Gawai 2016 Celebration

It was really fortunate for me to celebrate this unique harvest festival with my Iban relatives as it is a symbolic for Sarawak celebration. In other words, I am glad that I am a part of this tradisional culture.

That's me during the first day of Gawai when all of the longhouse residents 'ngabang'(visiting) every room in the longhouse.

The longhouse that I was staying was called Rantau Dilang. And the 'tuai rumah'(chief) was Awan. So the longhouse is called Rumah Awan. Luckily, I can speak the dialac. Besides, it was my first time staying in the longhouse at the interior of Sarawak. The longhouse is located in Kanowit, Sibu division.

The longhouse was located near the majestic Rajang River, longest river in Malaysia. Some still continued to take bath from the river water as they got used to it.

I wished I had the photo of I was 'ngajat'(an Iban tradisional dance) at the night before Gawai. It was really embarassing because I don't even had the moves on 'ngajat'. Had fun though. And excuse me, I am sorry to say that I don't drink or smoke like these guys here. It really seemed like I was only there to make a documentary, which was partially true.

Every time we 'ngabang', the lady(standing) in this picture will recite the prayer in order to bless the food we were about to eat.

The food were all delicious. And I can tell that the food is 80% taken from their garden and farm. Like the 'pansuh' chicken or pork, smoked ducks or chicken or pork. No wonder their kitchens were always in use.

There were a few things I did during the stay,
1. Eating without spoons or forks
2. Eat more meat than vegetables
3. Plucked the chickens' feathers(first time)

There were a few things I learned there too,
1. The customs
2. The locations and the names of the parts of the longhouse
3. Freezing cold at night
4. Be generous
5. Learn to adapt to their culture(I only 50% adapted)

There were some problems too during the stay at the longhouse. It was water problem. The pressure was not strong enough. Well, that's one of the challenges I had to overcome.
In a nutshell, I was elated and tired during the stay. A little bit of excitement too, also a sprinkle of anxiety due to some valuables I brought with me. Happy Gawai Day to all the people who celebrate!