It was to be a one-day affair

They’re going home to see mum and dad.

WHEN I read this week about how hordes of people are crowding on the wharves at Sibu and other points of departure, waiting for transportation to take them to various destinations, I connect the exodus, at this time of the year, to the Gawai Dayak.   I would say that most of the people on those wharves are Dayaks on leave from their work. Time to celebrate a festival together with their families and friends at home in the longhouses and settlements.

They bring with them stories of their adventures since they last saw each other and soon they will be back to work after the festivities are over. Crowded wharves again.

As I reflect on the formation of the Gawai, I wonder how many of these people know how the Gawai Dayak came about. Not that it matters much to them anyway – a gawai is a festival or a grand party; its significance is secondary.

The idea came from people of the past generations, some fondly remembered, others forgotten.

Who was it who first thought about celebrating one big festival for the Dayaks in Sarawak?

Who can remember one person or a group of persons among the Dayaks who mooted the idea? Please add to the names on my list – of those known to me personally as having actively been involved in its birth.

Among the first to moot the idea of a special festival for the Sarawak Dayaks was the late Benedict Sandin. He is better known as curator of the Sarawak Museum than as a social activist. But it was Michael Buma, a teacher at Quop, who organised the first Gawai celebration in his house at Siol Kandis, Kuching, on June 1, 1964.

This was despite the fact that the Gawai had not been approved by the government. Tra Zehnder, Council Negri Member, pushed hard for the recognition of the festival to be declared a public holiday.

Though the promoters had called it The Dayak Day, the government at the time thought it was too nationalistic and it began to play with time before Kalong Ningkan, then Chief Minister, stepped in and approved June 1 every year as one of the gazetted holidays.

However, it was not to be called Dayak Day because some people did not like it. Nevertheless, Benedict Sandin and Pancras Eddy organised a forum aired over Radio Sarawak to announce the creation of a country-wide celebration called Dayak Day. It was to be celebrated for one day only and to be observed as follows: on the eve of the Gawai, May 31, all families should hold a family dinner at home. On the following day, their houses would be open for visits by their friends from the Malay and Chinese communities and relatives.

And strangers were welcomed. No mention of other activities.

I was listening to the proceedings on my little transistor radio set that looked like a can of corned beef.

It was being promoted as a unifying factor for all the Dayak groups in Sarawak, not just for the Ibans.

Those in support of the move were Dayaks from all levels of society as it was then, 50 years ago. Please remember these names: Mrs Ang, Austin Jaga, Remigius Durin, Ah Guan, Barbara Bay, Mrs Senada, Julia Linang, May Emai, Gladys Janting, Susie Kitto, Tuyah Taha (Susie’s mother), Mrs Senada, Eunice Gawing, Mak Elis, Albert Dass, George Jimbai. These were the active ones, others supported the idea behind the scenes. Where wives were openly active, the husbands were supporting quietly; where husbands were active, wives were manning the store.

Meetings to discuss the creation of Dayak Day were either held at Barbara Bay’s house at Sekama Road or at Mrs Senada’s house at Ellis Road, all at the courtesy and expense of the families concerned. I know all this because I was always the victim – to record what was being discussed in long hand. I wish I had the tape recorder or the smartphone. These gadgets were not yet invented.

At subsequent celebrations, more and more people got involved. Young teachers like Gerald Linang and his sister Senorita plus the Bayang brothers and sisters, being musically inclined, became active participants. I was also involved in most of the celebrations until the 1980s, when the Gawai became a political occasion and run by politicians belonging to a certain political party only. Street processions were organised and, as far as I recall, the government provided funds for the celebrations.

Later, another gawai called Ngiling Tikai was added to the event, now called Gawai Dayak, and considered as an after-harvest festivity. How the concept has changed over the years. In the longhouse gawai, Ngiling Tikai or Bidai was observed to mark the end of the orgy of food and drinks but this, as the promoters were trying to impress on the Dayaks, was not necessary any more. One big splash in a year would be enough and the rest of time of that year should be utilised for other economic activities and healthy pursuits.

This is food for thought during the Gawai next week. Let me wish everybody Gerai Nyamai, Gayu Guru (health, happiness and long life).

Comments can reach the writer via columnists@theborneopost.com.

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