View source for Dayak people

{{Short description|Austronesian ethnic group}}
{{AI-generated|date=October 2025}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group            = Dayak people<br>{{small|Dayaks}}
| native_name      = ''Dyak'''<br>'''Dayuh
| native_name_lang = 
| image            = COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Studioportret van een Dajak in krijgskleding TMnr 60033041.jpg
| caption          = Dayak chief as seen holding a spear and a [[Klebit Bok]] shield.
| population       = {{circa}} 4.2 million
| popplace1        = '''[[Borneo]]''':
| region1          = '''{{Flagcountry|Indonesia}}'''
| pop1             = {{circa}} 3,289,938<ref>{{cite web|url=https://media.neliti.com/media/publications/49956-ID-kewarganegaraan-suku-bangsa-agama-dan-bahasa-sehari-hari-penduduk-indonesia.pdf|author=|date=|title=Jumlah dan Persentase Penduduk menurut Kelompok Suku Bangsa|website=media.neliti.com|publisher=Kewarganegaraan, suku bangsa, agama dan bahasa sehari-hari penduduk Indonesia|access-date=13 May 2022}}</ref>
| region2 = '''{{Flagcountry|Malaysia}}'''
| pop2 = {{circa}} 911,894<ref name="popbreakdown">{{Cite journal|title=Population Distribution and Demography|url=http://www.statistics.gov.my/portal/download_Population/files/census2010/Taburan_Penduduk_dan_Ciri-ciri_Asas_Demografi.pdf|journal=Malaysian Department of Statistics|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113165406/http://www.statistics.gov.my/portal/download_Population/files/census2010/Taburan_Penduduk_dan_Ciri-ciri_Asas_Demografi.pdf|archive-date=13 November 2013}}</ref>
| religions        = '''Predominantly'''<br>[[File:Christian cross.svg|15px]] [[Christianity]] ([[Protestantism]], [[Roman Catholic|Catholicism]]) (62.7%)<br>'''Minorities'''<br>[[File:Star and Crescent.svg|15px]] [[Islam]] ([[Sunni Islam|Sunni]]) (31.6%)<br>[[Kaharingan]] (4.8%)<br>and Others (i.e. [[Animism]]) (0.9%)<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ananta |first1=Aris |last2=Arifin |first2=Evi |last3=Hasbullah |first3=M. |last4=Handayani |first4=Nur |last5=Pramono |first5=Wahyu |title=Demography of Indonesia's Ethnicity |date=2015 |publisher=ISEAS Publishing |location=Singapore |isbn=978-981-4519-87-8 |page=272 |url=https://bookshop.iseas.edu.sg/publication/2084 |access-date=8 May 2020}}</ref>
| languages        = '''Indigenous'''<br>[[Greater North Borneo languages|Greater North Borneo]] ([[Malayic languages|Malayic]], [[Land Dayak languages|Land Dayak]], [[Kayan-Murik languages|Kayan-Murik]], [[Central Sarawak languages|Central Sarawak]], [[North Sarawak languages|North Sarawak]], [[Sabahan languages|Sabahan]]) {{•}} [[Barito languages|Barito]] {{•}} [[Tamanic languages|Tamanic]] <br>'''Also'''<br>[[Indonesian language|Indonesian]] {{•}} [[Malaysian Malay|Malaysian]] {{•}} [[Malaysian English]]
| related          = '''[[Austronesian peoples]]'''<br>[[Banjar people|Banjarese]]{{•}}Bornean [[Malay people|Malays]]{{•}}[[Bajau people|Sama-Bajau]]{{•}}[[Rejang people|Rejang]]{{•}}[[Malagasy people|Malagasy]], etc.
}}

The '''Dayak''' ({{IPAc-en|'|d|aI|.|@|k|audio=En-us-Dayak from Indonesia pronunciation (Voice of America).ogg}}; [[Van Ophuijsen Spelling System|older spelling]]: '''Dajak'''), '''Dyak''', '''Dayuh''' or '''Dayaknese''', are the [[Austronesian peoples|Austronesian]] ethnic groups [[Indigenous groups|native]] of [[Borneo]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ethnologue.com/14/show_iso639.asp?code=day |title=Report for ISO 639 code: day |work=Ethnologue: Countries of the World |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001223408/http://www.ethnologue.com/14/show_iso639.asp?code=day |archive-date=1 October 2007 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> It is a loose term for over 200 riverine and hill-dwelling ethnic groups, located principally in the central and southern interior of [[Borneo]], each with its own dialect, customs, laws, territory, and culture, although common distinguishing traits are readily identifiable. The Dayak were [[animist]] ([[Kaharingan]] and Folk Hindus) in belief; however, since the 19th century there has been mass conversion to [[Christianity]] and to [[Islam]].<ref>{{citation|url=https://espace.curtin.edu.au/bitstream/handle/20.500.11937/35283/120656_12034_49851.pdf|url-status=live|title=The Dynamics of Conversion: the Islamisation of the Dayak peoples of Central Kalimantan |first=Ian |last=Chalmers |publisher=Asian Studies Association of Australia |year=2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140307234306/http://coombs.anu.edu.au/SpecialProj/ASAA/biennial-conference/2006/Chalmers-Ian-ASAA2006.pdf |archive-date=7 March 2014}}</ref>[[File:Sandung 101014-7588 mp.JPG|thumb|A ''[[sandung]]'', housing the remains of a Pesaguan Dayak after [[Tiwah]] ceremony which is a part of [[Kaharingan]] religion rituals.]]

==Etymology==
It is commonly assumed that the name originates from the [[Brunei Malay|Bruneian]] and [[Melanau language|Melanau]] word for "interior people", without any reference to an exact ethnic group. Particularly, it derives from a related [[Kenyah languages|Kenyah]] word for "upstream" (compare with ethnonym [[Lun Bawang|Lun ''Dayeh'']]).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lindblad |first1=J. Thomas |title=Between the Dayak and the Dutch: The Economic History of Southeast Kalimantan 1880-1942 |date=1988 |publisher=Foris Publications |location=Dordrecht |page=2}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author-link1=Robert Blust|last1=Blust |first1=Robert |last2=Truseel |first2=Stephen |title=*''daya'' upriver, toward the interior |url=https://acd.clld.org/cognatesets/30288 |website=Austronesian Comparative Dictionary Online |publisher=Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology |access-date=8 December 2024 |date=2010}}</ref> The term was adopted by Dutch and German authors as an umbrella term for any non-Muslim natives of Borneo. Thus, historically, the difference between Dayak and non-Dayak natives could be understood as a religious distinction. English writers disapproved of the classification made by the Dutch and Germans, with [[James Brooke]] preferring to use the term Dayak for only two distinct groups, the Land ([[Bidayuh]]) and Sea Dayaks ([[Iban people|Iban]]).<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/handle/1885/116158|author= Tillotson |date=1994|title=Who invented the Dayaks? : historical case studies in art, material culture and ethnic identity from Borneo|website=Open Research Library|pages= 2 v |publisher=Australian National University|doi= 10.25911/5d70f0cb47d77 |access-date=13 May 2022}}</ref>

The Dutch classification from the 19th century has since continued in [[Indonesia]] as a catch-all term for indigenous, often non-Muslim tribes on the island until today. The term gained traction in the early 1900s among rising middle class and intellectual figures (such as [[Hausman Baboe]]) from those tribes and being used as a unifying term for Dayaks in Kalimantan.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=van Klinken |first=Gerry |date=2007-11-15 |title=Dayak Ethnogenesis and Conservative Politics in Indonesia's Outer Islands |url=https://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=1030241 |language=en |location=Rochester, NY|ssrn=1030241 }}</ref> In [[Malaysia]], the term Dayak generally reserves as an almost exclusively reference to the natives of [[Sarawak]], namely [[Iban people|Iban]] (previously referred as Sea Dayaks) and [[Bidayuh]] (known as Land Dayak in the past).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Dayak|author=|date=|title=Dayak|website=Britanicca|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=13 May 2022}}</ref> However, some modern interpretations of the term also include the [[Orang Ulu]] groups in Sarawak.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://minorityrights.org/communities/indigenous-peoples-and-ethnic-minorities-in-sarawak/|title=Indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities in Sarawak in Malaysia|website=Minority Rights Group|date=16 October 2023 |access-date=14 January 2025}}</ref>

==Ethnicity and languages==
{{anchor|Languages}}<!---"Dayak languages" redirects here--->
Dayaks do not speak just one language.<ref name="Ave">{{cite book |last=Avé |first=J. B. |year=1972 |chapter=Kalimantan Dyaks |editor-last=LeBar |editor-first=Frank M. |title=Ethnic Groups of Insular Southeast Asia, Volume 1: Indonesia, Andaman Islands, and Madagascar |location=New Haven |publisher=Human Relations Area Files Press |pages=185–187|isbn=978-0-87536-403-2}}</ref> Their indigenous languages belong to different subgroups of the [[Malayo-Polynesian languages]], such as [[Land Dayak languages|Land Dayak]], [[Malayic languages|Malayic]], [[Sabahan languages|Sabahan]] (although the inclusion of Sabahan groups into Dayaks is not common in Malaysia), and [[Barito languages|Barito]] languages.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Adelaar |first=K. Alexander |year=1995 |title=Borneo as a cross-roads for comparative Austronesian linguistics |editor1=Bellwood, Peter |editor2=Fox. James J. |editor3=Tryon, Darrell |journal=The Austronesians: Historical and Comparative Perspectives |edition=online |publisher=Department of Anthropology, The Australian National University |location=Canberra, Australia |pages=81–102 |isbn=978-1-920942-85-4 |url=http://press.anu.edu.au/austronesians/austronesians/pdf/austronesians-whole.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140629211758/http://press.anu.edu.au/austronesians/austronesians/pdf/austronesians-whole.pdf |archive-date=29 June 2014 |url-status=dead |access-date=29 June 2014 |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref>See the language list at {{cite web |title=Borneo Languages: Languages of Kalimantan, Indonesia and East Malaysia |work=Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies, Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde (KITLV) |url=http://www.kitlv.nl/thesaurus/00001573.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120209002318/http://www.kitlv.nl/thesaurus/00001573.htm |archive-date=9 February 2012 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Nowadays most Dayaks are bilingual, in addition to their native language, are well-versed in [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]] and [[Malay language|Malay]], depending on their country of origin. Many of Borneo's languages are endemic (which means they are spoken nowhere else). This cultural and linguistic diversity parallels the high biodiversity and related [[traditional knowledge]] of Borneo.

It is estimated that around 170 languages and dialects are spoken on the island and some by just a few hundred people, thus posing a serious risk to the future of those languages and related heritage.

In 1954, [[Tjilik Riwut]] classified the various Dayak groups into 18 tribes throughout the island of Borneo, with 403 sub-tribes according to their respective native languages, customs, and cultures. However, he did not specify the name of the sub-tribes in his publication:<ref>{{cite journal |author=Masri Singarimbun |date=1991 |title=Beberapa aspek kehidupan masyarakat Dayak |journal=Humaniora |volume=3 |pages=139–151 |url=https://jurnal.ugm.ac.id/jurnal-humaniora/article/view/2083/1883 |access-date=3 May 2022}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! style="text-align: center; background: #aacccc;"|Cluster
! style="text-align: center; background: #aacccc;"|Tribe
! style="text-align: center; background: #aacccc;"|Number of sub-tribes
! style="text-align: center; background: #aacccc;"|Regions with significant population<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/355116976|author=Masri Singaribum|date=|title=Beberapa Aspek Kehidupan Masyarakat Dayak|website=media.neliti|publisher=|access-date=3 May 2022}}</ref>
|- valign="top"
| I. Ngaju
|
[[Ngaju people|Ngaju]]<br>
[[Ma'anyan people|Ma'anyan]]<br>
[[Lawangan people|Lawangan]]<br>
[[Ma'anyan people|Dusun]]<br>
| 
53<br>
8<br>
21<br>
8<br>
|Central-Southern Borneo
|- valign="top"
| II. Apukayan
|
[[Kenyah people|Kenyah]]<br>
[[Kayan people (Borneo)|Kayan]]<br>
[[Bahau people|Bahau]]<br>
| 
24<br>
10<br>
26<br>
|Northeastern Borneo
|- valign="top"
| III. Iban/Sea Dayaks
|
[[Iban people|Iban]]
| 
11<br>
|Northwestern inland and coastal Borneo
|- valign="top"
| IV. [[Klemantan people|Klemantan]]/Land Dayaks
|
[[Bidayuh|Klemantan]]<br>
Ketungau<br>
| 
47<br>
40<br>
|Northwestern outback Borneo
|- valign="top"
| V. [[Melanau–Kajang languages|Punan]]
|
[[Basap language|Basap]]<br>
[[Punan Bah|Punan]]<br>
Ot<br>
| 
20<br>
24<br>
5<br>
|Central-East Borneo
|- valign="top"
| VI. Murut
|
[[Ida'an|Idaan]]/[[Dusun people|Dusun]]<br>
[[Murut people|Murut]]<br>
[[Tidung people|Tidung]]<br>
| 
6<br>
10<br>
28<br>
|Northern Borneo
|- valign="top"
|VII. Ot Danum
|
[[Ot Danum people|Ot Danum]]
| 
61<br>
|Central-Southern Borneo
|- valign="top"
|}

==Religion==
{{Pie chart
|thumb = right
|caption = Religion of Dayak People in Indonesia
|label1 = [[Roman Catholic]]
|value1 = 32.1
|color1 = Purple
|label3 = [[Protestantism|Protestant]]
|value3 = 30.6
|color3 = DarkBlue
|label2 = [[Sunni Islam|Sunni Muslim]]
|value2 = 31.6
|color2 = DarkGreen
|label4 = [[Hinduism]]/[[Kaharingan]]
|value4 = 4.8
|color4 = DarkRed
|label5 = Others, mostly [[Animism]]
|value5 = 0.9
|color5 = Black

}}

===Kaharingan===
[[File:Panaturan.jpg|thumb|Panaturan scripture from 1992 edition.]]
In Indonesia, the Dayak indigenous religion has been given the name [[Kaharingan]] and may be said to be a form of [[animism]]. In 1945, during the [[Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies|Japanese occupation]], the Japanese referred to Kaharingan as the religion of the Dayak people. During the [[New Order (Indonesia)|New Order]] in the [[Suharto]] regime in 1980, the Kaharingan is registered as a form of [[Hinduism in Indonesia]], as the Indonesian state prior to 2017<ref>{{Cite news |title=Putusan MK 'angin segar' dan 'memulihkan martabat' penghayat kepercayaan |url=https://www.bbc.com/indonesia/indonesia-41886935 |access-date=2025-01-15 |work=BBC News Indonesia |language=id}}</ref> only recognised [[Religion in Indonesia#State-recognised religions|6 forms of religion]] i.e. Islam, Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism respectively. The integration of Kaharingan with Hinduism is not due to the similarities in the theological system, but because Kaharingan is the oldest belief in Kalimantan. Unlike the development in Indonesian Kalimantan, Kaharingan is not used as a religious designation in Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore, thus the traditional Dayak belief system is categorized as a form of folk animism or paganism outside of the Indonesian border.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Baier |first=Martin |date=2007 |title=The Development of the Hindu Kaharingan Religion: A New Dayak Religion in Central Kalimantan |journal=Anthropos |volume=102 |issue=2 |pages=566–570 |doi=10.5771/0257-9774-2007-2-566 |jstor=40389742}}</ref> After wider recognition of indigenous beliefs in Indonesia in 2017, Kaharingan has been sometimes included under the umbrella term [[Aliran Kepercayaan]], though some Kaharingan activists still demands further recognition as a separate religion outside of the umbrella term.<ref>{{Cite web |last=TRIWIBOWO |first=DIONISIUS REYNALDO |date=2021-06-02 |title=Penghayat Kaharingan Tetap Berjuang agar Diakui Negara |url=https://www.kompas.id/baca/dikbud/2021/06/02/penghayat-kaharingan-tetap-berjuang-agar-diakui-negara |access-date=2025-01-15 |website=kompas.id |language=id}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Admin 1 |date=2022-06-28 |title=Penganut Kaharingan Kini Tercatat Dalam Administrasi Kependudukan |url=https://abdipersadafm.co.id/2022/06/28/penganut-kaharingan-kini-tercatat-dalam-administrasi-kependudukan/ |access-date=2025-01-15 |website=LPPL Radio Abdi Persada 104,7 FM |language=id-ID}}</ref>

The practice of Kaharingan differs from group to group, but shamans, specialists in ecstatic flight to other spheres, are central to Dayak religion and serve to bring together the various realms of Heaven (Upper-world) and earth, and even Under-world, for example healing the sick by retrieving their souls which are journeying on their way to the Upper-world land of the dead, accompanying and protecting the soul of a dead person on the way to their proper place in the Upper-world, presiding over annual renewal and agricultural regeneration festivals, etc.<ref>The most detailed study of the shamanistic ritual at funerals is by Waldemar Stöhr, ''Der Totenkult der Ngadju Dajak in Süd-Borneo. Mythen zum Totenkult und die Texte zum Tantolak Matei'' (Den Haag: Martinus Nijhoff, 1966).</ref> Death rituals are most elaborate when a noble (''kamang'') dies.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Dowling |first=Nancy |date=1992 |title=The Javanization of Indian Art |journal=Indonesia |volume=54 |issue=54 |pages=117–138 |doi=10.2307/3351167 |jstor=3351167 |hdl-access=free |hdl=1813/53986}}</ref> Due to the institutionalization of Kaharingan beliefs in Indonesia, Kaharingan practices in Kalimantan have been recently codified and remolded into more organized religion, such as with codification of ''Panaturan'' as scripture of Kaharingan in 1971,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Etika |first1=Tiwi |last2=Schiller |first2=Anne |date=2022-05-01 |title=Kaharingan or Hindu KaharinganWhat's in a Name in Indonesian Borneo? |url=https://online.ucpress.edu/nr/article/25/4/64/168635/Kaharingan-or-Hindu-KaharinganWhat-s-in-a-Name-in |journal=Nova Religio |language=en |volume=25 |issue=4 |pages=64–87 |doi=10.1525/nr.2022.25.4.64 |s2cid=248711574 |issn=1092-6690|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Sutama |first1=Putu |last2=Arina Luardini |first2=Maria |last3=Asi |first3=Natalina |date=2020-02-19 |title=The Religious Text 'Panaturan' of the Dayak Ngaju Community |journal=KnE Social Sciences |doi=10.18502/kss.v4i4.6489 |s2cid=212716036 |issn=2518-668X|doi-access=free }}</ref> creation of official Kaharingan body Hindu Kaharingan Religion Council (''Majelis Agama Hindu Kaharingan'') in 1980, and standardization of its house of worship buildings called ''Balai Basarah''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Baier |first=Martin |date=2007 |title=The Development of the Hindu Kaharingan Religion. A New Dayak Religion in Central Kalimanta |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.5771/0257-9774-2007-2-566 |journal=Anthropos |volume=102 |issue=2 |pages=566–570 |doi=10.5771/0257-9774-2007-2-566 |issn=0257-9774|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Baier |first=Martin |date=January 2007 |title=The Development of a New Religion in Kalimantan, Central Borneo |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1683478x.2007.10552574 |journal=Asian Anthropology |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=169–182 |doi=10.1080/1683478x.2007.10552574 |s2cid=129770494 |issn=1683-478X|url-access=subscription }}</ref> However, not all adherents agree with the Hindu classification; a rival body called the Indonesian Kaharingan Religion Council (Majelis Agama Kaharingan Indonesia) was formed to assert Kaharingan as an independent religion, distinct from Hinduism.

===Christianity===
Over the last two centuries, many Dayaks have converted to Christianity, making them the majority of Christians in Borneo, abandoning certain cultural rites and traditional practices in the process. Christianity was introduced by European missionaries in Borneo by [[Rhenish Missionary Society|Rheinische Missionsgesellschaft]] (later followed up by the [[Basel Mission|Basler Mission]]).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rahman Hakim |first=Arif |title=Sejarah kota Palangka Raya |publisher=Palangka Raya : Pemerintah Kota Palangka Raya |year=2003 |isbn=979-97978-0-2 |location=Palangka Raya |pages=18–20}}</ref> Religious differences between Muslim and Christian natives of Borneo have led, at various times, to communal tensions.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Jan B. |last1=Avé |first2=Victor T. |last2=King |title=The People of the Weeping Forest: Tradition and Change in Borneo |location=Leiden, Netherlands |publisher=[[National Museum of Ethnology (Netherlands)|National Museum of Ethnology]] |year=1986 |isbn=978-9-07131-028-7}}</ref> Relations, however between all religious groups are generally good.

===Islam===
Traditionally, in many parts of Borneo, embracing the Muslim faith is equated with [[Malayisation]] (Indonesian/Malay: {{lang|ms|masuk Melayu}}), i.e. assimilation into the broader [[Malays (ethnic group)|Malay ethnicity]]. There are, however, several Dayak sub-ethnicities (mainly in [[Central Kalimantan]]) that predominantly adhere to Islam, but self-identify as Dayaks. These include e.g. the [[Bakumpai people]], who converted to Islam in the 19th century, but still have strong linguistic and cultural ties to the [[Ngaju people]]. They have adopted a positive attitude towards the label "Dayak" and self-identify as ''Muslim Dayaks''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chalmers |first=Ian |title=Asia Reconstructed: Proceedings of the 16th Biennial Conference of the ASAA |date=2006 |publisher=Australian National University |editor-last=Vickers |editor-first=A. |location=Wollongong, NSW |chapter=The Dynamics of Conversion: the Islamisation of the Dayak peoples of Central Kalimantan |hdl=20.500.11937/35283 |isbn=9780958083737 |editor-last2=Hanlon |editor-first2=M. |hdl-access=free}}</ref>

==Society and customs==
{{See also|Dayak in politics}}

===Economic activities===
Historically, most of the Dayak people are [[Slash-and-burn|swidden]] cultivators who supplement their incomes by seeking forest products, both for subsistence (ferns, medicinal plants, fibers, and timber) and for sale; by fishing and hunting and by periodic wage labor.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Colfer |first1=Carol J. Pierce |title=People Managing Forests: The Links Between Human Well-Being and Sustainability |last2=Byron |first2=Yvonne |date=2001 |publisher=Resources for the Future |isbn=1-891853-05-8 |location=Washington, DC}}</ref> Presently, many modern-day Dayaks are also actively engaged in many contemporary economic activities, especially in the [[Borneo#10 largest cities and towns in Borneo by population|urban areas]] of Borneo.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14631360220132745|author=Boulanger|date=2010|title=Inventing Tradition, Inventing Modernity: Dayak Identity in Urban Sarawak
|language=|journal=Asian Ethnicity|volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=221–231 |publisher=Taylor & Francis|doi=10.1080/14631360220132745 |s2cid=144515877 |access-date=3 June 2022|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

=== Agricultural Practices===
[[File:Tari Hudoq.jpg|thumb|[[Hudoq]] dance, a [[Bahau people|Bahau]] performance before the land clearing ceremony]]
The Dayak people traditionally practice [[shifting cultivation]], a form of agriculture adapted to the tropical forest environment of Borneo. This method involves clearing small plots of forest through controlled [[slash-and-burn]] techniques, allowing the ash to enrich the soil before planting. Crops typically include upland rice, tubers, vegetables and fruits. After several [[harvest]]s, the land is left fallow to regenerate while cultivation shifts to a new area, maintaining a balance with the natural ecosystem. Field preparation is generally done during the [[dry season]], and planting begins with the onset of the rains. Tools used remain largely traditional, such as [[machete]]s, digging sticks and hoes, although some communities have adopted modern equipment like [[chainsaw]]s.<ref name="Farming the Ancestors' Way">{{cite web|url=https://www.borneonaturefoundation.org/community/farming-with-the-ancestors-way/|title=Farming the Ancestors' Way|website=Borneo Nature Foundation|date=28 October 2021 |access-date=1 May 2025}}</ref>

Rice holds a central role not only as a [[Staple food|staple crop]] but also as a culturally significant element in Dayak spiritual and ceremonial life. Seeds are often passed down through generations and specific rice varieties are reserved for rituals and community events. Farming is typically a communal activity, involving mutual cooperation during land preparation and harvest. Despite the increasing influence of modern agricultural practices and environmental regulations—particularly restrictions on burning—many Dayak communities continue to uphold traditional farming as a means of food security and cultural preservation.<ref name="Farming the Ancestors' Way"/>

===Toplessness===
In the [[Indonesia|Indonesian archipelago]], [[toplessness]] was the [[Norm (social)|norm]] among the Dayak people, [[Javanese people|Javanese]], and  [[Balinese people]] of Indonesia before [[Spread of Islam in Indonesia|the introduction of Islam]] and contact with Western cultures. In Javanese and Balinese societies, women worked or rested comfortably topless. Among the Dayak, only big-breasted women or married women with [[ptosis (breasts)|sagging]] breasts covered their breasts because they interfered with their work. With the availability of shirts, toplessness was abandoned.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite book |last=Duerr |first=Hans Peter |title=Der Mythos vom Zivilisationsprozeß |date=1997 |publisher=Suhrkamp |volume=4: Der Erotische Leib |location=Frankfurt am Main |language=de}}</ref>

===Tattoo===
[[File:Handtatoeage op Borneo, KITLV 173537.tiff|thumb|100px|A Dayak tattoo design in Kalimantan, c. 1880.]]
In many Dayak societies, a [[tattoo]] is regarded as a sacred creation that consolidates together the images of humans, flora, and fauna into a single body art.<ref name="Tattmag Team">{{cite web|url=https://tattmag.com/dayak-tattoos/|author=Tattmag Team |date=16 December 2019|title=40 DAYAK TATTOOS: ORIGINS, MEANINGS & MORE|website=tattmag.com/|access-date=6 December 2023}}</ref> The tattoo is used as a spiritual expression of life, to unify the living, the spiritual powers, and the universe.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.larskrutak.com/in-the-realm-of-spirits-traditional-dayak-tattoo-in-borneo/|author= |date=23 November 2012|title=IN THE REALM OF SPIRITS: TRADITIONAL DAYAK TATTOO IN BORNEO|website=larskrutak.com|access-date=6 December 2023}}</ref>

Traditionally, there are various reasons why a Dayak man or woman would choose body art. For some, it was used to mark a person's ethnic origin and rank in society. For others, the tattoo served as an act of devotion, as a demonstration of skills, to commemorate a special occasion in life, or as a symbol for the [[rite of passage]].<ref name="Tattmag Team"/>

===Elongated earlobes===
Amongst several Dayak groups in the past, long female [[earlobe]]s are regarded as a symbol of beauty. The [[Stretching (body piercing)|elongation process]] usually begins when the child is about 4 years old. During the initial stage, her ears will be pierced by an earring, so that the hisang (a special heavy silver or bronze earring) can be worn on her ears.

A new hisang will gradually be added with age. After a woman is married, her hisang will potentially be up to 20 pieces per-ear. As the hisang was sourced from precious and expansive metals like silver and bronze, it can signify her [[Social status|status]], wealth, and social standing within the society. Thus, the longer her earlobes, the more important she is to the community. Presently, the practice of having stretched earlobes is almost limited to the elderly, as the practice of applying hisang amongst newborn babies has been rare since the 1960s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?339150/The-Last-Long-Earlobes|author=Tattmag Team |date=27 November 2023|title=40The Last Long Earlobes|website=panda.org|access-date=6 December 2023}}</ref>

===Longhouses===
[[File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM De binnengalerij van een Kayan Dajak huis met schedels en wapens aan de muur TMnr 10018343.jpg|thumb|The gallery of a [[Kayan people (Borneo)|Kayan Dayak]] longhouse with skulls and weapons along the wall, exhibiting their headhunter culture]]
In the traditional Dayak society, the [[long house]] or [[Lamin House]], is regarded as the heart of the community, it functions as the village, as well as the societal architectural expression. This large building, sometimes exceeding 200 meters in length, may be divided into independent household apartments. The building is also equipped with communal areas for cooking, ceremonies, socializing, and blacksmithing.

The superstructure is not solely about architecture and design. It is a part of the Dayak traditional political entity and administrative system. Thus, culturally the people residing in the longhouse are governed by the customs and traditions of the longhouse.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kaltimber.com/blog/2020/7/20/dayak-architecture-and-art-the-use-of-longhouse|author= |date=20 July 2020|title=Dayak Architecture and Art: The Use of Longhouse|website=Kaltimber|access-date=16 May 2022}}</ref>

===Beadworks===
[[File:Wovensouls-Dayak-Baby-Carrier-Old.jpg|thumb|175px|A traditional Dayak beaded [[Baby sling|baby carrier]]]]
Based on the archeological records in Borneo, it was discovered that the early inhabitants of the island had used organic materials to make simple [[bead]]s. The beads were originally sourced from stones, bones, teeth, and shells. When the foreign traders arrived between the 8th-9th century, they further enhanced the ancient bead cultures of Borneo with the introduction of [[Glass bead making|colourful glass beads]]. These early beads are usually small, in basic colours of red, yellow, white, turquoise, and black. These were followed by multicolored beads around the 1500s-1600s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.borneotalk.com/beads/|author= |date=|title=Beads Culture|website=Borneo Talk|access-date=16 May 2022}}</ref>

Traditional [[beadwork]]s have occupied a pivotal status in various Dayak communities. In many Dayak cultures, beads are not solely regarded as ornamental objects, but they are a major cultural influence.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://espace.curtin.edu.au/bitstream/handle/20.500.11937/86025/85847.pdf?sequence=2|author= Terry Justin Dit, Eileen Paya Foong |date=|title=The Importance Of Preserving Memories: A Story Of A Long Apu Family's Pesaka Beads |website=Curtin.edu|access-date=16 May 2022}}</ref> Some of the beads only being used for ritualistic practices and are worn during such ceremonies. While heirloom beads (known as pesaka) are regarded as an important family heirloom and oftentimes being inherited from one generation to another.

===Metal-working===
[[Metalworking]] is elaborately developed in making {{transliteration|mis|[[Mandau (knife)|mandaus]]}} (machetes – {{transliteration|ms|[[Parang (knife)|parang]]}} in Malay and Indonesian). The blade is made of softer iron, to prevent breakage, with a narrow strip of a harder iron wedged into a slot in the cutting edge for sharpness in a process called {{transliteration|mis|ngamboh}} (iron-smithing).

In headhunting, it was necessary to be able to draw the {{transliteration|ms|parang}} quickly. For this purpose, the {{transliteration|mis|mandau}} is fairly short, which also better serves the purpose of trail cutting in dense forests. 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.

===Headhunting and peacemaking===
[[File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Gezicht vanaf de Kahajan rivier op de Dajak kampong Toembanganoi Midden-Borneo. TMnr 60010391.jpg|thumb|The Dayak longhouses along the [[Kahayan River]] taken in ''Tumbang Anoi village'' (c. 1894). ]]
In the past, the Dayaks were feared for their ancient tradition of [[headhunting]] practices (the ritual is also known as ''Ngayau'' by the Dayaks).

Among the most prominent legacies during the colonial rule in the [[Dutch East Indies|Dutch Borneo]] (present-day Kalimantan) is the ''Tumbang Anoi Agreement'' held in 1894 in Damang Batu, Central Kalimantan (the seat of the [[Ngaju people|Kahayan Dayaks]]). It is a formal meeting that gathered all the Dayak tribes in Kalimantan for a peace resolution. In the meeting that is reputed to take several months, the Dayak people throughout the Kalimantan agreed to end the headhunting tradition as it believed the tradition caused conflict and tension between various Dayak groups. The meeting ended with a peace resolution by the Dayak people.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Robert Kenneth |date=26 July 2019 |title=Dayaks Gather to Mark Peace Treaty |work=New Sarawak Tribune |url=https://www.newsarawaktribune.com.my/dayaks-gather-to-mark-peace-treaty/ |access-date=2020-01-18}}</ref>

Subsequently, the headhunting began to surface again in the mid-1940s, when the [[Allies of World War II|Allied powers]] encouraged the practice against the [[Empire of Japan|Japanese]] occupation of Borneo.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/09/opinion/09iht-edheiman.1.8264661.html |first=Judith M. |last=Heimannov |title='Guests' can succeed where occupiers fail |date=9 November 2007 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=3 December 2016}}</ref> It also slightly surged in the late 1960s when the [[Government of Indonesia|Indonesian government]] encouraged Dayaks to purge the [[Malaysian Chinese|Chinese]] from interior Kalimantan who were suspected of supporting communism in mainland China, and in a period of high tension between [[Madurese people|Madurese]] emigrants and Dayak during the [[Sambas riots|Sambas]] and [[Sampit conflict|Sampit]] conflicts around the turn of the century.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://indahnesia.com/indonesia/SAMCHR/chronology.php |title=The Sampit conflict – Chronology of violence in Central Kalimantan |work=Discover Indonesia Online |access-date=3 December 2016}}</ref>

===Military===
The Dayak soldiers or trackers are regarded as equivalent in bravery to the [[Royal Scots]] or the [[Gurkha]] soldiers. The [[Sarawak Rangers]] were absorbed into the British Army as the Far East Land Forces which could be deployed anywhere in the world but upon the formation of Malaysia in 1963, it formed the basis of the present-day [[Royal Ranger Regiment]].<ref>Robert Rizal Abdullah (2019). The Iban Trackers and Sarawak Rangers: 1948–1963. Available at https://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/25997/1/The%20Iban%20Trackers%20and%20Sarawak%20Rangers.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211128120112/https://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/25997/1/The%20Iban%20Trackers%20and%20Sarawak%20Rangers.pdf |date=28 November 2021 }}. (Accessed on 18/01/2020)</ref>

While in Indonesia, [[Tjilik Riwut]] was remembered as he led the first [[airborne operation]] by [[Indonesian National Armed Forces|the Indonesian National Armed Forces]] on 17 October 1947. The team was known as MN 1001, with 17 October celebrated annually as the anniversary date for the [[Indonesian Air Force]] [[Paskhas]], which traces its origins to that pioneer paratroop operation in Borneo.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0fQGCgAAQBAJ|title=Mengenal Seni dan Budaya Indonesia|first1=R. |last1=Rizky |first2=T. |last2=Wibisono|year=2012|publisher=Penebar CIF|language=id|isbn=978-9797883102|page=74}}</ref>

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:Maanyan Women at Keang Ethnic Festival 151030003.JPG|[[Ma'anyan people|Ma'anyan]] women during Keang Ethnic Festival
File:Kenyah mural painting.jpg|Colourful wall art by the [[Kenyah people|Kenyah]] people
File:An Iban Warrior, Sarawak, Malaysia.jpg|An [[Iban people|Iban]] (Sea Dayak) man from Sarawak in his warrior costume
File:Rumah Adat Bidayuh.jpg|A ''Baluk'' in [[Bengkayang Regency|Jagoi Babang]], West Kalimantan, the ceremonial hall for [[Bidayuh]] (Land Dayak) people
Poenan meisje in de Apo Kajan op Oost-Borneo, KITLV 173982.tiff|A [[Punan Bah|Punan]] girl, some Dayak tribes are known for their [[Stretching (body piercing)|elongated earlobes]] formed by iron earrings (1931–1932)
File:Lansaran (9282850708).jpg|''Lansaran'', a [[Murut people|Murut]] traditional [[trampoline]] game
File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Getatoeëerde Dajak Borneo TMnr 10002836.jpg|A [[Bornean traditional tattooing|tattooed]] Dayak man from Central Borneo, possibly of [[Ot Danum people|Ot Danum]] origin (1880–1920)
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[List of Dayak people]]
* [[Sapeh]]
* [[Bornean tiger#In culture|View of the tiger]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|title=The Sea Dayaks of Borneo Before White Rajah Rule|author=Benedict Sandin|year=1967|publisher=Macmillan}}
* {{cite book|author=Derek Freeman|title=Iban Agriculture: A Report on the Shifting Cultivation of Hill Rice by the Iban of Sarawak|year=1955|publisher=H.M. Stationery Office}}
* {{cite book|author=Derek Freeman|title=Report on the Iban|year=1970|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic}}
* {{cite book|author=Eric Hansen|title=Stranger in the Forest: On Foot Across Borneo|year=1988|publisher=Vintage Books|isbn=9780375724954}}
* {{cite book|author=Hans Schärer|title=Ngaju Religion: The Conception of God among a South Borneo People|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|year=2013|isbn=9789401193467}}
* {{cite book|author=Jean Yves Domalain|title=Panjamon: I was a Headhunter|publisher=William Morrow|year=1973|isbn=9780688000288|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/ransomclea00clea}}
* {{cite book|author=Judith M. Heimann|title=The Airmen and the Headhunters: A True Story of Lost Soldiers, Heroic Tribesmen and the Unlikeliest Rescue of World War II|year=2009|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|isbn=9780547416069}}
* {{cite book|author=Norma R. Youngberg|title=The Queen's Gold|year=2000|publisher=TEACH Services|isbn=9781572581555}}
* {{cite book|author=Peter Goullart|title=River of the White Lily: Life in Sarawak|publisher=John Murray|year=1965|isbn=0-7195-0542-9}}
* {{cite book|author=Raymond Corbey|title=Of Jars and Gongs: Two Keys to Ot Danum Dayak Cosmology|publisher=C. Zwartenkot Art Books|year=2016|isbn=9789054500162}}
* {{cite book|author=St. [[Spenser St. John|John, Sir Spenser]]|year=1879|url=https://archive.org/stream/lifesirjamesbro01johngoog|title=The life of Sir James Brooke: Rajah of Sarawak: From His Personal Papers and Correspondence|publisher=Edinburgh & London}}
* {{cite book|author=Syamsuddin Haris|title=Desentralisasi dan Otonomi Daerah: Desentralisasi, Demokratisasi & Akuntabilitas Pemerintahan Daerah|publisher=Yayasan Obor Indonesia|year=2005|isbn=9789799801418}}
* {{cite book|title=Essays on Borneo Societies|author=Victor T King|year=1978|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780197134344}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Dayak people}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100605101742/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article5908207.ece Tribal peoples are fighting huge hydro-electric projects that are carving up the island's rainforest]
* [http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt4580337s/ The J. Arthur and Edna Mouw papers] at the Hoover Institution Archives focuses on the interaction of Christian missionaries with Dayak people in Borneo.
* [https://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/airmen-and-the-headhunters/4391/ The Airmen and the Headhunters] Documentary produced by the [[PBS]] Series [[Secrets of the Dead]]

{{Ethnic groups in Indonesia}}
{{Ethnic groups in Malaysia}}
{{Borneo}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dayak people}}
[[Category:Dayak people| ]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Indonesia]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Sarawak]]
[[Category:Kalimantan]]
[[Category:Headhunting]]
[[Category:Indigenous peoples of Southeast Asia]]