THE harvest isn’t just a bounty of rice — it’s a season of reflection, family, and faith. Today, Sabahans wake up to Kaamatan, while Dayaks in Sarawak will begin their month-long Gawai celebrations on Sunday.
In the heartlands of East Malaysia, the closing weeks of May carry the unmistakable air of the harvest festival, stirring anticipation and celebration beyond the season itself.
They mark a time of deep thanksgiving, homecoming, and renewed cultural identity as two major indigenous festivals — Kaamatan in Sabah and Gawai Dayak in Sarawak — are celebrated by communities whose faith now centres on Christ.
Though rooted in Borneo’s pre-Christian agricultural rites, these festivals today reflect how indigenous Christians have inculturated their ancestral customs into the rhythms of Catholic and Christian life.
Gawai Dayak: God at the heart of the longhouse
In Sarawak, Gawai Dayak is celebrated by the Dayak peoples, who comprise more than 200 distinct ethnic groups, including the Iban, Bidayuh, Orang Ulu, Penans, Melanau, and many others.
The Dayaks make up around 40% of the state population, each group speaking its own unique language and practising its own traditions.
Traditionally, they lived in longhouses — communal dwellings unique to Borneo — where entire families or clans shared one continuous roof. This way of life reflects the deeply rooted values of togetherness, cooperation, and community.
Though many young Dayaks have moved to towns and cities, the longhouse remains a powerful symbol of cultural identity and ancestral belonging.
Modern Gawai, timeless heart
Peter Minos, chairman of the Bung Bratak Heritage Association, told Scoop that while the original form of Gawai has evolved, its essence remains intact.
“For the Dayaks, Gawai is still Gawai, though modernised to suit changing times. The spirit is the same: we give thanks to God not only for the harvest of the grain but also for life, education, peace, income, and a better future.
“Some pray at home, others in church, because for many, being largely Christian, the church has become a deeply personal and central part of the harvest festival celebration.”
According to Minos, cultural expressions like traditional attire, music, and dance have always been the vibrant face of Gawai. “We’re proud of our heritage and want the world to know this.”
“And of course, there’s the joy of open houses, food, drink, and reconnecting with friends and family and plenty of merrymaking including dancing the traditional ngajat — a traditional dance of the Iban people and one of the most iconic cultural expressions of the Dayak communities.
“Many Dayaks return to their villages just for this. The feeling of going back to our roots is powerful, something only we can truly understand.”
He said: “Every annual Gawai festival is meant to be celebrated with one’s village, friends, and relatives. It is a feeling that words can scarcely capture, a deep, powerful emotion that only the Dayaks truly understand and treasure.
“That is why, year after year, the Dayaks go to great lengths, spending time, effort, and money, to return home to their kampungs for Gawai.”
Minos explained that though modern Gawai may not fully reflect the ancient rituals of the past, its spirit remains unchanged. “It is a time for joy, goodwill, and togetherness, a celebration of friendship and shared heritage. Gawai means to come together to celebrate. This is when we feel the 'Dayakness' within us come alive.”
Gawai at St Anne’s Church
Gawai Dayak, officially observed on June 1 and 2, is a public holiday in Sarawak. Longhouse communities often begin with prayer services or Mass, thanking God for the harvest and seeking blessings for the year ahead.
The traditional miring ceremony — formerly an offering to spirits — is now expressed through Christian prayers led by elders or catechists.
Symbolic elements like food, drink, and song remain once offered to spirits is now directed to God.
On May 24, St Anne’s Church in Kota Padawan, just outside Kuching, came alive with a vibrant, day-long Gawai celebration. Festivities began with Mass, followed by traditional ngajat performances, ethnic music, cultural presentations, and a feast of local delicacies shared in the Dayak spirit.
Parishioners donned traditional attire, filling the church with colour, pride, and joy.
In his homily at the Pre-Gawai Kaamatan Thanksgiving Mass Friar Don Don Romero Ramerez OFM reflected on the richness of cultural diversity within the Church.
Friar Don also cautioned against taking daily blessings for granted. “Too often,” he said, “we only turn to God when we face problems or suffering. But thanksgiving must be a daily posture of the heart — not just a once-a-year ritual.”
Sabah’s Kaamatan harvest festival: Splendour in thanksgiving
In Sabah, the Kaamatan festival, celebrated today and tomorrow, is celebrated primarily by the Kadazandusun and Murut peoples, most of whom are Christians. The traditional focus on Bambaazon, the spirit of rice, has been reinterpreted now by the Christian faithful as thanksgiving to the Creator-God.
Parishes throughout the state hold special thanksgiving Masses where congregants wear traditional attire and offer fruits of the land during the liturgy.
Festival rooted in sacrifice and spirit
Kaamatan is deeply woven into the fabric of Kadazandusun and Murut identity — a celebration of the land’s bounty and ancestral memory. With the spread of Christianity, Kaamatan has become a symbol of how belief and tradition coexist.
“We didn’t lose Kaamatan when we embraced Christianity — we reframed it,” says Johannes Jimmy, a Social Communication (Soccom) Coordinator at St. Michael's Parish in Penampang
“The Church honours the cultural aspects — music, costumes, traditional dance, and symbolic practices like honouring the paddy harvest,” Johannes told the Scoop.
“But we no longer perform the pagan ritual chants or mantras. These have no place in Church-led celebrations.”
He says, the themes of unity, gratitude, and abundance carry through, echoed in both in the Eucharistic celebration and cultural festivity.
“Our ancestors celebrated the harvest with gratitude to the spirits,” Johannes reflects. “Now we do the same — only we direct our thanks to the Creator-God.”
While traditional attire remains proudly worn, sometimes adapted with modern twists, concerns about language loss persist.
“Not many young people speak the mother tongue anymore,” Johannes says. “That’s why some churches are trying to preserve it by using local languages in the Mass for as long as they can.”
Cultural elements like the sumazau dance are still performed after Mass, and though practices like sharing tapai (rice wine) may be contested, they live on in rural settings.
“The Church values it as a heritage celebration — a cultural treasure.
“But it no longer includes beliefs in ancestral spirits. Instead, we embrace the Christian promise of eternal life,” Johannes explains.
According to Johannes, young people remain passionate about Kaamatan. “They’re proud of it. They want to preserve and promote it because this tradition — you won’t find it anywhere else in the world.”
Joseph Masilamany is a seasoned journalist and Scoop’s contributing writer
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