Keeping padi planting tradition alive
Harvest festival a fun and rewarding time for family of farmers
stephanielee@thestar.com.my
KOTA KINABALU: For the family members of Eddie Angat who have been padi planters for generations, Kaamatan is indeed a “harvest festival” for them.
They are among the few families left in the Penampang district and surrounding areas who still keep their land to plant padi.
Their four-acre padi field can be seen from the roadside near the Jalan Penampang bypass road close to Donggongon, which is not far from here.
“We have been padi planters for generations. That is why I was taught at a young age to remember our roots and uphold what we feel is a dying tradition, especially in the urban and suburban areas,” said Angat, 48.
The Kaamatan festival, which started yesterday, is held annually at the end of the padi harvesting season.
Despite this year’s celebration being held on a much more moderate scale in view of the Covid-19 pandemic, the occasion is no less meaningful for the community.
Angat said they had barbecues with close family members only.
“Of course padi planting is just a part-time activity for me as I am working with the government.
“Nevertheless, the meaning of it all, the process and the results are immeasurable,” said Angat, who is a photographer.
He said it was important for him to pass down the knowledge and skills to his two sons – Romualdo Saladik, 17, and Ricardo Babuka, 12.
“They have been following me to the padi field since they were toddlers.
“Being contract farmers, our family has machines to help make the work easier.
“But about half an acre of land has been set aside for traditional planting methods, just for the memories and so that we won’t forget how we started,” he said.
For traditional planting, they take about a week to finish the task. Modern farming methods would take just over a day to be completed.
Both methods produce the same quality of rice, which takes about four months to grow.
Modern methods do not involve the use of tools known as lingaman and sabit (sickle) for harvesting, nor do they require anyone to step on harvested padi to crush the husks.
Angat said traditional methods would involve mainly manual work without the use of mills or machines to harvest the padi.
“Padi that is planted and harvested manually is kept for families and sold to anyone who wants them.
“Those planted and harvested using modern means are sold to rice suppliers,” he added.
Angat said when it came to planting and harvesting, it would be like “party time” because his immediate family members and relatives would be on hand to help out.
Sometimes, his friends or those who wanted to reminisce about “the good old days of padi planting” would also join in, he added.
“The best part of this is the meal later of brown rice, fried fish or pork and other traditional vegetables once we’re done breaking our backs and making our muscles ache after all the planting or harvesting,” he said.