Kayan people (Borneo)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the ethnic group from Myanmar, see Kayan people (Myanmar).

Kayan people
Malaysian language (Sarawak Malay)
Religion
Christianity (predominantly), Bungan (Folk religion)
Related ethnic groups
Bahau people, Kenyah people

Being an indigenous tribe in Borneo, the Kayan people are similar to their neighbours, the Kenyah tribe, with which they are grouped together with the Bahau people under the Apo Kayan people group. The Kayan people are categorised as a part of the Dayak people. They are distinct from, and not to be confused with, the Kayan people of Myanmar.

The population of the Kayan ethnic group may be around 200,000.[2] They are part of a larger grouping of people referred collectively as the Orang Ulu, or upriver people. Like some other Dayak people, they are known for being fierce warriors, former headhunters, adept in Upland rice cultivation, and having extensive tattoos and stretched earlobes amongst both sexes.[3]

History

A European man having a discussion with leaders of the Kayan people in Sarawak, circa 1900 to 1940

They may have originated from along the Kayan river in the

Rejang River and started to attack the Kayan people in those areas and continued doing so northwards and later eastwards. Wars and headhunting attacks have caused many other tribes to be displaced, including the Kayan people, who make up of 1.4% of the West Kutai Regency population.[5] Significant expansion to the east Borneo also occurred during the historical times, the conversion of the Kayan people to Islam forming the ethnogenesis of the Bulungan people.[6]

Language

The Kayan language belongs to the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian language family.[4]

Main activities

A Kayan using rattan to "saw" a piece of firewood
Kayan people harvesting the sap of a gutta-percha tree (from Hose & McDougall, 1912)

Their basic culture is similar to the other Dayak people in Borneo. Their agriculture was based upon shifting cultivation techniques and the cultivation of Upland rice.[7] Other farming such as sago, corn, yams, pumpkin and tobacco are also cultivated. During the years of famine, sago is mined. Fishing (killing fish with poisons) plays an important role,[8] and a smaller role is played by hunting with a sumpitan.[9] The Kayan people are engaged in breeding pigs and chickens, while dogs are kept for ritual purposes. The Kayan people are known as excellent blacksmiths (the Kayan Mandau swords are the main item of exchange), boat builders and carpenters.[10] Loom, weaving, production of tans, arts, wood carving, making of masks and pottery are also developed.[10]

Social structure

Kayan wrestling at upper mahakam, central Borneo. Photo taken between c.1898 and 1900

Traditionally, they live in

endogamous caste-estate groups; "house owning group" or aristocrat (ipun uma or keta'u), community members or commoners (panyin) and slaves (lupau).[11][12] Among the nobility, marriages are usually outside of the community, often with other tribes; while community members and slaves usually marry within the community. The leader is usually elected from the nobility class (in the 19th century, he also served as a military leader). The settlement is bi-localized,[13] and the filiation is bilateral,[14]
while the system of kinship is of the English model.

Religion

The Kayan people developed a religion and a complex cult (bounty hunting and human sacrifices[15] that disappeared at the beginning of the 20th century, as well as shamanism).[16] The core event was the feast of collected heads (mamat), during which warrior initiations and funeral ceremonies were held.[17] In the 20th century, some Kayan people were converted to Christianity.[18]

Culture

Traditional Kayan song

  • Alam Lening (Dayak Kayaan Mendalam, Kalbar)[19]
  • Lung Kayaan Mendalam[20]

Notable people

References

  1. ISBN 0-2959-7416-8
    .
  2. ^ Kayan in the Encyclopædia Britannica Archived 14 June 2006 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved on 12 August 2006, from Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service.
  3. ^ Monthly Packet, Volume 12. J. and C. Mozley. 1857. p. 370.
  4. ^
    ISBN 978-14-828-2683-8
    .
  5. ISBN 9783825507701
    .
  6. ISBN 978-14-443-9166-4
    .
  7. ISBN 01-982-7716-4
    .
  8. ISBN 978-14-629-0505-8
    .
  9. OCLC 933143659
    .
  10. ^
    ISBN 08-753-6403-9
    .
  11. ^ "Great Britain. Colonial Office". Colonial Research Studies, Issue 1. H.M. Stationaery Office. 1950. p. 72.
  12. ISBN 08-168-8840-X
    .
  13. ISBN 0-8168-8840-X
    . Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  14. ISBN 978-11-361-2794-6
    .
  15. ^ Monthly Packet, Volume 12. J. and C. Mozley. 1857. p. 371.
  16. ISBN 08-522-9434-4
    .
  17. ISBN 08-753-6403-9
    .
  18. ISBN 978-11-394-8170-0
    .
  19. ^ "Alam Lening, lagu Dayak Kayaan Mendalam". YouTube. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  20. ^ "Lung Kayaan". YouTube. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  21. ^ https://www.pressreader.com/malaysia/utusan-borneo-sabah/20160815/282574492474563. Retrieved 22 August 2020 – via PressReader. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kayan (Borneo).
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