Malaysia’s Dayak mark end of rice harvest with colourful parade

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  • Malaysia’s Dayak mark end of rice harvest with colourful parade

Dressed in feathered headgear and traditional swords, several thousand of Malaysia's ethnic Dayak people celebrate the end of the rice harvest season by parading through the streets of Kuching, the capital of Sarawak state on the island of Borneo.

The Gawai Dayak 2025 Parade in state capital Kuching is the only annual gathering by representatives of around 11 of Sarawak's main Dayak groups which participants said helps to keep alive a unique part of the Southeast Asian nation's culture.

Malaysia's Dayak people are mainly riverine and hill-dwelling, made up of dozens of ethnic groups, each with their own distinct dialect, customs, laws and practices. Rainforest-clad Borneo is the world's third-largest island and is shared between Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei.

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