Chance to try Melanau traditional food at festival

The people here will get a chance to taste Melanau traditional food at the Sarawak Heritage Street Food Festival to be held at India Street from July 6- 8.

Minister of Welfare, Community Well Being, Women, Family, and Childhood Development Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah said this grand event will showcase and introduce Melanau food to the people through a food display.

“It can also be recorded and then shown to the world, and featured in magazines like KINO which focuses on Kuching,” she said at the Kuching Melanau Association breaking- of-fast event at Wisma Melanau on Sunday.

She said the traditional food reflected Melanau’s culture and identity.

Among the traditional Melanau food are umai, tebaloi, sago, linut as well as the Melanau way of eating sago with chicken curry for instance, she said.

She said since Melanaus only make up the seventh biggest population in Sarawak out of some 2.1 million people, it is thus important to preserve the community’s food, culture and language for posterity.

“For Melanau language, it can be strengthened by setting up kindergartens using the language as the main medium of instruction like what the Kelabits and Bidayuhs are doing.

“Maybe one day we need to do it (setting up Melanau-medium kindergarten) as well. Other efforts include getting Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka to help publish a Melanau dictionary for the younger generation to master the language. It can be done for Melanau Mukah, Melanau Dalat and Melanau Bintulu,” Fatimah said.

She also lauded the recent workshop, which touched on Melanau engagement and marriage ceremonies as it helped to keep the ceremonies alive.

On the breaking- of-fast event, which included terawih prayers, she said it’s a good way for members of the association to get to know one another and foster stronger ties among them.

The association president and Tellian assemblyman Yussibnosh Balo, as well as Minister in the Chief Minister’s Office (Integrity and Ombudsman) Datuk Talib Zulpilip were among those who attended the event.