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Thisnfestival is both religious and social, as Sea and Land Dayak visitnfriends and relatives, eat special foods and hold a special ceremony.
Thisnfestival is both religious and social, as Sea and Land Dayak visitnfriends and relatives, eat special foods and hold a special ceremony.n
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Onenthing that I learned when reading about this festival is thatnfamilies in Malaysia often live together in longhouses. These largenhouses are raised up on stilts, and one long half is a communal area,nand the other half is divided into private areas for each family.nApparently this style of elevated building is practical to reducendamage from flooding, to promote a sort of natural air conditioningnand circulation, and to keep livestock safe and protected under thenbuilding (when there aren’t flood conditions!). It’s a sort ofnapartment building combined with community building.
Onenthing that I learned when reading about this festival is thatnfamilies in Malaysia often live together in longhouses. These largenhouses are raised up on stilts, and one long half is a communal area,nand the other half is divided into private areas for each family.nApparently this style of elevated building is practical to reducendamage from flooding, to promote a sort of natural air conditioningnand circulation, and to keep livestock safe and protected under thenbuilding (when there aren’t flood conditions!). It’s a sort ofnapartment building combined with community building.n
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| Dayak Headdresses |
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nThenceremony is held in the public area of the longhouse. Before thenceremony starts, two children drag a large basket past each family’snprivate room. Every family throws some unwanted item into the basket,nand when the children get to the end of the longhouse, they toss allnof the unwanted items onto the ground, outside of the longhouse, fornthe spirit of bad luck. I think having all those new things isnsupposed to keep the bad-luck spirit busy and interested OUTSIDE thenlonghouse, so it won’t come inside. n
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nThenceremony itself is an offering to the gods and a thanks for thenharvest. There are many other traditional activities such as cocknfights (yikes) and blowpipe contests. There is feasting and dancingnand music. A beauty pageant is sometimes held to choose the king andnqueen for the day.
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nLearnnmore about Malaysia…
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n…withnthis earlier post.
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nAlsonon this date:
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nInternational Children’s Day in Croatia
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nMadaraka Day in Kenya
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