Continuity under Change in Dayak Societies

Singapore: Singapore University Press, & Paris: SevenOrients, 223 p.

In recent decades an increasing level of interaction between the native peoples of Borneo-the Dayak-and the 'outside world', has resulted in questioning some of the Dayak's traditional values, ways of life and livelihoods. In essence, the very foundation of their ethnic identity and sense of belonging both to the group and to an environmental context. During my field research projects in south-central Borneo, I found that the protection and promotion of local tradition was strongly desired by the communities of the Dayak Ngaju people who received support for the promotion of their cultural heritage within the framework agreement between The Central Kalimantan Provincial Government and the Museum of Cultures Lugano.

Paris : SevenOrients (“Human Nature”, book series directed by P. Le Roux) & Singapore : Singapore University Press (“Southeast Asia”), 223 p., 27 maps and ill., 32 BW photo pl.

Borneo used to conjure up images of lush tropical forest and bloodthirsty headhunters. During the last two decades, however, the island’s claims to fame have been linked to pervasive environmental concerns: Sarawak’s nomadic Penan groups set up road blockades to try and prevent logging companies from occupying and damaging their territories; and catastrophic forest fires, particularly in eastern Borneo, destroyed millions of hectares. More recently, with the lush forest already half gone and the ecological fad on the wane, the eruption of inter-ethnic violence in the west and south of the island has brought back images, broadcast worldwide this time, of bloodthirsty headhunters. Comparable in size to Texas (or the combined United Kingdom and France), Borneo is the planet's third largest island. Lying on the Equator, it does possess stunning tropical rain forests, among many other natural resources, and a broad variety of traditional cultures, among which the Dayak have long been famous. This volume traverses almost thirty years of acquaintance with and work on the great island of Borneo and its peoples. Curiously, this period spans the last true bouts of tribal headhunting, then still a ritual necessity, through to the recent massacres – “neo-headhunting” – that were both statements of ethnic identity and claims for more political power and the control of the region’s economic wealth. The essays collected here focus on a set of small tribal minorities living in one of the most remote corners of the Borneo hinterland, the Müller Mountains. Among these groups, the Aoheng, with whom the author spent a number of years, feature prominently. With a multidisciplinary approach, this volume examines various facets of these peoples’ lives and cultures, from their history, economic system, and relation to their natural environment, to their social organization, beliefs, rituals, and world views. Altogether, it offers a comprehensive picture of innermost Borneo's traditional life. This volume includes some forty photographs documenting diverse aspects of past and present life in the Müller Mountains region. Beyond their strictly documentary value, these photographs help the reader form a better idea of the region and its people and feel more comfortable and familiar with them. There is much more to Borneo than meets the eye in the present unassuming little book. The great island still keeps many of its secrets, as many regions have hardly been visited at all and numerous ethnic groups have never been surveyed, let alone studied. Hopefully, this book will trigger in its reader a longing to visit, travel, and perhaps more, in innermost Borneo. THE AUTHOR Bernard Sellato, born in 1951, graduated from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Géologie in Nancy, France, in 1973 and was sent immediately to Borneo as a field geologist, mapping the then yet uncharted far interior of the island. There he became acquainted with the Aoheng and other isolated Dayak groups. After a spell of several years in Saharan and sub-Saharan West Africa, he decided to return to the jungles of Borneo and spent two years with the Aoheng. In 1982 he started work as a consultant to a petroleum company, resigning in 1985 to take a doctorate from the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris in 1987. He then worked as a consultant anthropologist to several major international foundations and environmental organizations. In 1992, he became a member of CNRS, the French National Science Research Center. He currently heads the Institute for Research on Southeast Asia (IRSEA) in Marseilles and edits the journal Moussons. Social Science Research on Southeast Asia. Bernard Sellato is the author of “Nomades et sédentarisation à Bornéo” (1989), “Hornbill and Dragon: Arts and Culture of Borneo” (1989 and 1992), “Nomads of the Borneo Rainforest” (1994), “Borneo. People of the Rainforest” (a CD-rom; 1998), “Forest, Resources, and People in Bulungan” (2001), and a number of articles in journals and books, and the editor of several other books, including “Plaited Arts from the Borneo Rainforest” (2012).

2004

ICRAF Southeast Asia Regional Office Jl. CIFOR, Situ Gede, Sindang Barang, Bogor 16680 PO Box 161, Bogor 16001, Indonesia Tel: 62 251 625415, fax: 62 251 625416 Email: icraf-indonesia@cgiar.org ICRAF Southeast Asia website: http://www.icraf.cgiar.org/sea ...

Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, 2013

Studia Islamika

Sufism has generally been regarded as the confluence that helps to facilitate Islamization in Indonesia by opening accommodating spaces for local beliefs and practices. This article examines manuscripts as historical records to show concrete examples of how Sufi interpretations of the local culture are constructed. This article is not only based on philological studies of the Abang Ahmad Tahir Manuscript Collections (MSS AAT) but also on observations and interviews from the field between 2012 and 2019. This article argues that the MSS AAT has provided appropriate examples of the confluence of Dayakness and Islam. Not only has MSS AAT presented dynamic engagement between critically selected local traditions of cosmology and specific elements of Sufi textual discourses, but it has also noted the ways in which such texts further indicate both the Islamisation of local communities and how they vernacularise interpretations of Islam in Kapuas Hulu, which is situated in the hinterland of ...

2019

This paper was drafted for a Indigenous Politics within and beyond the State course at the University of Queensland, where the author examines the resurgence and politicisation of Dayak Indigenous identity in West Kalimantan Province after the fall of President Suharto in 1998.

An Analysis of the Narratives of The Institute of Dayakology and its Network in their attempts to regain sovereignty and establish a pan-Dayak identity.

International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications (IJSRP), 2021

2021

Dayak people are an indigenous community inhabiting the Island of Borneo. They dub themselves as the natives and the inheritance of the island's heritage and culture. Before the intrusion of colonial influences, they were prosperous and great, but now they are ironically struggling to revive and retrace their ancestral heritage in their own home. This article seeks to explain and analyze the Dayak community's effort to advocate for their rights and culture by developing a transnational advocacy network called Borneo Dayak Forum (BDF) to promote sustainable living. This network serves as a platform that Dayak people capitalize upon to influence Indonesia's policy-making. This article argues that BDF has played a significant role in promoting Dayak people's agendas in achieving sustainable living, especially in preserving customary law and protecting indigenous lands.