Location : Kampung Gumbang, Bau, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia.
Morning
The morning program consisted of :
The official welcome ceremony back in the jungle
The speeches delivered by officers from both sides of the border
The bamboo chopping to test the warriors’ strength
Afternoon
The afternoon session began at 2pm with the pig sacrifice as thanksgiving to the Bidayuh God and the spirits that guard the village. This was immediately followed by mass healing with leaves called ‘daun peringat’.
The day event ended with the dancers circumambulating at the tanju. Modern music and dancing took over during the night at the community hall and of course for those who wanted to try their luck at ‘holo’ game it was always available.
Third day was departure day and another long long walk back to Senebe. Next year, Gumbang folks will have to make good the reciprocation and do the same challenging trek…..shudder!
It is a good sign to see that more Gumbang locals especially the kids are more participative. Gumbang will have to put in lots more effort before this event gets more outside attention in order to make its way into the State tourism calender. Their organising team will have to come up with more innovative program to attract their own neighbouring villages around Bau. Perhaps, one of them could be an intervillage dancing competition for the younger generation. Food & craft bazaar should replace the ‘holochim casino’ during the night.
There was one glaring shortcoming in this year’s event that I would like to point out, with apologies, of course. The poor guests were made to stand under the hot sun, some bare footed as officials made speech after speech. That just isn’t the right way to treat your guests especially after they have trekked more than 12 hours the day before. Just set up one more bloody canopy for them. How difficult or expensive is that? Perhaps, Gumbang guys should learn from Kpg Sadir how they pamper their Indonesian guests like VVIPs. I hope in future Gumbang will strife harder to offer a more memorable hospitality for their guests to bring back to Indonesia.
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