It is important to note that festivals are spaces that forge a sense of belonging and interconnectedness. The sudden ban on festivals in Sabah had forced Sabahans to reflect on what Kaamatan really meant to them. As can be seen in the "people's gallery," photos and videos are categorised into different areas with the overaching theme of "connecting" virtually through wishes (language), music, dance, dress, food, family and home.

As you go through these photos, you may ask: What did people seem to miss most? And did Sabahan people try to re-invent the pre-pandemic festival (or their memories of it)? If so, how did they go about creating a similar landscape?

Some of you may also wonder if state-sponsored Kaamatan events in the pandemic years of 2020-2022 differed markedly from past years'. For instance, how people negotiated the COVID SOPs on one hand and attempted to enjoy the festive mode with the lack of an in situ audience sharply contrast with the sounds of the traditional gong mingled in with chatter and laughter and smells of barbecue in the air at the Kadazan Dusun Cultural Association compound, a major Kaamatan site.

Today, in 2023, Kaamatan seems to have resumed to its pre-pandemic stature. Kaamatan TV, a happy outcome from the lockdown Kaamatan period, has stayed on to do more of the connecting of Sabahans from all around the world.