DAYAKS

Dayaks are a collection ethic groups that have traditionally lived in the forests
in both the Malaysian and Indonesian sides of Borneo. They are distinguished
from the Malay population in that for the most part they are not Muslims and
distinguished from the Penan in that have traditionally been settled while the
Penan were nomadic.

The Dayaks are former head hunters and the original "wild men of Borneo."
They continued to practice headhunting after it was outlawed by the Dutch in
the 19th century. Up until World War II most of them were river-dwelling head
hunters. Now many have been Christianized and forced into settlements. Even
though they were the original inhabitants of Borneo they are now greatly
outnumbered by Malays and Indonesians. It is believed that most Dayaks lived
along the coast until they were driven inland after the arrival of the Malays.

Although they reside in longhouses that traditionally served as a means of

protection against slave raiding and intervillage conflict, the Dayak are not
communalistic. They have bilateral kinship, and the basic unit of ownership
and social organization is the nuclear family. The various Dayak peoples have
typically made a living through swidden agriculture.

During World War II the Japanese occupied Borneo and targeted the so-called
Kapit Division in southern Borneo, which had many Dayak members. This ill-
treatment sparked the Dayaks to join with the allied forces against a common
enemy. A group of American and Australian military leaders trained the Dayak
in guerrilla warfare in the jungle. During the ensuing years the Dayak managed
to capture or kill 1,500 Japanese and fed the Allies vital intelligence about
Japanese held oil fields.

Dayak Languages
Dayaks speak a great variety of related languages and dialects and have a
great deal of cultural variation but little political unity. Because of this
anthropologist have had great difficulty figuring out how to categorize,
distinguish and group the various groups.

James Brooke wrote in his journal in “Expedition to Borneo of H.M.S. Dido for
the Suppression of Piracy”: With respect to the dialects, though the difference
is considerable, they are evidently derived from a common source; but it is
remarkable that some words in the Millanow and Eayan are similar to the
Bugis and Badjow language. This intermixture of dialects, which can be linked
together, appears to be more conclusive of the common origin of the wild
tribes and civilised nations of the Archipelago than most other arguments; and
if Marsden's position be correct (which there can be little or no reason to
doubt), that the Polynesian is an original race with an original language, 1 it
must likewise be conceded that the wild tribes represent the primitive state
of society in these islands. [Source: “The Expedition to Borneo of H.M.S. Dido
For the Suppression of Piracy” by Henry Keppel and James Brooke (1847) -]

Dayak Religious Beliefs

In regard to religion, Dayaks tend to practice either Protestantism or
Kaharingan, a form of indigenous religious practice blending animism and
ancestor worship classified by the government as Hindu. Through its healing
performances, Kaharingan serves to mold the scattered agricultural
residences into a community, and it is at times of ritual that the Dayak
peoples coalesce as a group. There is no set ritual leader, nor is there a fixed
ritual presentation. Specific ceremonies may be held in the home of the
sponsor. Shamanic curing, or balian, is one of the core features of these ritual
practices. Because illness is thought to result in a loss of the soul, the ritual
healing practices are devoted to its spiritual and ceremonial retrieval. In
general, religious practices focus on the body, and on the health of the body
politic more broadly. Sickness results from giving offense to one of the many
spirits inhabiting the earth and fields, usually from a failure to sacrifice to
them. The goal of the balian is to call back the wayward soul and restore the
health of the community through trance, dance, and possession. [Source:
Library of Congress, 2006]

Dayak "psycho-navigators” use visions and dreams to help them find their way
in the forest. Dayak shaman practitioners of the "Old Snake religion” describe
a hidden highland lake where enormous aging pythons enjoy dancing under
the light of the full moon to honor the forest god Aping. Many Dayaks are
Christians who have incorporated animists concepts onto their belief scheme.
Missionaries went through the trouble of backpacking in paints and brushes to
make hellfire scenes on the sides of longhouses. On the positive side
missionaries have helped the Dayak clear landing strips which can be used for
medical emergencies. [Source: "Ring of Fire" by Lawrence and Lorne Blair,
Bantam Books, New York, ♢]

In the 1840s, Henry Keppel wrote in “Expedition to Borneo of H.M.S. Dido for
the Suppression of Piracy”: “Her Fanshawe and a party of Cruisers, returned
from a five days' excursion amongst the Dyaks, having visited the Suntah,
Stang, Sigo, and Sanpro tribes. It was a progress; at each tribe there was
dancing, and a number of ceremonies. White fowls were waved as I have
before described, slaughtered, and the blood mixed with kuny-it, a yellow root,
which delightful mixture was freely scattered over them and their goods by
me, holding in my hand a dozen or two women's necklaces. [Source: “The
Expedition to Borneo of H.M.S. Dido For the Suppression of Piracy” by Henry
Keppel and James Brooke (1847)-]

"Amongst my Dyak inquiries, I found out that the name of their god is Tuppa,
and not Jovata, which they before gave me, and which they use, but do not
acknowledge. Tuppa is the great god; eight other gods were in heaven; one
fell or descended into Java, — seven remained above; one ef these is named
Sakarra, who, with his companions and followers, is (or is in) the constellation
of a cluster of stars, doubtless the Pleiades; and by the position of this
constellation the Dyaks can judge good and bad fortune. If this cluster of stars
be high in the heavens, success will attend the Dyak; when it sinks below the
horizon, ill luck follows.; fruit and crops will not ripen; war and famine are
dreaded. Probably originally this was but a simple and natural division of the
seasons, which has now become a gross superstition.-

The Dayaks consider orangutans to be the equals of humans, and they are
treated with the same respect as neighboring tribes. The Dayak believe that
loners belong to the tribe of the gibbons and gregarious people are kin to the
orangutan. The Dayak practiced tattooing as a religious art but the practice
has been banned by the Indonesian and Malaysian government.