Chanteek Borneo Gallery is an interesting gallery that houses hundreds of playdoll, the size of Barbie and Ken showcasing the Sabahan cultural heritage. The mini costume collections are from the 40 ethnic groups that exist in Sabah. Apart from the dolls in mini costumes, there are also traditional houses, musical instruments and mini replicas of the tools traditionally used by the Sabah’s ethnic groups.
To be honest, I never own a Barbie doll. But I went crazy at Chanteek Borneo Gallery. I must applaud the brainchild of the owner of the Chanteek Borneo Gallery, Ms Anne Antah, an IT grad, who is very passionate in preserving the cultural heritage of Sabah. In her opening speech during our visit, she shared with us how the name Chanteek was coined.
Chantik, Chantek, Chanteek. That’s how the Sabahans pronounced the Malay word “Cantik” (beautiful). The more beautiful a subject is, the pronounciation of ‘teek’ gets even longer to emphasize how beautiful the subject is. In other word, the Chanteek Borneo Gallery and the cultural heritage of Sabah are not just beautiful, they are enchantingly beautiful.
It is not hard to notice the extent of work put in to come out with an exhibition of traditional costume dolls. All the ethnics of Sabah and their dresses must be studied before sewing the dresses. Not an easy work as one ethnic will be divided into different sub-ethnics who might have different dresses for different occasions. They are over 400 sub-ethnics in Sabah.
Also exhibited are the way of life of the ethnic group and the tools used by them.
I was invited to the sewing room to see how they make the dresses. The most difficult dress took a number of days to be completed especially when the dress is laden with beads.
I also played dressing dolls at the interactive section.
Wearing Suang Matod Dusun Lotud at Chanteek Borneo Gallery
And then I get myself dressed at the photography section wearing Suang Matod Dusun Lotud. Interesting the sub-ethnic of Dusun, Dusun Lotud originality is unknown. However, based on the anecdotes or folklore, the Dusun have been known to come from Nunuk Ragang or the red coloured ‘Kayu Ru’ tree. Some researchers were of the opinion that the ethnic Dusun were a group of Mongol from Republic of China, or were Shan people and Kaohin on the north of Myanmar or ethnic Paiwan from Taiwan.
Ethnic Lotud can be found in 35 villages in Tuaran district. The Lotud women were known to wear skirts below the knees only. The word ‘otud’ in Dusun Lotud dialect means “lutut” or knee.
Coming back to the dressing up, it took me almost 30 minutes for a complete turn over. The most difficult accessories is the lilimbo, wide girdle which I had to wear from high up to fit around my hip.
To learn more about the traditional costume for Dusun Lotud, visit HERE.
Chanteek Borneo Gallery Kg. Lakang, Jalan Telibong, Tamparuli, 89200, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah tel: (088)792 018 email : chanteek.borneo@gmail.com f : Chanteek Borneo t : @chanteekborneo instagram : @chanteekborneoMonday: CLOSED
Tuesday – Saturday: 9.00AM – 6.00PM
Sunday: 10.00AM – 4.30PM
Public Holiday: 9.00AM – 5.00PM
Entrance is MYR 15 for adult and MYR 10 for kids. Locals are entitled for MYR 5 rebate.