Dayak Tribes Kalimantan

The Dayak Tribe Culturals

The Dayak or Dyak are the native people of Borneo (Kalimantan). It is a loose term for over 200 riverine and hill-dwelling ethnic subgroups, located principally in the interior of Borneo, each with its own dialect, customs, laws, territory and culture, although common distinguishing traits are readily identifiable. Dayak languages are categorised as part of the Austronesian languages in Asia. The Dayak were animist in belief; however many converted to Christianity, and some to Islam more recently. Estimates for the Dayak population range from 2 to 4 million.

The main ethnic groups of Dayaks are the Bakumpai and Dayak Bukit of South Kalimantan, The Ngajus, Baritos, Benuaqs of East Kalimantan, the Kayan and Kenyah groups and their subtribes in Central Borneo and the Ibans, Embaloh (Maloh), Kayan, Kenyah, Penan, Kelabit, Lun Bawang and Tamanpopulations in the Kapuas and Sarawak regions. Other populations include the Ahe, Jagoi, Selakau, Bidayuh, and Kutai.

The Dayak people of Borneo possess an indigenous account of their history, partly in writing and partly in common cultural customary practices.In addition, colonial accounts and reports of Dayak activity in Borneo detail carefully cultivated economic and political relationships with other communities as well as an ample body of research and study considering historical Dayak migrations.In particular, the Iban or the Sea Dayak exploits in the South China Seas are documented, owing to their ferocity and aggressive culture of war against sea dwelling groups and emerging Western trade interests in the 19th and 20th centuries.

During World War II, the Japanese occupied Borneo and treated all of the indigenous peoples poorly - massacres of the Malay and Dayak peoples were common, especially among the Dayaks of the Kapit Division.Following this treatment, the Dayaks formed a special force to assist the Allied forces. Eleven United States airmen and a few dozen Australian special operatives trained a thousand Dayaks from the Kapit Division to battle the Japanese with guerrilla warfare. This army of tribesmen killed or captured some 1,500 Japanese soldiers and were able to provide the Allies with intelligence vital in securing Japanese-held oil fields.

Coastal populations in Borneo are largely Muslim in belief, however these groups (Tidung, Bulungan, Paser, Melanau, Kadayan, Bakumpai, Bisayah) are generally considered to be Islamized Dayaks, native to Borneo, and heavily influenced by the Javanese Majapahit Kingdoms and Islamic Malay Sultanates.Other groups in coastal areas of Sabah, Sarawak and northern Kalimantan; namely the Illanun, Tausug, Sama and Bajau, although inhabiting and (in the case of the Tausug group) ruling, the northern tip of Borneo for centuries, have their origins from the southern Philippines. These groups are not Dayak, but instead are grouped under the separate umbrella term of Moro.

Common interpretations in anthropology agree that nearly all the Dayaks tribes, are of a larger more common Austronesian migration from Asia, regarded to have settled in the South East Asian Archipelago some 3,000 years ago. The main Dayaks are the Bakumpai and Dayak Bukit of South Kalimantan, The Ngajus, and Baritos of Central Kalimantan, Benuaqs,Kayan and Kenyah of East Kalimantan, and the Ibans of West Kalimantan and Malay Borneo, Other populations are the nomadic Punan, which are live nowadays along the Border between Kalimantan and Sabah / Sarawak. Coastal populations in Borneo are largely Muslim in belief, however these groups (Ilanun, Melanau, Kutai) are generally considered to be Islamized Dayaks, native to Borneo, and governed by the relatively high cultural influences of the Javanese Majapahit Kingdoms and Islamic Malay Sultanates, periodically covering South East Asian history. Traditionally, Dayak agriculture was based on swidden rice cultivation. Agricultural Land in this sense was used and defined primarily in terms of hill rice farming, ladang (garden), and hutan (forest). Dayaks organised their labour in terms of traditionally based land holding groups which determined who owned rights to land and how it was to be used. The "green revolution" in the 1950s, spurred on the planting of new varieties of wetland rice amongst Dayak tribes. The main dependence on subsistence and mid-scale agriculture by the Dayak has made this group active in this industry. Nowadays, the Dayaks work in the mining industry, wood industry, and plantations of Borneo.

Dayak Religion

The Dayak indigenous religion is Kaharingan a form of animism which is categorized as a part of Hinduism in Indonesia. The practice of Kaharingan differs from group to group, and for example in some religious customary practices, when a noble (kamang) dies, it is believed that the spirit ascends to a mountain where the spirits of past ancestors of the tribe reside. On particular religious occasions, the spirit is believed to descend to partake in celebration, a mark of honour and respect to past ancestries and blessings for a prosperous future. Over the last two centuries, most Dayaks converted to Christianity which was introduced by European & American missionaries, and created a social bulwark against the spread of Islam. Relations, however in all religious groups are generally good. Despite the destruction of pagan religions in Europe by Christians, most of the people who try to conserve the Dayak's religion are missionaries