KUCHING: Hari Gawai Dayak which is celebrated on June 1 and 2 is an important festival, especially to Iban and Bidayuh folk.
Most Sarawakians who celebrate the event and living in urban areas will once again make the trip back to their respective villages.
The distance back to their hometowns and villages can be as short as a 45-minute drive or as long as a 15-hour drive with most opting to travel via land.
Many of them citing the reason of just wanting to be with their family members during the festive celebration as the main reason for making the trip back.
When interviewed yesterday, Theresa Melong, 61, said that for this year, her Hari Gawai will has more excitement as her family welcomed three new members to the family.
“I have prepared for the celebration a week ago and planned everything accordingly especially when buying necessary things.
“With the rise of prices in certain things, budgetting is very important to me. I only buy things that are needed for the celebration,” she said.
For 27-year-old Desmond Markus who went back to his hometown in Kampung Mayang Kawan, Tebekang to celebrate Hari Gawai said, returning home from the urban areas to the villages during festive seasons is a tradition practised by Malaysians with families gathering together in their respective villages to celebrate festive occasions.
“Usually, a week before Hari Gawai celebration, everyone in the family are busy tidying up the house like cleaning and repainting the house, preparing foods as well as decorating the house.
“On the first day, we would visiting our relatives and friends where we will be served with various kind of foods, cakes and biscuits and not forgetting ‘ai pengayu’ or ‘tuak’,” he explained.
Meanwhile, for Wesley Juntan, 30, from Rumah Juntan, Sekuau in Sibu who is currently residing in Kuala Lumpur said that he was excited to finally return to his village and visit his parents during Hari Gawai.
Although he does visit his parents in Sibu once in a while during the year, he opined that the feeling of going back to his village on a normal day when there is no festive celebration was not the same as going back for Hari Gawai.
This is because the latter was a special occasion as all of his siblings, aunties, uncles and cousins will also return to the village which is normally quiet during normal days.
“With their presence and the homecoming of all those who left the village to make a living in urban areas, the village springs back to life.
“Usually, most Dayaks get themselves ready for the Gawai early. Some of them prefer to shop early as they live in longhouses in remote places.
“Gawai was always about food and lots of it. It is also the best time to get together since most of us are away working,” he said.
He added, the major part of the preparation was decorating the longhouse and also a lot of cleaning and washing.
According to Wesley, on the first day of Hari Gawai, residents will exchange pleasantries in a ritual called ‘ngabang’ followed by the toast of ‘ai pengayu’ as well as all-night entertainment such as singing, ‘ngajat’ and ‘poco-poco’.
There will also be held beauty contest called ‘Kumang and Keling Gawai’.
