The Lotud people are an

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention * Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band * Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehor ...

ethnic group residing in

Sabah Sabah () is a state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indonesia to the south. The Federal Territory ...

, eastern

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

on the island of

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java Isl ...

. They reside mainly in the

Tuaran Tuaran ( ms, Pekan Tuaran) is the capital of the Tuaran District in the West Coast Division of Sabah, Malaysia. Its population was estimated to be around 128,200 in 2019 with half the population consists of ethnic Dusuns, most of the Lotud ...

district (including the

Tamparuli Tamparuli is a small town and a sub-district of Tuaran on the west coast of Sabah, Malaysia. It is populated mainly by native Dusuns, while a sizeable Chinese community (of whom most are Hakkas) runs most of the shops in the town proper. As wi ...

as well as Kiulu sub-districts) and also a portion of this tribe's population also reside in the village of Kampung Sukoli located in the

Telipok Telipok is a town located approximately 15 kilometres north of Kota Kinabalu, the state capital of Sabah, Malaysia. The town is within the administration of Kota Kinabalu City Hall and is a sub-district of the city. It is also part of the u ...

suburban township of

Kota Kinabalu , image_skyline = , image_caption = From top, left to right, bottom:Kota Kinabalu skyline, Wawasan intersection, Tun Mustapha Tower, Kota Kinabalu Coastal Highway, the Kota Kinabalu City Mosque, the Wism ...

city, all located in the

West Coast Division West Coast Division ( ms, Bahagian Pantai Barat) is an administrative division of Sabah, Malaysia. It occupies the northwest portion of Sabah. With an area of 7,588 square kilometres, it occupies 10.3% of Sabah's territory. It also has approxi ...

of Sabah. Their population was estimated at 5,000 in the year 1985 but now believed to be more than 20,000. They are a sub-ethnic group of the

Dusun Dusun is the collective name of a tribe or ethnic and linguistic group in the Malaysian state of Sabah of North Borneo. Collectively, they form the largest ethnic group in Sabah. Dusun has been recognised as among the indigenous community of ...

ic group, now also known as

Kadazan-Dusun Kadazan-Dusun (also written as Kadazandusun or Mamasok Kadazan-Dusun) also less-known as "Mamasok Sabah" are two indigenous peoples of Sabah, Malaysia—the ethnic groups Kadazan and Dusun. The Kadazandusun is the largest native group of ...

. Nowadays, most of this ethnic group's population has been

Christianized Christianization ( or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of an individual, a practice, a place or a whole society. It began in the Roman Empire, conti ...

by adhering to denominations such as Roman Catholicism (in Tuaran district proper as well as the suburban township of Telipok in Kota Kinabalu city) and Seventh-Day Adventism (mostly those residing in Tamparuli and Kiulu) with a large Muslim minority (both converts and Muslim by birth and ethnic descent) and some lesser extent to evangelical Christianity (

Sidang Injil Borneo The Borneo Evangelical Church or SIB ( ms, Sidang Injil Borneo) is an evangelical Christian denomination in Malaysia. The church was organised in 1959 from the work of the Borneo Evangelical Mission with help from the Christian and Missiona ...

) as well as Anglicanism and Lutheranism (

Basel Christian Church of Malaysia The Basel Christian Church of Malaysia or BCCM ( ms, Gereja Kristian Basel Malaysia), formerly known as Borneo Basel Self Established Church, is one of the four Lutheran bodies in Malaysia. It currently has 112 congregations nationwide and 63,0 ...

), with a dwindling number are still

animists Animism (from Latin: ' meaning 'breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things—animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems, hum ...

. Less than 20 traditional priestesses are still alive, with no prospect of future replacement.

References

{{Asia-ethno-group-stub Kadazan-Dusun people Ethnic groups in Sabah