| Madai Cave | |
|---|---|
 Entrance to the cave. | |
 Interactive map of Madai Cave | |
| Entrances | 1 |
Madai Cave is acave located inKunak District,Sabah,Malaysia. It is an integral part of thelimestone hills range located within the Baturong Madai Forest Reserve.[1]
The earliest known human settlement in northernBorneo existed 20,000–30,000 years ago, as evidenced by stone tools and food remains found by excavations along theDarvel Bay area at Madai-Baturong caves near the Tingkayu River.[2] There were also old burial sites in the cave although the identity of those buried there remain unknown to most villagers living near the cave.[3]
The cave is famed as a source forswiftlet's nests used inbird's nest soup,[4] with demands largely come from theChinese community especially duringChinese New Year.[5] Twice a year (between February and April, and between July and September), licensed collectors risk their lives climbing to the roof of these caves using onlyrattan ladders, ropes, andbamboo poles precariously attached together.[5] It is a special festival event for the localIda'an villagers,[6][7] who have held the rights to Madai Caves for over 20 generations.[8] Although the Ida'an are the major producer, the community are not a consumer with the bird nest will be sold to a middlemen who in turn supply to consumers inHong Kong andSingapore.[9]
Beside the bird nest harvesting,phosphate deposits from the swiftlet andbat were also collected for use asfertiliser.[3]
The cave was featured during the Americanadventure race programme ofEco-Challenge in the 2000 edition, where participants had to climb rattan ladders.[3]
Since 1980, the Sabah Museum staff have carried out excavations in the Madai and Baturong limestone massifs, at caves and open sites dated back 30,000 years. Baturong is surrounded by large area of alluvial deposits, formed by the damming of the Tingkayu River by a lava flow. The Tingkayu stone industry shows a unique level of skills for its period. The remains of many mammals, snakes, and tortoises were found, all food items collected by early occupants of the rock shelters.
