Kaul is a traditional festival celebrated by the Melanau living along
the coast of Sarawak. In the past, Kaul was looked upon as a religious
ceremony to appease the spirits of the sea, land, forest and farm making
it the most important festival in the Melanau calender. The festival is
a ritual of purification and thanksgiving as well as one of the
propitiation for good fortune. Its marks the beginning of the Melanau
calender which begins at the end of the Northeast monsoon. Kaul takes
place in third week of the month of April every year.
The festival site is on the right bank of the Mukah river estuary.
During a week festival, the organiser has line up many activities which
include ethnic stalls selling traditional foods, entertaiment programs,
traditional games and the highlight will be Serahang (decorated flat
round basket made from sago leaf which raise on a bamboo pole)
procession lead by local Melanaus' community leader.
Some of the activities that not to be missed include DIY the Giant
Swing (Tibow) and enjoying the Melanau's traditional food serve on the
log (Keman Baw Bateng @ Makan Beradat).
The highlight of the festival would be swinging and chanting on the twenty-foot high giant swing called "tibou".
No comments:
Post a Comment