Dayak people
The Dayak people are Indigenous, non-Muslim ethnic groups primarily residing on the island of Borneo, which is divided among Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei. Comprising over four hundred distinct groups, they predominantly inhabit Indonesia's four provinces of Borneo, with the majority in West Kalimantan. The Dayak population is estimated to be between two and four million, and notable groups include the Iban, Bidayuh, and Ngaju. Historically, the Dayak people are recognized as fierce warriors, known for practices such as headhunting. Their societal structure and cultural practices have been influenced by centuries of external pressures, including colonization and displacement due to logging and agricultural practices.
Today, the Dayak continue to engage in traditional agriculture, primarily through shifting cultivation and rice farming, while some have migrated to urban areas for labor opportunities. Despite their resilience, they face ongoing challenges regarding political representation and cultural preservation, particularly concerning their languages and traditions. In recent years, Dayak activists have sought greater recognition and rights, particularly in light of environmental concerns related to deforestation. Efforts such as the REDD+ program highlight the Dayak's commitment to conservation and ecological balance, striving to protect their homeland from further degradation.
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Dayak people
The term Dayak (also spelled Dyak or Dajak) refers to the Indigenous, non-Muslim peoples of Borneo, an island in Southeast Asia controlled by three countries—Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei. The majority of Dayaks are found in the Indonesian section of Borneo, which is divided into four provinces: South Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, and West Kalimantan. Most Dayaks live in West Kalimantan. Other smaller populations are found in the state of Sarawak on the Malaysian part of the island and in the tiny country of Brunei.
The Dayak people represent more than four hundred Indigenous ethnic groups. Although there are traditional differences among these groups, they share many similarities, including their cultural myths, their diets, and the structure of their dwellings. Estimates in the mid-2010s put the Dayak population somewhere between two and four million. Some of the ethnic groups within the larger Dayak category include the Iban, the Bakumpai, the Dayak Bukit, the Bidayuh, the Kayan (Bahau), the Ngaju, and the Sihan.
Brief History
It is believed that the Dayak people's ancestors probably migrated to Borneo between 3,000 and 4,500 years ago. For centuries, most of the Dayak people lived along the larger rivers in communities of about six hundred people. The Dayak people were fierce warriors who were known at one point for the practice of headhunting, which involved beheading an enemy and keeping the head as a trophy. Some warriors even received tattoos to represent their achievements in headhunting.
Despite their fearsome reputation, the Dayak people were forced to move farther inland away from the coasts as the Malays immigrated to the island. By the sixteenth century, the Muslim sultanate of Brunei controlled much of the island. This led the Dayak people to become marginalized by the government, which viewed the Indigenous people as second-class citizens. Some Dayak peoples were even forced into slavery.
Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan visited Borneo around 1521. Tales of his expedition there and details about the wealthy sultanate enticed other explorers to travel to the island. English and Dutch traders soon began doing business in Borneo. European influence eventually led to a period of unrest in Borneo, but many of the Dayak people, who remained in the island's interior, were unaffected by the conflict among the Europeans and the sultanate. It was not until the nineteenth century that the Dayak people began to have more contact with Europeans.
Around this time, Christian missionaries began arriving in Borneo. Due to their influence, many Dayak people eventually identified themselves as Christian. In 1839, James Brooke, a British subject, came to Borneo and offered to help the sultanate put down rebellions and headhunting by the Dayak people. Brooke was successful in his efforts. As a reward, he became the British raja of Sarawak. The Brooke Raj had control of this area until the mid-twentieth century. Dutch colonial forces ruled over much of the rest of the island during this time.
Following World War II (1939–1945), the Dayak people, who were still very much in the minority at the time, called for a territory of their own called the Great Dayak in the central-western portion of the island. Efforts to work with the Muslim majority to secure the territory failed. This led to a brief rebellion in 1956 between Christian and Kaharingan (a form of ancestor worship) Dayak. West Kalimantan was formed in 1957, and it had a Dayak majority. However, many Dayak people died in 1965 during an attempt by the Communist Party of Indonesia to take over the government. After that attempt failed, government officials became suspicious of Dayak who practiced Kaharingan, which authorities believed to be atheistic and communist. After years of negotiation, the government finally recognized Kaharingan as an offshoot of Hinduism. Still, some people believed that this was turning the Indigenous belief system into something it was not for political purposes.
During the 1970s, the clearing of the rainforests for logging and other purposes led to the displacement of millions of Indigenous people, including Dayak people. In addition, throughout the late twentieth century, the Indonesian government resettled hundreds of thousands of Javanese and Madurese on Borneo. This further marginalized the Dayak people in their own homeland. Tensions among these groups led to outbreaks of violence by the Dayak people against the Madurese and other ethnicities in 1997, 1999, and 2001. The fighting is thought to have resulted in the deaths of thousands of Madurese. Dayak activists claimed that they had to fight against what they believe to be cultural genocide committed by government leaders who allowed for the destruction and resettlement of traditional Dayak lands.
Topic Today
For many years, Dayak peoples have relied on agriculture to provide food to sustain their communities and to provide stable employment. Most Dayak people practiced shifting cultivation, which involved using a particular area for crops for a while and then abandoning it until its fertility was restored naturally. Some Dayak people were also hunter-gatherers who moved from place to place. In modern times, Dayak people continue to farm, though most now cultivate rice. Other Dayak people have found work as manual laborers in cities.
Even in the twenty-first century, the Dayak people continue to struggle for better opportunities and more representation in their governments. Several Dayak people were appointed chief ministers in the Malaysian part of Borneo during the 1960s. Little political advancement has been seen since then, and only Dayak people who express unwavering support for the government are allowed to keep their positions. Nevertheless, Malaysia announced in 2015 that the government would officially recognize Dayak peoples by adding Dayak as an ethnicity option on government forms. Dayak activists in Borneo saw this as a major victory.
Since a regime change in the late 1990s, the Dayak people on the Indonesian side of the island have slowly gained more power. Dayak people have been elected to local legislative councils and several have served as the heads of the local executive. Still, Dayak languages are prohibited in almost all schools, even in provinces where the Dayak people are the majority. In the twenty-first century, the Dayak people continue to fight for more inclusion of their culture and language in Bornean society.
Another growing concern has been deforestation in Borneo's rainforests, which contributes to climate change and destroys the traditional Dayak homeland. Some Dayak people have led conservation efforts to preserve the forests. For example, Dayak Kenyah Oma'lung peoples, a subgroup of Dayak peoples, are particularly known for their efforts to protect and maintain ecological balance in the Tana Olen, or "Forbidden Forest." The group has collaborated with the United Nations to support the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) program. Through the REDD program, forest owners are paid not to cut down their trees. The hope was that this program would prevent struggling forest owners from selling their land to companies that would destroy the natural ecosystem to farm palm oil or harvest wood. However, forest fires, flooding, palm oil plantations, and mining continue to degrade Dayak land.
Bibliography
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