Who Are the Dayak?
Dayak is a collective term for the indigenous peoples of Borneo (Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei), encompassing over 200 distinct ethnic groups numbering approximately 4-5 million people. Major Dayak groups include the Iban (Sea Dayak), Bidayuh, Kayan, Kenyah, Ngaju, and many others. They speak various Malayo-Polynesian languages of the Austronesian family. Dayak peoples traditionally inhabited the interior rainforests of Borneo, practicing swidden agriculture, hunting, and fishing. They are famous for their longhouse communities, elaborate tattoo traditions, and historical headhunting practices. Despite their diversity, Dayak peoples share cultural elements including animist beliefs, river-oriented settlement, and distinctive art forms.
Longhouse Communities
The longhouse (rumah panjang, rumah betang) is the iconic Dayak dwelling—an extended structure housing multiple families in separate apartments (bilek) under a single roof, connected by a common veranda (ruai). Longhouses can extend hundreds of meters, housing entire communities. The structure embodies Dayak communal values: shared space for ceremonies and social life, mutual aid among residents, and collective identity. The veranda serves as public space for meetings, rituals, and craft work. Each family maintains private quarters while participating in communal activities. Though many Dayak now live in individual houses, longhouses remain important culturally, with some maintained for ceremonies and tourism.
Headhunting Heritage
Dayak peoples historically practiced headhunting as a ritual complex connected to agriculture, warfare, and spiritual power. Collected heads were believed to bring prosperity, protect against misfortune, and ensure agricultural fertility. Heads were required for certain ceremonies and life transitions. The practice was suppressed by colonial authorities (Dutch, British, Brooke) in the 19th and early 20th centuries. However, headhunting briefly revived during World War II (against Japanese occupiers) and during ethnic violence in Kalimantan in 1997-2001. While the practice has ended, its memory shapes Dayak warrior identity and appears in art, dance, and festivals. Former headhunting sites may retain ritual significance.
Contemporary Dayak
Modern Dayak face severe challenges from deforestation, palm oil plantations, mining, and dam projects that destroy traditional territories. Land rights conflicts pit Dayak communities against corporations and governments. In Indonesian Kalimantan, Dayak were marginalized by transmigration programs bringing Javanese and Madurese settlers, erupting in ethnic violence in the late 1990s. In Malaysian Sarawak and Sabah, Dayak comprise significant populations with some political representation. Many Dayak have converted to Christianity or Islam while others maintain traditional beliefs (Kaharingan, recognized as a form of Hinduism). Indigenous rights activism, environmental protection, and cultural revival movements define contemporary Dayak organizing.
References
- King, V. T. (1993). The Peoples of Borneo
- Sather, C. (1996). "'All Threads Are White': Iban Egalitarianism Reconsidered"
- Sellato, B. (1989). Nomads of the Borneo Rainforest