The Sabah East Coast Bajau community has a unique lifestyle. In their dialect, lepa means "boat". The lepa is usually made of Ubar Suluk or Red Seraya wood. The lepa is a cultural legacy inherited by the people from many generations ago. The existence of lepa is believed to originate from the fishing community who live in Bum Bum Island and used by the Pa'alau people along the coast of Semporna.
The Regatta Lepa has been celebrated every year since 1994 to commemorate the Bajau tradition of building these splendid boats. Semporna comes to life as the colourful sails take to the sea to compete for the prize of the most beautiful lepa. This is judged based on its decoration, local ethnic music and dances performed on board, sambulayang (sails) and tapis-tapis (small flags).
Other attractions include sea sports such as rowboat, sailing and kelleh-kelleh (small dugout boat) competitions, lepa tug of war, children swimming and duck catching competition. The colourful cultural night performance at the end of the day is certainly an event not to be missed. This year The Regatta Lepa is celebrated on April 16 & 17, 2006 at Semporna, Sabah.
Pix taken from Photo Gallery of Louis Pang.
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