This
festival is both religious and social, as Sea and Land Dayak visit
friends and relatives, eat special foods and hold a special ceremony.
One
thing that I learned when reading about this festival is that
families in Malaysia often live together in longhouses. These large
houses are raised up on stilts, and one long half is a communal area,
and the other half is divided into private areas for each family.
Apparently this style of elevated building is practical to reduce
damage from flooding, to promote a sort of natural air conditioning
and circulation, and to keep livestock safe and protected under the
building (when there aren't flood conditions!). It's a sort of
apartment building combined with community building. |
| Dayak Headdresses |
The
ceremony is held in the public area of the longhouse. Before the
ceremony starts, two children drag a large basket past each family's
private room. Every family throws some unwanted item into the basket,
and when the children get to the end of the longhouse, they toss all
of the unwanted items onto the ground, outside of the longhouse, for
the spirit of bad luck. I think having all those new things is
supposed to keep the bad-luck spirit busy and interested OUTSIDE the
longhouse, so it won't come inside.
The
ceremony itself is an offering to the gods and a thanks for the
harvest. There are many other traditional activities such as cock
fights (yikes) and blowpipe contests. There is feasting and dancing
and music. A beauty pageant is sometimes held to choose the king and
queen for the day.
Learn
more about Malaysia...
...with
this earlier post.
Also
on this date:
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