Dayak people

Dayaks
Dayak
Dyak
Dayak chief as seen holding a spear and a Klebit Bok shield.
Total population
c. 8.18 million
Regions with significant populations
 Indonesiac. 3,289,938[1]
 Malaysiac. 3,597,644[2]
Outside Borneo:
 Singapore
c. 910
Languages
Indigenous
Greater North Borneo (Malayic, Land Dayak, Kayan-Murik, Central Sarawak, North Sarawak, Sabahan ) • Barito  • Tamanic
Other
English  • Malaysian  • Indonesian  • Varieties of Malay
Religion
Predominantly
Christianity (Protestantism, Catholic) (62.7%)
Minorities
Islam (Sunni) (31.6%)
Hinduism/Kaharingan (4.8%)
and Others (i.e. Animism) (0.9%)[3]
Related ethnic groups
Austronesian peoples
Banjarese • Malays • Sama-Bajau • Rejang • Malagasy, etc.
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The Dayak (/ˈdaɪ.ək/ ⓘ; older spelling: Dajak) or Dyak or Dayuh are one of the native groups of Borneo.[4] It is a loose term for over 200 riverine and hill-dwelling ethnic groups, located principally in the central and southern interior of Borneo, each with its own dialect, customs, laws, territory, and culture, although common distinguishing traits are readily identifiable. The Dayak were animist (Kaharingan and Folk Hindus) in belief; however, since the 19th century there has been mass conversion to Christianity as well as Islam due to the spreading of Abrahamic religions.[5]

A sandung, housing the remains of a Pesaguan Dayak after Tiwah ceremony which is a part of Kaharingan religion rituals.
  1. ^ "Jumlah dan Persentase Penduduk menurut Kelompok Suku Bangsa" (PDF). media.neliti.com. Kewarganegaraan, suku bangsa, agama dan bahasa sehari-hari penduduk Indonesia. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  2. ^ "Population Distribution and Demography" (PDF). Malaysian Department of Statistics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 November 2013.
  3. ^ Ananta, Aris; Arifin, Evi; Hasbullah, M.; Handayani, Nur; Pramono, Wahyu (2015). Demography of Indonesia's Ethnicity. Singapore: ISEAS Publishing. p. 272. ISBN 978-981-4519-87-8. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  4. ^ "Report for ISO 639 code: day". Ethnologue: Countries of the World. Archived from the original on 1 October 2007.
  5. ^ Chalmers, Ian (2006). "The Dynamics of Conversion: the Islamisation of the Dayak peoples of Central Kalimantan" (PDF). Asian Studies Association of Australia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 March 2014. Retrieved 3 December 2016.