KUCHING: The documentary of the Iban’s traditional Gawai Antu celebration should be emulated by the various ethnic communities in Sarawak.
Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said it was important to preserve the cultural heritage by recording them and storing them digitally.
“By doing so, the documentary can be retrieved for viewing and for various other purposes by the future generations,” he said this when attending the launching of the Gawai Antu Documentary at Borneo Cultures Museum (BCM) today.
Abang Johari said the documentary, provided through multimedia, is an important medium to showcase Sarawak’s diverse socio-cultural aspects to be shared and appreciated by people beyond the shores of the state.
“This unique celebration of the Iban community is an important linkage for Sarawak to the outside world, and for that matter, indigenous festivals of many ethnic groups from Sarawak provide important avenues for cultural education for our friends from overseas,” he said.
The Ibans, he said, hold the unique Gawai Antu to accord the highest form of respect, appreciation and honour by the living relatives for the good deeds which their forefathers, relatives or ancestors had endeavoured hard during their to ensure a good and decent life for those after them.
“I was told that the preparation for such an event is steep in rituals according to the Iban belief system that may differ from place to place.
“But what struck me deeply was that the celebration as I saw it happened was that the merriment has been an effective platform for intra and inter-cultural interactions as Iban communities from other longhouses and places, including from overseas, joined in the celebration while others from other communities also came around as friends to appreciate this unique aspect of the Iban community,” he said.
Earlier in Dec 22, 2018, Abang Johari said he and his wife, Puan Sri Datuk Amar Juma’ani Tun Tuanku Bujang were invited to witness the Gawai Antu celebration at Gensurai Layar longhouse in Betong Division, of where the celebration was documented.
“This documentary is an exemplary effort by Datuk Patinggi Jabu and his family to document the celebration in order to preserve it in a medium that can be viewed by the younger generations of the Iban community and others outside the community.
“Hence, the whole longhouse and the people at Gensurai Layar, ought to be congratulated for successfully organising the celebration which is now fully documented and preserved in high quality digital format,” he said.
