The origin of the name Sabah

Sabah is called "the land with downwind" in two ways:

One saying is: According to legend, residents on the west coast of Sabah like to grow a banana called Pisan Sabah, so people call it Sabah.

Another way of saying it is: Sabah is located in the south of the typhoon zone in the northern hemisphere, which is not disturbed by typhoons, so it is called "the land under the wind" to attract Muslim businessmen doing business in sulu archipelago to stop and avoid typhoons; In Arabic, "the land under the wind" is called Zir-e Bad, which is pronounced as "Sabah".

Extended data

Sabah, formerly known as North Borneo for short, is one of the thirteen Malaysian states, with Kota Kinabalu (formerly known as Kota Kinabalu) as its capital, located in the northeast of kalimantan island, with a tropical rainforest climate. Sabah has five provinces, namely West Coast Province, Inland Province, Guda Province, Sandakan Province and Douhu Province.

Sabah was ruled by Britain from 188 1 year to 1963, and was self-governing from 1963 to August 3 1 year (defense, foreign affairs, finance, internal affairs and other affairs were still the responsibility of the British colonial government). 1963 September 2006 16, Sabah joined Malaysia. 1984, Sabah government divided Labuan Island into a federal territory, and Labuan Island is the only offshore financial center in Malaysia.

There are 32 officially recognized ethnic groups in Sabah. The largest indigenous people are Kadashan-Dushun, followed by Bayao and Murut. Other ethnic groups are: Corcos living in Douhu Province.

The largest non-native ethnic group is Chinese, who mainly immigrated to Sabah in the19th century, mainly Hakka, Guangfu, chaozhou people, Minnan, Hainanese and some people from Tianjin and Hebei before the 20th century. Chinese in Sabah are mostly concentrated in big cities and towns, namely Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan and Douhu. Compared with other states in Malaysia, there are very few Indians and other South Asians in Sabah.

Cultural practices

(1) cultural taboos

Locals regard the left hand as indecent, and remember to use only the right hand when shaking hands or handing things; Malays think it is an insult to point at people with your index finger, so don't point at people with your index finger. Wait for the lady to shake hands first, don't ask for a handshake; The head is considered as a sacred part, so remember not to touch the head of local children casually; Avoid eating pork when eating with Muslims; Don't ask the age of Malays casually; Even if you are curious about the Malay marriage system, you can't talk about other people's housework.

(2) Festival celebrations

Harvest Festival is a festival for local aborigines to celebrate the harvest and thank the gods. Celebrations last for one month in May every year, also known as "May Festival". The celebration reached its climax on May 30th -3 1, which is also a public holiday in the state and Labuan federal territory.

(3) Language

In Sabah, Malay and English are the common languages. In addition, local Chinese use Chinese or Hakka, Cantonese, Min dialect and other Chinese dialects.

Baidu encyclopedia-Sabah