Kadazan-Dusun

Kadazandusun (also written as Kadazan-Dusun) are native ethnic group in Sabah, Malaysia. They are formed as an amalgamation of the closely related indigenous Kadazan and Dusun peoples. This ethnic group is the largest in the state, numbering almost a million individuals. Kadazandusun people concentrated in Sabah's Kudat Division, West Coast Division, Lower and Upper Interior Division and also found in the eastern Sandakan Division and Lahad Datu District in Tawau Division. "Kadazandusun" is an umbrella term that encompasses various sub-ethnic, tribes and sub-tribes under the Kadazan and Dusun labels. The language typically billed as Kadazandusun belongs to Dusunic languages family, an Austronesian language in the northern part of Borneo Island. Several Kadazandusun tribes speak languages belonging to other Sabahan language families. Kadazandusun tradition holds that they are descended from Nunuk Ragang people but actually not all Kadazandusun sub-ethnic and tribes came from Nunuk Ragang. Traditionally farmers, Kadazandusun celebrates annual Kaamatan festival to honour the paddy's spirit. Their paramaount leader called as Huguan Siou literally means "brave leader". Kadazandusun people had a traditional religion now known as Momolianism but recently most Kadazandusun are Christian (majority) and Muslim. In the past, Kadazandusun practiced "ngayau" or headhunting. Mamasok and Momogun, the endonyms we for Kadazandusun, means "indigenous people" and "people of the land" respectively. Sometimes the two words combined together as "Pasok Momogun" which carrying the meaning "indigenous people of the land". "The land" refers to either the Kadazandusun's homeland or the whole State of Sabah. Kadazandusun also simply known as "Dusun" or Dusunic people. They are closely related to other Dusunic peoples of Rungus and Borneo Bisaya; Tombonuo and Orang Sungai (Paitanic people) and to Murut and Tidong (Murutic). Kadazandusun is recognized as an indigenous nation of Borneo with documented heritage by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) since 2004. Kadazandusuns are part of the bumiputera in Malaysia having been endowed with rights concerning land, rivers, education and maintaining their own customary laws.