Gawai Dayak

June 01: Gawai Dayak

Gawai Dayak

Gawai Dayak is an annual festival celebrated by the Dayak people in Sarawak, Malaysia, and West Kalimantan, Indonesia. Dayak is the collective name for the indigenous peoples of Sarawak, Indonesian Kalimantan, and the interior of Borneo. Gawai means festival, so it’s literally a Dayak Festival. The festival celebrates the end of the harvest.

Preparation begins well in advance with the making of tuak, a rice wine. Closer to the festival, relatives will journey home. The longhouse is cleaned and decorated. The ancestral graveyard is also cleaned. Then a day or two before, pigs and poultry are slaughtered for the feast, and food is prepared. This includes traditional cakes made with glutinous rice flour and sugar, such as sarang semut (“ant nest” caramel cake), kuih sepit (twisted wafer), and penganan iri (rice flour and palm sugar cake).

The day before unwanted items are gathered in a basket that is then tossed out at the end of the longhouse, casting away bad luck. There’s a blessing followed by dinner. Afterward people talk, partake in or observe contests. Many wear the traditional clothing. At midnight, people toast to gayu-guru, gerai-nyamai (long life, health, and prosperity).

The rest of the night and the next day is a joyful occasion. There is feasting, dancing, music, and general good times. This might continue on for another few days.

⇴ image from Stephen Bugno, flickr, (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Share It:
Skip to content