Dayak people

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Dayak


Total population	8 million
Regions with significant populations	Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei
Language	Dayak languages
Religion	Kaharingan, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism
Related ethnic groups	Ahe, Banjar, Barito, Benuaq, Berawan, Bidayuh, Bukitan, Dumpas, Dusun, Iban, Iban Mualang, Iban Embaloh, Ida'an, Illanun, Kadazan, Kayan, Kedayan, Kelabit, Kenyah, Kejaman, Kwijau, Lun Bawang, Lun Dayeh, Lotud, Maloh, Mangka'ak, Maragang, Melanau (-Kajang), Minokok, Murut, Ngaju, Penan, Punan Ba, Rajang, Rumanau, Rungus, Selakau, Sepan, Taman, Tambanuo, Tanjung, Tidong, Ukit

The Dayak IPA: [ˈdaɪ̯ək] (or Dyak) are natives indigenous to Borneo. The term Dayak is principally used to describe the interior population of Borneo. It is a loose term for over 200 riverine and hill-dwelling ethnic subgroups, each with its own dialect, customs, laws, territory and culture, although common distinguishing traits are readily identifiable.

Dayaks are generally categorised as part of a wider Austronesian-speaking group, local to the island of Borneo in the Malay Archipelago. There are about 8 million Dayaks in Borneo.

1 History
2 Economy
- 2.1 Agriculture
3 Religion
4 Society
5 Politics
6 Further reading
7 See also
8 External links

[edit] History

Common interpretations in modern anthropology agree that all indigenous peoples of South East Asia, including the Dayaks, are descendants of a larger more common Austronesian migration from Asia, regarded to have settled in the South East Asian Archipelago some 3000 years ago. The first populations spoke various languages and dialects now termed under the collective Austronesian Lingua, from which Dayak languages are traced. About 2400 years ago, metallurgy was introduced and subsequently became widespread.

The main ethnic groups of Dayaks are the Ibans of Sarawak and Kapuas, The Ngajus, Baritos, Benuaqs of East Kalimantan, the Kayan and Kenyah groups and their subtribes in Central Borneo and the sub Ibanic Embaloh (Maloh)and Taman populations in the Kapuas periphery. Other tribes include the Ahe, Jagoi, Selakau, Bidayuh, and Banjars.

The Dayak people of Borneo, possess an indigenous account of their history, partly in writing and partly in common cultural customary practices and lore. In addition, colonial historical 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 well documented, owing to their ferocity and aggressive culture of war against sea dwelling groups and emerging Western trade interests in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.

Coastal populations in Borneo are largely Muslim in belief, however these groups (Ilanun, Melanau, Kadayan, Banjar, Bisayah) are generally considered to be Islamized Dayaks, native to Borneo, and governed by the relatively high cultural influences of the Majapahit Kingdoms and Sultanates, periodically covering South East Asian history.

The term Malay is generic, and is applied loosely to describe all those inhabitants of South East Asia. It is specific only to the ethnic Melayu of south eastern Sumatera, Riau and various geographic areas of western Malaya. Minihasas, Mandailings, Jakuns, Bataks, Bugis, Javanese, Achehnese, Tagalogs, Suluks, Minikoks, Dayaks, Khmers, Thais, Karens, Hamaheras, Taiwanese Indigenes, etc, are representative of the wider austronesian presence in the Archipelago.

[edit] Economy

[edit] Agriculture

Traditionally, Dayak agriculture was based upon shifting cultivation techniques and the cultivation of dryland rice. Land was utilised and defined primarily in terms of padi (riceland), ladang (garden), and hutan (jungle). Dayak tribes were organised in terms of traditionally based land holding groups which determined who owned rights to land and how it was to be used. Since the 1950's and the "green revolution" the planting of new varieties of primarily wetland rice has become widespread among Dayak groups.

The main dependence on subsistence and mid-scale agriculture by the Dayak has made this group active in this industry. The modern day rise in large scale monocrop plantations such as palm oil and bananas proposed for vast swathes of Dayak land held under customary rights, titles and claims in Malaysia and Indonesia, threaten the local political landscape in various regions in Borneo. Further problems continue to arise in part due to the shaping of the modern Malaysian and Indonesian nation state on the back of previous British and Dutch colonial political systems and western laws on land tenure. The conflict between the state and the Dayak natives on land laws and native customary rights will continue as long as the Anglo-Saxon colonial model on land tenure is used to define relationships between the Dayak citizenry and the central authority of the state. Dayak cultivated land, interpreted by local customary law, is considered to be owned and held in right by the natives, and the concept of land ownership as thus, flows out of this central belief. This understanding of adat is based on the idea that land is used and held under native domain. Invariably, when European colonial rule was established, conflict over the subjugation of territory by a foreign authority erupted several times between the Dayaks and the respective colonial authorities.

[edit] Religion

The Dayak indigenous religion is Kaharingan, a form of animism which, for official purposes, is categorized as a form of Hinduism. Over the last two centuries, some Dayaks have Islamized progressively, abandoning certain cultural rites and practices, including Dayak ethnic identity. Christianity was introduced by European missionaries in Borneo and may have been, in part, a deliberate policy by the Colonial authorities to create a social bulwark against Islamization. Religious differences between Muslim and Christian natives of Borneo has led, at various times, to communal tensions. Relations, however, between both religious groups are generally good.

In Malaysian Borneo, the process of gradual Islamization has been supported by the State, with inducements given to those willing to convert. Muslim Dayaks have however retained their original identity and kept various customary practices consistent with their religion.

An example of common identity, over and above religious belief, is the Melanau group. Despite the small population, to the casual observer, the coastal dwelling Melanau of Sarawak, generally do not identify with one religion, as a number of them have Islamized and Christianised over a period of time. A few practise a distinct Dayak form of Kaharingan, known as Liko. It appears that Liko is the earliest surviving form of religious belief for the Melanau, predating the arrival of Islam and Christianity to Sarawak. The somewhat patchy religious divisions remain, however the common identity of the Melanau is held politically and socially. Social cohesion amongst the Melanau, despite religious differences, is markedly tight.

[edit] Society

Kinship in Iban society is traced in both lines. Although, in Dayak Iban society, men and women possess equal rights in status and property ownership, political office has strictly been the occupation of the traditional Iban Patriarch. Overall Iban leadership in any given region, is marked by titles, a Penghulu for instance would have invested authority on behalf of a network of Tuai Rumah's, and so on to a Temenggung or Panglima. It must be noted that individual Dayak groups have their social and hierarchy systems defined internally, and these differ widely from Ibans to Ngajus and Benuaqs to Kayans.

The most salient feature of Dayak social organisation is the practice of Longhouse domicile. This is a structure supported by hardwood posts that can be hundreds of metres long, usually located along a terraced river bank. At one side is a long communal platform, from which the individual households can be reached. The Iban of the Kapuas and Sarawak have organised their Longhouse settlements in response to their migratory patterns. Iban Longhouses vary in size, from those slightly over 100 metres in length to huge settlements over 500 metres in length. Longhouses have a door and apartment for every family living in the longhouse. For example, a Longhouse of 200 doors is equivalent to a settlement of 200 families.

Headhunting was an important part of Dayak culture, in particular to the Iban. There used to be a tradition of retaliation for old headhunts, which kept the practise alive. External interference by the reign of the Brooke Rajahs in Sarawak and the Dutch in their part of Borneo managed to break this tradition. In contrast with South American practices, not the shrunken head (the skin without the skull), but the skull was kept. The captured enemy heads were triumphally brought back to the settlement, received by the women, tied with rattan and hung in bundles from the ceiling of the longhouses. The skulls were placed over the hearths. Each community had a special warrior (Tau serang) who led the raids against the enemy. But besides such massive raids, there were also individual retaliation attacks or they could be the result of chance encounters in the forest. Sarawak Government Resident reports describe victorious Iban War parties with captured enemy heads. At various times, there have been massive coordinated raids in the interior, and throughout coastal Borneo, directed by the Sarawak Government during Brooke's reign. This may have given rise to the term, Sea Dayak, although, throughout the 19th Century, Sarawak Government raids and independent expeditions appeared to have been carried out as far as Brunei, Mindanao, East coast Malaya, Jawa and Celebes. Tandem diplomatic relations between the Sarawak Government (Brooke Rajah) and Britain (East India Company and the Royal Navy) acted as a pivot and a deterrence to the former's territorial ambitions, against the more passive Dutch colonial administration in the Kalimantan regions and client Sultanates.

Metal-working is elaborately used for making mandaus (machetes - 'parang' in Indonesian ). The blade is made of a softer iron, to prevent breakage, with a narrow strip of a harder iron wedged into a slot in the cutting edge for sharpness. The headhunting necessitated being able to draw the parang quickly. For this purpose, the mandau is fairly short, which also better serves the purpose of trailcutting in dense forest. It is holstered with the cutting edge facing upwards and at that side there is an upward protrusion on the handle, so it can be drawn very quickly with the side of the hand without having to reach over and grasp the handle first. The hand can then grasp the handle while it is being drawn. The combination of these three factors (short, cutting edge up and protrusion) makes for an extremely fast drawing-action. The ceremonial mandaus used for dances are as beautifully adorned with feathers as the dresses are. There are various terms to describe different types of Dayak blades. The Nyabor is the traditional Iban Scimitar, Parang Ilang is common to Kayan and Kenyah Swordsmiths, and Duku is a multipurpose farm tool and machete of sorts.

Dayaks like to party. Not only during festive occasions like weddings, but also impromptu, such as for the arrival of a guest (with the advent of tourism this is, however, either not done for every visitor or made into a tourist attraction). A very potent liquor is served on such occasions and one is supposed to get severely inebriated. Ceremonial dances are performed in very colourful dresses and feather headdresses with elaborate parangs.

Another popular drug beside alcohol is tobacco, which is grown locally and can be of high quality. The use of sirih (betelnut) is also fairly widespread.

[edit] Politics

Dayaks in Indonesia and Malaysia have figured prominently in the politics of these countries. Organised Dayak political representation in Indonesian State first appeared in Kalimantan in the form of the Dayak Unity Party (Parti Persatuan Dayak) during the late 19th century and crystallised with the formation of the DUP. Dayaks in Sarawak in this respect, compare very poorly with their organised cousins and brethren in Kalimantan due to in no part, the personal fiefdom that was the Brooke Rajah dominion. Political circumtances aside, the Dayaks in Kalimantan actively organised under various associations beginning with the Sarekat Dayak established in 1919, to the Parti Dayak in the 40s, and to the present day, where Dayaks occupy key positions in government.

In Sarawak, Dayak political activism had its roots in the SNAP (Sarawak National Party) and Pesaka during post independence construction in the 1960s. These parties shaped to a certain extent Dayak politics in the State, although never enjoying the real privileges and benefits of Chief Ministerial power relative to its large electorate. It can be said that successive Key Dayak parties in the State of Sarawak acquiesced real political credibility in favour of personal short term gain in junior ministerial posts and token positions in the Prime Minister's Cabinet and the ruling coalition government. Nevertheless, Dayaks dominate Sarawak politics and are present in all political formations within the State Barisan Nasional.

Under Indonesia's transmigration programme, settlers from densely-populated Java and Madura were encouraged to settle in the Kalimantan provinces, but their presence was, and still is, resented by Dayaks. The large scale transmigration projects initiated by the Dutch and continued by present Javanese governments, caused widespread breakdown in social and community cohesion during the late 20th Century. In 2001 the Indonesian government ended the gradual Javanese settlement of Kalimantan that began under Dutch rule in 1905.

From 1996 to 2003 there were systemic and violent attacks on Madurese settlers, including a resurgence of the beheading practices. Inevitably, order was restored by the Military but this was somewhat too late in application.

[edit] Further reading

Victor T King, Essays on Bornean Societies (Hull/Oxford, 1978).
Benedict Sandin, The Sea-Dayaks of Borneo before White Rajah Rule (London 1967).
Eric Hansen , Stranger in the Forest: On Foot Across Borneo, (Penguin, 1988), ISBN 0-375-72495-8, a thrilling travel log by an informed traveller.