Christmas celebration marks annual homecoming for Bario Kelabits
BARIO: Homecoming joy and the spirit of Christmas are in the air again in the Kelabit highlands of Bario as a crowd of over 1,000 turned up for the Christmas parade and dinner here on Dec 17.
The Kelabits, a close-knit ethnic minority group in Sarawak with a population of 6,000, have a strong sense of connection to their ancestral roots and longhouses, often making it a point to return home no matter how far they are away.
Some took airplanes while others drove to reach their villages. Fireworks lit up the sky on this cool night amidst the warm atmosphere in this annual Kelabit rendezvous.
The most popular and simplest way of getting into the Kelabit Highlands is by taking MASwings Twin Otter flights. Extra flights for the Christmas season are requested from the Ministry of Transport and usually approved for the Miri-Bario sector which has three flights there daily. However, increasingly, more Kelabits are driving 4WDs back home from Miri — a 12-hour journey via the Miri– Lapok road and logging roads.
The Kelabit diaspora is spread throughout the country and around the world, with Christmas the most important celebration for these staunch SIB Christians.
Many look forward to meeting up with loved ones, socialising and being merry this time of the year in Bario which comprises a vast highland plateau in the interior of Sarawak, near the border of Kalimantan, Indonesia. The area is also home to the headwaters of the mighty Baram, Limbang, and Lawas Rivers.
In the old days, pioneering Kelabit students walked for weeks from their respective villages to study at Marudi Secondary School or Tanjong Lobang College, paving the way for the vertical mobility of this community as they went on to become successful professionals in the private and public sectors.
The ease of returning to Bario now is a sharp contrast to the mobility of the community in the yesteryears. The Kelabit community is also counting their blessings that they have one son who is the first of their people to be elected Mulu assemblyman and appointed Deputy Speaker in the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) in Datuk Gerawat Gala.
This is the second consecutive year that a Christmas parade and community dinner was held in Bario. The event was officiated at by Datuk Isaac Lugun, who is former president and current adviser to Rurum Kelabit Sarawak ( RKS).
The event was jointly organised by RKS, and Bario SIB’s Youth and Women wings.
“There were lots of people coming back for holidays and to celebrate Christmas in Bario, and I hope, as Councillor for this area under Miri City, to do my best to persuade MCC to adopt this as a yearly activity in Bario,” said John Terawe.
“The annua l Ch r i s tmas homecoming gathering in Bario should be another signature event like our slow food festival, and Bario sub- district does not want to be left behind,” John opined.
He commended Bario SIB Youth led by Harris Peter who did a fine job in putting up the big Christmas tree and decorating it with lightings which lit up the festive mood in Bario.
Among those present were Isaac’s wife, Datin Niki Lugun, and fellow RKS adviser and former Sarawak Immigration Department director Datu Robert Lian and his wife.