DAYAK BORNEO IN THREE NATIONS

DAYAK ADA DI TIGA NEGARA

Dayak Borneo has the same characteristics:
A. Physical:
- Long-house;
- Mandau;
- Motif carving

B. NON Physical:
- Belief;
- Language  (though there are 400 languages);
- Kebudayaan- way of cultivating rice

The term Dayak for non-Islamic indigenous peoples of Borneo, divided into Sarawak and Sabah, the two East Malaysian states, and Kalimantan in Indonesia and Brunei. 

Populasi Dayak Serawak 

( Iban; Bidayuh, Orang Ulu and Others )

Populasi Dayak Sabah

(  Kadazan ;  Murut ,  Dusun  and Others )

The oral history of the indigenous peoples of Sarawak, Sabah, and Kalimantan is rich in myths closely related to textiles, dress, and ornaments. The Iban, comprising 30 percent of the state’s population, have one of the richest textile traditions. They weave their own warp-ikat textiles, their main form of dress.

Traditional ethnic dress is colorful and attractive. The Orang Ulu and Bidayuh favor bright colors, and the Iban embellish their dress with silver accessories. Before the availability of commercial cotton yarn, the most basic clothing material was barkcloth.

The splendor of indigenous dress is evident during the Gawai festivals, when young people wear rich arrays of borrowed jewelry. The Orang Ulu are the most closely related to mainland Asiatic races, evident in the brass earrings worn by women in their stretched earlobes.

Most Dayak people share an interest in beads; early glass beads were obtained through barter with merchants from the India–China trade routes.

Borneo is one of the few places today where ancient traditions of tattooing and body modification are still practiced.

In Dayak cultures, the corelation between textiles, dress, and ornamentation taps into many layers of social and religious meaning. 

Dayak Iban Serawak