Importance of preserving the Bidayuh culture

          It has been noted over the years the minority races are fast disappearing and people, especially the natives, are sincerely concerned as their disappearance would mean an end to their identity and heritage. Bidayuhs look similar to Filipinos and Indonesians, so as to not be assimilated as one of them, losing their identity, efforts must be made to preserve the race, language and culture, which are thier distinctive characteristics.

          Effort should be from the people, not the government, because only from the people will the culture be kept authentic. There should also be a body or association to oversee and spearhead the efforts of the people.We must stress the urgency to preserve what we have because young people would not know much about their roots without the help of older people. 

          Redeems is a community-based organisation made up of people from 12 villages of Singai, a predominantly Bidayuh area.

          The 12 villages showcased its customs in the form of food, attire, music, folk songs, games, dances, art and crafts, and its languages at a bamboo longhouse aimed at reviving, preserving and promoting the Bidayuh culture in its young generation as well as visitors.

          Workshops are done as one of DBNA’s initiatives to preserve Bidayuh culture and provide a platform for the Bidayuh community to gain more knowledge about their own tradition. Furthermore, more intellectual Bidayuhs are encouraged to undertake research and to write literatures on the Bidayuhs. 

          The more their ideas are written and passed around, the better it is for the people. The literatures will facilitate better understanding about our origin and uniqueness of our culture and social behaviour which can help us to gain control of our future. While we must always think and behave like and as Malaysians, at the same time we must be knowledgeable and learn from our history, roots and culture. That is the only viable option within our multi-racial, multi-cultural and multi-religious Malaysia.