Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Ready for the Lun Bawang fest


KUCHING: Lawas, a normally sleepy town located on the very northern tip of Sarawak, comes alive on May 31 every year just as the Lun Bawang festival starts.

While the Gawai Dayak harvest festival, which begins on June 1, is being held all over Sarawak, two other Orang Ulu ethnic groups in the northern region of the state have their very own unique mid-year celebration.

The festival -- Irau Aco Lun Bawang -- has been celebrated without fail for the past 21 years.

Ba'kelalan assemblyman Nelson Balang Rining said the estimated population of Lun Bawang people in Sabah and Sarawak is 15,000 each, while Brunei has about 5,000 and Kalimantan 30,000.

"The Irau Aco Lun Bawang is so popular now that the Ministry of Information, Communications Arts and Culture has seen it fit to include the t festival which runs from June 1 to 3 in its Malaysian Tourism Events calendar," Nelson said at a press conference yesterday.

Nelson said due to the majority of the Lun Bawangs living in Lawas, and it is centralised location, the event has been held there all these years.

Continue reading (incl. pic) at: Ready for the Lun Bawang fest
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