This talk presents research conducted in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on both Indigenous and migrant women in Kundasang, a mountainous district in the Malaysian Bornean state of Sabah. At the heart of this study is Mount Kinabalu, the highest peak in the country, revered as a spiritual entity by the local community. The research is dual-sited between two key villages: Bundu Tuhan, home to a predominantly Catholic Indigenous community that has preserved many traditional practices, and Cinta Mata, where many new residents from other parts of Sabah—often marry into Muslim families and settle. The contrast between these two groups is stark, as gentrification and new Islamic movements reshape the patterns of existence in different ways. Despite these changes, the women of Kundasang reclaim gendered spaces under the watchful presence of Aki Nabalu the Mountain God, demonstrating their resilience and resistance amid the rapid urban transformation and economic recovery efforts following the pandemic. Drawing on their distinct narratives of belonging and kinship, these women emerge as custodians and protectors of their community and sacred land, roles vital for their survival. While patriarchal and religiously conservative expectations often define them as wives and mothers, crises often push many to expand their traditional roles to meet new responsibilities as breadwinners. Grounded in theories of gender, place-making, and identity, this study illuminates the delicate balance these women maintain between their traditional roles and emergent ones, highlighting their resilience and resistance in navigating both religious and economic pressures. The research underscores their importance as gatekeepers of their communities amidst ongoing urban change.
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Speaker and Chair Biographies:
Dr Vilashini Somiah is a Feminist Anthropologist from Sabah, Malaysia and is currently a tenured Senior Lecturer at the Gender Studies Programme, in Universiti Malaya, Malaysia, where she teaches courses on Masculinity and the patriarchy, Migration and Gender, and Feminists Indigenous Knowledge Systems. Her research focuses on the agency of Bornean women, migrants, indigenes, and other sexual and gender minorities, which are often underrepresented. A Malaysian of mixed Indian-Indigenous heritage, she completed her Ph.D. at the National University of Singapore. Her first single authored book, “Irregular Migrants and the Sea at the Borders of Sabah, Malaysia: Pelagic Alliance '' (Palgrave Macmillan, 2021), won the best Social Science Book Award Universiti Malaya in 2023. A complete list of her academic work can be found at https://umexpert.um.edu.my/vilasomiah OR https://www.vilashinisomiah.com/
Catherine Allerton is Professor and Head of the Department of Anthropology, and an Associate of the Southeast Asia Centre. She is interested in the materialities and mobilities of everyday life. Her research has focused on place, relatedness, childhood and migration, especially in island Southeast Asia. She has conducted ethnographic fieldwork in a two-placed village in Flores, Indonesia and in the capital city of Sabah, East Malaysia. Her research to date has focused on five key themes: Place and Kinship: Within and Beyond the House; Spiritual Landscapes of Southeast Asia; The Interdisciplinary Ethnography of Children’s Lives; Rethinking Child ‘Illegality’ and Statelessness; and Temporalities of Migration and Care.
This event is co-hosted with the Department of Anthropology.