THE Melanau traditional game of “Itut”, or more commonly known as “Tibau”, will be an attraction at the 2023 Borneo Cultural Festival (BCF) which starts today at Dataran Tun Tuanku Bujang, Sibu.Itut is a 6m-high swing, in which youths leap one by one from bamboo scaffolding and catch a swinging rope as it reaches the top of its arc, eventually hanging from the structure in a clump.
The giant swing being installed at Dataran Tun Tuanku Bujang, Sibu.
Sibu Municipal Council deputy chairman Mohammed Abdullah Izkandar Rosely said the giant swing this year is 13m high, and last made an appearance at BCF in 2019. He said Itut added a very Melanau cultural element to the festival.
Izkandar said the Sibu Melanau Welfare Society led by chairman Abg Carrol Dris and assisted by Freddie Chua from the council, had been appointed to build and manage the Itut.“Preparations were made three months in advance because it was necessary to collect rattan from the forest in Tanjung Latap and wood from Kampung Banyok,” Mohammed Abdullah said.
He said the public could try the swing for free at BCF, which will run until July 23.
