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TUARAN: A story of memory, identity and farewell will unfold on stage as The Last Tantagas: Keepers of the Sacred Text explores the final chapter of a centuries-old ritual tradition.

Rooted in the living heritage of the Suang Lotud community of Tuaran, programme chairperson Judeth John Baptist said the musical centres on the tantagas, ritual specialists entrusted with memorising and reciting the rinait, a complex body of sacred chants, prayers and ancestral narratives passed down through generations.

As age overtakes the last remaining guardians and no successors remain to inherit their knowledge, the production confronts the reality that an unbroken lineage of ritual transmission is coming to an end.

Blending music, movement, choral performance and live instrumentation, the production brings together principal cast members, In Unity Chorale, dancers and musicians for a textured theatrical experience.

The narrative revisits the demanding spiritual journey of becoming a Tantagas Wagu, an apprentice ritual leader guided by seven ancient spirits (Dahau), and reveals the responsibility and sacrifice required by a role increasingly misunderstood in a rapidly modernising world.

In its final act, the musical presents a moment of solemn dignity as the guardians choose a ceremonial farewell through a sacred buffalo sacrifice that symbolically releases the ancient spirits and concludes the ritual duties they have upheld throughout their lives.

More than a performance, the work reflects on cultural continuity, and raises questions about the survival of intangible heritage and the erosion of oral knowledge systems.

Judeth described it as “a powerful musical meditation on heritage, loss and the fragile survival of ritual knowledge in a rapidly changing world.”

The 1-hour 20-minute production will be staged at the Sabah National Culture and Arts Department Complex (JKKNS) Auditorium, Kota Kinabalu, on Friday (Jan 23) and Saturday (Jan 24) at 8pm, and on Sunday (Jan 25) at 3pm.

A post-performance community dialogue will be held on Sunday, at 4.30pm, bringing together the tantagas, community members, scholars and audiences to reflect on the work and discuss the future of endangered cultural practices.