Kinabatangan ancient art of self defence

Cimandi Cikalung is said to be an ancient form of martial art adopted by the Orang Sungai way back in the early seventeen century.

It is said to have originated from the Indonesian island of  Jawa which date back to the fourteen century.

According to local folklore, the Cimandi Cikalung art of self defence was introduced to the natives of Kinabatangan by a woman warrior from Jawa .

Legend has it that the woman was washing clothes at a river when she saw a tiger fighting with a monkey.

Too scared to run, she watched closely how both the animals fought to its death.

On the way home, she was waylaid by a group of drunken men.

Applying the animals movements she had witnessed earlier, the woman managed to fend off the attack.

Later, she arrived home and relate the incident to her husband, Embah Kahir, who asked her to teach him what she had learned.

Cimandi Cikalung, in Malay means ‘atas bawah’  which literary translated to mean up and down as portrayed in most of the arms movements.