In the beginning all was well with the Heavens and the world was perfect. However, as time went by, Ponompulan became greedy and envious of his Father’s power and authority over everything. He began to hate the perfect world and set about to cause human misery, sickness and death.

He dictated that some people should be rich and others poor; some must be masters and others servants; some must have abundant harvest while others go hungry; some must be healthy while others are sickly, and some must live while others die. Ponompuan advised her brother against his evil designs, but instead Ponompulan continued to cause great havoc and disturbances on earth. Being of Kinoingan and Sumundu, Ponompulan too was gifted with powers to create and so he went about to create his own evil kingdom as opposed to his father’s Kingdom.

Kinoingan was deeply hurt by his son’s rebellion and arrogance and was therefore prompted to exact the Taru (The great Judgement). Kinoingan drew a separation between His own created Libabou or Heavens (Upper World) and that of Ponompulan’s created Kolungkud (Under World). He banished Ponompulan forever from Libabou and dumped him into his own-created Kolungkud.

Kinoingan also established a Covenant of Justice for those deities, divinities and people who are in His favor and punishment for those who follow the evil ways of Ponompulan. He maintained that human beings shall occupy the place between Libabou and Kolungkud and shall be referred to as Winorun/Vinoun, having been created by Him and Sumundu as Minomorun. Kinoingan then ruled that henceforth, the name Ponompulan shall cease to exist or be mentioned in Libabou and Winorun, and in its place, “Luminoyop (Loyop)” (The banished deity), Rogon Gayo (Chief of all evil) shall rise to distinguish and expose the evil identity, manifestations and deeds of Ponompulan.

It is from this act of exacting the Taru that Bobolians often refer to Kinoingan as Tuminaru (The Judge of all).

There was a time when the peoples of the world were bent more towards the Rogon than Kinoingan and that they were on their way to forgetting His existence. Kinoingan was very distressed by this development. He must do something not only to teach them but also to remind them of His loving concern for them and hence the following Seven Scourges upon the earth took place.

From the Heavens then were descended the following Seven Scourges upon the fallen earth:

They could only watch and ponder. Upon leaving Kinoingan did not utter a word and no seeds were given to the people fro planting. So they all went back puzzled.

In another version of the story, Ponompuan entreated her Father’s mercy upon the dying earth, conveying to him the peoples’ act of repentance.

Kinoingan thus took Ponompuan for a walk before He unfolded to Her His plan to redeem the dying world, and His wish that Ponompulan be the symbolic sacrifice of the greatest love of all. For the love of Her Father and the world, Ponompulan thus willingly became the Saviour of the world.

Through the miraculous power of her Mother Sumundu, Ponompuan’s wishes were granted — that her body parts be transformed into the food resources of the world and that her Spirit be the Bambarayon spirit of the staple food rice.

Days passed by and the famine was worsening its toll upon the people. So the people decided to meet Kinoingan again to plead for mercy and to ask for seeds from Him.

However this time Kinoingan was nowhere to be seen. Then as they approached the place where they last met Him, they could not recognize it, for it had turned into a lush farm with all the foodcrops and fruit plants that they longed for, growing all around.

All the fruit trees were heavily laden with ripening fruits and the food crops, including red rice, all ready to be harvested. The people knew then that the sacrificed daughter of Kinoingan (Ponompulan) had transformed into various crops and plants that were to nourish and save them from the great famine.

They then fell to their knees and said their first thanksgiving prayers to Kinoingan, Sumundu and Ponompuan as Huminodun (The Transformed Sacrifice). Here lies the foundation of the Kadazandusun belief that all the plants of life grew out from Huminodun’s sacrificed body-parts and that all food crops and fruit trees have their individual spirit called Rusod, having come from Huminodun. The specific spiritual part of Huminodun that became the Rusod (Soul-Spirit) of rice is fondly called Bambarayon by Bobolians.

Among all the food crops given by Kinoingan, rice became the Kadazandusun staple food. The life of the Kadazandusuns also became centered on rice cultivation and thus there developed special reverence towards Bambarayon.

According to Bobolian Miada Gumarong of Minawoh Keningau, the word Bambarayon is an old terminology within the Rinaits and is a combination of three words Bamban, Barayo and Rayong.

Literally, bamban means, “cover” of any container, barayo means “divide and share” and rayong means “appearance in great number”. In deeper symbolic context, bamban refers to an unlimited resource that fills to the brim any space or container. It satisfies any form of need and completes any form of incompleteness.

Barayo refers to a diversity resource with unlimited transformative capacities, just as the body parts of Huminodun gave rise to the food resources of the world.

Rayong refers to a diversity resource with active multiple re-generation.

Bambarayon in a way is thus also a qualitative descriptive name of Huminodun, the sacrificed Daughter of Kinoingan (God) who is at times revered and worshipped as the Goddess of fertility and propserity. She is the ultimate symbol of beauty, integrity, and sacrificial love.
Bambarayon is believed to be responsible for the growth and well being of the paddy plant, protecting it from all sorts of hazards and preys, thus effecting a positive yield. However, the positive yield of the paddy plants is also dependent upon farmers’ sincerity and dedication in their cultivation of paddy, and upon their generosity in sharing a good harvest with others and especially with the less fortunate ones. Thus mere presence of Bambarayon in the paddy plant will not itself guarantee a good harvest.

It is further believed that Bambarayon is embodied in all forms and parts of the paddy, in the green paddy plants, in unhusked paddy grains, in yeast and uncooked rice or in readily consumable forms such as tapai (rice wine), porridge and served rice.

Among the popular rice varieties that have been nurtured by the Kadazandusun communities are locally known as Tadong, Guabon, Pulut, Linsayan, Kundinga, Likad and Pikoron.

Bobolians have also related that when humans consume rice, the Bambarayons in the rice is enabled to become one with the consumers’ Koduduo (the soul-spirit of a living person).

Bambarayon, being a specific shred of divine Ponompuan’s (Huminodun) spirit, is conceived to be pure and free from the corruptive evils of this world. It is human responsibility therefore to be pure in mind, heart, spirit and body in order to deserve best the nourishment from Bambarayon. Thus to the undeserving, eating rice can even cause physical illness, mental dullness and weakness of will.
Once Bambarayon becomes one with the human Koduduo, it assumes its new roles and responsibilities in looking after the growth and well being of the human body, mind and spirit; and his words, thoughts and actions. Bambarayon’s union with the human Koduduo therefore positively affects human health and productivity.

To the Kadazandusuns, the paddy is not only their staple food, but also a sacred plant that embodies Ponompuan/Huminodun/Bambarayon, the living symbol of Kinoingan’s loving care and providence for them. It is therefore considered unbecoming and an offence to the Huminodun/Bambarayon and indirectly Kinoingan for anyone to harm the paddy plant in its growth stage; to waste paddy grains during harvesting, threshing, winnowing or transportation. Left over and fallen rice during meals, is best treated if carefully gathered and fed to home pets, poultry, pigs or fish in the ponds.