Our Sacred Land

 (Article shared by Susan B.)

I come from a family of traditional healer and Bobohizan (priestess) from Penampang. As a child I grew up with herbal medicine found in the forest, and traditional massages using oils made from barks, leaves and roots. Stomachache, diarrhea, headache, fever, sprained limbs, chicken pox and other ailments were treated by my grandmother using traditional herbal medicines. As I started my own family, my monthly pre-natal appointments with my gynaecologist were supplemented by monthly massages on my ever growing ‘tummy’ by my grandmother. She would use herbal oils which had a calming aroma to it. She would speak to the baby as she massaged my tummy and point out to me the position of the elbows, knees, legs and sometimes let me feel the baby having hiccups.  On both of my pregnancies, she predicted the sex of my children accurately. She gave me advice as we spoke while she massaged my tummy. Advice which I brought with me to the labour room in the form of confidence and strength in bringing my children into this world.   She was the midwife in the village and must have delivered hundreds if not thousands of babies in her time in a span of 70 years. I did not hear of a single mortality and complications during birth under her hands. She passed away at the age 90 years old.

As far back as I can remember my grandmother had been telling us stories and beliefs of the Kadazan people. She often reminded us that Mount Kinabalu is a sacred mountain to the people and in fact this whole earth is sacred.

She will remind us to be respectful of nature when we go into the forest as we look for wild mushrooms, ferns, frogs, go fishing or pick fruits. When we cut a branch we were told to ask permissions and say a note of thanks to the forest and the trees for letting us share the bounty of the earth.  We could not simply take whatever we wanted, and we must not take more than we needed. My grandmother and parents taught us to listen to the wind, the rustle of the forest, the humming of insects around us. A certain call made by a bird could mean we need to leave the forest immediately. A certain creak in the woods can mean wind and rain.

When we were not careful and cut ourselves as we wander through the forest, my parents pointed out which leaves to chew and paste on our wounds to stop the blood from flowing. As we go along, my mother will pick sweet wild berries for us to try, turning our tongue purple to which we, the children, stuck our tongues to each other in mock horror.

Nearer home, at the periphery of the forest, the sound of rubber seeds bursting through their pods and falling to the ground were greatly anticipated by the children. As soon as we heard the plop sound on the ground there would be a mad scramble to look for the rubber seeds. The more seeds collected the longer and better the game will be played once we got home for the “who has the strongest rubber seeds” competition.

We were often reminded that the wind, the rain, the sun, the earth, the trees, the river, the animals, the insects and us are one. We plant our food, bury our dead, and build our homes on the soil of the land. The river quenches our thirst, provide us with fish, for washing, and for swimming. The wind provides cool respite from the hot tropical climate, brings with it murmurs of nature that soothes our mind and calms our soul. The same wind that brings the smell and the wonderful thud sound of ripe durians falling from their trees! Durians that will be shared and savoured by the children and adult alike, young and old. The forest is our medicine chest, carrying within it cures for our ailments and sickness. That is why the land is sacred.

Our people did not and do not reject development. In fact many of us have embraced the modern world with all its contraptions and material needs and the demands on nature. What we, or at least what I don’t understand is why do humankind demand so much of nature?

We need more water because we forgot how to take only what we need. We  cut down trees, pollute our rivers and air, and kill wild animals in order to fill our pockets with sheets of paper which humankind has placed more values to as compared to the trees that gives us fruits and oxygen; rivers that provide us food and water; clean air that allows us to breathe healthily; and animals, plants, insects and others that create a balance in our ecosystem. Are our lives measured by how thick and how much of these sheets of paper we own in our life?

My grandmother and parents told us that we and the environment and everything around us are all inter connected  in one way or another. That is why whatever happens to our environment and ecosystem, soon happens to us human. When we flood or destroy our land, we are destroying our lives and the lives of our children.