Dayaks mark new year after harvest gathered in
By R. Masri Sareb Putra
JAKARTA (JP): Just like any other tribe under the sun, the Dayak people of Borneo have their own unique way to determine the new year.
For the Dayaks, who number three million, the new year begins a few weeks after the rice harvest which, following the wet season, usually comes in early April.
Their new year, popularly known as naik dango in West Kalimantan, gawai in Sarawak and kaamatan in Sabah, has its own significance as it marks the beginning of an agricultural cycle and reveals the life pattern of the Dayak community.
Dayaks used to celebrate the new year separately in different areas. This year, it is centered in Karangan, a subdistrict 75 km from Pontianak.
"Concentrating the new year celebrations in one place is a step toward manifesting the unity among the Dayak people," said Nico Andas Putra of the Institute of Dayakology Research and Development, a non-governmental organization in Pontianak devoted to the study of the Dayaks and their culture.
Apart from showing to a broad section of the community the identity of the Dayak people, the concentration of the new year celebrations will also be an interesting event for foreign tourists, said Nico in a recent phone interview. That's why, he said, the West Kalimantan provincial administration had included naik dango in a list of tourist attractions in West Kalimantan.
The new year is also celebrated in Sarawak and Sabah, the Malaysian states in the north of the island home to the Bidayuh and Hulu sub-tribes. Every year, Malaysia's head of state always extends his congratulations to his citizens celebrating this new year. In Malaysia, the new year is a national public holiday.
For the Dayaks, the new year crowns the cycle of rice planting. Rice is the symbol of life. Therefore, the period shortly after a rice harvest is completed must be made the starting point of all agricultural activities in the next cycle.
The Dayaks' new year has a profound symbolic meaning, which is closely related to their system of nomadic farming, a system symbolizing an everlasting cycle. The Dayaks will not return to the same field for between 15 and 20 years.
"The tradition of only cultivating fields where large trees grow shows that the Dayak people are very much concerned with environmental matters," said Korrie Layun Rampan, a Dayak Benuaq intellectual from Samarinda and student of his tribe's culture.
The Dayaks usually compete to collect as much rice as possible. It is a sign of great respect to a Dayak family if their harvest is successful every year because the success of a Dayak family is measured by how much rice they have.
Naik dango, which literally means putting rice into the granary, usually lasts between three and seven days. It is also a religious festivity. The Dayak people use this opportunity to express their gratitude to Jubata (God) for the fortune bestowed on them.
During the naik dango week, a cultural parade is usually held, participated in by all traditional Dayak arts centers. There are also traditional rites, dances, competitions of traditional games such as tops, a Dayak fashion show, a seminar on Dayak culture and the Mr and Miss Dayak contest.
Unique
The religious thanksgiving rite and the tops competition are unique in that they are imbued with religious values and are led by a religious leader. As today some 70 percent of the Dayak people are Catholics, their religious rite is combined with a Catholic mass. This mass is often called acculturation because it blends the cultural elements of the Dayak people and Catholic rites.
From the social point of view, naik dango is an event during which young Dayak people get the opportunity to become acquainted with one another.
During the festivities the Dayaks demonstrate their unity with nature, especially with respect to rice. They usually hold a parade, highlighted with dances, to symbolize the rice-planting process.
Rice plays an important role in the sociocultural life of the traditional Dayak people. They interact from the time they come across a piece of land suitable for cultivation until harvest time. When tilling their fields, young Dayaks find partners by communicating through verse recitals. Their parents will then decide whether to approve of the relationship,
Traditional food and drink are served to the guests, including tourists, during the festivities. If a guest cannot drink tuak, a unique Dayak drink made of the concentrate of fermented glutinous rice, the alcohol will be poured over his or her head.
Lemang, a unique food made of glutinous rice mixed with coconut milk, wrapped in a banana leaf and baked in a piece of bamboo, is served. It is both delicious and aromatic.
These two are usually consumed with chicken and the meat of hunted animals, both roasted and salted.
When this unique meal is passed on from one guest to another, the following will be heard Adil ka talino, bacaramin ka saruga (Make friends with those on earth and take the one in heaven as your mirror.)
For the Dayak people, being at peace with the nature that gives them life and to the one on high, and blessing and bestowing a harvest to them is of profound significance. Therefore, when the rice harvest is over, it is not surprising that they hold such a thanksgiving festival.