The Unique Tradition of the Dayak Tribe

25 Jun 2022

Articles

Source: news.unair.ac.id

The Dayak tribe is one of the indigenous Indonesian tribes located in the interior of Borneo. The Dayak tribe itself is divided into several tribes, namely Dayak Ngaju, Dayak Apo Kayan, Dayak Iban, Dayak Klemantan, Dayak Murut, Dayak Punan, and Dayak Ot Danum. Here are some unique traditions of the Dayak tribe.

Telingaan Aruu

Source: 1001indonesia.net

The telingaan aruu tradition or commonly referred to as the long ear tradition is usually done by attaching large earrings as ballast made of copper in their ears to show nobility among the Dayak tribe. In addition, according to Dayak women, the longer the ears, the more beautiful they will be. This tradition also applies to men, but they are not allowed to extend their ears below the shoulders. As for the women, they may extend their ears to their chest.
Tutang

Source: www.getborneo.com

The tutang tradition or the tradition of tattooing the body is a tradition carried out by the Dayak people as a symbol of various things such as strength, relationship with God, the journey of life, markers of maturity, and much more. This tradition is not only carried out by men, but also by women.
Generally, every tattoo must have its meaning. For men, a bunga terong tattoo is a symbol that indicates the person has entered the adult stage. As for women, Tedak Kassa tattoos.
Tiwah

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Tiwah is a funeral ceremony for the Ngaju Dayak Tribe which adheres to Hinduism or the Kaharingan belief which is the belief of the people in ancient times. In this tradition, the bodies of the dead will be burned. This tradition is believed to be able to deliver the spirits of the deceased to the afterlife or commonly called Lewu Tatau. Usually, this tradition is carried out by families by singing while dancing around the corpse.
Manajah Antang

Source: www.yuksinau.id

The Manajah Antang tradition is a ritual to look for the whereabouts of the enemy during times of war but can also be used to look for other things such as lost items or missing people. In this ritual, the elders of the Dayak tribe will communicate with the ancestors by calling the spirits of the ancestors through the Antang bird or hornbill. This tradition aims to create security, prosperity, and the worth of life.
Ngayau

Source: awsimages.detik.net.id

Ngayau tradition is a tradition that is quite extreme because this tradition is also referred to as hunting the enemy’s head. but not all Dayak tribes do it only the Ngaju, Iban, and Kenyah Dayak tribes. this happened because, in 1874, the Dayak Kahayan chief gathered other Dayak tribal chiefs and agreed on the results of the Tumbang Anoi deliberation which contained a prohibition against performing Ngayau because it could lead to disputes between the Dayak tribes.