The Tamu Markets of Sabah

A tamu is an open-air market held on a fixed day of the week in a fixed place, a system that predates roads in Sabah and still organises rural trade. Each town has its day, so the market moves around the state through the week and traders follow it. The largest is at Kota Belud on Sunday, where Bajau and Dusun communities of the coastal plain bring vegetables, river fish, dried goods, buffalo, tobacco leaf, palm sugar, brassware and woven mats, and where livestock changes hands in a separate field. Other well-known tamu run at Tuaran, Kundasang and Penampang. A food section serves grilled fish and rice, and the whole thing is packed away by early afternoon.

What you actually see

• The Kota Belud Sunday tamu - the largest of the markets, on the coastal plain north of the capital.
• The livestock field - buffalo and cattle traded in a separate area beside the market.
• The produce rows - jungle vegetables, river fish, tobacco leaf and palm sugar.
• The craft stalls - woven mats, brassware, blades and beadwork.

When to go

Early morning on the correct day, since a tamu starts around dawn and thins out by noon; arriving in the afternoon means an empty field. Confirm the day locally, as some towns have changed theirs. Kota Belud on Sunday needs an early start from Kota Kinabalu, roughly an hour and a half each way by road.

Honest expectations

Get the day wrong and there is nothing to see at all, which happens often. The markets are dusty or muddy depending on the weather, with no shade and basic toilets. Much of what is sold is ordinary household goods rather than crafts, and the costumed horsemen who appear in photographs of Kota Belud are usually present only on organised festival days.

Nearby

Mount Kinabalu, the Tempasuk plain and the Kota Kinabalu coast are all within reach.