Siung

Siung

Papar siung, in the second row from bottom at the KDCA Compound
Type	Asian conical hat
Material	Finely woven bamboo strips and rattan
Place of origin	Papar District, West Coast Division, Sabah
Manufacturer	Kadazan people[1][2]

Siung or Siyung (Kadazan Dusun: Siung do Papar) is a traditional lightweight headgear from Sabah, Malaysia, once commonly worn by the Kadazan females of the Papar District for protection against sunlight and rain during their agricultural activities.^[1][3][4] In present days, the siung are more seen during the sazau or sumazau cultural performances and the harvest festival of the Kaamatan.^[5]

Features

The siung is considered as the symbol of Papar Kadazans female that distinguished them from the Penampang Kadazans.^[6][7][8] It is made of finely woven bamboo strips and rattan with a feather symbolising that the Kadazan sumandaks are still unmarried; the flower one means already married, while plain either means widowed, a grandmother or elderly.^[9] Another hint is the silver belt (antique British trade dollar); unmarried Kadazan females usually have four, while those married wear only two.^[9][10] The siung is paired with black velvety fabric of sia with gold weave designs and a belt called ikat pinggang and dastar headdress with the same fabric.^[11]

• 
  A Dusun woman^{[notes 1]} (Kadazan woman) with a gong featured in a 1964 6¢ postage stamp of North Borneo (present-day Sabah) with a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II
• 
  A Kadazan siung at the National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka Prefecture, Japan
• 
  Sumazau performances by Papar Kadazans with siung at the Monsopiad Heritage Village
• 
  Marcella Tiansim, the 3rd season winner of Miss Kadazan in 1962. Almost every Kadazan beauty pageant participant from Papar wore the siung
• 
  A Kadazan man and woman during the Kaamatan celebration with the woman with a siung hat

Siung once featured in the sets of Malaysian stamps of RM1 in the year of 2006.^[13]

See also

• Asian conical hat
• List of hat styles
• List of Intangible Cultural Heritage elements in Malaysia

Notes

1. The Kadazans were once categorised as part of the Dusuns group throughout British North Borneo Population Census.^[12]

References

1. Sullivan & Leong 1981, p. 540.
2. Lasimbang & Moo-Tan 1997, p. 61.
3. AN, Nazihah (22 February 2025). "Ini Kraf Tradisional Yang Unik Hanya Ditemui Di Sabah" [This is a unique traditional craft only found in Sabah]. ILoveBorneo.my (in Malay). Archived from the original on 10 November 2025. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
4. "Hat [Collections]". National Heritage Board, Singapore. Archived from the original on 10 November 2025. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
5. "SAZAU PAPAR [Introduction and history]". National Department for Culture and Arts, Malaysia. Archived from the original on 10 November 2025. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
6. Othman 1994, p. 69.
7. Aziz, Nik (4 June 2021). "Pakaian Tradisi Simbol Identiti Etnik di Borneo [Kadazan-Dusun Sabah]" [Traditional Clothing Symbol of Ethnic Identity in Borneo [Kadazan-Dusun Sabah]]. Locco (in Malay). Archived from the original on 10 November 2025. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
8. "Costume for Rent [Kadazan Penampang Costume]". Sabah Cultural Board. Archived from the original on 10 November 2025. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
9. "Kadazan Traditional Costume Of Papar". Sabahnites. 14 February 2022. Archived from the original on 10 November 2025. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
10. Murphy (26 May 2020). "10 Most Beautiful Traditional Costumes of Sabah". MySabah.com. Archived from the original on 18 September 2025. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
11. Suraya Ismail, Melissa (4 April 2022). "Did You Know Each Malaysian State Has Its Own Special Traditional Baju Designs?". The Rakyat Post. Archived from the original on 11 November 2025. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
12. Benggon-Charuruks & Padasian 1993, p. 16.
13. "Katalog setem : Setem › Kadazan Costumes" [Stamp catalog : Stamp › Kadazan Costumes]. Colnect (in Malay). Retrieved 10 November 2025.

Bibliography

• Sullivan, Anwar; Leong, Cecilia (1981). Commemorative History of Sabah, 1881-1981. Sabah State Government, Centenary Publications Committee.
• Benggon-Charuruks, Irene; Padasian, Janette (1993). Cultures, Customs, and Traditions of Sabah, Malaysia: An Introduction. Sabah Tourism Promotion Corporation. ISBN 978-983-020-000-2.
• Othman, Datohaji S. (1994). The Crafts of Malaysia. Editions Didier Millet. ISBN 978-981-3018-07-5.
• Lasimbang, Rita; Moo-Tan, Stella (1997). An Introduction to the Traditional Costumes of Sabah. Natural History Publications. ISBN 978-983-812-013-5.

External links

Media related to Siung at Wikimedia Commons

• Busana Tradisional Papar [Traditional Clothing of Papar] (media). Huguan_channel (in Malay) (YouTube ed.). Papar, Sabah. 2022. 7:59 minutes in.