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The '''Dayak''' people are indigenous occupants of the
Kalimantan region of
Borneo. The name, meaning 'upstream' or 'inland', was applied by the mainly
Islamic coastal population as a blanket term for over 200 tribal groups, each with its own
language and
culture. Traditionally, each group lives in a communal longhouse. There are about 3 million Dayaks (est.
2003) on Borneo.
== History ==
It is believed that the indigenous peoples on Borneo, including the Dayaks, are descendants of Austronesian peoples from
Asia who arrived about 3000 years ago, displacing or augmenting the previous
stone-age population. The immigrants spoke
Austronesian languages from which the Dayak languages are descended. About 2400 years ago the inhabitants learned metalworking skills from the Asian Dongson culture. In the
1950s the inhabitants were using a mixture of metal and stone tools.
==Religion==
The Dayak consider their religion to be a part of
Hinduism, or Hindu Agama in Indonesia. Their sect of Hinduism is called
Kaharingan. Some spiritually weak Dayaks have converted to Protestanism and a tiny number of them have converted to
Islam and
Buddhism as well in the recent years.
== Politics ==
In
2001 the
Indonesian government ended the colonisation of Kalimantan that began under Dutch rule in
1905. Under Indonesia's "
Transmigration Programme", settlers from overpopulated
Madura were encouraged to settle in Kalimantan, but their presence was, and still is, resented by the Dayaks. Economic development of the region, particularly logging, is also damaging the Dayaks' land and sacred sites.
From
1996 to
2003 there have been violent attacks on the Madurese settlers, including a resurgence of the beheading and
cannibalism for which the Dayaks were formerly renowned.
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