Gawai Dayak Visit 2010

Group photo of the visitors with John Bantan's family.

Happy family of John Bantan. Second and third from left are John's missus and John Bantan.

Festive Open House is a Malaysian tradition well preserved and practised by all racial groups to upkeep admirable harmony.

In the same way, Dayak groups open up their longhouses or modern houses in towns to welcome their visitors. They extend their hospitality to all well wishers coming for festive visits.

This morning I went with Yian to pay a Gawai visit to John Bandan, Security Chief of Premier Hotel. John bought a terrace intermediate unit last year at Bukit Aup. This is his second Gawai celebration in his new house.

When we arrived there, the house was already packed with visitors. The atmosphere was warm and the air was filled with festive joy. John took us to sample his homecooked delicacies. Wow, the taste was pretty tempting!

No Gawai Dayak goes without tuak! John and his missus made rounds taking visitors to cheer the festival with tuak. This is Dayak culture and it is very heartwarming.

Seeing that the family of John Bantan was high in festive mood, I asked them to pose for me to snap a family photo for them.

Before we left, we posed for a group photo with John's family.