Silamat Ondu Gawia to all the Dayak in the whole wide world.
Selamat Hari Gawai, Gayu Guru Gerai Nyamai to all my Iban friends and relatives.
Gawai is a festival celebrated by the Bidayuh, Iban & Orang Ulu in Sarawak, Malaysia. That's in Borneo island. You can always find out more about Borneo and it's people from the internet. It's public holiday in Sarawak on 1 & 2 June.
Gawai celebrates the completion of harvesting season and it's a way that the people give thanks for the bountiful harvest. Nowadays, the people celebrating Gawai suits how they celebrate each individual religion. There are still people believing in the spirit of the rice and they celebrated it in their own way.
My family will usually go to church either during the eve of Gawai (31 May) or on the morning itself to offer our thanksgiving to God for his blessings.
Then, we will have open house to celebrate Gawai. My favourite dish will be the "Duck with 5 spices". That's my mum's specialty and the whole family's favourite. My mum will stay up the whole night to prepare the dishes and cakes for the celebration.
Neighbours and relatives will come and visit. After that, we will go and visit neighbours and relatives too... The visiting, we call it NGABANG.
But this year, I am celebrating Gawai alone. I have to work. I can't go back to my mum's place. All the flight tickets are fully booked and if only I can drive back. I am working in Johore at the tip of Peninsular Malaysia. The only way I can go back to my parent's home in Kuching is through flight. What a waste...
Anyway, I took the opportunity this year to call my friends and relatives, some I managed to track down via the internet. Some, yet to be found again. But I wish everyone in this whole wide world, Happy Gawai. Silamat Ondu Gawia...
Some more links if you wish to find out more about Gawai Festival.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gawai_Dayakhttp://www.abcmalaysia.com/tour_malaysia/gawai.htmhttp://www.thingsasian.com/goto_article/article.1774.htmlIf you wish to know more about my people, the Bidayuhs, this is the place where you can get more info and perhaps learn about the language, there's dictionary in it and I like it a lot!
http://www.bidayuh.com/
