Nunuk Ragang
Coordinates: 5°43′N 116°51′E / 5.717°N 116.850°E
Nunuk Ragang is a site traditionally considered as the location of the original home of the ancestors of the Kadazan-Dusun natives who inhabit most of Central Borneo. The site, nearby a village named Tampias, is located at the intersection of the left (Liwagu Kogibangan) and right (Liwagu Kawananan) branches of the Liwagu River to the east of Ranau and Tambunan in Sabah. The two river branches joined up to flow into the Labuk river and drain out into the Sulu Sea. At the site, and under a giant banyan tree, a settlement referred to as Nunuk Ragang was founded. The giant banyan tree was said to be able to give shade to a longhouse sheltering 10 families in it. The legend about Nunuk Ragang had been passed down via oral traditions to the younger generations. No archaeological dig has been carried out to establish the veracity of the legend. Under the strong influence of the modernization, with the accompanying strong emphasis on other bigger encompassing cultures, and coupled with the passing of older generation, interest in this heritage will wane and disappear.
In 2004, the quasi-government group Kadazan-Dusun Cultural Association (KDCA) set up a memorial near Tampias at the site of what they believed to be the original village. The word "tampias" means "sprinkled" or "dispersed". The memorial was built in the form of a huge fig tree. The association conducts annual pilgrimages to the site, timed to coincide with the inauguration of its paramount chief, the Huguon Siou.
The name Nunuk Ragang is derived from two Kadazan-Dusun words "nunuk" which refers to the "banyan" tree and "ragang" which is a shortened form of the word "aragang" which means "red colored". The two word together therefore refer to a red colored banyan tree. Zoologically, there is no known banyan tree with red leaves or trunk. This fact has contributed to the mystery surrounding Nunuk Ragang but the most logical reason for naming the settlement as "red banyan" is that the settlers, in their attempt to attract attention to their presence, intentionally made the banyan tree to appear red. The Kadazan-Dusun has a fondness for riddling when referring to a actual situation or object. The Chinese has a fondness for using the red color, an important color in Chinese culture, to advertise and attract attention, whereas the Kadazan-Dusun are less inclined to attract attention and prefer the black color. Black is the first color preferred by the Neolithic people.
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