Gawai Dayak (; Bidayuh: Andu Gawai; ) is a form of harvest festival celebrated on 1 and 2 June annually in the state of Sarawak in Malaysia.
It is observed annually on the month of June by the Dayak ethnic groups to mark the end of the rice harvesting season and gratitude for all the blessings, harmony, sustenance and luck the tribe has received. The festival is also celebrated by Dayaks in neighbouring West Kalimantan, Indonesia on the other date, although it is still not recognised a public holiday by the republic, as well as other Dayak (particularly Iban and Bidayuh)
The festival is celebrated with various symbolic decoration and family and other social gatherings activities such as beauty pageants of Pekit Kumang (Dayak/Iban female), Dayung Sangon (Bidayuh female), Keligit (Orang Ulu female) and Miss Cultural Harvest Festival (female), Pekit Keling (Dayak/Iban male), Dari Pogan (Bidayuh male), dance performance of Ngajat, Pencha (sword dance), Kuntau (martial arts), and other arts and crafts performances together with the availability of food stalls throughout the festivals.
Etymology
thumb|left|An example of either a signboard, [[banner or roadside billboard throughout the month of the Gawai Dayak harvest festival taken in Miri, Sarawak on 25 May 2024]]
The Gawai Dayak term comes from Gawai meaning "festival" or "ritual" and Dayak a collective name for the indigenous peoples of Sarawak, Indonesian Kalimantan and the interior of Borneo. In the Iban language, the festival is called Ari Gawai, while the Bidayuh refers to it as Andu Gawai. During the Gawai Dayak, roadside billboard or banner greetings such as "Gayu Guru Gerai Nyamai, Lantang Senang Nguan Menoa"
or simply "Gayu Guru Gerai Nyamai" (Iban) which are translated to "Wishing you longevity, wellness, and prosperity", are commonly found around Sarawak during the festive season.
History
During the Brooke era, the celebration of Dayak festivities was only celebrated according to the traditions of each of the Dayak sub-groups since it was not officially recognised as a national public holiday by the Brooke kingdom like Christmas, Eid al-Fitr (Hari Raya Aidilfitri), and Chinese New Year holidays. This was continued until the administration by the then British Crown colony government of Sarawak which considered the day as both "Dayak Day" and "Sarawak Day" for the inclusion of all Sarawakians as a national day, regardless of ethnic origin, where it became both a religious and a social occasion since the 1950s despite still being without any official recognition as a public holiday. Despite this, a gathering organised among the Dayaks for the colonial government to recognise the Dayak Day didn't start any communist meetings; instead, it led to more pressure on the government to recognise the ethnic celebration day. Michael Buma, a Dayak native in Betong, hosted the first unofficial celebrations of Gawai Dayak at his residence in Siol Kandis on 1 June 1963. The issue of the name of Dayak festivities continued until after the formation of the Malaysian federation, until it was brought to the State Council (Council Negri) several times, and in April 1964, it was officially recognised. Initially, the Gawai celebration was to be called the "Dayak National Day", but the naming proposal was objected to by some government officials who feared that Dayak nationalism (especially chauvinism) would become the obstacle in the cultural celebration. who is also the first woman to occupy a seat in the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly strongly fought for the festivity recognition together with Barbara Mendu Bay, but it was not officially recognised as a public holiday until Stephen Kalong Ningkan of the Sarawak National Party (SNAP) became the first Chief Minister of Sarawak where the public holiday is officially named Gawai Dayak Day instead. and the celebration lasts for the whole of the month of June. The mode of celebrations of Gawai Dayak vary from place to place and preparations begin early with the three major Dayak communities of Ibans, the Bidayuhs and the Orang Ulus celebrates the occasion in their own distinctive way.
Food and drink
On Gawai Eve, sago and heart of palm (upa aping) will be gathered for the preparation of soups and stews, this also includes vegetables such as bamboo shoots, Dayak round brinjals, wild midin fern, fiddlehead fern, and tapioca leaves either from the nearest jungle, farms or gardens. For the Dayak tribes that live in interior parts, they may organise a hunting, trapping, fishing and more for meat, fish and vegetables that'll be served for the festival. After the gathering of plants and vegetables early in the morning, the poultry is slaughtered. Enough meat is cooked in mid-aged thin-walled bamboo logs to make a traditional dish called pansoh or lulun in Iban language.
Among the dishes that hold a special place in the festivity, especially among the Iban and Bidayuh, is ayam pansuh (manok pansoh), a traditional chicken dish cooked in a bamboo stalk with onions, ginger, lemongrass, garlic, torched ginger flower, and galangal and roasted in an open fire, which infuses the chicken with a distinctive flavour and aromatic smells. Any remaining meat is preserved in salt and mixed with kepayang leaves and detoxified seeds. Wooden cooking implements are made from small tree logs. Pig heads are roasted on an open fire to be served hot with the traditional Dayak liquor, a rice wine called tuak, brewed at least one month before the Gawai Dayak. The drink is brewed from the glutinous rice from a recent harvest mixed with homemade yeast called ciping. A stronger alcoholic beverage made by the Iban is langkau (also called arak tonok, "burnt spirit" by the Bidayuh). This drink is made by distilling tuak over a fire.
Some glutinous rice is cooked in bamboo nodes to soak up the bamboo aroma, Normal rice will be cooked in pots at the kitchen hearth. The addition of pandan leaves also gives a special aroma together with smoke from the fire wood which gives a distinctive aroma. Some Dayaks, especially Orang Ulu, will wrap rice in long green leaves (daun long) before steaming it inside a pot. When a longhouse agrees to host Gawai Dayak with big ritual festivals, they may need to plant extra paddy and organise labour exchange (bedurok). Rice may be purchased from towns if the festival is in a place where paddy farming is absent or insufficient. Traditional kuih delicacies are prepared from glutinous rice flour mixed with sugar. These kuih includes sarang semut (ant nest kuih), cuwan (molded kuih), and kuih kapit/sapit (twisted/folded kuih). The sugar used in the kuih making can either be the brown nipah (nypa fruticans) palm sugar or cane sugar.
Decoration of the longhouse
thumb|right|[[Pua Kumbu, a traditional Dayak Iban's handwoven crafts commonly found in Sarawak longhouses]]
The longhouse is cleaned, repaired and repainted by cooperation amongst its residents. The longhouse is constructed as a unique place of living and worship. Its main post (tiang pemun) is the designated starting point of all the building materials (pun ramu) and must remain intact. Timber and wooden materials for repairs are obtained from nearby reserve forests (pulau galau or pulau ban) or purchased in towns. A pantar (long chair) may be built along the upper area of the ruai (gallery). The seat is raised and the tanju (verandah wall) is used as the backrest. Some old wooden longhouses (rumah kayu) are renovated with concrete and bricks to make a terraced structure (rumah batu).
The inside walls of the longhouse are decorated with ukir murals portraying tree and wild animal motifs. Men with decorating skills make split bamboo designs. Women decorate living room walls by hanging their handwoven ceremonial clothes called Pua Kumbu and other handicrafts. The Orang Ulu are famous for their colourful paintings of the tree of life on their house walls and their house posts are elaborately carved. Highly decorated shields are displayed near the family room door. Heirloom jars, brassware, and old human skulls obtained during historical raids or trade sojourns, if still kept, are cleaned and displayed. There are reed mats woven with colourful designs, lampit rattan mats, bidai tree bark mats and permaidani mats. The walls of most family rooms and galleries are decorated with traditional blankets such as the woven Pua Kumbu and the tied cloth (kain kebat) blankets which are made with unique Dayak designs. During the festival, women are keen to display the products of their skills and hard work at mat-making and hand-weaving. Some traditional baskets are also seen. Some sets of traditional musical instruments are also displayed in the gallery.
Traditional dress
thumb|left|The [[Demographics of Sarawak|indigenous groups in Sarawak, both male and female, in their respective traditional dress during the Gawai festive]]
Men and women may wear ngepan, the traditional costume, especially when guests are arriving. The traditional dress of men is a loincloth (sirat or cawat), animal skin coat (gagong), peacock and hornbill feathers (lelanjang) headwear, chains over the neck (marik), silver armlets and anklets along with a shield, sword, and spear. Historically, Dayak men are decorated with tribal tattoos (kalingai or pantang in Iban) which signify their life experience and journey. A frog design on the front of the man's neck and/or tegulun designs on the backs of the hand indicate the wearer has chopped off a human head or killed a man in military combat. Most of the designs are based on headhunting and other spiritual significance.
thumb|right|Dayak traditional dress during Gawai, the women with kain betating and neck and shoulders woven beaded chain of marik empang
Women wear a handwoven cloth (kain betating) worn around the waist, a woven beaded chain over the neck and shoulders (marik empang), a rattan and brass ring high corset around the upper body, selampai (a long piece of scalp) worn over the shoulders, a decorated high-comb (sugu tinggi) over the hair lump (sanggul), a silver belt (lampit), anklet, armlet, as well as an orb fruit purse. The chief and elders hold a begeliga to remind everybody to keep order, peace and harmony. Heavy fines (ukom) are imposed on those who break the customary adat and festive ground rules with fighting, quarrelling, drunkenness or vandalism. At midnight, a gong is rung to call the inhabitants to attention. The longhouse chief (tuai rumah) or host will lead a toast to longevity (Ai Pengayu) and the new year with a short prayer (sampi). Mistakes are forgiven and disputes are resolved. Where a bard is available, the person may be asked to recite a short chant called timang ai pengayu ("Chanting the water of longevity") to bless the longevity water before the chief says the short prayer.
Another important activity is the singing of traditional poems. These include pantun, ramban, jawang, sanggai and pelandai. Any honoured guests to longhouses may be asked to break open a coconut to symbolise the actions of Sengalang Burong (the god of war) which also means victory for the well-being and protection of the communities. In the actual cleansing of the freshly taken heads, the troop leader would eat a bit of the brain with a piece of a glutinous rice before proceeding to throw away the rest of the brain using a piece of rattan swirled by him inside the skull and to slice out the flesh using his war sword. This coconut-splitting ceremony is a sign of respect and honour to the guests being offered to do so. Other merrymaking activities which may extend to the next day include blowpipe (sumpit) contests and traditional games such as arm wrestling (bibat lengan), small log pulling (betarit lampong), rope pulling (tarit tali) and foot-banging (bapatis) with some also engage in cockfighting. In modern settings, sports include football, sepak takraw (rattan kickball) and futsal. Other parlour games are played such as egg rolling, plate passing to the tune of taboh music, running in gunny sacks, and balloon blowing, while karaoke and joget dance are also popular.
Dances
thumb|right|A Dayak man performing the [[Ngajat dance]]
thumb|right|Orang Ulu and [[Iban people|Iban Dayaks warrior in traditional dress before the warrior dance]]
The Ngajat dance is accompanied by a traditional band consisting of an engkerumong set (percussion), tawak (big gong), bebendai (small gong) and bedup (drum). Orang Ulu music is played using the sape. There are many variations of the traditional ngajat or ajat dance. The male and female dances consist of graceful, precise and surprise movements of the body, hands and feet with occasional shouts of a battle cry. Examples are the freestyle ajat male dance, warrior dance, ngajat lesong (rice mortar dance), the ngasu hunting dance, or comical muar kesa (ant harvesting) dance for men. Women perform the freestyle female ajat dance or the ngajat pua kumbu (ritual cloth waving dance). The male dance shows strength and bravery and may imitate the movements of the hornbill, which is regarded as the king of worldly birds.
Bidayuh Dayak dances include the tolak bala (danger repealing), a dance performed before the harvest to ask for blessing and protection of the community; the totokng dance that is performed during the harvest festival to welcome the paddy soul and guests; the langi julang which is performed at the closing of the harvest festival to thank gods for bestowing good health and a rich harvest; and the eagle-warrior fight dance performed after the harvest season. Hands are held outstretched imitating the movements of the eagles as they flap their wings during their journey. The eagle eventually falls unconscious so leaving the warrior victorious which is performed especially by men seeking for a female partner.
Ngabang
thumb|left|Tuak is widely consumed during the Gawai Dayak social and family gathering
On the first day of June, Dayak homes are opened to guests. This practice is called ngabang. Open houses may also be organised by Dayak associations or non-government organisations. This will continue until the end of June where the Gawai Dayak will be closed in a ngiling bidai (mat rolling up) ceremony. When guests arrive, tuak is offered and women line up in two rows on each side of the ladder (nyambut pengabang). The welcoming drink (ai tiki) is followed by the thirst-quenching drink (ai aus). Then, when the guests are seated, further rounds of tuak as a washing drink (ai basu), profit drink (ai untong) and respect drink (ai basa) are given. This activity is called the watering of guests or nyibur temuai.
Speeches are made such as the jaku ansah (sharpening speech) which introduces the guest of honour. The guest of honour is received with a miring offering ceremony outside the longhouse.