MALAYSIA -TREASURED MALAYSIAN LEGENDS -SABAH ( PART 3)

THE TALE OF THE STONE STUMP

There was once a family with 6 sons and a daughter who lived in a village near the Sapulut River. The youngest girl was the most beautiful girl in the village and her 6 brothers doted on her greatly.

The siblings loved to spend their day near the Sapulut River close to a huge stone outcrop. On this outcrop lived a skunk or Tudoh, which produced a stomach turning foul stench. The siblings hated the Tudoh very much and planned to kill it.

One morning, when they were in the area, they decided to cut the stone down. Despite their efforts they failed miserably. That night the girl dreamt that they could destroy the stone by using a shoulder blade or tulang dayong, belonging to a Landak Tunggal or porcupine which lived in the surrounding forest.

The next morning the girl told her brothers about the dream. After they heard her story the boys headed for the forest to set a trap to catch the porcupine. Although it took them awhile they eventually managed to catch the porcupine. They slaughtered the animal, ate the meat and then fixed the bones together to form the axe that they would use to cut the stone.

Early the next day the siblings went to cut down the stone. Before they started the brothers put their sisters on a nearby stone to keep her out of harms way. The brothers worked hard to cut down the huge stone outcrop. However, in their preoccupied state, they did not realize that every strike of their axe made the stone their sister was on grow taller and taller.

Eventually the stone, which the Tudoh lived on , gave out and fell into the Sapulut River. When the boys turned back to see their sister they were shocked to see her on the top of a gigantic stone outcrop crying for help.

With angry blows they tried to cut the stone, the sister was on, down. The peak of the stone broke and flew all the way to Tenom Lama, a village more than 50 kilometers norwest of Sapulut and it is called Batu Pinoto. Nevertheless, the boys could not find their sister and came to accept the fact that they had lost her forever.

The stone that broke is now known as Batu Punggil or Punggol Stone. It is a vertical limestone outcrop that is shaped like a tree trunk. It stands in the middle of the Sabah Rainforest 24 miles from the Sapulut airstrip. 400 meters high, it provides an exhilarating view of the surrounding a has area. The climb up Punggol Stone is not easy. Its vertical face has razor sharp holds, which can be dangerously slippery during wet weather.

Batu Punggol is protected by a small forest reserve. In recent years, a tourism infrastructure was set up to help make it more accessible to the public and to highlight the uniqueness of the Murut culture. The Murut are the third largest indigenous group in Sabah, after the Kadazan Dusun and the Bajau. They are made up of a number of sub groups and many of them, especially those in the far interior, still live in their traditional longhouse and practice agriculture. They are also known for their hospitality and grand wedding ceremonies.