OVER the years, our fellow Malaysians from Sabah and Sarawak have assimilated themselves into life in the peninsula. Many have moved to big cities to work and carve a modern livelihood for themselves.
But if there is one time in the year when we see them returning to their long houses, villages or ancestral homes, it would be during Pesta Keamatan and Gawai Dayak.
Considered as sacred celebrations, Pesta Kaamatan in Sabah, and Gawai, as it is known in Sarawak, are rice harvest festivals in honour of the traditions and ancestors of people in the two states.
The festivals are a day of giving thanks to the gods for a good harvest and humbly requesting for it to continue. The spirit of the padi plant is believed to represent the all powerful source of life and existence.
Rituals are performed to ensure continuous abundant harvests and to keep natural disasters away.
Every year, young women in Sabah will doll up in traditional attire and participate in a beauty contest to vie for the title of Kaamatan Queen, in honour of Huminudon, who sacrificed herself to the earth to save her people from famine.
The Petronas Harvest Festival commercial this year takes place in Sarawak, and it begins with a large family gathering to have their meal. Suddenly a group of kids leave to go swimming in a nearby river.
The kids are none other than Anang and her friends, an urban Iban girl who has returned to her village to celebrate Gawai.
Ismail Kamarul, who directed the commercial, says the abundance of sustenance, which we often take for granted, has to be earned with hard work and sacrifice.
Shot at the Lily Longhouse in Kanowit, near Sibu, Ismail wants to highlight this by creating awareness among children on the wastage of food.
He says children have to realise that it takes a great amount of effort to grow padi so that they can have rice on their plates everyday.
“The younger generation is not exposed to farm work, so, they may not appreciate the toil.”
Anang’s grandfather, affectionately know as Aki in her native language, wanted to teach the kids a life lesson. He stopped Anang before she could run off.
Aki reminded her sternly that Jojo the buffalo must be taken to the padi field first before she can join her friends for a swim.
Ismail says the challenge of getting a buffalo to move is a memorable experience on set.
“It was really difficult to control the animal. We had to wait three hours before the buffalo got up itself and went to the field as seen at the end of the commercial,” he says.
True to the spirit of friendship, Anang’s friends decided to help her out by trying almost every technique they could think of to get Jojo moving.
After many attempts, including waving a red cloth in front of the animal and pushing it from behind, they still failed to get the family buffalo to budge.
Ismail says the theme also revolves around unity and the spirit of perseverance to inspire viewers.
Aki then calls the children into the long house to rest. But when they get back inside, all they see are five plates of half-eaten rice and vegetables.
Once again, Aki’s gentle but stern voice is heard as he shares with the children how he and Jojo worked for months to plant, tend and harvest the padi field, just to ensure that there is enough food for the family.
True to what it is known for, this Petronas advertisement tugs at the viewers’ heartstrings, especially the younger generation of urbanites, as it reminds us to respect and be grateful for all the blessings that we enjoy.