Dayaks mark new year after harvest gathered in

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.