Rural Telang Usan folk still practise Musut Angah
MIRI: Rural folk in Telang Usan continue to practise the tradition of Musut Angah, which involves the using of soot from the bottom of pots or pounded charcoal to blacken the faces of visitors.
According to those who still practise this tradition, it is a friendly gesture by the host of any event or ceremony to leave a mark on visitors’ faces so that the guests would remember them.
The ‘marking’ is usually carried out after a memorable event or ceremony such as a visit by dignitaries or weddings.
Normally, it is practised by the women folk, who will stand in line with other villagers to bid farewell to their visitors.
One of the women would have a blackened hand ready to catch the visitors off guard.
Telang Usan assemblyman Dennis Ngau has regularly experienced Musut Angah whenever he visited villages in his constituency.
“At times it is fun to see the women chasing after their guests along the longhouse veranda, who are scared to have their faces painted black,” he said, adding the practice is also used by single men or women to convey their feelings towards someone in the visiting delegation.
Dennis stressed that it is important to preserve such cultural traditions as it gives the community a sense of unity and belonging.