Sarawak Cuisine

Sarawak Laksa. Sarawak Laksa is the most commonly found Sarawakian food. It was a favorite among Sarawakian from Chinese and Malay decent. It has a base of Sambal belacan, sour tamarind, garlic, galangal, lemon grass and coconut milk, topped with omelette strips, chicken strips, prawns, fresh coriander and optionally lime. Ingredients such as bean sprouts, (sliced) fried tofu or other seafood are not traditional but are sometimes added. Non-Halal Sarawak Laksa can be found at most Chinese coffee shops while Halal Sarawak Laksa can be found at most Malay coffee shops (and some Mamak too). Halal and non-Halal Sarawak Laksa don't have so much difference, except with the usage of halal chicken meat, and the cooking utensils used by the cook. Chinese-version of Sarawak Laksa has less thicker gravy but rich with condiments and toppings, while Malay-version of Sarawak Laksa has thicker gravy but more 'taugeh' (or beansprouts).

Kolok Mee. Kolok Mee is a type of noodle dish commonly found in Sarawak. It is served throughout the day - for breakfast, lunch or even supper (though some eateries only serve kolok mee until noon because supplies run out). It is made of egg noodle, blanched in water that looks like instant noodle and served in a light sauce with some condiments like sliced pork, chicken cutlets, minced meat or sometimes (quite rare) shredded beef. The difference between Kolok Mee and Wantan Mee, which is popular in the Peninsula, is that Kolok Mee is not drenched in dark soy sauce and water is not added to the noodles when served. Kolok mee comes in two common flavors: plain or seasoned with red sauce (cooks tend to seasoned kolok mee with red sauce when they are served with pork). Occasionally, diners can also request their kolok mee to be seasoned with soy sauce, to give the dish a darker appearance and enhance its saltiness.

Manok Pansoh. Manok Pansoh is the most common dish among Iban. It is a chicken dish which normally be eaten with white rice. Chicken pieces are cut and stuffed into the bamboo together with other ingredients like mushrooms, lemongrass, tapioca leaves etc and cooked over an open fire - similar to the way lemang is cooked. This natural way of cooking seals in the flavours and produces astonishingly tender chicken with a gravy perfumed with lemongrass and bamboo. Manok Pansoh cannot be found easily in all restaurants and coffee shops. Some restaurants require advanced booking of Manok Pansoh dish prior to your arrival.

Beliefs of Sarawak Ethnics

Religious beliefs and behavior pervade every part of Iban life. 

In their interpretations of their world, nature, and society, they refer to remote inventor gods, who brought the elements and a structured order into subsistence; the bird-god Sengalang Burong, who directs their lives through messages borne by his seven sons-in-law; and the popular gods, who provide models for living.

Iban religion is a product of a holistic approach to life, in which attention is paid to all events in the waking and sleeping states.

The religion involves an extensive causality, born of the Iban conviction that "nothing happens without cause." The pervasiveness of their religion has sensitized them to every part of their world and created an elaborate otherworld (Sebayan), in which everything is vested with the potential for sensate thought and action. 

 In Iban beliefs and narratives trees talk, crotons walk, macaques become incubi, jars moan for lack of attention, and the sex of the human foetus is determined by a cricket, the metamorphized form of a god.

Though the gods live in Panggau Libau, a remote and godly realm, they are unseen, ubiquitous presences. 

In contrast to the exclusive categories of Judaism and Christianity, "supernaturals" and "mortals" interact in all activities of importance. In contrast to the gods who are more benevolently inclined towards mortals, Iban believe in and fear a host of malevolent spirits. 

These spirits are patent projections onto a cosmic screen of anxieties and stresses suffered by Iban: the menacing father figure, the vengeful mother, the freeloader, and becoming lost in the forest. Iban attempt to maintain good life and health by adherence to customary laws, avoidance of taboos, and the presentation of offerings and animal sacrifices.

Orang Bidayuh

Second largest Dayak ethnic group in Sarawak after the Iban. Bidayuhs are traditionally animist, and vestiges of these beliefs still remain. 

The British colonial times (known as the "Brooke family" era) saw the arrival of Christian missionaries, bringing education and modern medicine. 

The great majority of Bidayuh are now Christians, majority of them being Roman Catholic. However, since the establishment of Malaysia and the increasing political influence of the Malays, a small number of Bidayuh have converted to Islam.

                            

 

Most Bidayuh villages have either a Roman Catholic or Anglican church or a mosque -- rarely more than one or the village would tend to split. The Biatah people, who live in the Kuching area, are Anglican, while the people of the Bau area are Catholic. Muslims can be found in areas like Padawan ("Kampung Bisira" and "Kampung Darul Islam Belimbing") and Bau ("Kampung Segubang (50%)") but Muslim Bidayuh villages are extremely rare.

 

 

The Bidayuh of Bau have a unique tradition of hanging the bodies of the dead on trees and left to rot away. The skeletons are left on trees as a reminder of the dead. The tradition is rarely done nowadays. While they attribute spirits to many things in nature such as birds, animals, and plants, many who hold to the traditional religion today believe in a supreme god who comes to their assistance in the cycle of rice cultivation as well as major events in the cycle of life.

Sarawak Dance

Ngajat Dance

The Ngajat dance is believed to have been performed by warriors on their return from battles. This dance is now performed to celebrate the most important harvest festival called ‘Gawai’, to welcome important guests to the longhouses and so on.

The male dancers wear large feathers as part of their headgear, hold an ornate and long shield in their hand with chains, beads and a loincloth called the ‘cawat’. The female dancers have an elaborate headdress, chains, beads and a ‘dress’ that reaches to below their knees with intricate weaving. Traditionally this dance was only performed by male dancers but not anymore.

The dance is arranged straight lines and in a circle and does involve dramatic leaps and jumps performed by the male dancers.

Gongs and other ethnic percussion instruments such as the ‘enkeromong’, ‘bendai’, ‘canang’ and ‘dumbak or ketebong’ provide the music. The musicians may be either male or female.

    

Bidayuh Dance

In the past, the Bidayuh believed in spirit and the world being populated by both good and evil spirits . According to the traditional Bidayuh beliefs, these spirits are real and if they are disturbed, they can do a lot of harm to the villagers and the environment. They believed that the rhythmic movements of the body, and while in a state of trance, they could possess an excellent medium through which they could get in contact with the good spirit.

Traditional Clothes for Sarawak Ethnics

Iban Men Traditional Clothes

"Kain Sirat or Kain Cawat" is the main clothes for man. The measure for Sirat is 50cm x 500cm. The end of the cloth is decorated with beautiful weaving. Sometimes, beads and shells use as a decoration on it. It is being wear by showing the decorated to the front.

DANGDONG

It is a shawl that wear by Ibanese man. Dandong is bigger than Bedong. The lengthy of dandong not fix because this clothe use as a wrap things during show on certain ceremonies. Dandong made by clothe that weave by tight style.

Iban Women Traditional Clothes

BIDANG

Ibanese women wear cloth call Bidang. It is and tight and the length is until knee. Usually Bidang is made from a big cloth measure 110cm x 60cm from similar cloth that be combined. It is used as casual cloth and dont have many decoration. Usually it will be decorated with many geomatric design and colourful. On a certain occasion it will be wear and the colour will be like red bricks and gold thread on the surface of Bidang.

KALAMBI

Kalambi have two types which is with sleeve or without sleeve. Kalambi wear by both men and women on certain occasion only. Kalambi cutting is simple because it made by square oval shape and fold into two. Length of Kalambi does not same and have different length. Besides, its also being wore by Sarawak late warrior years ago.

Melanau Women Traditional Cloth

Melanau women wear cloth made by black velvet and match with kain sarong Brunei weave by Sarawakian. They also wear it with big belt and their hair will make like a bun.

Special Festivals

Gawai Dayak Costume

One of the famous festivals being celebrates at Sarawak is Pesta Gawai. It is being celebrates by Dayak ethnics, Iban, Bidayuh and group of Ulu. Ulu stands by a few ethnics like Kayan,Kenyah,Kelabit,Lun Bawang,Penan,Punan and Tatau. it is officially celebrated on public holidays on 31 May and 1 June every year in Sarawak, Malaysia. It is both a religious and social occasion. It is a thanksgiving day marking a bountiful harvest and a time to plan for the new farming season.

            

      The mode of celebration varies from place to place. Preparation starts early. In fact, after the longhouse agrees to hold a big festival, the Dayaks may need to plant paddy in farms adjacent to each other and to implement a labour-exchange program called "bedurok", which is meant to ensure getting enough paddy at the end of the year in readiness for the big feast. 

Ethnics at Sarawak

As we know, Sarawak have many ethnics and that make it different from others. All of them are lives under one states and live peaceful and harmony. They have different use of languages, religions, norms, foods and different lifestyles. There are many types of ethnics for example Malay, Chinese, Iban, Bidayuh, Melanau, Kenyah, Kayan, Penan, Kelabit and many more. There are more than 25 ethnics have in Sarawak.  eytnics, still they are respect and can unite with each other.The various ethnics of them make Sarawak special and receive many tourists every year. They feel excited and impressive because can know and learn about other cultures of ethnics that they might not seen before. These are a few pictures of Sarawak ethnics.

Kelabit Ethnics

Iban Ethnics

Penan Ethnics

Background of Sarawak

As we know, Sarawak known as Land of Hornbill. It is one of the biggest 

country in Malaysia. Sarawak is located at Borneo Island. Sarawak has more than 40 ethnic groups, each with their own distinct language, culture and lifestyle. Making up a population of about 2.5 million The majority of the population reside in a few large urban centers, but a significant percentage still live in longhouses and villages in the interior.Sarawak practice a variety of religions, including Islam, Christianity, Chinese folk religion and animism. Many converts to Christianity among the Dayak peoples also continue to practice traditional ceremonies, particularly with dual marriage rites and during the important harvest and ancestral festivals such as Gawai Dayak, (harvest Festival) Gawai Kenyalang (Hornbill Festival) and Gawai Antu (Festival of the Dead). Sarawak have its own uniqueness compared to other states in Malaysia.