Cultural

The Kadazandusun, Sabah's largest ethnic group, comprises the Kadazan and Dusun tribes, along with their 40 subgroups. 

• Rice harvests play a big role in their culture 

They are rice farmers who celebrate the May Harvest Festival in honor of Huminodun, the sacrificed daughter of God. Today, at the yearly Harvest Festival, or Kaamatan, held on May 30 and 31, this significant relationship to rice and traditions can be found. They believe in the existence of all living things and strive to maintain peace between people and the environment. 

• The roots and sub-groups are complex.

Although the Kadazandusun are listed as a single group of people in the census, there are currently over twenty ethnolinguistic groupings among them. The largest of these are Central Dusun, Kadazan Coastal, Labuk-Kinabatangan Kadazan, Bundu Dusun, Rungus Dusun, Tambunan Dusun, Kimaragang, and Tempasuk Dusun. Although these various groups of people in the western, northern, and central regions cover more than half of the state, many of them live in the interior, usually along one of numerous rivers rather than on the shore. 

The Bajau are the second-largest culture in Sabah. The Bajau tribe is divided into East Coast Bajau and West Coast Bajau. Those on the West Coast are known as the "Cowboys of the East" due to their exceptional horsemanship. The Bajau Laut on the east coast are called as "Sea Gipsies" because they live totally at sea. The East Coast Bajau are well-known divers who can free dive without oxygen tanks for up to 5 minutes. 

• History of Bajau 

The Bajau people, an ethnic Malay group, have lived primarily on the water for centuries. They may be the last surviving seafarers. They live in Southeast Asia, southwest of the Philippines, and are migratory. They float from place to place, unattached to other countries; therefore, their accurate origin is unknown. Their story is told through their history and unique lifestyle. 

• The Bajau people today 

The worldwide fish trade has changed the Bajau people's fishing practices and ecosystems, forcing them to live on land more frequently. Due to intense rivalry in the fishing business, the Bajau have turned to commercial practices such as chemical and dynamite to catch fish, potentially making the current generation the last to survive off the water. 

The Murut Tribe inhabits Sabah's northern inlands and is divided into 29 sub-ethnic groups. "Murut" is the tribe's name, which means "hill people." They usually dwell in longhouses by rivers and are hill paddy growers who hunt using blowpipes. Collecting the skills of opponents once played a crucial role in Murut spiritual beliefs, and they were the last of Sabah's ethnic groups to reject the practice of headhunting. Murut women are skilled at weaving and beadwork. Muruts are known for their stunning traditional clothes and vigorous bamboo dance. 

The Murut people, also known as 'Pangait' or 'hook', are an ethnic tribe in Sabah who abdicated in the late 1960s due to headhunting. They collect the heads of opponents and behead them because it provides pride and honour to Murut heroism and is an important element of their spiritual beliefs. The Murut people think that giving at least one hunted head to a preferred girl's family is an acceptable justification for marriage. 

The Murut people, born in Brunei and Sabah, are primarily Christian, with some nominal Christians. There is a mixture of Protestant and Roman Catholic church members. In Brunei, 30% of the Murut people are animists, 58% are Muslims, and the remainder are Christians. However, these figures are frequently combined as a household, with the leader of the family holding the same belief.