Unduk Ngadau 2018 winner: Not easy
Published on: Sunday, May 19, 2019
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By May 31, she captured probably the most prestigious of all titles in Sabah – the Unduk Ngadau Kaamatan 2018 with cash prize of RM12,000, beating a field of 46 district finalists. In an interview with Daily Express arranged by Datuk Irene Charuruk, the inevitable starting question is how does it feel being Unduk Ngadau Kaamatan?
”I can’t even explain how I feel because it was unexpected for me doing this type of big title. So I was very thankful especially to my supporters, my family, to the community. It is not easy to beat all the 46 contestants who did very well.
So I was very thankful joining this pageant.”
Hitting it big
Hosiani was 2nd runner-up at the Tambunan District level contest in 2015. So what prompted her to try again in 2018 and made it big?
Her surprise answer?
“Actually, I was forced by my own elder sister Raimi – she forced me to join,” she claimed.
“She said that I should join because I was 25 already and no more eligible in 2019 as I will be 26 then and over the age limit. So, I said, ‘OK-lah’ and my parents also suggested that I join.”
“My plan was to shoot a documentary on the journey of Unduk Ngadau from the district level-until the State-level. That’s the reason. I didn’t expect to win this, I joined this to complete my documentary but at the same time, enjoy journey and do the best I can. I never thought I would win.
“I learnt how to manage time and my energy… don’t talk too much, don’t laugh too much so that you can save your energy. I enjoyed every single activity that the committee had prepared for us.”
She praised Joanna as a “very good organiser.”
Hosiani: I care
She said she will always remember the public speaking lessons which drove home the point that speaking in mother tongue shows one’s identity.
“From that day I said, ‘I care, I have to speak in the mother tongue’ and then we were given a talk on public speaking which was very, very useful and important for me to know – how to speak in front of people.
“The moment before I stood on stage on May 31 (at the State finals), I already got tips on public speaking,” she said.
On practical training, her group learnt how to make hinava and tuhau.
Background
On her background, her father is a Dusun from Keningau but her mother hailed from Tambunan.
“After they got married my mum asked my dad to live in Tambunan.
For schooling she attended SMKA Nambayan then moved into SM Teknik Keningau, where she studied Food Management 2009-10 and from 2014-17 she did her Diploma in Business Management at Asian Tourism international College, Kota Kinabalu. Well educated by and large, speak good English, mastering that by speaking with other people, she said.
Title winners of Unduk Ngadau sign a one-year contract to do charity. She did, helping Habitat for Humanity to build two houses in Inanam, fundraising and actually donated part of her prize money to victims of the big flood in Penampang – the first Unduk Ngadau winner to ever do so, according to Joanna.
Proud and excited to be Dusun
Is she proud to be a Dusun and able to speak the mother tongue?
“Yes, yes, especially when I was made to speak in mother tongue in front of thousands of people. It stirred my sprit to learn more about my mother tongue… getting very excited because before this, my parents did not speak Dusun to me, they spoke Malay but I always wondered why and then they gave their reasons.
“I said that’s unfair, my siblings can speak the mother tongue very well but I can’t. I learnt Dusun through Dusun songs so from there, I spoke more Dusun to my siblings and also my friends in kampung who speak Dusun very well. From there, I could improve my mother tongue now I can speak OK-lah.”
Joanna opined she can actually speak well but thought she learnt it all from her parents.
Important to preserve identity
Asked if she felt very important to preserve and promote the Kadazandusun identity, she said:
“Very, very important to me because that is our identity… like what I learnt from the committee, as one of the speakers said, ‘your mother tongue shows your identity’. If people ask: what is your race, you say Dusun, then they ask: can you speak Dusun? If you say ‘no’, then how?”
“People commended I could speak Dusun very well. But they don’t know I practised hard. I am thankful that the hard work pays off.”
After her starring role in Solungkoi, she got an offer from Skyline Pictures Kuala Lumpur but rejected it in favour of fulfilling her contract responsibility with KDCA.
Very useful cultural ambassadors
Joanna said Unduk Nagdau winners are very useful as cultural ambassadors overseas.
“From past experience, just wearing the traditional costumes draws curious crowd who would ask: ‘Wah, where are you from?’ It brings Sabah directly to the people overseas. Then they’ll ask: ‘Oh, where is Sabah?’
The magic winning title moment was ecstatic. “My whole family were very happy, especially my mum… she was crying. Very big support.”
Ever since, Hosiani understood her role in upholding the identity of her people.
Kadazandusun food keeps her in shape
“Our food is healthy food, actually,” she noted.
“Like hinava, it’s good for young people. Tuhau, you just put lime, chop the plant, put lime and salt. It’s delicious.”
Given the epidemic of obesity, how does she plan to keep her shape?
Control your portion
“Just control your portion of food-lah. Don’t overeat. Now I have to be really careful with my food.”
Asked what she meant by portion, she said:
“During lunch, if you have to eat rice, half-lah, don’t take in one bowl, make it half and you eat veggies most. Don’t eat processed food much. What I learnt from my Food Management study is very useful for me now.”
Her advice for the girls?
“Drink a lot of water, don’t eat too much processed food or drinks like soft drinks. Don’t eat too much oily food. I avoid fried chicken. I can still eat but never too much.”
Agree with Tun M: Don’t eat too much
She agrees with 93-year old Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad: Don’t eat too much
Why not over eat?
“Because it will affect health, affect your body, the more you eat unhealthy food , the more unhealthy you become and become fat.”
So given her food discipline, she feels 40 to 50 years down the road she can keep in shape.
“I think I still can maintain, in fact I can eat vegetables, I can be a vegetarian if they require me to be a vegetarian, I like to eat vegetables so I am ok, it’s ok for me,” citing tomato with salt only, as one of her favourites.
‘I like hinava’
“I like to eat hinava. It’s delicious. You can eat it with nasi kosong (plain rice) only, and tuhau.”
So the Unduk Ngadau 2018 winner, whose term expires this May 31, is a true cultural ambassador for her people,
Said Joanna: “Yes – that’s why I said 2018 was going to be special one.”
But the Tambunan girl says she never forgets her roots.
“Every time I hear Tambunan it makes me feel nostalgic. I have a very fond childhood memory of Tambunan where I grew up. It’s very beautiful,” Hosiani said.
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