GAWAI DAYAK
Sarawak’s very own festival on 31 May and 1 June marks the end of the rice harvest. During Gawai many urban dwellers return to their ancestral longhouse or village and take part in rituals that go back before recorded time.
For days before, the women prepare banquets of traditional food and there is much brewing of tuak, the potent rice wine. This is a time for feasting, dancing and having a good time. It is also a traditional time for weddings and betrothals. Visitors are made welcome and this is the best time to see traditional longhouse life and ceremonies with the women dressed up in their exotic costumes.
