Who Are the Dayak?
The Dayak are the indigenous peoples of Borneo, comprising over 200 distinct ethnic groups and numbering approximately 4-5 million across Indonesian Kalimantan, Malaysian Sarawak and Sabah, and Brunei. Major groups include the Iban, Bidayuh, Kenyah, Kayan, and Ngaju—each with distinct languages, customs, and territories. The term "Dayak" (meaning "inland" or "upriver") groups diverse peoples sharing certain features: traditionally living in longhouses, practicing swidden agriculture, and (historically) headhunting. Today, Dayak face acute challenges from logging, palm oil plantations, mining, and dam projects that destroy their rainforest homelands.
Longhouse Culture
The longhouse (rumah panjang, rumah betang) is central to Dayak social organization—a single elevated structure housing an entire community, with private family apartments (bilik) along a common gallery. Longhouses could extend hundreds of meters, housing 50+ families. The communal structure fostered cooperation, collective decision-making, and shared rituals. Architecture varied by group; some featured elaborate carvings. Longhouse communities governed by customary law (adat), with headmen (tuai rumah for Iban) mediating disputes. While many Dayak now live in individual houses, longhouse culture shapes identity, and some communities maintain or rebuild longhouses as cultural centers.
Forest and Livelihood
Dayak developed sophisticated relationships with Borneo's rainforest over millennia. Swidden (slash-and-burn) agriculture rotated fields through forest, maintaining biodiversity while producing rice. Hunting, fishing, and gathering forest products supplemented farming. Dayak knowledge of plants, animals, and forest ecology represents accumulated wisdom. Traditional territory (tanah adat) was managed collectively; customary law governed resource use. This sustainable system now faces destruction: logging companies clearcut forests; palm oil plantations replace biodiverse rainforest with monocultures; mining pollutes rivers. Dayak communities lose livelihoods, territories, and cultural foundations as forests disappear.
Land Rights Struggles
Dayak face acute land conflicts across Borneo. Indonesian and Malaysian governments often don't recognize customary land tenure, granting concessions to companies over Dayak territories. Palm oil expansion has been particularly destructive—Borneo lost over 30% of its forest from 1973-2015. Dayak communities have mounted legal challenges, blockaded operations, and sought international attention. Some victories have occurred; courts have occasionally recognized adat land rights. But power imbalances favor corporations and governments. Dayak advocates argue that securing land rights is essential not only for indigenous survival but for global climate and biodiversity—Borneo's forests are vital carbon sinks and biodiversity hotspots.
Contemporary Dayak
Modern Dayak navigate between forest communities and urban centers, traditional practices and global connections. Political representation has increased—Dayak politicians hold positions in Malaysian and Indonesian regional governments. Cultural festivals, revived rituals, and traditional arts maintain identity. Yet challenges mount: younger generations often migrate to cities; languages decline; and land losses continue. The Dayak Iban of Sarawak, Ngaju of Central Kalimantan, and other groups assert distinctive identities while sharing common struggles. How Dayak protect remaining territories, maintain cultures amid urbanization, and gain meaningful political voice shapes their survival as rainforest peoples.
References
- King, V. T. (1993). The Peoples of Borneo
- Sellato, B. (1989). Hornbill and Dragon: Arts and Culture of Borneo
- Colchester, M. et al. (2006). Justice in the Forest: Rural Livelihoods and Forest Law Enforcement