| Bidayuh |
| |
| Bidayuh |
| Total population |
200,000 (Sarawak only) |
| Regions with significant populations |
SarawakSarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
& West KalimantanWest Kalimantan is a province of Indonesia. It is one of four Indonesian provinces in Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo. Its capital city Pontianak is located right on the Equator....
|
| Dialects |
Bukar-Sadong, Singai-Jagoi, Biatah(Siburan, Padawan & Biatah), Bra'ang-Pinyawa, Sepug-Emperoh & Gumbang |
| Religion |
ChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
& Animist |
| Related Ethnic Groups |
Bekati', Binyadu, Jongkang, Ribun, Salako, Lara, Sanggau, Sara', Tringgus, Semandang & Ahé. |
Bidayuh is the collective name for several indigenous groups found in southern Sarawak, on the island of
BorneoBorneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
, that are broadly similar in language and culture (see also Issues below). The name "Bidayuh" means 'inhabitants of land'. Originally from the western part of Borneo, the collective name
Land Dayak was first used during the period of Rajah
James BrookeJames, Rajah of Sarawak, KCB was the first White Rajah of Sarawak. His father, Thomas Brooke, was an English Judge Court of Appeal at Bareilly, British India; his mother, Anna Maria, born in Hertfordshire, was the illegitimate daughter of Scottish peer Colonel William Stuart, 9th Lord Blantyre,...
, the White Rajah of Sarawak. They constitute one of the main indigenous groups in Sarawak and live in towns and villages around
KuchingKuching , officially the City of Kuching, and formerly the City of Sarawak, is the capital and most populous city of the East Malaysian state of Sarawak. It is the largest city on the island of Borneo, and the fourth largest city in Malaysia....
and
Samarahan in the
Malaysian state of
SarawakSarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
. Related groups are also found in the
IndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n province of
West KalimantanWest Kalimantan is a province of Indonesia. It is one of four Indonesian provinces in Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo. Its capital city Pontianak is located right on the Equator....
. In Sarawak, most of Bidayuh population are found within 40 km of the geographical area known as Greater Kuching, within the
KuchingKuching Division is one of the eleven administrative divisions in Sarawak, east Malaysia, on the island of Borneo. Formerly called the "First Division", it is the center and the starting point of modern Sarawak...
and
Samarahan divisionSamarahan Division is one of the eleven administrative divisions in Sarawak, east Malaysia, on the island of Borneo. Formerly part of the First Division, which included Kuching, it became a separate Division in 1985. Samarahan Division has a total area of 4,967.4 square kilometers.Samarahan...
. They are the second largest Dayak ethnic group in Sarawak after the
IbanThe Ibans are a branch of the Dayak peoples of Borneo. In Malaysia, most Ibans are located in Sarawak, a small portion in Sabah and some in west Malaysia. They were formerly known during the colonial period by the British as Sea Dayaks. Ibans were renowned for practising headhunting and...
.
Location
Predominantly Bidayuh areas are:
LunduLundu is a town located in the Northwest of Kuching Division of Sarawak, Malaysia,and borders with Indonesian Province of West Kalimantan.-History:...
,
BauBau is a gold mining town in the Kuching Division of Sarawak, Malaysia. Smuggling with Kalimantan is also important to the local economy.-History:...
, Penrissen,
PadawanPadawan is a sub-district of the city of Kuching, in the state of Sarawak, Malaysia. The name is also used to refer to the local government in Sarawak, the Padawan Municipal Council , and to Bidayuh Village, which is also known as Kampung Padawan. The Jalan Padawan is the name of a road near mile...
, Siburan and
SerianSerian is a town, and the capital of the Serian District in Samarahan Division, Sarawak, east Malaysia. It is located about 40 miles from Kuching....
. Most of the
Bidayuh villagesThere is a lot of Bidayuh Villages can be found at Serian, Padawan, Bau district which is in Samarahan Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. Below are the list of Bidayuh villages and their locations.1. Tarat Village- Serian2. Tebakang Village - Serian...
can be found in the rural areas of Lundu, Bau, Padawan, Penrissen and Serian district. The area in which they live is mainly in the basin of the
Sarawak RiverThe Sarawak River is a river in Sarawak, Malaysia. It is an important source of water and transportation for the inhabitants in southwestern Sarawak...
and hilly to mountainous forest, traditionally worked by rotational agriculture and hunting based around farms populated from parent villages situated on the hills for protection. Today, almost all the traditional longhouse-villages have been replaced by individual houses, by roads and there is some plantation agriculture and a reduced emphasis on the growing of hill-padi. Fruit trees, especially
DurianThe durian is the fruit of several tree species belonging to the genus Durio and the Malvaceae family . Widely known and revered in southeast Asia as the "king of fruits", the durian is distinctive for its large size, unique odour, and formidable thorn-covered husk...
, remain important property markers. The distinctive architectural and cultural feature of the Bidayuh is the head-house, now adopted as a symbol.
Language
In Sarawak there are generally said to be three main linguistic groupings (
BiatahThe Biatah language is spoken in the Malaysian state of Sarawak and the Indonesian province of Kalimantan Barat. It belongs to the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian language family....
; Singai-Jagoi; Bukar-Sadong) but these can be broken down even beyond the list referenced below as most people can be distinguished by locals down to village level through smaller differences in vocabulary and intonation. Each area speak its own dialect:
- Lundu speak Jagoi, Salako & Lara
Lara’ is a language spoken by some 19,000 people in Borneo, on both the Indonesian side and Malaysian side of the island...
- Bratak, Singai, Krokong and Jagoi speak Singai-Jagoi
- Penrissen speak Bisitang also people in Kampung Bunuk speak "Bunuk" (Segu-Benuk)
- Siburan vicinity speak Biatah
- Bidayuhs who live around Serian such as Tebakang, Mongkos, Tebedu to Tanjung Amo near the border of Kalimantan Indonesia speak Bukar-Sadong.
- Bidayuhs in Padawan speak several but related dialects like Bi-anah, Pinyawa, Braang, Bia', Bisepug & Emperoh/Bipuruh.
The dialects are not mutually intelligible and
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
or
MalayMalay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
are often used as common languages.
Language issues
The Serian Bidayuhs have a distinct dialect known as the
Bukar-Sadong Bidayuh, which is not intelligible to Bidayuhs from other Districts. Here are some examples of the differences in the various dialects spoken in Serian, with their English and Malay equivalents. Also included are two Philippine languages,
KapampanganThe Pampangan language, or Kapampangan , is one of the major languages of the Philippines. It is the language spoken in the province of Pampanga, the southern half of the province of Tarlac and the northern portion of the province of Bataan. Kapampangan is also understood in some barangays of...
and
TagalogTagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...
:
| English |
Malay |
Bukar-Sadong |
Bau-Jagoi |
Siburan-Padawan |
Bra'ang-Pinyawa |
Lundu (Salako) |
Kapampangan |
Tagalog |
| Father |
Bapa |
Amang |
Sama |
Sama |
Sama' |
Apak, Bapak, |
Ibpâ, (Bapa - Uncle) |
Amang, Ama |
| Mother |
Ibu |
Andĕ/ayang |
Sino |
Sendo |
Sin(d)o |
Inuk, Indok, Umak, |
Indû |
Inang, Ina |
| Food |
makanan |
pima-an |
pinguman |
pimaan |
Pinguman |
Pamakanan, |
Pamangan |
Pagkain |
| Rice |
nasi |
songkoi/sungkoi |
tubi |
tubi |
Tubi |
nasik |
nasi |
kanin |
| I |
aku |
aku |
oku |
Ěku |
aku |
aku |
aku/I-aku |
ako |
| You/thee |
kamu/anda/engkau/kau |
amu/akam |
mu-u/ingan |
ku-u/kaam |
(K)u'u/ ka'am |
kau, |
ika (sing.)/ikayu (pl.) |
ikaw |
Religion & beliefs
Bidayuhs are traditionally
animistAnimism refers to the belief that non-human entities are spiritual beings, or at least embody some kind of life-principle....
, and vestiges of these beliefs still remain. The British colonial times (known as the
Brooke family era) saw the arrival of
ChristianA Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
missionaries, bringing education and modern medicine. The great majority of Bidayuh are now Christians, majority of them being Roman Catholic.
Most Bidayuh villages have either a Roman Catholic or Anglican church or a
mosqueA mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
but few villages are Muslims -- rarely more than one or the village would tend to split. The Biatah people, who live in the Kuching area, are Anglican, while the people of the Bau area are Catholic.
Now some renown church also being establish in some villages such as SIB (Sidang Injil Borneo) also called as Borneo Evangelical Church, Baptist Church, Assemblies Of God church and other churches as SDA, Latter Rain.
The Bidayuh of Bau have a unique tradition of hanging the bodies of the dead on trees and leaving them to rot away. The skeletons are left on trees as a reminder of the dead. The tradition is rarely done nowadays.
Salako & Lara people issues
Although classified as "Bidayuh" by the Malaysian government, the Salako and Lara culture have little resemblance to other Bidayuh groups and their oral tradition claim different descent and migration histories. Linguistically, the Salako belong to another language family tree which is of the Malayic-Dayak family (the same family as the
IbanThe Ibans are a branch of the Dayak peoples of Borneo. In Malaysia, most Ibans are located in Sarawak, a small portion in Sabah and some in west Malaysia. They were formerly known during the colonial period by the British as Sea Dayaks. Ibans were renowned for practising headhunting and...
). The Lara, although said to be more related to the Bidayuh (Jagoi-Singai), speak a language almost not mutually intelligible at all with the Bidayuh but belonged to the same language family tree which is the Land Dayak. Even their customary rituals and rites differ from the other Bidayuhs (all Bidayuhs share almost the same ritual and customary rites).
Musical heritage
The Bidayuh have a musical heritage consisting of various types of agung ensembles - ensembles composed of large hanging, suspended or held, bossed/knobbed
gongA gong is an East and South East Asian musical percussion instrument that takes the form of a flat metal disc which is hit with a mallet....
s which act as drone without any accompanying melodic instrument.
External links