Kotobian Tadau Kaamatan 2008

Written by giin buagas

Revised text version, 02 June 2008.

Kotobian Tadau Kaamatan 2008
Selamat Gawai
Selamat Gawai Dayak
Sramat Gawea Sawa



Tawak-Tawak GONG

Kadayan Universe is hereby extending the above greetings of Borneo, to all our readers. This is a festive season for Malaysians in Sarawak and Sabah, complete with festive's elements. For example, it has distinctive festive moods, and positive and negative side of it - including the most common one, minum-minum (drinking session).

Above all, it is also an official holiday for both states.

Harvest festival is not an event that exclusively exist for Dusun people. For example, kadayans also have an event known as “Abis Ngatam” in their traditional calendar. This event shares the common source, that is, marks the completion of paddy harvesting period. Read more (article in bahasa)

Kadayans is also a skillful farmers. As most of us know, that the Kadayans are extremely good in planting "hill paddy" or padi bukit or padi huma. Personally, I consider the Kadayan community is the most spiritual, dedicated and meticulous about paddy planting. The following work process, as we call it in modern times is the testimony of the above statement. Read more (ItsUrDay.Blogspot.Com)




Just to remind my fellow cultural and ethnics enthusiasts, Kadayan ethnic together with Bisaya from Kuala Penyu are the only Muslim ethnics that were originally involved in paddy planting just as much as the non Muslim ethnics in the interior (I am hopping somebody can tell me more about this ).

There were two types of paddy plantings, one is padi sawah-wet padi and the other is padi tuggal-hill padi.

Of course different ethnic groups have different padi rituals. I didn’t get a chance to see the Kadayan and Bisaya’s ways of respecting padi in as much as I know about the Kadazan and Dusun’s through my reading.

For the Lundayeh, being my close neighbour whose padi feilds were close to my parent’s I didn’t see either. But what I long most, perhaps I will never to get to see again is the mucang-Kadayan’s word for gontong royong. In my parent’s padi field in those days regardless what ethnics and religion were neighbours all helping each other by turn. They did the mucang every padi season. (Borneo Rainbow)


So, despite of the greeting sound, the celebration of Kaamatan and Gawai actually is not limited to Kadazandusun and Dayak groups. It is a common celebration, open-for-all, even though Muslims are forbidden to enter Unduk Ngadau (Beauty contest).

Well, not all are boleh even though we live in bolehland!