Gawai Special Package in Sarawak

Before I begin, many may ask, what is Gawai? Gawai is the local Harvest Festival celebrated throughout the entire month of June, where the official Gawai Dayak Day starts on the 1st of June.

Marked as the thanksgiving day for a good harvest where local Dayaks plan for the upcoming farming season. A Gawai is also a very merry occasion that is celebrated for days and weeks around various areas.

Themed as the ‘Gawai Special Package‘ guest can stay overnight at the village to fully be hands-on on the daily life of the people. Please click on the pictures to see the full-size photo.

Next, a ‘Miring‘ or welcoming ceremony will be conducted with a ‘Lemambang‘, a poem chanter by the village headman.

It concludes with a toast of ‘Ai Pengayu‘ or long life toast with local rice wine at the Bidayuh Longhouse.

This is a basic trek that takes about an hour, led by trained guides. At this trek, you will most likely see flora and fauna related to the rainforest here. Pitcher plants, insects, birds, and some larger animals that reside around here if you are lucky. 

A ‘Makan Bergulai‘ or Iban style dinner is also experienced while it ends with a ‘Ngiling Tikai‘, a ceremony where you roll the mat and call it a day.

After breakfast, a general tour of the village is conducted, where you will visit each of the tribe longhouses here.

Only the stay and all activities at the Sarawak Cultural Village. The itinerary will be:

The music was simple with traditional gongs and leather drums and done at the Rumah Baruk or Baruk House in the village.

For my accommodation, it was fairly decent. After all, it was a longhouse style stay, so there were multiple rooms where some units had air conditioning while other options were with a fan.

The air condition rooms had an attached bathroom, while the others had a common bathroom. They are clean and well maintained.

The rooms are all located in the Bidayuh Longhouse, built on a hill slope in the village. We had our dinner at the verandah of the longhouse on low tables with cushions as chairs. 

Rooms inside the Bidayuh Longhouse

Since 1989, they combine history, tradition, architecture, and lifestyle to give the guest a full multicultural ethnic experience in one place.

You can also read about my other articles on each of the ethnic tribes around Sarawak, namely the Iban People, Penan Tribe, Bidayuh People, Melanau people, and the Orang Ulu people.