paren nyawi's blog: Who is Dayak ?? (from Malaysian Perspective)

DAYAK is a generic term that has no precise ethnic or tribal significance but distinguishes the indigenous people from the largely Malay population of the coastal areas.This term is UNIVERSAL given by Westerners (BORNEO & DAYAK origin 1830s)..When its come to LOCAL CONTEXT ? (the definition is slightly difference)Since BORNEO is comprises of INDONESIA BORNEO(Kalimantan),MALAYSIAN BORNEO( East Malaysia) & BRUNEI

For most of Sarawakian, when you asking them this question..

1) WHO IS DAYAK? ..

Iban & Bidayuh ( they are known as Sea Dayak & Land Dayak by Brooke Dynasty)
In fact,Iban never called themselves as a SEA DAYAK. Since, they never found live near the sea or coastal area in the island of Borneo for the century.

How Iban known as Sea Dayak to Westerners (since 1838)? (click)

2) When you asking Orang Ulu young generation.ARE YOU DAYAK?

No. I'm ORANG ULU ..I'm not Dayak( Dayak is Iban & Bidayuh since they are celebrating GAWAI DAYAK Festivel every year...
Gawai Festival is a Dayak Identity ?? (click)..

3)What is the Difference btw Orang Ulu , Orang Asli & Orang Utan..

This is the definition was given by MALAYSIAN GOVERNMENT after independence..

3) WHY in MALAYSIAN CONTEXT we are classified under OTHERS(LAIN-LAIN) instead of DAYAK??

To make Dayak more Ignorance,weak & UNUNITED.(United we stand Divided we Fall )..

How part of Borneo Dayak joined MALAYSIA (click...) ??

5) Melanau People .Which Category they are?? DAYAK or MALAY??
They are DAYAK... .
Despite the small population, to the casual observer, the coastal dwelling Melanau of Sarawak, generally do not identify with one religion, as a number of them have Islamized and Christianised over a period of time. A few practise a distinct Dayak form of Kaharingan, known as Liko. Liko is the earliest surviving form of religious belief for the Melanau, predating the arrival of Islam and Christianity to Sarawak. The somewhat patchy religious divisions remain, however the common identity of the Melanau is held politically and socially. Social cohesion amongst the Melanau, despite religious differences, is markedly tight within their small community(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dayak_people)

5) WHY in INDONESIAN CONTEXT ALL OF THEM IS DAYAK?

THEM is referring to ( IBAN ,BIDAYUH ,ORANG ULU & KAZADANDUSUN ,RUNGUS & MURUT ,LUN DAYEH) ..In Kalimantan they are ONE(DAYAK KENYAH ,DAYAK BIDAYUH DAYAK IBAN ,DAYAK LUN DAYEH , DAYAK ..DAYAK & SO ON..regardless their religion they are DAYAK ..(DAYAK CHRISTIAN & DAYAK MUSLIM)...

Dayak people real borneo itself (Indonesian Perceptive about DAYAK..)?? (click)

6) WHY Orang Ulu leader never admitted they are Dayak even though they knowing the truth?
The answer is maybe IGNORANCE & EGOISTIC ( since in olden days each tribe fight against each others )

In those days, the way of war was the only way that any Dayak tribe could achieve prosperity and fortune. Dayak warfare was brutal and bloody, to the point of ethnic cleansing. Many extinct tribes, such as the Seru and Bliun, are believed to have been assimilated or wiped out by the Ibans. Tribes like the Bukitan, who were the original inhabitants of Saribas, are believed to have been assimilated or forced northwards as far as Bintulu by the Ibans. The Ukits were also believed to have been nearly wiped out by the Ibans.
The Ibans started moving to areas in what is today's Sarawak around the 15th century. After an initial phase of colonising and settling the river valleys, displacing or absorbing the local tribes, a phase of internecine warfare began. Local leaders were forced to resist the tax collectors of the sultans ofBrunei. At the same time, Malay influence was felt, and Iban leaders began to be known by Malay titles such as Datu (Datuk), Nakhoda and Orang Kaya.

DAYAK DEFINITION??

dayak plural of Day·ak (Noun)

Origin:
1830–40

Noun

A member of a group of indigenous peoples inhabiting parts of Borneo.
The group of Austronesian languages spoken by these peoples.

Dayak

noun (Concise Encyclopedia)

Any member of a non-Muslim indigenous people of the southern and western interior of the island of Borneo. Dayak is a generic term that has no precise ethnic or tribal significance but distinguishes the indigenous people from the largely Malay population of the coastal areas. Most Dayaks are riverine people who live in small longhouse communities. Children live with their parents until marriage, and boys, who usually seek brides outside their own village, go to live in their wife's community. Their subsistence economies rest on the shifting cultivation of hill rice, supplemented by fishing and hunting. They number more than two million.Source:merriam-webster.com

Classic Dayak Photo Collection from BORNEO(Click)..

BORNEO DEFINITION??

The name BORNEO itself is a Western reference first used by the DUTCH during their colonial rule of the ISLAND.

noun

an island in the Malay Archipelago, politically divided among Indonesia,Malaysia, and the British-protected sultanate of Brunei. 290,000 sq.mi. (750,000 sq. km).