Kaul (or Pesta Kaul) is a Melanau annual "cleansing" when traditionally, uninvited spirits and other bad influences were escorted out of the village by a flotilla of boats, and ceremonial offerings of food, cigarettes and betel nut were set on the Seraheng (decorated pole) at the river mouth.
[3] Originating from the animistic beliefs traditionally held by the Melanau people, Kaul is held annually in Bulan Pengejin (The month of the Spirits)[4] of the Melanau Calendar, which is usually in the end of April, as a purification and thanks giving to appease the spirits of the sea called Ipok.
It coincides with the end of the Northeast monsoon, once a time of hardship when the sea was too rough to fish and the villages often suffered from flooding.
The celebration of Kaul concluded with a communal picnic at the river mouth, followed by a return to the village and again three days of prescribed restrictions.
Then they would celebrate them in a grand feast where all the people would bring with them food and drink to eat at a huge picnic by the river mouth and the beaches.
They would also send offerings in the form of 'seraheng', an arrangement created with the leaves of the sago palm, the staple food of the Melanau.
Pesta Kaul is a colorful festival with a flotilla of highly decorated boats, beach games and Melanau food.