Villagers looking forward to Gobind’s visit to get first-hand ground experience
KUCHING: Residents in Kampung Benuk, a 780-door Bidayuh village in Jalan Puncak Borneo near here, are looking forward to the visit of Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo on June 1, the first day of Gawai Dayak.
Like most rural folks, the villagers yearn to have better telecommunications facilities to link to the outside world and hope the federal minister will be able to see for himself the real situation on the ground during his coming visit.
Kampung Benuk, which boasts an authentic longhouse and is one of the biggest villages in the Penrissen and Padawan area, is among four Bidayuh villages that Gobind will visit in conjunction with his “Together with the People Programme” in Kuching and Serian Divisions from May 31 to June 1.
Village headman Miso Nangi told Bernama that preparations for Gobind’s visit or “ngabang Gawai” are running on schedule, including sprucing up the “baruk”, a unique Bidayuh round house, and “panggah”, a traditional building in which heads of family hold meetings or Gawai rituals.
According to him, human skulls regarded as “trophies” from past tribal wars are still kept in the panggah while Gobind is expected to hold a media conference at the baruk, the venue for the meet-the-people session.
On the first day of Gawai, observed by the various Dayak communities in Sarawak as a thanksgiving for bountiful padi harvests, Gobind will also visit Kampung Mujat, Mongos and Kampung Paon Rimo in Serian.
Meanwhile Kampung Mujat organising programme advisor Edward Andrew Luwak said the village, which is home to 300 families, is a pride of the Bidayuh community for having retained the traditional Bidayuh longhouse.
Apart from having many interesting features to offer tourists, researchers, academicians and students, he said, dignitaries from all over the world had set foot in Kampung Mujat, including the former Crown Prince of Thailand.
On Gawai eve, which falls on May 31, Gobind will join the villagers at Kampung Triboh, Jalan Gedong in Serian in which Bidayuh hospitality will be showcased through cultural dance performances and traditional Dayak delicacies synonymous with the celebration.
Gobind will also partake in the “Ngirup Ai Pengayu” ceremony with the drinking of the toast for health and abundance at the stroke of midnight. – Bernama
