Sibu tourism task group willing to help promote Kanowit

SIBU: Sibu Divisional Tourism Task Group (DTTG) is willing to support and assist Kanowit District Office in organising events to attract visitors to Kanowit.

Sibu Resident Hii Chang Kee who is the head of Sibu DTTG said Kanowit could host remote control powerboat races and promte homestay programme and local food.

“But there must be strong cooperation first from leaders including those at Village Security and Development Committee level for Kanowit to be further developed and progress.

“Good understanding between all those involved will ensure smooth implementation of events where everybody in the local community can make their contribution regardless of race and background,” he said when officiating at ‘Appreciation Dinner’ jointly organised by Kanowit District Office and Kanowit District Council (KDC) held here on Tuesday.

Hii also commended Kanowit District Office and KDC on their achievements throughout this year including the hosting of Kanowit Festival 2016 that was held in October.

He noted that Kanowit needed to organise many local and international level events to attract people to the town.

“A simple event would be able to pull good crowd if it is organised creatively with good facilities and sufficient manpower.

“For example Sibu Base Jump 2016 where the event did not require grand promotion yet it had attracted 60 jumpers from many countries,” he said.

Hii later suggested they organise runs on the Kanowit Bridge after it is completed next year.

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Week-long Kanowit Festival comes to a close

KANOWIT: Kanowit Festival drew down its curtain on Sunday, leaving sweet memories for about 30,000 visitors to the week-long event here.

The festival was organised by Kanowit District Council to promote domestic tourism and to foster goodwill among the locals.

Some 150 stalls selling various items, including food and drinks, clothes, handicrafts and furniture were set up during the festival which began on Nov 21.

There were also entertainment programmes and property promotion.

Patron Datuk Gramong Juna said thousands of people thronged the town every night throughout the festival.

“This is the time we interact with each other regardless of race, religion and background to strengthen our existing good ties. Here in this small town, we can chance upon each other few times a day.

“This event is a platform for us to show to others our good ties so we can be their example,” he said during the opening of a powerboat race held in conjunction with the festival on Sunday.

Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem was the guest of honour at the function.

At the same function, Gramong, who is also Assistant Land Development Minister and Machan assemblyman, assured Adenan of all-out support from people of Machan and Ngemah state constituencies.

“From my personal view, the Chief Minister is the protector and defender of our state’s rights and the champion of the people, particularly the poor and rural community.

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Kanowit Fest on track as tourism card

SIBU: The on-going Kanowit Festival has great potential to become the main tourism product for the district, says Assistant Minister of Tourism (Local Events and Products) Datuk Gramong Juna.

He added thus that Kanowit Festival should be organised annually to attract more visitors to Kanowit and enjoy the many exciting activities held throughout the event.

“The last time the Kanowit Festival was held was in 2010. Thus, we hope that the Kanowit District Council will list the Kanowit Festival as one of the annual events for Kanowit District,” he said when speaking at the opening ceremony of Kanowit Regatta 2014 held at the waterfront yesterday.

The Kanowit Regatta 2014 was held as the highlight programme for Kanowit Festival which is held from Sept 19-28, with a beauty queen contest on the final night.

The long boat, speed boat and power boat races were among the exciting events held during the regatta.

Minister for Land Development Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Masing, deputy president of Sarakup Indu Dayak Sarawak (SIDS) Dato Catherine Gramong, Kanowit MP Datuk Aaron Ago Dagang, Ngemah assemblyman Alexander Vincent and wife Susan Clement, Political Secretary to the Chief Minister Maurice Giri, Sibu Resident Sim Kok Kee, Kanowit District Officer Katis Noel Nyabong and the organising chairman for Kanowit Festival, Cr. Benjamin Angki Kaboy, were also present.

Gramong added that in relation to that, the Kanowit District Council already had an allocation to upgrade the Kanowit Waterfront in preparations for next year’s Kanowit Festival.

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Rare Iban ritual to celebrate good fortune

OBSERVING a rare traditional Iban ritual to seek or celebrate good fortune called Gawai Kelingkang dan Tuah was an opportunity too good to pass up when it  presented itself about two weeks ago.

I needed little convincing when my colleague, whose relatives would be hosting this age-old  ritual at his longhouse in the interior of Kanowit, invited me to tag along. All he said was “it’s a special Gawai which will also commemorate our new longhouse – a sort of adding Gawai Pangkung Tiang in the mix. There is a special ritual where they bathe pigs in the river.”

The thought of witnessing this ritual (bathing of the pigs) got me curious. So without hesitation, I decided to make the seven-hour drive from Kuching to Kanowit – plus a boat ride across the mighty Rejang, and another hour’s drive along a mix of tar-sealed and off-road tracks to the nearest pick-up point before taking a longboat ride along Sungai Poi to our destination – Nanga Ulin.

The Gawai Kelingkang dan Tuah was to be celebrated at the newly-built 21-door longhouse called New Ulin (New Orleans inevitably came to mind). This modern structure replaces the old Nanga Ulin traditional longhouse, situated further upriver, which was gutted in 2009. Work on New Ulin (also known as Rumah Sangga) started that same year and the first family moved in two years ago (2011).

The Gawai hosts were Jackson Uding Upak, 54, a senior commissioning engineer with a multi-national company in the oil and gas industry and his brother 39-year-old Rimau Tengoling, a sub-sea engineer with a multi-national drilling company also in oil and gas. The three other individuals involved were the duo’s children and a brother-in-law. In all, there were five hosts.

“In the old days, Gawai Kelingkang was celebrated to prepare or mark the success of the notorious Ngayau (headhunting) tradition, but today, the Ibans celebrate this ritual as a symbol of good fortune and success in their Bejalai (sojourn) undertakings, mainly in search of jobs and higher education.

“In this Gawai Kelingkang today, we celebrate our new home and the successes of some of our fellow longhouse residents,” Uding told thesundaypost at the celebration.

Rimau chipped in: “The celebration is observed in accordance with the ripih (process) of Gawai Kelingkang in the Batang Rajang area. There are seven stages, starting with Nguak, Nyingka, Ngabas Amuk, Nyulap, Ngerara Belayan, Ngitang Tali Buru and Besimpan.”

He noted that the ripih could be different in other areas. For instance, at New Ulin, the Gawai, which took place on Dec 11, was celebrated in the Nyingka stage.

Ari Nimang Pantar

Preparations for Gawai Kelingkang dan Tuah started on a Tuesday evening as village elders and the Gawai hosts took part in Nyambut Orang Nasak, a ceremony to herald the arrival of the Pugu Berani (the most important and wisest person) to the celebration.

Gotong-royong-style, the women prepared “offering plates,” each containing glutinous rice, hard-boiled eggs and fried popped rice, among other foods.

During the Nasak, the Gawai hosts acted symbolically as the Pugu Berani. On arrival at the foot of the longhouse, each was presented with rice wine to “drown any bad omens” that they might have caught on their way to the celebration.

As chief host, Uding was required to symbolically chant an invocation.

The Lemambang (bard), represented by the chief host, and his assistants, represented by the other hosts, took on the roles of Berbiau (performing prayers), Biau/Miau ke piring (holding a rooster and blessing the offering plates) and Biau/Miau orang Nasak.

At the end of the ceremony, the men proceeded to build an offering hut for the sacrificial boars, and a shrine at the gallery for the Bilik (household unit) of the hosts. A flag pole was also planted where offering baskets for the spirits were placed on top.

At 9pm, the bard started the Nimang Pantar (chanting ritual) ceremony by performing invocations of his guardian spirits. He began with the Ngerayong Pandong ritual (covering the shrine with Pua Kumbu) before the chanting ritual with his two bala (assistants) who acted as Penyaut Lemambang or Nyagu (answering poetry-like chants sung by the bard).

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Effort to boost tourism in Sarawak's rural areas continuing

KANOWIT: The Ministry of Sarawak Tourism will continue to find initiatives to boost tourism in the state, particularly in rural areas, says Assistant Minister of Tourism (Local Events and Products), Datuk Gramong Juna.

“Rural places in the state are still rich with unique culture and customs as well as home to flora and fauna that cannot be found elsewhere.

“There is much potential to be tapped from our rural areas in terms of tourism,” he said when opening the 4-day ‘Rantau Kemiding Festival’ held at the riverfront near the 65-door Rumah Benjamin Angki here recently.

Gramong, who is Machan assemblyman, said the move by the ministry to include many activities in its yearly calendar of events was part of the initiatives to support the industry.

He told rural tourism operators to take advantage of modern technology like the Internet and communication facilities to enhance their knowledge.

He said they must strive to improve themselves.

On the festival, he commended it as one that would generate incomes for Rumah Benjamin Angki residents who were mainly homestay programme operators.

“I believe this festival will popularise your homestay programme to outsiders,” he said.

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Gawai Dayak: A mix of tradition and modernity

GAWAI is a time when the Dayak communities touch base with their roots by celebrating the traditional Harvest Festival with familes and friends in their villages or longhouses.

Family members might stay apart due to working in different parts of the state or country while some might have migrated to other countries.

Thus, Gawai, celebrated on June 1, is a time for the Dayaks to welcome their relatives and friends to their homes and vice versa in accordance with an age-old custom known as ngabang in Iban.

Tuak (rice wine) is synonymous with ngabang. The host will serve the traditional beverage to pengabang (guests) along with other local delicacies.

Traditional ritual

Tuak is brewed a few months before the celebration although nowadays imported liquor and beer are preferred as substitutes. This is common among the young generation who may lack the knowledge of preparing tuak.

The celebration usually differs from place to place. For instance, every longhouse in Sarawak has its own customs in consonance with how the longhouse community is organised.

In the early days, the miring (offerings) ceremony was performed on Gawai Eve where the village or longhouse chief gave thanks to the gods for the good harvest, blessings and longevity by waving a chicken in circular motion known as bebiau over the offerings.

The chicken was then used as a sacrifice.

However, in these modern times, most longhouses, especially those in the suburban areas that are easily accessible by road, no longer observe the miring ceremony.

Rumah Margaret Ugak

Margaret Ugak is one of the few female longhouse chiefs in Sarawak.

Her longhouse bearing her name – Rumah Margaret Ugak – at Sungai Lukut, Kanowit Division, is less than 10km from Kanowit town.

This 54-door longhouse, served by a tarred road, is equipped with basic facilities and amenities, including clean water and electricity supplies.

As early as May 29, Rumah Margaret Ugak was welcoming home relatives from urban centres such as Kuching, Sri Aman, Sibu, Miri, Bintulu, Tawau as well as Kuala Lumpur.

By May 31, various games and telematches had been held for families of the longhouse. Among the events were dart and blow pipe competitions, fishing, tortoise racing and sepak takraw.

On Gawai Eve, a karaoke session was held at the ruai.

Five minutes before midnight, the prayer leader, known as Apai Jawai, led a welcoming ceremony to usher in Gawai. Tuak was subsequently served as the revellers wished each other Happy Gawai.

Early on the morning of June 1, the Gawai mass prayer was performed at the ruai. The prayer leader then proceeded to bless the longhouse. The blessing of all the 54 doors took more than half a day. The families prayed together as they moved from door to door.

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Gawai Dayak Best Celebrated At The Longhouse

KANOWIT (Sarawak) -- The longhouse is the place to be when the Dayak community in Sarawak ushers in the annual Gawai Dayak harvest festival at midnight tonight.

Most of the 5,000 longhouses and villages across the state will reverberate with rejoicing as the community of Iban, Bidayuh and others, making up 40 per cent of the state's 2.4 million population, begin the celebrations.

The community will usher in the festival with a toast of the "Ai Pengayu" or longevity drink, which is usually the "tuak" made of fermented glutinous rice.

This will be preceded by Christian prayers by some and the traditional "miring" and "bebiau" ritual offering by others, seeking God's blessings for a better harvest, health and fortune for the coming year.

The toast is a highlight of the Gawai, said longhouse chief Mathew Sembilan anak Asap, 63, from Nanga Tada here.

"In all longhouses, each family will contribute their "tuak" and an assortment of tidbits for the gathering at the "ruai" or public gallery of the longhouse.

"Of course, before the feast begins, the chiefs or their deputies or elected representatives will make the traditional speeches, offering well wishes," he said.

After the "Ai Pengayu" toast, the feasting and revelry will go on until dawn. Fire crackers and fireworks will be let off as the people feast on chicken, fish and pork and curries as well as the "kuih lapis"(Sarawak's famous layer cake) and the traditional "kuih chuan" and "sarang semut" biscuits.

"To enjoy the festival at its best, the longhouse is the place to be. This is the reason why folks from far away will make a beeline for their homes in the last week of May each year," said Mathew, a former RTM Iban journalist.

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Festival can help turn Kanowit into tourist destination

KANOWIT: Deputy Tourism Minister Dato Sri Sulaiman Abdul Rahman Taib thinks that Kanowit Festival can help to promote this place as a tourist destination.

“The festival can attract visitors, and the powerboat regatta like the one held today can be another attraction,” he said.

He reasoned that when more people come, some would carry out business activities such as selling food and drinks, souvenirs and so on.

“The festival can help to stimulate the economic growth of the town,” he said when opening the ‘F3000 Fast Powerboat Regatta’ at the festival yesterday.

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