Tantagas of the Suang Lotud: Tuaran's Lotud Priestesses
Who are the tantagas? Meet the Lotud priestesses of Tuaran, Sabah, keepers of the rinait chants and the Mamahui Pogun, a ceremony to cleanse the universe.
Viannie Undikai
10/20/20266 min read
Lotud tantagas holding giring-giring, clusters of small brass ritual bells, their ceremonial dress layered with old beads and embroidery. Photo: Ricardo Unto, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
In The Spirit of Tuaran, I wrote about the women in ceremonial dress who moved in a circle around the offerings, and about all the questions I was too small to ask. This post is me finally asking them.
In short: The tantagas are the Lotud priestesses of Tuaran, Sabah. They are senior women who memorise the rinait, the long sacred chants of the Suang Lotud, and lead the great rituals, including the Mamahui Pogun, the ceremony to cleanse the universe. Their knowledge passes from teacher to student by memory alone, and today very few keepers remain.
Whenever the school holidays came, I returned to Tuaran, where my auntie Ripah Bohuji, whom I called nenek, lived. Whenever I returned, I witnessed the traditional rituals practiced by the elders. At around seven or eight, I watched one of them. My nenek took part in the momolian with the priestesses. Women in traditional skirts circled an offering, their silver bangles shining as bells chimed around them. I prayed quietly, and my prayer interrupted the trance. The priestess leading the momolian became frustrated and hurled the offering tray towards me. I was small, terrified, and frozen. But nenek stood up, and she declared, “You shall not touch her. She is my granddaughter.”
Who are the tantagas?
This story was first shared by Henry Lim on his Kampung Panjut Tuaran blog in 2012. Thank you for keeping it alive.
Among the Lotud people of Tuaran, the tantagas are ritual specialists, and they are almost always women. The eldest among them, the grandmothers, are believed to hold the deepest knowledge and the greatest spiritual power. Their main role is to keep the balance between the seen world we live in and the unseen world of the spirits.
A young woman does not become a tantagas overnight. She learns for many years from an older practitioner. Local sources call the apprentice a tantagas wagu and the most senior priestess a tantagas lawid.
Elderly Lotud tantagas in ceremonial dress at the Mamahui Pogun. Photo: Henry Lim, Kampung Panjut Tuaran.
One detail touches me deeply. Besides her own name, each tantagas carries a ritual name: the name of her first grandchild, with the title Odun, meaning grandmother, in front of it. So her sacred identity is tied to the next generation of her family. If her first grandchild were called Lindaman, she would be known as Odun Lindaman.
In my family, we called this ritual the momolian. Researchers usually write tantagas for the Lotud priestesses who lead the great ceremonies.
The rinait: a whole library kept in memory
The heart of a tantagas's work is the rinait. These are long ritual chants and prayers, made of paired lines. The first line of each pair is in everyday Lotud and the second says the same thing again in a special ritual language.
The rinait tell how the world was created, the deeds of the deities, where rice came from, and how people should live and behave. The Lotud creation story, the mamanpang, is told through them too. According to researchers, the creator Kinohoringan and his wife Umunsumundu emerged from a great round stone floating in the air, before anything else existed.
A recitation can be a loud chant or a soft whisper, and it can go on for hours or even days. Traditionally, it is not read from a book. It lives in memory, passed on from teacher to student.
Lotud tantagas in full ceremonial dress and feather headdresses stand in a circle, October 2011. Photo: Ricardo Unto, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Mamahui Pogun: when Tuaran cleanses the universe
In the Lotud worldview, wrongdoing and careless harm to the land and to each other can make the universe spiritually "hot", out of balance. Droughts, floods and sickness were understood as signs of this. The answer is to make the world "cool" again through the right rituals.
The greatest of these is the Mamahui Pogun, which means cleansing the universe. Researchers describe it as a series of ceremonies over several weeks, held every five to ten years or so, presided over by the tantagas and involving every Lotud village. It moves in three stages:
Manawah do Turugan, rituals in and around a special ritual house in three key villages, beginning at Kampung Bantayan.
Monumbui Sidangon, a great gathering at the Tamparuli tamu ground, with the solemn circular dance of the tantagas, called mangain.
Monumbui Mahanton, when the community travels by boat down the Tuaran River to the river mouth at Kampung Hampalan Laut for the closing ceremony.
The journey from the inland villages, down the rivers and out to the sea carries all the wrongdoing and harmful spirits away from the land. During the mangain, each tantagas is believed to represent a deity, and the gongs are said to bind the seen and unseen worlds together.
A Lotud ritual gathering at the water's edge, with boats pulled up on the shore, October 2011. Photo: Ricardo Unto, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Very few keepers remain
Many Lotud families today are Christian or Muslim, and young people have new paths to follow. Researchers documenting the mamanpang counted fewer than 20 living Lotud ritual specialists, and warned that the rinait could disappear with them. In January 2026, a stage musical in Kota Kinabalu, The Last Tantagas: Keepers of the Sacred Text, told this story of a lineage coming to an end.
Feather headdresses and beaded headbands of the tantagas, beside ritual flags. Photo: Ricardo Unto, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
I do not share this to make the tantagas sound exotic or mysterious. I share it because they are our grandmothers, and because their words hold the memory of who the Lotud are.
As a child, I had so many questions, but I never asked them. I simply watched. Today, I can respect my roots without claiming to understand every spiritual mystery of my childhood.
Visiting Tuaran with respect
If you come to Tuaran hoping to learn about Lotud culture, a few simple things matter:
Rituals are sacred community events, not shows. If you are invited, follow the elders and stay quiet when asked.
Always ask before taking photos, especially close up of the tantagas and the offerings.
Dress modestly, and do not touch ritual objects, offerings or ceremonial clothing.
Visit at Kaamatan, the harvest festival in May, when Lotud dance, music and dress are shared openly with visitors.
Stay close to the story in Tuaran
The living and dining room at Tuaran Kampung Villa, Tuaran, Sabah. Photo: Tuaran Kampung Villa.
When you stay in Tuaran, you are close to the villages and rivers where these ceremonies have moved for generations. Tuaran Kampung Villa (TKV), Your Private Home in the Heart of Tuaran, is our family home, and it sleeps up to 8 guests. Come for the food, the river and the kampung life, and leave knowing a little more about the women who kept Tuaran's sacred words. Read more about our Tuaran Kampung Villa story, and taste the town with my Tuaran mee story.
Don't just visit Tuaran. Live it. Taste it. Come Home.
Frequently asked questions
Who are the tantagas?
The tantagas are the traditional priestesses and ritual specialists of the Suang Lotud people of Tuaran, Sabah. They are almost always senior women who have memorised the rinait, the long sacred chants, and they lead ceremonies that keep balance between the human world and the spirit world.
What is the rinait?
The rinait is the sacred oral poetry of the Lotud, chanted or whispered by the tantagas during rituals. It is made of paired lines, one in everyday Lotud and one in ritual language, and it tells of the creation of the world, the deities, the origins of rice and the right way to live.
What is the Mamahui Pogun?
Mamahui Pogun means cleansing the universe. It is the greatest Lotud ritual series, held over several weeks every five to ten years or so when the world is believed to be out of balance. It is led by the tantagas and ends with a ceremony at the mouth of the Tuaran River.
Can visitors watch a tantagas ritual?
Lotud rituals are sacred community events, not tourist performances, and they are rare today. If a local family or village invites you, follow the elders, ask before taking photos and do not touch offerings or ritual objects. Kaamatan in May is the easiest time to see Lotud culture shared openly.
Where can I stay to explore Lotud culture in Tuaran?
Tuaran Kampung Villa (TKV) is a private family home in Tuaran that sleeps up to 8 guests. It is a good base for exploring Tuaran town, its food and the Lotud villages around it. You can book on our website.
Written by Viannie Undikai. 20 October 2026.
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