KOTA KINABALU: MONSOPIAD CULTURAL VILLAGE

The Monsopiad Cultural Village was established for remembrance of the great Kadazan Warrior and Head Hunter Monsopiad. The Monsopiad Cultural Village opened on the 1st of May 1996.

The existing house in which the skulls are kept are more popularly known as the “House Of Skulls” and in itself is already a prominent tourist attractions since 1979 and is widely mentioned in tourist brochures and travel guides. The purpose of the village is to provide a conductive venue for visitors both local and international to have a glimpse of the culture of the Kadazandusun people.

Just 25 minutes drive from Kota Kinabalu city centre is the Monsopiad Cultural Village . This is an excursion that may take about 2 to 3hours of your time.

The Legend:
Legend told that many centuries ago, a lady named kizabon was pregnant. She lived in a house with her husband, Dunggou. On the rooftop of their house, a sacred Bugang bird made its nest and stayed there throughout Kizabon's pregnancy.

When the child was due to be born, the Bugang bird's hatched as well. Monsopiad's father Dunggou looked upon this coincidence as a good omen and a sign that his newborn son would have special powers. He named his son Monsopiad. The father paid special care to the birds as well, and whatever his son took a bath, Dunggou would take the young birds down from their nest to have bath with his son. When done, he later returned them to the safety of their nest. This practice was done diligently until the birds were strong enough to leave the nest.

The young boy grew up in the village Kuai (which is the ground of the village). His maternal grandfather was the headman of the village. The village however was often plundered and attacked by robbers and due to the lack of warriors in the village, the villagers had to retreat and hide while the robbers ransacked their homes.

But for Monsopiad, things were different. As a grandson of he village headman, He was given special training and he turned out to be an excellent fighter and grew up to become a warrior. Well-equipped, he vowed to hunt down and fight off the warriors that had terrorized his village for so long. He will bring back their heads as trophies, he claimed, and hang them from the roof of his house.

All he wanted in return was a warrior's welcome, where his success will be heralded by the blowing of bamboo trumpet. In order to prove that he really did as promised, three boys went with his as witnesses.

Just as he promised, Monsopiad's journey to rid his village of the robbers was a huge success and upon coming home, he was given a hero's welcome. He was so honored by the welcome that he proclaimed he will destroy all enemies to his village.

Over the years, Monsopiad soon attained a reputation and there were no robbers or evil warriors who dared to challenge him. However, the urge to kill had gotten into Monsopiad's head and he simply could not stop himself from beheading more people. Very soon, he stared provoking other men into fighting him so that he would have an excuse to kill and behead them.

With his changed attitude, all the villagers and his friends became afraid of him. Left with no choice, the village got a group of brave warriors together and they plan to eliminate Monsopiad. Much as they respected Monsopiad for his heroic deeds, yet they had no choice for he had slowly turned into threat.

One night as planned, the warriors moved in for the kills as Monsopiad was resting in his house. As they attacked him, he fought back fiercely but realized that he had lost his special strength that were bestowed upon him by the Bugang bird. By abusing his gift, he was left powerless and it was that very night that Monsopiad's life ended.

Despite his downfall, the villagers still love Monsopiad for all that he had done for them. All in all, he collected 42 powerful warriors' heads, a feat which no other man could equal. They forgave Monsopiad for his mistakes and in honor and memory of his good deeds, a monument was erected and the village was renamed after him.

Location:

Open:
The Monsopiad Cultural Village opened everyday from 9.00am to 5.00pm

Features:
1. Guided Tour
2. Cultural Dance/Drama
3. Monsopiad Cultural Dance & Music Troupe
4. Costumes & Accessories
5. Traditional Dancing Lesson
6. Traditional Music Lesson
7. Wedding Package
8. Traditional Kadazan Cooking Lesson
9. Lunch and Cultural Show
10. Theme Dinner and Cultural Show
11. Guided tour to the Monsopiad Burial ground.
12. Traditional or cultural activities.
13. Sales of Sabah handicrafts, traditional and cultural activities.
14. Sales of Lihing (Rice Wine).
15. Rental traditional music instrument.
16. Make and sale Atap roofing.
17. Design and construction of traditional Kadazan house.

Resources:
1. Monsopiad Cultural Village website