ABSTRACT
The collection of Dusun, Bajau, and Illanun stories was made in the years 1910 and 1911, during parts of which was stationed in the two adjoining districts of Tuaran and Tempassuk. “Orang Dusun,” which, literally translated, means “people of the orchards,” is a name which was originally used by the Malays to denote large sections of the Indonesian population of British North Borneo, which they considered to be of similar habits and culture. The religion of the Dusuns is largely animistic, though with it is combined a belief in a supreme deity, who has a wife, and in minor deities or major spirits. A curious feature of Dusun religious ceremonies is the prominent part played by priestesses, initiated women, upon whom rests the responsibility for the successful carrying out of the rites. The Dusuns of the Tempassuk give a separate name to every day of the lunar month.
