BINTULU: A total of 2,000 people including residents of the 53-door longhouse and nearby villages attended the ‘Gawai Antu’ ceremony held yesterday (Jun 3) at Raymond Plen’s longhouse in Sungai Gelam, Sebauh.
‘Gawai Antu’, one of the most sacred and elaborate traditional ceremonies among the Iban people of Sarawak, is held to honour and bid farewell to deceased family members by guiding their spirits to the afterlife.
The ceremony was officiated by Minister of Works and Member of Parliament for Kapit, Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi.
“Having attended this event, which is usually held every three years, I not only felt excited but also fortunate and happy to meet relatives, close friends, and residents around Raymond’s longhouse,” he said in his personal Facebook post.
The festivities began at 4.30 pm with the traditional ‘Niki ka Temuai’ ritual, which invites guests into the longhouse.
This was followed by the ‘Muai Asi Ke Sebayan’, a ritual offering food to the community, and the ‘Ngalu ka Sebayan’ ceremony, which welcomes the community before dinner.
A highlight of the event was the ‘Ngalu ka Sebayan’ ritual, where participants donned costumes resembling ‘pengabang’, spirits believed to dwell in the afterlife.
The participants paraded and danced along the ‘tanju’, a raised platform with 15 tents, while being sprinkled with tap water as part of the ritual with family members of the deceased joining in the playful antics.
The evening continued with the ‘Ngabas Ranyai’ ceremony, during which participants danced around the decorated Ranyai tree, collecting offerings as part of a communal celebration, followed by ‘Nyabung Telu’, a mock sword duel symbolising bravery, honour, and ancestral warrior traditions.
The celebrations ended around 1.30 am with the ‘Nebang Ranyai’ ritual, marking the ceremonial cutting down of the tree and the end of ‘Gawai Antu’ for the 15 families at Raymond’s longhouse.
‘Gawai Antu’ remains an important cultural event that strengthens communal bonds and preserves the ancestral traditions of the Iban community.
