For women, it is accessorized with the tangkong (three rows of small brass rings attached to rattan) and himpogot, a belt of 19th century Chinese dollars.

Men wear sigar, a colourful headcloth woven by the Iranun people which is obtained via trade with the Sama-Bajau.

Sanang gongs are small with thick brass walls, a single knob on a flat surface and a rim bent downwards.

On the other hand, the remaining three gongs (called tawag among interior Sabah Kadazandusuns) are heavy, made of brass or bronze, have deep rims, and the front surface is raised near the center with larger knobs.

The gandang is placed in an approximately vertical position and hit on one head with a stick covered in beeswax or a hard piece of coconut frond stem.

The sumazau is performed at certain stages in traditional ritual such as the magang after headhunting and for spirits inhabiting a bangkavan (collection of skulls), and the moginum ceremony.

[4] It is also performed during Kaamatan in honour of the traditional rice spirit, besides wedding celebrations, the 40th night of a deceased person's passing[5] and other major social gatherings.

[2] During the COVID-19 pandemic, a video depicting a medical assistant officer, Norbert Andilah dancing the sumazau in a PPE suit in an effort to combat boredom and depression among quarantined patients via SOP-compliant exercise sessions went viral.

In response, the then-vice president of the Kadazandusun Cultural Association and Information Chief of Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah, Rayner Francis Udong clarified that "Sumazau is a KadazanDusun traditional dance in the state and has nothing to do with worship", assuming the article had conflated the sumazau with a ritual ceremony called the magavau.