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As I arrived at the longhouse that would be my home for the next four days after taking a half hour drive, trying not to fall down a steep not very well formed path with my backpack and day pack, a half hour trip down the river then a trek up a very steep slippery dirt path, it was like stepping back a thousand years to very basic living. The toilet was the only room in the house with three walls and a door which was a wooded room in the kitchen consisting of a hole in the floor, a tap and a bucket to flush. The bathroom was a larger room with a fish pond, tree branches as washing lines, a tap and a bucket with a scoop ie a sponge bath. Upstairs was the bedroom which had two screens half way down the room with mattresses on the floor. Downstairs the entrance room to the house was a living room with downstairs 'beds' that were made with bamboo sticks and little else. There is a communal area that goes the whole way along the longhouse where the children played and everyone celebrated the Gawi festival.
I stayed with a
couple, Nicholas spoke English although his wife spoke none and his daughter little. I have never eaten so much food in one day in my like, the day of the festival we had 8 meals (the 8th I said I couldn't eat but still had to have some rice as you can't say no) mostly rice or noodle meals. The first breakfast I had was white bread with coconut syrup and lemon tea, never have I had anything so sweet that I couldn't taste the tea an I love chocolate! Although the food was basic it was good and included a lot of chicken (the chickens grew quieter especially after the festival).
The Gawi Dayak festival was amazing, its the festival celebrated at the end of harvest season. They drink tuak (a homemade rice wine), eat penganan and lots of chicken and fish. On the 31st they start with the Muai Antu Rua, after 6 the Miring ceremony and then the Ngalu Petara ceremony at midnight. They gamble over chickens they make fight and other games, they build a blessing gate outside they house one bamboo stick for each male living in the house with a birds nest on top.
Which they then put food that they have had blessed with a chicken (rice, penganan and eggs with a chicken feather dipped in blood) into as well as on the window ledge outside the house. They had some of the days meals in the communal lounge on a mat that others in the longhouse would share. After dinner they mostly had a rest then got back up at midnight when the party really started.
Then all night they drank tuak, played loud music and sang, played games and ate until late morning when everyone fell asleep anywhere, all waking up looking very rough. After Nicholas had said we were going to be going to Kapit around 8 or 9 we eventually left around 12 after he slept, how he managed to drive the boat then the car to Kapit picking up hitchhikers on the way I will never know!
Luckily I was able to change my boat time to Sibu bringing it forward an hour cos it was too hot to hang around Kapit waiting, although Kapit was so much quieter than when I 1st arrived before the festival. And the boat trip much better travelling 1st class than economy
with much less luggage, chickens and eggs on the roof
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