When its come to the middle of the year, most people in Sarawak are excited to celebrate Gawai with their family and colleagues. Gawai itself in general known as a celebration among the Dayak's communities in the island of Borneo and the celebration of harvest is the most popular. Yet, there are more celebrations rather than the harvesting alone. Anyhow, the 1st of June marked as a public holiday for everyone in Sarawak to celebrate gawai although the actual date of harvesting festival does differs in each villages across the state.
This year, the Bijagoi (the Bidayuh from Jagoi area) community, might celebrate their last Gawea Sowa as the practice of this tradition is getting extinct. The population of Pinyigar and Dayung Borih is getting smaller and this year might marked their last performance to celebrate the spirit of harvest in Jagoi area. The Gawea Sowa will be held at Kampung Duyoh from the 8th to 10th of June 2018. The highlight of the event will be on the final day, as early as 3 o'clock in the morning and the final ritual must be done before dawn.
Bung Jagoi Tourism Management have come out with the documentations on the life of these Pinyigar and Dayung Borih, yet this final celebration in Jagoi will be properly documented for the reference of the young generation. More will be done by the management team to conserve the Bijagoi tradition. In conjunction with this final or farewell Bijagoi's Gawea Sowa, Bung Jagoi Tourism open a special tourism package to the visitors around the globe for experiencing and witness the last performance of this tribe.
There are two packages being offered to the public. The first package include experience a night stay and full tour services at the old village, before experiencing the Gawea Sowa celebration at the Duyoh Village, including the ngabang, and mejeng, not to forget the tour to the Boli Gawea. The visitors could also experience recreation at the Duyoh river together with the local.
The second package is the same which will exclude a stay at the Bung Jagoi traditional village. The price of the packages are as shown in the photo above. The Bung Jagoi Tourism does provide a special group price package to a group of at least 5 people. Contact us for details at +60169981909 or email us via bijagoitour@gmail.com. Do not missed this golden opportunity.
The number of traditional belief practitioners among Bijagoi is a very small and they could be seen during this Gawea Sowa ceremony.
After the gawea, the management will apply new charges for the entry to Bung Jagoi Heritage area and a new price for Homestay at Bung Jagoi traditional village. The new prices are as follows:
Entrance Fee : RM3 (apply to all age groups) | RM 1 (apply only to those doing recreation at Sungai Duyoh)
Homestay at Bung Jagoi : RM 100 per pax (please refer to the web page for price details)
For any inquiry, do contact Bung Jagoi Tourism Management.