The Idaʼan (Idahan or Eraan or Sabahan) people are an ethnic group residing primarily in the

Lahad Datu Lahad Datu () is the capital of the Lahad Datu District in the Dent Peninsula on Tawau Division of Sabah, Malaysia. Its population was estimated to be around 27,887 in 2010. The town is surrounded by stretches of cocoa and palm oil plantatio ...

and

Tawau Tawau (), formerly known as Tawao, is the capital of the Tawau District in Sabah, Malaysia. It is the third-largest city (or town)While Tawau have a population of more than 100,000 of which is considered city elsewhere in the world it is offic ...

districts on the east coast of

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's North Kalima ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. Their current population is estimated to be around 6,000 (1987 estimate), but it appears that they once inhabited a much larger area along the east Sabah coast than present. For centuries, the Ida’an have owned exclusive rights to the collection of edible bird's nests in the limestone caves of the region, notably the Madai Caves. Most Idaʼan are

Sunni Muslims Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Musli ...

Etymology

Historically, the Idaʼan are known by several names such as ''Era'an'', ''Saba'an/Sabahan'' (not to be confused with Sabahan which refers to the residents of Sabah), ''Iraqan'' and ''Buludupi''. But according to local folk story, the Idaʼan were originally known as ''Bedaro'' but they later changed the name to Idaʼan after converting to Islam.

History

The ancestors of Idaʼan people lived around Madai caves for centuries and have a significant role in cultural identity of Idaʼan people. According to Idaʼan mythology and Sabahan activist and writer Mutalib M.D from his writings called ''Hikayat Raja Sabah'', the Idaʼan used to have a kingdom called Bu-lud Temil which was founded by a man named Aki Apoi. The Kingdom of Bu-lud Temil was said to cover a vast areas of land spreading from

Kinabatangan river The Kinabatangan River () is a river in Sandakan Division, in eastern Sabah, Malaysia. It is the second longest river in Malaysia, with a length of from its headwaters in the mountains of southwest Sabah to its outlet at the Sulu Sea, east of ...

to the shores of Semporna and Gua Madai was its capital. The Idaʼan converted to Islam in the early 15th century after its king by the name of Raja Abdullah converted to Islam and introduced Islam to his kingdom. However some groups of Idaʼan maintained their own beliefs and migrated inland, becoming the ancestors of Begak (Bagahak) and Subpan people.

Culture

Cuisines

The most well-known Idaʼan cuisine is the Alau. Alau is a red durian (

Durio graveolens ''Durio graveolens,'' sometimes called the red-fleshed durian, orange-fleshed durian, or yellow durian, is a species of tree in the family Malvaceae. It is one of six species of durian named by Italian naturalist Odoardo Beccari. The specific epi ...

) which has become a delicacy amongst the Idaʼan people. In Malay it is called ''Durian Burung'' (Bird's Durian). Other traditional Idaʼan cuisines are ''Temba' Pait, Temba' Kedaso , Pait Pelom, Sambal Gembuan, Tassam Badas Kayu, Tassam Buduk, Sekilo Kayu Kegut'' and ''Putti Bebbag''.

Cultural Festivals

There are two main Idaʼan festivals which were celebrated by Idaʼan every year that is ''Pesta Mengalap'' which is a Bird's Nest Harvesting Festival held in Gua Madai and ''Pesta Salag'' which is a festival celebrating Idaʼan culture and traditions.

Language

Idaʼan or Idahan is an

Austronesian language The Austronesian languages ( ) are a language family widely spoken throughout Maritime Southeast Asia, parts of Mainland Southeast Asia, Madagascar, the islands of the Pacific Ocean and Taiwan (by Taiwanese indigenous peoples). They are spoken b ...

belonging to the Northeastern Sabahan branch of North Bornean family. It is closely related to Bonggi language spoken in Banggi island. The languages spoken by Begak and Subpan people are considered as varieties of Idaʼan language. Unlike most languages in Sabah, Idaʼan has a long literary history dating back as early as the 15th century. The earliest known Idaʼan manuscript was from a man named Abdullah who lived in Lahad Datu Bay in 1408 AD and the manuscript is written in the

Jawi alphabet Jawi (; ; ; ) is a writing system used for writing several languages of Southeast Asia, such as Acehnese language, Acehnese, Banjarese language, Banjarese, Betawi language, Betawi, Maguindanao language, Magindanao, Malay language, Malay, Mar ...

Notable Idahan

* Mohamaddin Ketapi – the former Malaysian minister and Sabah minister.

References

{{Asia-ethno-group-stub Ethnic groups in Sabah Ethnic groups in Malaysia