Page 429 - Proceedings Collega2023

Acknowledgment

My heartfelt thanks go to Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) for giving me the
opportunity to conduct this research. I would like to extend our sincere appreciation to all those
who made this research possible and meaningful. First and foremost, I am are deeply grateful to
my advisor Encik Muhammad Azri Ali , whose guidance, expertise, and unwavering support
were instrumental in shaping the direction of this research. Your mentorship has been
invaluable, and we have learned immeasurable lessons under your supervision. I would like to
express our gratitude to the participants in this study, without whom this research would not
have been feasible. Your willingness to share your insights and experiences was critical to the
success of this project. To my families and friends, I am profoundly grateful for your unwavering
encouragement, understanding, and patience throughout this research journey. Your support
provided the emotional foundation necessary to see this project through to completion. This
research was made possible through the collective efforts and support of these individuals and
institutions. Any shortcomings in this paper is my responsibility alone.

Introduction

The Bidayuh culture has always become the way of life that is more to rituals and
ceremonies in Sarawak. Every culture in Sarawak has its own rituals as well as different role that
affect the Sarawak’s community. However, there are various types of Bidayuh that is located
from different area in Sarawak. The Bidayuh community has always been able to live in harmony
and peace despite there being no family ties. The community felt a strong sense of brotherhood
due to their traditional Bidayuh custom of having a ceremonial event to create a harmonious
atmosphere. The Bidayuh people live in the southwest of Sarawak, especially Serian Division,
Kuching and in the west of Kalimantan. They are believed to come from the Penrissen mountains
of Sarawak based on the theory of the migration of the first people on the island of Borneo
found in Sarawak, Malaysia. They consist of five ethnic groups namely: Selakau which located at
Lundu, Jagoi located at Bau, Biatah located at a small Padawan and Bukar located at Serian.

According to Prede (2002) stated that the Bidayuh people are also close relatives of the
Melanau, Kayan, Kenyah and Penan communities. The Bidayuh ethnic group also has a unique
house design, round houses and long houses made of bamboo. Bidayuh tribe longhouses are
usually located far inland and highlands. This is for security purposes, which is difficult to be
detected by the enemy. The structure of the Bidayuh longhouses is not much different from the
structure of the longhouses of the Iban community in Sarawak. The roof of the Bidayuh
longhouse is made of thatch or sago, while the walls are made of bamboo. The platform or floor
of the longhouse is made of planks or bamboo while the pillars are made of belian wood.

This research is to improve international understanding of the Bidayuh culture by conducting
this study. The goal is to investigate how traditional celebrations and ceremonies in Padawan’s
Bidayuh village preserve customs and traditions. Gawai is one of the events that traditional
ritual and rarely made by the Bidayuh community today. The arrival of religion was also an effect
that caused Gawai dan the Dayung Borih is sinking and not many of the younger generation
know about it. Therefore, the researcher wants to highlight the main problem may be caused by
belief and religion other than unwillingness find out. Lack of scientific materials for students’
reference, especially for students’ university causes researchers to want to study about the
relationship between Gawai and Dayung Borih as a reference material. In addition to that, the
new generations can knowledge about Dayung Borih that it is one of the traditions of the
International Conference on Local Wisdom of the Malay Archipelago (COLLEGA 2023) Page - 416 -