PONTIANAK, West
Kalimantan: A six-hectare Kampung Dayak is set to be the latest landmark in the
West Kalimantan (Kalbar) capital city of Pontianak.
Dewan Adat
Dayak (DAD) Kalbar advisor Thadeus Yus said the site has been identified while
funds are now being raised to get the project started.
Once completed,
he said the Kampung Dayak will complement the recently completed Rumah Betang
Adat, which is reputed as the biggest Dayak cultural house in the world, and
the old Rumah Betang Adat which is known for its elaborate Dayak motifs.
“We calculated
the cost for the Kampung Dayak to be in the region of 40 billion rupiah (RM1.2
million).
“Unlike the two
Rumah Betang which were funded and built by the government, the Dayak Village
is a project by the DAD Kalbar aimed as the referral centre to learn about the
more than 100 Dayak sub-groups in this province,” he said.
Thadues, a
lecturer at Universitas Tanjungpura and former chairman of DAD Kalbar from 2006
to 2010, told the media this during a welcoming dinner for the 70-member
delegation from the Sarawak Dayak National Union (SDNU) during their four-day
visit to Kalbar.
He said DAD
Kalbar now manages the old Rumah Betang Adat, a longhouse-like structure built
by the government in the 1980s to promote Dayak culture and arts.
A cafeteria
selling Dayak dishes has been set up there to help DAD raise funds for the
Kampung Dayak project, he added.
Meanwhile, SDNU
delegates were impressed with the new and old Rumah Betang Adat in Pontianak
and expressed their wish for Sarawak to have similar buildings.
The new Rumah
Betang Adat was launched on July 2 by Kalbar governor Drs Cornelis MH, who is
also the current DAD Kalbar chairman.
Built at a cost
of 20 billion rupiah (RM600,000), the longhouse structure stands at seven
metres high and 138 metres wide on a 1.4-metre site.
The main hall
can accommodate 600.
The design of
the building symbolises Dayak unity and togetherness in the province.
There are plans
to extend the site to 3.2 ha with the construction of a Plaza Budaya.
Popular Iban
singer from Sarawak, Ricky El, was among the performers for the launching
ceremony, which also coincided with the 28th Gawai Dayak celebration in Kalbar.
