Gawai Dayak

Gawai Dayak

Late May to early June

Gawai Dayak is a rice harvest festival of the Dayak people of Sarawak, Malaysia, on the northern coast of Borneo. Some aspects of the celebrations have remained essentially the same for centuries. They take place in longhouses, the bamboo-and-palm-leaf structures built on stilts that are shared by 20 or 30 families. At midnight on the eve of Gawai Dayak, a house elder conducts the chief ritual: while sacrificing a white cock, he recites a poem to ask for guidance, blessings, and a long life. Other events include the selection of the most beautiful man and woman to be king and queen of the harvest, dancing, a feast of rice, eggs, and vegetables, and the serving of traditional tuak, rice wine.

CONTACTS:
Sarawak Tourism Board
6th & 7th Fl., Bangunan Yayasan Sarawak
Jalan Masjid Kuching
Yayasan Sarawak, 93400 Malaysia
6082-423-600; fax: 6082-416-700
www.sarawaktourism.com

SOURCES:
BkHolWrld-1986, Jun 2
GdWrldFest-1985, p. 132

Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations of the World Dictionary, Fourth Edition. © 2010 by Omnigraphics, Inc.