Hari Gawai 2022
Hari Gawai, or the Gawai Dayak Festival, is an important festival of the Dayak community in Malaysia that comprises the Bidayuh, Kenyah, Iban, Murut, Kayan, and Kelabit tribes. The Hari Gawai festival is a thanksgiving and harvest festival that marks the plentiful yield and planning of future prospects. It is a celebration of the Dayak people’s religious and social values and symbolizes unity, aspiration, and hope.
Origin and History of Hari Gawai
The Hari Gawai Festival is an annual celebration by the Dayak people of Sarawak and Sabah, Malaysia. The festival was typically celebrated after the harvest season in April or May. The festival’s preparation usually began a month prior, with the elders brewing tuak, a ritual drink, and a parcel of Gawai. The gawai food and drink is a major part of the ‘merrymaking’, which is the literal meaning of ‘Gawai’ in the Iban language. On Gawai eve, the Iban community conducts miring, a thanksgiving and blessings ceremony, marked by offerings to the departed ancestors, spirits, and deities. The ceremony invites the spirits to celebrate with the longhouse community and is continued with open houses with family and friends. The merrymaking goes on for weeks or even months.
Though the festival traces its roots back to 1957, the British government refused to recognize Dayak Day until 1962. It was on September 25, 1964, that the festival was formally gazetted as a public holiday. It was first celebrated on June 01, 1965, and since then, continued the same way.
When is Hari Gawai ?
Hari Gawai will be celebrated on 1st June. Hari Gawai is a public holiday in Malaysia.
How is the Hari Gawai Festival Celebrated?
The Hari Gawai celebrations start on the evening of May 31 with the Muai Antu Rua ceremony. The ceremony is held to cast away the spirit of greediness and bad luck in the celebrations. Two children or men pass every family’s room in the Iban longhouse with a chapan (winnowing basket). The family members throw their unwanted stuff into the basket, which is then tossed to the ground from the longhouse end for the spirit of bad luck.
At around 6 pm, the offering ceremony of miring takes place with Gendang Rayah music performed beforehand. The feast chief sacrifices a cockerel and thanks the gods for a good harvest. The chief also asks for guidance and the long life of the community. Afterward, dinner is served to everyone.
At midnight, a gong is sounded, and the Tuai Rumah leads everyone to drink Ai Pengayu (tuak for a long life). People wish each other ‘gayu-guru, gerai- nyamai’, meaning long life, health, and prosperity. A procession called Ngalu Petara is held, walking up and down the entire longhouse to welcome the spirits. Dances and traditional music are performed, and some people recite poetry as well.
On the next day, activities like cook-fighting, blowpipe demonstrations, and dancing competitions are held. The Dayak people open their homes to visitors. The host serves the guests with tuak before entering the longhouse. This practice is called Masu Pengabang. The Hari Gawai festival continues for several days, and visitors are welcomed throughout the festival.
In Kuching, Sarawak’s capital city, the celebrations commence a week before with street parades and cultural activities. On the Gawai eve, a beauty pageant is held where several females are crowned as Gwai Queens, one for each Iban, Orang Ulu, and Bidayuh community. It is advised you book bus ticket s in advance.
Highlights of Hari Gawai
Food and Drinks: Hari Gawai is incomplete without the Gawai food and drinks. The traditional drink, tuak is brewed one month before the festival. Langkau, an alcoholic drink, is prepared by distilling tuak over the fire. Delicious cakes, meat, and fish are also prepared for the feast.
Longhouse Decorations: The longhouse is cleaned and repaired using the nearby reserve forests timbers. The inside walls are decorated with ukir murals portraying wildlife motifs. Highly decorated shields, brassware, human skulls, etc., are also displayed.
Traditional Dress: The folks wear Nigepan, a traditional costume, on guests’ arrival. The men’s dress is a loincloth, animal skin coat, silver armlets and anklets, hornbill and peacock feathers, sword, and spear. Women wear a hand-woven cloth around the waist, brass ring high corset around the upper body, silver belt, woven bead chain, decorated high comb, anklet, armlet, and an orb fruit purse.
Dance: Ngajat and Ajat dances are performed on Hari Gawai by men and women. The dances have precise, graceful, and surprising body movements with occasional battle shouts. The Ngajat dance is accompanied by a traditional band comprising percussion, a small and big gong, and a drum.
Travel Advisory:
In the wake of COVID-19, MCO is in effect in Sarawak and Sabah from June 1. Only the passengers with approval from the Royal Malaysian Police are allowed to enter. Passengers will also have to undergo tests and a 10 or 14 days quarantine at designated centers for/upon visiting.
How to Reach Hari Gawai Venue?
The Hari Gwai venues, Sabah and Sarawak in East Malaysia, can be reached by bus, train, or plane. Buses are a secure and comfortable mode for travel here. The major bus routes for the venue are:
- Kuala Lumpur to Sabah
- Johor Bahru to Sarawak
- Penang to Sarawak
- Sarawak to Sabah
- Kuching to Sabah
To become a part of the festival, you can book your bus tickets for Sabah and Sarawak on redBus. redBus is a trusted travel service in Malaysia for easy, safe, and affordable online bus ticket booking.