Happy Gawai Dayak.

Happy Gawai Dayak!

Gawai Dayak is a festival celebrated by Dayaks in Sarawak and West Kalimantan, which are officially public holidays on 31 May and 1 June every year in Sarawak, Malaysia. It is both a religious and social occasion. Gawai Dayak translates to "Dayak Day"; the Dayak people include the Iban, Bidayuh, Kayan, Kenyah, Kelabit and Murut tribes which once roamed Sarawak and relieved unsuspecting traders of their heads. More than just a touristy demonstration of indigenous culture for tourists, Gawai Dayak is celebrated with genuine joy and enthusiasm. Weddings take place, singing and toasts fill the air, and families are reunited with one another after being separated all year.

Alright ...  enough of all the explanation. Now let me start with the first day which is on the 31st of May. We were supposed to reach the longhouse in Ulu Bayor at about 2 in the afternoon. However, due to the unfavorable weather and the unclear directions, we arrived at about 6pm. (can you imagine how long we've been sitting in the car since we departed at 8am? -.-) And too bad we missed the Muai Antu Rua ritual. The purpose of this ceremony is to cast away the spirit of greediness.

The first thing we did when we arrived was greeting the villagers. After that, we went to have a look at the river. On the way there, we were amazed by the colour of the beautiful skies. Like I said in one of my previous posts, one of the reasons that I love Sarawak is that their skies are beautiful and breathtaking. 

A gigantic stunning rainbow!

the clear and colourful skies which are hardly to be seen in the cities.

The river water was refreshing and cooling. The first steps into the water gave my heart a chill. It wasn't as clear as glass but it's actually clean. Villagers usually came here to enjoy their leisure time with family or to take a bath in the morning. We didn't spend much time over there because the night was falling and the skies were getting darker. It would be dangerous to stay around the river as told by the villagers. Then, we got back to the longhouse and prepared to have our first dinner at the longhouse. 

The dinner was accompanied by bamboo-steamed rice and sweet cakes made from coconut milk. And there was one thing we enjoyed doing, that was walking along the longhouse to get the food served by different houses. There're 28 houses, imagine how much food we could get! haha. Surprisingly, they prepared spaghetti which was really delicious. Not to forget to mention, those chicken curry and chicken rendang tasted amazing and matched perfectly with the bamboo-steamed rice. Yummms.  

Just before midnight, a procession known as the Ngalu Petara was carried out. The villagers in their exotic costumes walked around the longhouse seven times to welcome the friendly spirit gods to the festival. While waiting for the midnight, speeches were delivered by the Tuai Rumah, Treasurer and VIPs/guests. At midnight, the festival chief holds a toast with tuak - locally-brewed rice wine - for long life. The festival turns into an informal free-for-all following the toast with dancing, singing, and drinking. To be honest, I didn't really like the taste of the rum, the rice wine or any other wines. I have come to a conclusion that beers and wines are not good to taste and I wonder why some people are addicted to alcohols and become an alcoholic eventually. They are not good to drink and not healthy at all.

The first day was done.

On 1st June, we had a light breakfast in the morning. And then another ceremony began. We would walk along the longhouse from the first family to the last one and we were greeted with a shot of strong rice wine from EACH FAMILY. There's even vodka and whiskey and trust me, they tasted worse than rice wine. We were insisted to drink up what was given as refusing is considered impolite and disrespectful to the villagers. After that, we took a nap. And then, lunch time.

Our dinner for this night was different. The longhouse was divided into 3 sessions. And we went to different session at a time. When we were there, we were served with food, snacks and wine (again -.-) specially prepared by the families of that session. The third session was the last one and all the villagers and visitors had fun singing karaoke and dancing together! That was really fun and enjoyable. On top of that, I got to learn their dance step haha I'm not quite if that's their traditional dance steps though.

In the next morning, after having the breakfast at the house of our host, we went to the river. Some of my friends had fun in the water and some bathed in it. Too bad I couldn't join them :( but I got to capture some photos though. hehe

After that, we had dinner at the house again. And then while we're preparing to leave the longhouse, the rain was pouring. It's always raining when we're about to depart. So, we waited for awhile until the rain got smaller. And finally we reached Kuching at about 7pm. It was a long journey to and fro the longhouse but then the beautiful nature and the friendly villagers made all the hardship worthwhile. Despite the awful tasted wine and rum ... and despite the fact that we had no internet access and line coverage for those 3 days, we still enjoyed ourselves. This was the time we got to leave our stress behind and indulged ourselves in the beauty of the nature and the people.

Can you believe that this uncle is actually 74 years old already? Yes, this photo is convincing enough to show that he is of this age, but then, if you met him in real life you might think differently. This uncle was one of the oldest villagers there, I reckon. He was so excited when we arrived at the longhouse and greeted everybody Happy Gawai one-by-one. And when we're chatting among ourselves he always tried to join us. Some of them even sang and danced with him. He's old but I'm pretty sure he's young at heart! 

Additional information:  Gawai Dayak in Modern Times -- Forget the romantic stereotypes - not all of Sarawak's indigenous people still live in longhouses or choose to don a traditional costume during Gawai Dayak. Many Dayak people have moved from their rural homes into the cities in search of work. Urban Dayak communities may choose to celebrate their holiday simply by taking time off work - a rare occasion - to visit family outside of the city. Christian Dayaks often attend mass at a church and then celebrate with dinner in a restaurant.

P/S: These photos are taken with my Canon EOS 700D. I'm currently still in the process of learning how to take good photos. I will keep improving on that.