ACCESSORIES

The Rungus Community who reside mostly in the northern part of Sabah is well known for their artistic skills, particularly in making bead accessories. Many many years ago, it was said that the Rungus women make their own jewelleries by stringing plant seeds, bones, small twigs and even handmade clay beads. These are proudly worn by the women as accessories, especially during festivities and weddings. These accessories are highly prized by the community and were handed down from from generation to generation. Sadly, as time goes by and through the introduction of cheaper plastic beads from China, the Rungus women seem to have forgotten their clay making skills. They now only weave tiny plastic beads into various accessories and these can be found in many handicraft stores or at the many tourist attractions in Sabah.  

Today, no Rungus woman is able to produce beads from clay, except for one small community in Pitas, Sabah.Through the help of a local government agency, the Rungus women there are once again re-learning the ceramic bead-making skills they once knew. 

The ceramic bead accessories you find in this store are handmade and sourced directly from those women and cannot be found anywhere else in Sabah. We are selling these not only for ourselves but also to help those women  introduce their ethnic beads to the world.