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Gawai Festival unites Dayaks of two nations in music, culture
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A detailed roof decoration on a traditional Dayak longhouse. (Shutterstock/File)
T
hough separated by two countries, the Dayak people, natives of Borneo island, meet once a year in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, to celebrate their shared roots and ancestry.
At the Gawai Festival, which is in its 32nd edition this year, celebrants sing, dance and make handcrafts to preserve the culture of their tribe, whose people have lived for centuries in the region’s rainforests.
About 500 Dayak Malaysians joined various events at the festival, along with local residents and tourists.
On Tuesday, Yusuf, 38, was seen carving a piece of wood for a competition. Originally from Java, he has lived in Pontianak for years and is familiar with the ways of the Dayak people.
He said that he was making a bukong, a man who volunteers to perform rituals and collect alms during a funeral.
“I have researched the subject for this carving competition and I think this is the most interesting figure of a Dayak,” he said.
Inspired by the Dayak day of harvest, the event was centered around a replica of a Radakng house, or a traditional long house.
