Lestariweb
culture and traditions of the Dayak
Lestariweb
Another group of ethnic minorities struggling for recognition in the 1980s were the peoples of southern Kalimantan. Traditionally, most of the scattered ethnolinguistic groups inhabiting the interior of the vast island have been labelled collectively by outsiders as Dayak. Among the Dayak are the Ngaju Dayak, Maanyan, and Lawangan. Although they have traditionally resided in longhouses that served as an important protection against slave raiding and intervillage raids, the people of this region are not communalistic. They have bilateral kinship, and the basic unit of ownership and social organization is the nuclear family. Religiously, they tend to be either Protestant or Kaharingan, a form of native religious practice viewed by the government as Hindu. The Dayak make a living through swidden agriculture and possess relatively elaborate death ceremonies in which the bones are disinterred for secondary reburial.
A number of the peoples in the region practice the Kaharingan religion.
Through its healing performances, Kaharingan serves to mold the
scattered agricultural residences into a community, and it is at times
of ritual that these peoples coalesce as a group. There is no set ritual
leader nor is there a fixed ritual presentation. Specific ceremonies may
be held in the home of the sponsor. Shamanic curing or balian
is one of the core features of these ritual practices. Because this
healing practice often occurs as a result of the loss of the soul, which
has resulted in some kind of illness, the focus of the religion is thus
on the body. Sickness comes by offending one of the many spirits
inhabiting the earth and fields, usually from a failure to sacrifice to
them. The goal of the balian is to call back the wayward soul
and restore the health of the community through trance, dance, and
possession.
Modern recognition of the legitimacy
of Kaharingan as a religious practice has been the culmination of a long
history of struggles for autonomy. Since the southern coast of
Kalimantan has long been dominated by the politically and numerically
superior Muslim Banjarese, Christian and Kaharingan adherents of the
central interior sought parliamentary recognition of a Great Dayak
territory in 1953. When these efforts failed, a rebellion broke out in
1956 along religious lines, culminating in the establishment of the new
province of Kalimantan Tengah in May 1957.
The abortive coup of 1965 proved that
independence to be fragile. With the unity of the republic at stake,
indigenous religions were viewed as threats and labelled atheistic and,
by implication, communist. Caught in a no-win situation, the Dayak also
were told that they did not have an agama and thus became
suspect in the anticommunist fever of the late 1960s. By the early
1970s, negotiations began between Kalimantan Tengah and the national
government over recognition of the indigenous religion of the peoples of
the province. This process culminated in official recognition in the
1980s of Kaharingan as an agama.
Written by The Library of Congress - Country Studies
Data as of November 1992
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