Nine to battle it out for best Bidayuh band title
By Puvaneswary Devindran|
KUCHING: Nine bands have made it through the preliminary round and into the finals of the Battle of the Bidayuh Bands on March 21 at the Serian Community Hall in Serian.
The nine are ‘The Gurus’, ‘The Mixtures’, ‘D.Y.Y’, ‘The Brothers’, ‘The Members’, ‘The Skylight’, ‘The Sungkuh Babeh’, ‘The Mckizz’ and ‘Amedos’. Apart from winning the title, the winner will also walk away with a cash prize of RM1,200 and a trophy whereas second and third place winners will receive RM1,000 and RM800 respectively, while the rest will receive a consolation prize of RM200 each. Organising chairman for Bidayuh modern music sub-committee Richmond Allan said that initially 15 bands registered to join the preliminary round that was held at the Dayak Bidayuh National Association (DBNA) headquarters yesterday but since only nine showed up, all made it to the final. Urban Development and Tourism Minister Datuk Michael Manyin Jawong will officiate at the Battle of the Band competition. The finals for the ‘Dayung Timungun’ or Beauty Queen contest will also happen on the same day. Richmond said the Battle of the Bands competition was just part of the event taking place at the inaugural ‘Pesta Berumuh’, a showcase of Bidayuh culture, heritage and arts from March 20-22. Quite a number of activities will be held at the Serian Mini Stadium, but all night events and finals of competitions will be held at the Serian Community Hall. The festival, which is held in conjunction with the fifth Cultural Symposium and to celebrate 45 years of Sarawak’s Progress in Malaysia, is expected to attract more than 15,000 visitors. The festival also marks an occasion that honour the Bidayuh forefathers who left legacies in the form of fruit orchards, villages and native customary rights land to the community. It will feature an exhibition and display of Bidyauh traditional arts and crafts, music, cultural performances, food and cooking, tools and games and pastimes. Aside from the Battle of the Bands, the festival will also feature two other key events namely the Bidayuh Idol and the Juara Lagu Bidayuh. Their preliminary rounds will be held at the DBNA Headquarters on March 8. Currently, the Bidayuh Idol has 18 contestants and they are required to sing songs which have been recorded by Bidayuh artistes. The prizes for this competition are RM600 (first place), RM400 (second place), RM200 (third place) and RM100 each for the consolation winners. The finals for the Bidayuh Idol will take place on March 20 at the Serian Community Hall and will be officiated by Kedup assemblyman Frederick Bayoi Manggie. In the Juara Lagu Bidayuh, 13 established Bidayuh singers including Jablie Juyan, Nelson Kennedy, Nor and Four Kadun, will belt out their favourite numbers on stage for the title. The champion will receive RM1,000, first runner-up RM800 and second runner-up RM600. The consolation prize is RM100. The finals for the Juara Lagu Bidayuh will take place on March 22 and will be officiated by Serian Member of Parliament Datuk Richard Riot Jaem. The festival is organised by the DBNA, with State Secretary Datuk Amar Wilson Baya Dandot as the organising committee chairman. |
