Ngiling Bidai

At Rumah Jipon

had a very quiet gawai this year. i thought since i was in song i would be able to experience gawai celebration even more intensely cause song is situated in the interiors. horrors of horrors, instead of taking shots after shots of tuak and ijok, i was seeing patient after patient from 730am till 11pm even though it was a public holiday.

Ngiling Bidai

so i wrote off gawai 2011 as a disappointment. until i went to rumah jipon during my last VHT )village health team). apparently there is this celebration called "Ngiling Bidai" which is to celebrate the end of gawai. Ngiling bidai literally means "to roll over the matt" and it signifies a new beginning for everyone.  

They gave me this traditional head gear to wear

so happen that day the folks at Rh. Jipon were planning to have their "Ngiling Bidai" on the same day as our mobile clinic. there are 25 "pintu" or rooms at Rh. Jipon and we are supposed to drink at every pintu. and at each pintu we were suppose to fold over a mat. once you fold the mat, its customary for you to down a shot of tuak in addition to the tuak being served earlier at each pintu.

Smoking the local "cigar." pretty strong stuff

i was kind of the guest of honour for the event. so i was given the privilege to fold the mats. never in my life (or ever will again) have i folded so many mats. i think i folded something like 18 mats that night.

River snail for supper

so you can imagine how much i had to drink that night. fooo..... never had so much tuak in a single night before. surprisingly i did not get drunk. i was high but not drunk. it must be all the oily food that they served at each pintu.

Playing their traditional music

among the foods served are home made cookies, fried eggs, river snails, chicken soup, fried mee, cucumber soup etc. needless to say, i gobbled everything down....except for the snails. never could suck the damm thing out from the shell.

Ngajat

i also tried the local tobacco that one old guy was smoking. i must say, its as strong as some cigars i've smoked. if not stronger. because of its intense smell, the locals here use to smoke it to ward off insects while working in the field or jungle. 

At one of the pintu

once we've finished with all the pintus, it was time to sit down to enjoy some local music and dance. the folks started to dance their traditional dance called the "Ngajat." they tried to convince me to Mengyajat as well, but i rather focused on my drinking. god knows i cant dance even if my life depended on it. 

Good company = Great time

all in all it was another good experience. the sincere hospitality and friendliness of the people here never cease to amaze me. if only more were like them. really looking forward to next year's gawai.