The Rungus is one of the 40 ethnic groups that used to be under the Kadazandusun umbrella. These group of people however are now recognised as a tribe themselves, proudly calling themselves the Momogun, or original people.
They originate and indeed most Rungus live in the Northern part of Sabah; Kudat, Kota Marudu and Pitas.
This group of people have their own unique traditional costume and boasts their own type of architecture and costumes. They may well be the most traditional people, as some of them still live in longhouses where each family live in different rooms but share the common hall. The longhouse is like a terrace house with 12 doors but on stilts of about five to six feet tall. They are mostly farmers but they also sell handicrafts of beads and woven cloth. Nowadays the Rungus is very much in the mainstream of society with educated and learned individuals among them. The traditional Rungus dress is black; the knee length skirt is black and the blouse is like a tube. A shoulder cloth like a poncho is worn to cover the shoulder. They then don brass coils on their arms and bracelets of shells and wild fruit seeds.
They are very creative with their costume jewelries. The men usually wear black pants and black embroidered blouse. Over the blouse they don bead sashes in criss-cross fashion. Their sigar or head gear is also a sight to see. They usually don the costume during festivities such as the Harvest Festival, Gong Festival and other ethnic celebrations.-Sayangsabah.