Gawai has arrived – The aroma of tuak tickles the nostrils

The aroma of tuak tickles the nostrils, filling the air with a sense of anticipation, signalling the arrival of the Gawai – a festival which marks the end of the harvesting season.

The Dayaks celebrate the Gawai annually on June 1, a thanksgiving day for the bountiful harvest and a time to plan for the new planting season.

How this traditional wine tastes depends largely on who brews it.

Made of fermented rice with yeast and sugar, tuak-making is the domain of the womenfolk who have to observe a myriad of rituals and taboos to ensure a fine tuak.

Just ask Simai Linggi, an old hand in tuak-making, who has been brewing tuak and observing all the do’s and don’ts religiously every year for the last 20 years.

This 47-year-old housewife and mother of three from Kampung Lebor, Jalan Gedong, about 75km from Kuching, was taught the art of tuak-making by her mother and grandmother when she was in her 20′s.

She will proudly tell you hers is a “family recipe” and something she would not talk about.

“Tuak-making starts early, sometimes two months before the festival. Brewing the tuak is always the first thing we do because a good tuak takes time to ferment,” she told reporter.

Among the pantang or taboos observed by Dayak women is to avoid preparing the brew during menstruation. “It will make the tuak bad,” she said.

Another taboo is to never ferment the tuak in jars that were once used to store salt or salted foodstuff as this would cause the tuak to taste sour.

“Those who brew the tuak should also avoid taking sour food and drinks,” she added.

The tuak is normally allowed to ferment in the jar for a couple of months, she said. “That is why we start to brew it two months before the Gawai.”

The Gawai festival starts on the evening of May 31 with the miring(offering) ceremony in the longhouse ruai or common space, or in the community centre if the community lives in a village.

This is where the feast chief would give thanks to the gods for the good harvest and to ask for guidance, blessing and long life as he sacrifices a cockerel.

“At the stroke of midnight, the ai pengayu (tuak for long life) is out with everyone sharing a toast. There will be eating and drinking, singing and dancing until the next day,” she said.

All night long

The longhouse never sleeps during Gawai, Simai said. In the morning, those who are still sober would be doing the ngabang (visiting friends and relatives).

Simai said Gawai was the time for the Dayaks to showcase their rich cultural heritage and a time for the non-Dayaks to learn the tradition.

Like in any celebration, when there is a beginning there will be an end.

Celebrated over two weeks, Gawai comes to a close with the Ngiling Tikai or rolling up the mat ceremony.

And the Dayaks would again go about their daily lives and routines; until the next Gawai comes around, that is.

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