatan Festival organising chairman Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan said recent conflicts between the association and private individuals have been resolved through a lesser-known peace-making practice called “Pibabasan”.
“Sometimes, when there are problems in the agreement, there are words that are not supposed to be said, but were uttered.
“We had ‘Pibabasan’ which is part of the culture, where usually both parties feed each other salt to apologise and work together, “he said.
This year, RM2.5 million was allocated to celebrate the festival on a large scale. There was apparently dissatisfaction surrounding parking arrangements and among stall owners across the road from Hongkod Koisaan.
It arose due to the prohibition of stalls on private land near the main venue, accompanied by restrictions preventing the public from accessing the area to reach the venue.
“In this instance, we had a container of salt, so both of us took some from there and ate it,” he said, confirming that the dispute has long been resolved.
Jeffrey, who is also Deputy Chief Minister, expressed his wish for the Kaamatan Festival to gain recognition not only internationally but involve more ministries.
“For a larger-scale Kaamatan celebration, we hope for the involvement of ministries such as Tourism and Investment, Trade and Industry to ensure broader participation. We expect a bigger return from investment tourism and so on,” he said.
He also said the organising committee also engaged foreigners, including representatives from the United Nations and international schools.
Friday marks the finale of the State Kaamatan Festival, with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim scheduled to conclude the event for the second time.
