There are about 42 indigenous groups in Sabah, and some have over 10 sub-ethnics so that’s an estimate of over 200 tribes, and each has their distinct costumes. No wonder Sabah is known as a melting pot of different cultures. However, until today nobody can tell you exactly how many native tribes Sabah has.
Many organizations say they are busy documenting the culture, but only Anne Antah is able to present us something in her Chanteek Borneo Gallery near Tamparuli town. Currently, Chanteek Borneo Gallery exhibits about 300 dolls of 48 ethnic costumes and its collection is still growing. She started making these dolls in 2011 as a hobby, then the number of dolls is large enough for her to open this gallery in Aug 2014. Now it becomes a good spot to see different ethnic costumes in one place.
Chanteek means “Beautiful” in Malay language (Cantik in Sabah slang), indeed the beautiful cultures of Sabah have been a favorite subject of photographers. These 1-foot dolls are “serious toy” to show our heritage. Visitors will be impressed by the “Lilliput” of Sabah tribes there. The gallery relies on limited information for making each doll. It’s a challenge to make authentic dress. Her research pays off and University of Zurich from Switzerland orders a whole set of dolls from her.
Chanteek Borneo Gallery is very accessible and only 30 KM from Kota Kinabalu City (KK). If you depart from KK and head to Tamparuli town, you will see it at the road side after 30 minutes of driving, about 7 KM before Tamparuli town. There are at least 3 road sign posts to guide you there.
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