THIS IS HISTORY AND ORIGIN OF DAYAK KALIMANTAN

DAYAK TRIBE

The word Dayak is derived from the word "Daya" which means upstream, to mention the people who live in the interior or Kalimantan first in general and West Kalimantan.There are various opinions about the origin of the Dayaks, but so far none have been truly satisfactory. However, the generally accepted opinion states that Dayaks are one of the largest and oldest indigenous groups inhabiting the island of Borneo (Tjilik Riwut 1993: 231). The idea of ​​the indigenous people is based on the theory of population migration to Kalimantan. Based on that opinion it is believed that the Dayak ancestors came from South China, as Mikhail Coomans (1987: 3) states:

All Power tribes belong to a group that migrates on a large scale from mainland Asia. Power tribes are descended from immigrants from what is now called Yunnan in Southern China. From that place a small group wanders through Indo China to the Malaysian peninsula which is a springboard to enter the islands of Indonesia; in addition, there may be groups that choose another stepping stone, namely through Hainan, Taiwan and the Philippines. The displacement was not so difficult, because in glazial times the sea level was very low, so even with small boats they could cross the waters that separated the islands.

The Dayak people are the true inhabitants of Borneo island, formerly they inhabit the island of Borneo, even the best beaches on the land. However, when the Malay people from Sumatera and the Land of the Melaka Peninsula came there, the Dayak descended and retreated, grew longer, further to the land of the island of Borneo

This theory of migration can at once answer the question: why the Dayak tribes now have so many different attributes, as well as in their language and in their cultural traits

Today Dayak tribes are divided into six large clumps, namely Kenyah-Kayan-Bahau, Ot Danum, Iban, Murut, Klemantan and Punan. The six clumps are divided again to approximately 405 sub tribes. Although divided into hundreds of sub-tribes, Dayak tribes have similar cultural traits. These characteristics became the determinants of a sub-tribe in Kalimantan can be incorporated into Dayak groups. These characteristics are longhouses, material culture products such as pottery, mandau, belad chop (Dayak ax), nature's view, livelihood (cultivation system) and dance.

Kalimantan is one of the 5 major islands in Indonesia. Actually this island is not only a "place of origin" of Dayak people simply because there are people Banjar (South Kalimantan) and Malays. And, among Dayak people themselves one to another develops its own culture. In other words, the culture which Dayak-Iban develops is not exactly the same as the Dayak-Punan-developed culture and so on. Nevertheless, one with another knows or has a distinctive Dayak weapon known as the mandau. In everyday life this weapon can not be separated from the owner.

That is, wherever he goes mandau always brought because the mandau also serves as a symbol of someone (honor and identity). For the record, the first mandau is considered to have a magical element and is only used in certain ritual events such as: war, headhunting, traditional dance equipment, and ceremonial equipment. Mandau is believed to have the level of the camp or miracle.

The power of saktinya not only obtained from the process of making that through certain rituals, but also in the tradition of headhunting (decapitation opponent). At that time (before the 20th century) the more people who succeeded in getting rich, the mandau used was more powerful. Usually part of her hair is partly used to decorate the handle. They believe that people who die because of the rich, then the spirit will inhabit the mandau so that the mandau becomes magic. However, now the mandau function has changed, ie as art and cultural objects, souvenirs, collectibles and weapons for hunting, pruning and farming.