KUCHING (June 2): Much can be said about this year’s Gawai Dayak celebration but ‘quiet’ is not part of the vocabulary, as open house visits are more frequent this time around.

The celebration on June 1 has brought family members, relatives, friends, colleagues and acquaintances together to celebrate the harvest festival.

At Kampung Seratau here, relatives visit each other’s houses to catch up and reminisce on the old times and share memories together.

Aside from enjoying the various dishes, some even offered guests to sing Gawai-themed songs together.

Helen Holleychia, 55, said it felt good to meet her Bidayuh relatives in the village.

“I can see this year’s celebration is way better than the years before,” she said.

Her sentiments were echoed by 41-year-old engineer Augustine Dicker, who said the number of visitors and relatives coming to his house was similar to during pre-Covid-19 times.

“There was not much people coming during Gawai last year, as there were still some who were skeptical about going to open houses due to Covid-19. We even provided food catering but not many friends and relatives came last year, which led to the food being wasted.

“This year, however, I am happy to note that the crowd is there. Family members and friends are all coming to visit – it’s much more like pre-Covid times,” he said.

Meanwhile, relatives visiting Rh Paulus Yan in Kanowit were treated to a myriad of activities that livened up the celebration such as fun games and competitions and a ‘Pekit Kumang and Keling’ beauty pageant for the children.

When commenting on the celebrations at the longhouse, 25-year-old Alben Ambrose said he was glad to see many of his relatives return to the longhouse to share this joyous occasion together.

He revealed it had been five years since he last returned but after experiencing all the fun activities, he hoped to return again for next year’s Gawai celebration.

“Everyone here is sporting and fun; they managed to don traditional attire such as the ‘baju burung’. I hope I can come back here again next year, if I’m not burdened with work,” Alben said.