This is very important festival for people in Kuching and even the whole Sarawak.
"Gawai Dayak is a festival celebrated by Dayaks in
Sarawak and West Kalimantan which is officially public holidays on 31 May and 1
June every year in Sarawak, Malaysia. It is both a religious and social
occasion.
The word Gawai means a ritual or festival whereas Dayak is a
collective name for the native ethnic groups of Sarawak and neighboring
IndonesianKalimantan who are the Iban also known previously as Sea Dayak and
the Bidayuh people also known as Land Dayak and the Orang Ulu (inclusive of
Kayans, Kenyahs, Lun Bawangs, etc.). Thus, Gawai Dayak literally means
"Dayak Festival".
The Dayaks are the indigenous people of Borneo. Dayak is a
generic term for over 200 riverine and hill-dwelling ethnic subgroups which are
located principally in the interior of Borneo. They have their own dialect,
customs, laws, territory and culture, although common distinguishing traits are
readily identifiable. Dayak languages are categorized as part of the
Austronesian languages in Asia. The Dayaks were animist and paganistic in
belief; however most converted to Christianity recently. Estimates for the
Dayak population range from 2 to 4 million.
The idea for Gawai Dayak started war back in 1957 in a radio
forum held by Tan Kingsley and Owen Liang, a radio programme organiser. This
generated a lot of interest among the Dayak community. Up till 1962, the
British colonial government refused to recognize the Dayak Day but instead
called it the Sarawak Day. Gawai Dayak was formally gazetted on 25 September
1964 as a public holiday in place of Sarawak Day after the formation of the
Federation of Malaysia. It was first celebrated on 1 June 1965 and became a
symbol of unity, aspiration and hope for the Dayak community. Today, it is an
integral part of the Dayak social life. It is a thanksgiving day marking a
bountiful harvest and a time to plan for the new farming season or other
endeavors ahead.
Dayak would visit their friends and relatives on this day.
Such visit is more commonly known as "ngabang" in the Iban language.
Those too far away to visit would receive greeting cards or wishing gawai
greetings via radio broadcasting in this modern time. If there is a formal
invitation to visit, the guest welcoming (ngalu pengabang) procession will be
performed by the inviting longhouse." -from Wikipedia.
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