Pekan Gawai Naik Dango — Grand celebration in Sambas
SAMBAS: Spectators to the first-ever ‘Pekan Gawai Naik Dango’ remained unfazed by the threatening dark clouds signalling impending storm and rain, as they continued with the celebration here.
The two-day event, which concluded yesterday, also hosted Tourism Ministry of Indonesia’s ‘Wonderful Indonesia Festival’ — an initiative to attract more tourists to the republic.
This province – considered as the cradle of Dayak culture in Borneo – was chosen as the host for the festival that highlighted local Dayak costumes, ethnic dances, local handicrafts and also delicacies.
Apart from locals and foreign tourists, 48 delegates from various villages in Biawak, Sarawak, also joined the festivities – among them were Abariah Jalin and Sarvirna Serose.
It was their first time here and they were quick to note that the ‘Naik Dango’ was different here from their own Gawai Dayak celebration back home.
“This festival is really exciting. I see that they still hold on to their cultural roots very tightly,” said Abariah, a 21-year-old woman of Selako descent.
For Sarvirna, the whole ‘Naik Dango’ experience here was really ‘fun, great and refreshing’.
“From the costumes to the cultures, they are quite different from the Dayaks in Sarawak – that’s what attracted me to come and visit Sambas. The Dayaks celebrate Gawai back home; here, they have ‘Naik Dango’ event instead, which is more like a festival,” said the 20-year-old.
Indonesia’s Tourism Ministry deputy marketing assistant Eddy Susilo Also, who was also present during the opening of the ‘Wonderful Indonesia Festival’, said the republic would be targeting to receive 12 million visitors this year, with two million visitors coming from Malaysia.
It is known that tourism is among the top five industries in Indonesia.
The ‘Wonderful Indonesia Festival’, held in conjunction with ‘Pekan Naik Dango’ here,
From the costumes to the cultures, they are quite different from the Dayaks in Sarawak – that’s what attracted me to come and visit Sambas. The Dayaks celebrate Gawai back home; here, they have ‘Naik Dango’ event instead, which is more like a festival. — Sarvirna Serose, delegation member from Biawak
served as a chance to showcase the locality’s rich culture and traditions towards attracting more tourists to come and experience the festival themselves.
Guests arriving for the June 3 opening were welcomed with traditional dance and choir performances.
The crowd was also treated to traditional ethnic dance performances, a fashion show featuring a line-up of Dayak costumes made out of tree barks, as well as traditional dance competitions.
Additionally, visitors also got to feast their eyes on a massive display of handicrafts such as beaded necklaces and handbags at the bazaar and exhibitions, besides sampling delicious local delicacies like ‘Bubur Pedas’ (spicy porridge).
At the time of writing, Indonesian artistes Cupi Cupita and Indra Syahnilam were expected to make their appearance at the closing ceremony.
Sambas Mayor Dr Juliarti Djuhardi Alwi and Sambas Province Head of Dewan Adat Dayak (DAD) Dr Bonefasius MM were also present at the official opening event.