Kadazan-Dusun Cultural Association
The Kadazan-Dusun Cultural Association (KDCA) - formerly known as the Kadazan Cultural Association (KCA) - is a non-political association of 40 indigenous tribes in Sabah , Malaysia belonging to the Dusun or Kadazan ethnic group . The Kadazandusun Cultural Association Sabah (KDCA) stipulates that it belongs to the collective term Kadazan-Dusun in Article 6 of its constitution.
The cultural community is referred to in the Kadazan language as Koisaan Koubasanan Kadazandusun Sabah and in Malay Persatuan Kebudayaan Kadazandusun Sabah . The community abbreviates itself as Koisaan .
Associated tribes
The tribes represented by the cultural community are set out in the constitution of the Kadazandusun Cultural Association Sabah (KDCA) . According to Article 6 of the KDCA Constitution, the term Kadazan-Dusun is a "general and comprehensive ethnic label that includes the following ethnic groups on the basis of the respective culture, tribal affiliation, language, dialect and way of speaking":
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history
The beginnings of the KDCA go back to the establishment of the Kadazan Society Penampang (Society of Kadazan Penampang) in 1953. This association paved the way for the formation of the Kadazan Cultural Association Sabah (KCA) in 1963. The community was finally registered on April 29, 1966 under the Malaysian Societies Act 1966 by the deputy registrar of associations, JP Rutherford.
The cultural community in its current form was founded on September 25, 1991. Huguan Siou Honorable Datuk Joseph Pairin Kitingan currently chairs the KDCA.
Huguan Siou
The title "Huguan Siou" denotes the institutionalized top leadership position of the cultural community.
The authority and responsibility for conferring the title "Huguan Siou" on the Supreme Leader of the Kadazan Dusun rests solely with the KDCA. If the office is vacant , the cultural community can convene an extraordinary assembly of delegates to elect a new Huguan Siou. However, the statutes also expressly leave open the possibility of not filling the office again if none of the available tribal leaders is found to be sufficiently suitable and worthy to fill the highly dignified and in the eyes of the Kadazan-Dusun almost holy position of Huguan Siou.
aims
Since its beginnings in the early 1950s, the KDCA has focused on the preservation, development, enrichment and promotion of the multi-ethnic Kadazan-Dusun culture. Without the KDCA, much more of the Kadazan-Dusun cultural heritage that still exists today would have been forgotten, irretrievably lost or replaced by the modern cultures that dominate today. The delegates' conference of the KDCA, which takes place every three years, offers the representatives of the various Kadazandusun ethnic groups a forum to discuss matters that affect the ethnic groups and their future and to meet the various challenges with appropriate decisions and measures.
The cultural community is currently involved in various activities of research, documentation, preservation, development and promotion of the Kadazandusun culture:
- Language and literature;
- Bobolians and Rinaits;
- traditional medicine;
- traditional foods and drinks;
- Music, songs, dances and theater;
- traditional handicrafts; Craft and design;
- traditional sports;
- traditional clothes and costumes.
In connection with the growing global cooperation between indigenous peoples, completely new fields of competence have recently come into the KDCA's area of responsibility, such as the right to intellectual property and the protection of traditional knowledge .
The cultural community still plays a vital role in fostering unity, friendship and cooperation within the multicultural population of Sabah through participation in cultural events and festivals such as the "Kaamatan Festival" at village, district and country level. For many years she sent folklore groups on friendship visits to other Malaysian states, to neighboring Asian countries and to Europe, America, Canada and New Zealand.
Hongkod Koisaan
The cultural center of the association is the Hongkod Koisaan , the "unity hall" in Penampang. The traditional rituals that were previously celebrated by the bobolians in the rice fields now take place on the grounds of the cultural association. The hall is not only used for kaamatan celebrations , but also as a badminton hall, as a meeting and conference hall, for receptions and for private parties. There is also an open-air museum on the site, which shows various forms of indigenous dwellings.
Youth organization
The KDCA's youth organization is the Kadazandusun Youth Development Movement (KDYDM) . Its main goal is to involve the younger generation in the activities of the cultural community.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Kadazandusun Cultural Association Sabah: KDCA CONSTITUTION & RULES ( Memento of the original of November 21, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 135 kB) of April 27, 2001; Accessed May 8, 2012
- ↑ a b c d e About KDCA ; Accessed May 8, 2012
- ↑ a b Huguan Siou ; Accessed May 8, 2012
