Cant stop talking bout it...

JUNE is fast approaching, the month when some of Sarawak's indigenous groups are in a festive mood.

Gawai Dayak is officially celebrated on June 1st, but the harvesting festival is carried out in the rural areas anytime after the padi fields are harvested in May.

Different ethnic groups have their own names for this celebration. "Gawia Sowa" is the term used by the Bidayuh.

The rural Bidayuh hold the celebration for two days and two nights on a weekend in June. Some mistakenly called the occasion "gawia podi" (padi), but because there are actually various gawia podi, Gawia Sowa is the more proper term.

This grand Gawai is held partly to thank the rice spirit for giving farmers a good harvest, and also to ask blessing from the spirit for a better harvest the following season.

To do that, the farmers present a lot of offerings during the festival. Pogang (glutinous rice cooked in bamboo shoots) is cooked in great quantity, numerous pigs and fowls are slaughtered, tuak is prepared by the gallons and there are other countless items needed.
Each family slaughters their livestock and makes other preparation (we dunt actually slaughter dem, we buy dem..), for they not only entertain the rice spirit but also friends, relatives, and visitors.

Getting prepared

Only the families who still practise animism serve the rice spirit. They are the ones that still offer thanks the traditional way. The Christians join the celebration but they only serve visitors . Nevertheless, pagans and Christians alike do their part in making the Gawia Sowa the biggest celebration of the year.

Since this is a grand gawai, many tukang gawai and dayung borih (female shamans) are needed. Me grandma was one of those dayung borih. More often than not, a village hires them from neighboring villages. A few villages have even stopped holding Gawia Sowa as there are no tukang gawai nearby...Except for my kampung loo... Every year sure got de..
This is one reason why Gawia Sowa can never be held simultaneously in the different villages. On this occasion, one can see the highest ranking tukang gawai -pinguguoh and sino borih.

On the first day, families holding the Gawia Sowa proceed to a nearby stream together with the tukang gawai and dayung borih.
There, the dayung borih asks the rice spirit for bountiful paddy seeds to be planted in the coming season. As they communicate to the other world, they dip an empty small tambok in the stream.

They then lift the tambok out of the water, and as if by magic, there are the few grains they claim are given by the rice spirit.. Its so damn real!! I followed the procedure from the beginning till the end..No magic, no trick, no noting at all..I've watch this occasion since I was young and till today, I still cant understand how on earth the padi can get into the small tambok just by swinging it in the stream...

Back at the Long house, all tukang gawais and dayung borih would be served at the tanju. This grand lunch is known as "maan ieng" which literally means "serving the spirits". It is believed that the spirits of their ancestors are there together with the rice spirit.

During the rites, the dayung borih sits on a swing, chanting and singing tradisional prayers and praises.

Theres my sumuk!!! "salute her"

The villagers go round, each serving the tukang gawai and dayung borih with food and drinks that they bring to the Gawai house. Tukang gawai and dayung borih would also visit and bless every home (its the every room in the long house) for good harvest and prosperity.

This is done with a brief praising of the rice spirit while at the same time waving a fowl (but we used chicken nowadays) over containers where the family stores their rice. The chicken is thenslaughtered as offering to the rice spirit.

They swing-swing the chicken while chanting...

And finally kena slother....And 'peng' it..

Headed by the pinguguoh, the pinyigar (senior tukang gawais) repeatedly perform traditional dances round and round a bawar (altar) at the centre of the tanju. Each dance has a specific name but the general purpose is to entertain the rice spirit. Iziitt??? I never know...

Villagers voluntered to play the GONG..A complete set of Bidayuh's musical instrument would consists of brass gongs (oguong, kitaak, canang, and kirutang) and a pair of tom-tom called pidabat. The full set is rarely played except on big festivals like the annual Gawai Sowa.

In a complete set, there would be two oguongs, two kitaaks, two canangs, a kirutang, and two pidabats. All except pidabat are brass gongs. Oguongs, kitaaks, and canangs are hung from cross-beams of the Gawai House, a hall specially built for gawai festivals.

Oguong is the widest of the gongs, and always played in pairs. Only one man is required to strike these two gongs. He strikes one after the other with a stick.

The end of the stick is wrapped round and round with soft materials like rubber or cloth. This is partly to make the sound more agreeable and partly to protect the gongs from direct hit.

Kitaak (I tot its called staak??) is another big gong with a much deeper sound. Like oguong, kitaak is played in pairs but require two men to strike them.

Then there are the smaller gongs, the pair of canangs. Only one man is required to strike the pair which are held in place by hanging them quite firmly. Unlike oguong and kitaak, canangs are struck with a bare ended stick one after the other.

The young men and young women went round and round, serving drinks to these old shamans, who, were consuming, or believed to consume, for their guests. There was much merry shouting, "Tara, Tara, OoOo!". With these to add to the sound of the various gongs..Its is indeed a noisy nite...

Many would deliberately stay awake the whole night or purposely wake up early to witness this part of the ritual....Like ME lo...I didnt sleep till 6am in the morning...

Throughout the whole occasion, the villagers hold open houses. Visitors are served with all kinds of foods and drink. There is usually a live band performing for the two nights in the village. That when we MEJENG!!!

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I've no idea wat that is...

Thats where they keep their 'stuff'....We never dared to go up der tho...

The last ritual before it ends...

*Article's courtesy of Bidayuh.com..*



Edited by ME coz theres some differences in it...