Ever since a number of foreigners were deported from Malaysia for posing nude on the summit of Mount Kinabalu, Sabah Villagers have been trying to recapture the spirituality of the mountain they believe to be a holy site.
According to Free Malaysia Today, 93-year old elder and shaman Abas Arinting of the Kadazandusun village sacrificed a buffalo on Monday at the gate to Timpohon, which is traditional starting point for climbers traveling up the mountain.
During the ceremony, Mr. Arinting took various parts of the buffalo including the heart, liver, and animal’s nose to the base of the mountain as a sacrifice while the rest of the meat was cooked and shared amongst those in attendance for the sacrifice, “showing harmony amongst the people.”
The villagers in the Sabah region are considered a very spiritual people and they hope the sacrifice will return dignity to the spirits who inhabit the mountain as well as provide a blessing for the rebuilding of trails and buildings damaged by the 5.9-magnitude quake that struck the mountain earlier this month.
