In an effort to trace our roots on my mother's side, I recalled an elderly KadazanDusun woman who attended my mother's funeral. She had also sung during the funeral service - a gesture that stood out to me. Her name was Stelli Majanggan Benggon, and she had been my mother's childhood playmate in Kampong Pulutan.
With the help of my cousin, Yee Sze Moi, I was able to visit Stelli at her home in Kg. Pulutan, not far from where my grandmother's old house once stood. She was warm and talkative, and as we spoke, it became clear that she was also a remarkably independent and hardworking woman. Despite the hardship of losing her husband in an accident three years ago, she had continued to live on her own, managing her life with quiet resilience and strength.
Stelli Benggon's greatest gift is undoubtedly her singing, along with her remarkable ability to compose songs despite having no formal musical training. She has already released 4 CDs in collaboration with other singers. Even during our first meeting, she spontaneously sang several songs for us - without any prompting - which left a lasting impression.
Through Stelli, I discovered a fascinating connection: I am related to the Rampas family. The most prominent figure among them is this Datuk Louis Rampas, the current State Legislative Assemblyman for Kiulu and Chairman of the Sabah Rubber Fund Board. He is the son of Rampas Gumpai, who was my grandmother Lotimboi Gumpai's brother. In term of family hierarchy, that makes him my uncle.
Thank to Stelli, I also had the opportunity to meet Datuk Louis Rampas's sister, Aunty Sulah Rampas and her husband, John Henley. Aunty Sulah has a colourful history of her own. She once worked as a radio announcer for RTM before entering politics. She was approached by the opposition party AKAR, then led by the late Datuk Mark Koding, to contest the Kiulu seat. Although she did not win, her bold move into politics was noteworthy.
Her husband, an Englishman, formerly served as a pilot with the Sabah Flying Doctors. Now a Malaysia permanent resident, he works as a consultant specializing in aviation quality and safety.
During our conversation, I learnt that her daughter Jo-anna Sue, was crowned Unduk Ngadau Sabah in 2007.
From Sulah, I also learnt that I also have many Muslim relatives living in Kampong Darau. To my surprise, one of them - a respected Haji and Imam - turned out to be a longtime friend of my cell group member, Chio Cheng Leng. This Haji has spent over a decade compiling our family genealogy, tracing it back to our Gomorun ancestry.
With Chio's help, we had no trouble locating his house in Kg. Darau. His name is Haji Mantamin, and he is, in fact, my uncle. His grandmother, Lopis, was the sister of my great grandmother, Rombis. Our familial connection was further affirmed when he showed me a photograph of my grandmother, which he had kept alongside several other old family photos.
Maternal grandmother. |
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60 01’ 15.40”N, 1160 08’ 35.23”E |
With my uncle Hj Mantamin and cousin, son of Hj Mantamin's brother
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My great grandfather Gumpai married Rombis, a descendant of Gomorun
My grandmother Lotimboi Gumpai had 2 children: my mother, Yee En Jin (nicknamed Amoi) and my uncle, Yee Tshan Fah (nicknamed Atai)
I was told that a family gathering of the Gomorun's descendants was organized at 1 Borneo, more than 5,000 people attended. That number still amazes me.
P.S. I also discovered through the Gomorun's genealogy that Stelli Benggon is related to me as well. My grandmother descended from Gorodong, one of Gomorun's four children, while Stelli Benggon comes from another of Gomorun's sons, Guminggon.
6 comments:
Wow! I’m completely blown away by this! I didn’t quite catch the immensity of this discovery when we were trying to talk over Nathan’s incessant chattering on Skype the other day. But I truly share your excitement over this!
hai..i think we are somehow from the same family tree, we also found out some years ago that we are related to the rampas family and hj.mantamin...my family also have that same boo with the family tree list...the sad thing is, my late father has been searching this family which he never knew he had because he and his sister was left by their parents at a very young age (which i dont really know the real story behind it,),..and a few months after my father passed away back in 2008, a man approached our family, i cant remember wheather it was hj.mantamin himself or was it uncle suking gadaun...its sad that my father has been searching for his family and his origin, but couldnt stay longer for that family to actually find us..
Harap kita semua dpt berjumpa
harap ada di antara keluarga gomorun buat fb page gomorun tree
hi alfred. hope u are fine. i just got 1 question. is it true, john rampas got twin daughter?
Sorry, I am not familiar with John Rampas' family!
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