Spirits of The Harvest - Hornbill Festival 2012

Mark your calendar for this coming June and July 2012 because there will be an atmosphere of cultural festivities from Sarawak, Land of the Hornbills,  in Kuala Lumpur. Spirit of the Harvest will be launched at Borneo Baruk Club in Jalan Kia Peng, KL (click for map) on the 28th April 2012 starting at  6.00 pm. It is to mark the launch of the Gawai Sarawak Festival. On June 30th 2012 the Spirits of The Harvest will be at Pusat Pelancungan Malaysia in Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur. This will be organised by The Persatuan Warisan Sarawak Kuala Lumpur to promote the rich culture of the Borneo State to be admired by the rest of Malaysia and also to tourist. 

What is Hornbill Festival? A Brief History 

Hornbill Festival was first launched in September 2008 after several months of planning since the  formation of Persatuan Warisan Sarawak Kuala Lumpur in the late 2007.  Persatuan Warisan Sarawak designed Hornbill Festival to be a showcase of all the ethnic culture, tradition and values which make Sarawak a place like no other.

Hornbill Festival 2008 had strong support and participation from working adults and students alike, especially from UITM Shah Alam and University Malaya.  All of them brought an array of talents to make Hornbill Festival 2008 an inspiring showcase of Sarawak culture with a strong essence of Sarawak Unity. The people responsible for the smooth execution of Hornbill Festival are members of the newly formed Panggau Singai Events Management; Sarawakian through and through.

Then in 2009 Persatuan Warisan Sarawak had announced to organize a beauty pageant for Sarawakians in Kuala Lumpur during their Christmas and Chinese New Year Open House in January 2009.  Tight budget and limited resources caused Hornbill Festival 2009 to be shelved due to the priority given to the pageant competition Kumang and Keling Gawai 2009, in conjunction with the Gawai closing celebration, also called Gawai Ngiling Tikai which means Mat Rolling Celebration in Iban.  The rolling of mats symbolizes the end of an event in most dayak culture and it is worth a celebration of its own.  Thanks to Panggau Singai Events, the Kumang and Keling Gawai 2009 started a revolution in the appreciation of Sarawak Culture with an emphasis on the beautiful people of Sarawak.  Although Hornbill festival 2009 was shelved, there were more than enough dance performances that night to get the audience all excited about ethnic dance and culture. (Taken from HERE)

Itenary Schedule for 2012

6 July 2012 - Sabah Ethnic Pageant Finals (Female)

• 5.00pm - Stalls Open for business
• 6.30pm - Arrival of Guests
• 7.30pm - Pageant begins

7 July 2012 - Final Kumang & Keling BHF12 (Female Ethnic Beauty & Male Warrior Pageant)

• 5.00pm - Stalls Open for business
• 6.30pm - Arrival of Guests
• 7.30pm - Pageant Begins

8 July 2012 - Final Ethnic Dance Competition

• 5.00pm - Stalls Open for business
• 6.30pm - Arrival of Guests
• 7.30pm Competition begins

Credit : All picture and info was taken from the respective websites linked in this blog.

Trishaw Rides In Malaysia

The days when trishaws is a mode of transport is coming to an end. I remember when I was young I travel to school on a trishaw. My father did not own any car in those days.

There not many places left where we can still see trishaws on the road still servicing people who want to commute or to carry light goods. As far as I have travel around the country, these three wheeled man-powered vehicle can still be seen in Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, Penang and Malacca. In most parts of Malaysia it is safe to say that trishaw services have come to a stage of extinction, I think. Today the livelihood of trishaw peddlar has been affected when there are cars, motorcycles and the more convenient public transportation are available.

However this mode of transport in Malacca and Penang had been given a new lease of life by the authority as a tourist attraction. In both cities, the government help make this trishaw peddlar keep earning their living by turning trishaws into a tourist commodity. The picture tells all. In Malay the trishaw is called "beca".

If you visit Malacca and Penang please add in a trishaw ride on your travel itenary. It will be an experience worth your money.