Did you know? Both Gawai and Kaamatan are celebrated to honour and thank the paddy gods for blessing us with a fruitful harvest season. Therefore, growing up, my family would insist that rice is not just food for us but it is a form of discipline and also an example of moral values. My grandmother would always tell me to finish my rice, not just finish it blatantly but there should not be any grain of rice left. Her excuse is always the same, “If you don’t finish your rice, it will cry.” Of course, being young and naive, I wouldn’t want to make the rice ‘cry’, I would feel guilty for the rice. Besides that, my father would always wake me up at 7 AM sharp even during holidays which I never understood why. His logic, on the other hand, is, “Back in the days, the farmers went to the paddy field to plant crops while you were still asleep.” To be honest, I never understood the relevance of what he said with me waking up late. However, when I came to France, I finally understood how valuable rice is. I understand that there is also rice in France, but admit it, it is quite expensive to be eaten everyday and as a staple grain. Thus, this article aims to explore the cultural meanings associated with rice, drawing on everyday expressions, family practices, and the Kaamatan legend to understand how rice becomes a symbol of labour, sacrifice, and survival. 

In Sabah, rice maintains a fundamental place in everyday life that goes beyond just being a staple food. It is a representation of hard labour, discipline, and moral responsibility, which is reflected by the effort required to cultivate rice and the historical legend of starving in Sabah. Rather than being treated as an ordinary commodity, rice is linked with cultural meaning that shapes how it is consumed, valued, and spoken about in Sabahan households. This symbolic importance is reinforced through cultural narratives such as the Kaamatan legend of Huminodun, where rice is present as a form of sacrifice to sustain collective survivals during famine. Together with everyday practice and expressions, these narratives transform rice into a moral symbol that connects grains with gratitude, restraint, and respect for human effort. 

In both Sabah and Sarawak, rice is not just a staple food but it is also a powerful symbol of labour and moral responsibility. This symbolism reflects the historical centrality of rice cultivation in many indigenous communities, where paddy planting and harvesting are not only agricultural tasks but socially embedded practices that shape community life and values. There are various anthropological perspectives on rice in Borneo,where rice is often perceived as possessing animacy. Rice is more than just a material product, it also contains spirit, thus it deserves respect and deference within local cosmologies. Such worldviews reinforce a sense of moral obligation toward rice, linking its consumption to the effort invested in its production and to broader social roles within the community. This is evident in everyday expressions within Sabahan or Sarawakian households that emphasize respect for rice associating it with the respect for human labour, positioning rice as a moral agent through which children are socialized into norms of discipline and gratitude. In this way, rice functions not merely as nourishment but as a cultural instrument that encodes ethical lessons about work, reciprocity, and communal survival. 

The symbolic role of rice in Sabahan culture is deeply reinforced by the Kaamatan legend of Huminodun, which positions rice at the center of both cosmology and communal values. According to traditional belief among the Kadazan Dusun and associated indigenous groups, famine once plagued the land until Huminodun willingly sacrificed her life so that her body would nourish the earth and bring forth rice and other essential crops, ending hunger and ensuring survival. Her flesh and blood are said to have become rice, while her spirit, known as Bambarayon, resides within each grain, making rice not only sustenance but a living reminder of her selfless act. This cosmological narrative elevates rice from mere food to a sacred gift of life, embedding notions of sacrifice, gratitude, and interdependence into the cultural fabric of Sabahan communities. The annual Kaamatan festival commemorates this origin story through rituals and symbolic practices, such as the crowning of Unduk Ngadau. The contestants of Unduk Ngadau (beauty pageant competition) are young women who best represent the virtues of Huminodun’s compassion and resilience. As such, the legend of Huminodun not only explains the paramount role of rice in Sabahan and Sarawakian societies but also acts as a moral framework that shapes collective values, strengthening the ideas of unity, reciprocity, and respect for life in both spiritual belief and material practice. 

These practices allowed me to understand why my grandparents insisted that rice would ‘cry’ if I did not finish it. It may feel like a simple warning but it is also a lesson about effort, sacrifice, and gratitude. Each grain of rice carries the blood, sweat and tears of those who would wake up before dawn to plant paddy, the traumatising historical memory of famine, and the cultural belief that food should never be taken for granted. The deep emotions surrounding rice were never meant to frighten children, but to shed light on the invisible work and sacrifice that sustain our everyday life. 

References: 

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