‘Tagal’ harvest unites villagers during Ramadan



Nice catch: Delyn Zainal (right) and Amylianni Mansiang
showing the fish they caught.



KOTA KINABALU: A group of villagers in the Keningau district break fast in a unique way once a year.

The community of Kg Ansip, about 160km from here, carry out a collective harvest of fish, locally known as tagal, from the nearby Sungai Ansip.

With other communities living along the river, the villagers harvest the fish once a year on an agreed date and the catch is shared among themselves.

Keningau Fisheries Department officer Ebol Manjin, who brought the system to the Sook sub-district, said tagal had helped conserve the fish population in many villages.

There are 27 locations that practise the system, which was first introduced in 2006, and the department aims to implement it in 13 other locations.

The tagal system is managed and maintained by the local community, comprising largely the ethnic Muruts, in the respective villages.



Annual affair: A villager preparing to fish with a net during the tagal harvest
 at Kg Ansip in Keningau yesterday.

 For the non-Muslim villagers of Kg Ansip, the tagal begins with prayers in hopes of a bountiful harvest.

“Through this system, the people in the village become more united,’’ said Ebol.