On our 3rd day in Sabah, we visited Kg. Sumangkap on the way back from Kudat to KK.

Sumangkap village is known for its gong making expertise. Almost every family in the village specialises in making gongs. Handmade gongs. From small ones to the big ones.



Gong is a traditional Malay instrument made from metal and is hit using mallet. It was interesting seeing how a gong is actually formed from a flat metal piece. A lot of patience and banging thrown in together with whole lot of hard work and strong ears. The banging of the hammer against the metal to form the gong is not something that the weak ears and heart can take :P



Tourists can also buy gongs from here for souvenirs. They even have these really tiny ones that are sold as keychains :D I bought 2 small ones, about the diameter of 15 cm each, for souvenir. One for myself, the other for my little nephew >_< Wonder if he gave his parents and neighbours a "deafening" night or an early morning "alarm" -_-"



Apart from making gongs, the ladies from the village are also very good at handmaking sigal. All hand-sewn, with very delicate and detailed patterns. Sigal is a headdress worn by the men in the Rungus tribe.



As we were toured around the village, there was this group of young innocent kids hanging around. Check out their little pet >_<



More pics over at my gallery.

Labels: travel