Murut People of Sabah: Lansaran Dance & Interior Culture

Who are the Murut people of Sabah?

The Murut are Sabah's third-largest indigenous group, numbering 106,468 at the 2020 census, 5.2% of Sabah Bumiputera (DOSM, Census 2020 Sabah, Table 5, checked 7 October 2026). They live mainly in the hill country and river valleys of Sabah's interior. The state government notes that the Murut were the last of Sabah's ethnic groups to give up headhunting (Sabah state government, checked 7 October 2026). Today they are known for the Lansaran (a bouncing dance floor), their knowledge of forest plants, and the 1915 Rundum War against Chartered Company rule.

The name "Murut" translates as "hill people" (Sabah state government, checked 7 October 2026). Many individuals prefer their specific sub-group identity, such as Tagal or Timugon, to the umbrella Murut label.

Where do the Murut live in Sabah?

The Murut live mainly in Sabah's Interior Division, in districts such as Tenom, Keningau, Nabawan and Pensiangan, with smaller communities elsewhere, including Beaufort, Sipitang and the Tawau area. Related Murutic-speaking communities also live across the borders in Sarawak and Kalimantan.

What is the Lansaran trampoline dance?

The Lansaran is one of the most spectacular traditional performances in Sabah. The name comes from the Murut word lumasar, to bounce. It is a springy floor built inside the longhouse from large timbers tied with rattan and hung a little below the main floor, big enough for up to 30 people. Dancers move in a circle and bounce as high as they can, and a prize is hung from the ceiling for the best jumper to grab.

The tradition is practised especially in the Tenom and Keningau districts. In the past it was a way of paying respect to the spirits of skulls taken in war. Today it is entertainment, seen at competitions and at the Kalimaran Murut festival (JKKN cultural mapping, checked 7 October 2026).

What is the Magunatip bamboo dance?

The Magunatip is a Murut bamboo dance (Sabah Tourism, checked 7 October 2026) and one of Sabah's most widely performed dances. Two (or more) pairs of long bamboo poles are held horizontally and clapped together rhythmically, while one or more dancers weave and step between the poles, timing their footwork to avoid getting trapped when the poles clap shut.

The dance requires agility and precise timing. A moment's hesitation and the poles will clap down on the dancer's feet. The poles clap progressively faster as the music builds, increasing the difficulty. Skilled dancers perform at high speed with elaborate footwork, crossing their feet, spinning, and jumping while the poles thunder together around them.

Bamboo-pole dances of this kind are also found elsewhere in the region, such as the Philippine Tinikling. The Magunatip is now performed across Sabah at festivals, schools and cultural shows.

Did the Murut really practise headhunting?

Yes. The Sabah state government notes that the Murut were the last of Sabah's ethnic groups to give up headhunting, because taking the heads of enemies played a very important role in Murut spiritual beliefs (Sabah state government, checked 7 October 2026). The practice, known as ngayau, was tied to ritual: the Lansaran was once a way of honouring the spirits of skulls taken in war (JKKN cultural mapping, checked 7 October 2026).

The Chartered Company suppressed the practice under its rule, and it is long gone. References to it survive in dance, oral tradition and museum displays.

The Murut were not unique: many other Borneo peoples also practised headhunting in the past.

What was the Rundum Rebellion?

The Rundum War (or Rundum Rebellion) of 1915 was an armed Murut uprising against British North Borneo Company rule in the Rundum interior. Unrest had grown since the Company set up its station at Rundum in 1909, over forced labour, a tax on liquor and clashes with Murut customs. The armed phase ran from February to April 1915 under the leader Antanom (also written Ontoros Antanom), who drew together around 1,000 Murut, mainly Tagol, and built a fort at Silangit.

Antanom's forces attacked the Company posts at Pensiangan and Rundum. In April 1915 a Company police force attacked the fort at Silangit. The Murut were defeated (Aratin and De Silva, UMS, 2020, checked 7 October 2026). Antanom surrendered and was executed (Kajian Malaysia, Universiti Sains Malaysia, checked 7 October 2026).

Antanom is remembered today as a symbol of Murut resistance to colonial rule. See the full Rundum Rebellion history page for complete details.

What do the Murut eat and drink?

Murut cuisine is rooted in the forest and river: wild game, river fish, jungle vegetables, tapioca and fermented foods. Blowpipe hunting is part of Murut tradition (Sabah state government, checked 7 October 2026).

Tapai Murut: The Murut's best-known drink, a rice or tapioca wine fermented in a large jar and traditionally drunk through long bamboo straws at celebrations.

Wild boar and forest food: Wild boar remains an important food for non-Muslim Murut communities, alongside forest ferns, bamboo shoots, tapioca leaves and river fish.

Forest knowledge: Murut communities hold long-standing knowledge of medicinal forest plants, which is at risk as younger people move to the towns.

What are the Murut sub-groups?

The Sabah state government describes the Murut as 29 sub-ethnic groups across the northern inland regions of Borneo (an ethnic count, separate from the language count) (Sabah state government, checked 7 October 2026), each with its own speech, customs and homeland. The 1984 language survey recorded these, among others, as Murutic languages (Smith, in King and King, 1984):

What language do the Murut speak?

The Murut speak a cluster of related Murutic languages, a branch of the Austronesian family. Some neighbouring sub-groups can partly understand each other, while others cannot.

The 1978-79 language survey of Sabah found that the Murutic family covers 15 languages (Smith, in King and King, 1984). Urban migration and a shift towards Sabah Malay are reducing their use among younger generations.

In June 2025 a proposal was sent to the Education Ministry to teach Murut Timugon in Tenom, along with three other Sabah languages, on a pilot basis in selected schools (Malay Mail, checked 7 October 2026).

What religion do the Murut follow?

Many Murut today are Christian, and a minority are Muslim. Before Christianity, Murut religion was animist, with spirits of the forest, rivers, fields and the dead, and some of these older beliefs still shape community customs.

The Murut celebrate Kalimaran, a festival that continues the ancestral Murut celebration of Injawari. In 2019 the state fixed it on 31 March in the Sabah calendar, with the main celebration at the Murut Cultural Centre in Tenom (KePKAS, checked 7 October 2026). Dates can change, so check before you travel; recent editions are listed on our Pesta Kalimaran guide.

Frequently asked questions