Rich culture wows tourists

BELAGA: Visitors are captivated by the rich cultural tapestry and deep heritage proudly displayed by the Kayan community.

Tashi Pem from Bhutan lauded the festival as an interesting cultural showcase, expressing her admiration for the participants.

“To see the young people returning to celebrate their culture is wonderful. It’s unique—it shows you have a lot of love, respect, and connection to your roots,” she said.

During her first visit to Sarawak, Tashi noted how impressively the culture has remained vibrant.

Helen Locer from Australia praised ‘Pesta Do Ledoh’ as a superb event that fosters community integration.
“It’s wonderful—it captures the culture beautifully and offers a fantastic way to share it. Seeing the games, it’s clear that everyone is having a great time. It’s really nice communal integration,” she added.

Douglas Smith from London, who attended the festival with Tashi and Helen, explained that they were part of a team appointed by Sarawak Energy to conduct a sustainability assessment of the Bakun Hydro Power project.

Tashi (second left), Helen (third left) and Smith (third right) are introduced on marital customs as they pose for a group photo with the residents of the longhouse at the ‘Lepo Adet Ngahawa’

Longhouse residents and the Sarawak Energy team along with Tashi (seated third left), Smith (standing third left) and Helen (standing fourth left) pose for a group photo

“We have been in Sarawak interviewing professionals and meeting communities around the Bakun Hydro Dam. Today, we decided to visit the festival downstream and it looks like a really exciting event,” he said.
Smith, who has visited Belaga previously to work on the Murum project over ten years ago, observed significant changes such as economic growth in the area.

“The region seems to be prospering. You see many people with cars and large concrete tiles of longhouses, which indicates considerable changes,” he added.

Smith elaborated that part of their assessment includes evaluating the impact on cultural heritage.

“Sometimes hydropower projects can adversely affect heritage. We’ve seen how Sarawak Energy supports festivals and even longhouses, which is fascinating. It’s our first time at such an event, but it’s similar to other festivals worldwide with games and ceremonies. Yet, every place has its own customs and traditions, some of which are very interesting to observe,” he said.

Earlier in their visit, they received an introduction to the area’s past customs and cultural traditions at a ‘lepo’ (hut) and witnessed traditional games played by the community here.