Tourism of Indonesia
Ready to Go to The Dayak Tribe
Planning to go on a tour or travelling, we definitely want a smooth trip, comfortable accommodation, cheap hotels, good food, cheap plane tickets, close to everywhere, and can rent a motorbike or car.
Attraction
In The Dayak Tribe, there is natural beauty and unique culture of the local community. There are many uniqueness, starting from the village (desa), sub-district (kecamatan), district (kabupaten) and provincial levels.
In Indonesia, each province has different and interesting characteristics. Each province has a different and unique culture and lifestyle.
The Dayak people of Borneo possess an indigenous account of their history, mostly in oral literature, partly in writing in papan turai (wooden records),and partly in common cultural customary practices.
Among prominent accounts of the origin of the Dayak people is the mythical oral epic of “Tetek Tahtum” by the Ngaju Dayak of Central Kalimantan; it narrates that the ancestors of the Dayak people descended from the heavens before moving from inland to the downstream shores of Borneo.
The Dayak or Dyak or Dayuh are the native people of Borneo. It is a loose term for over 200 riverine and hill-dwelling ethnic subgroups, 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 indigenous people inhabiting the dense tropical rainforests of Borneo are collectively called the Dayaks, but in fact they comprise many tribes that are diverse in culture as well as in language.
The word “Dayak” actually means “inland” or “upriver”, especially where the Indonesian part of Borneo, called Kalimantan, is cut by many long and wide rivers as well as many tributaries, that are used as transportation highways.
In Central Kalimantan live the Ngaju Dayaks, the Lawangan, the Ma’anyan and the Ot Danum, known as the Barito Dayaks, named after the Barito river.
Among these, the most dominant are the Ngaju, who inhabit the Kahayan river basin by the present town of Palangkaraya.
The Ngaju are involved in agricultural commerce, planting rice, cloves, coffee, palm oil, pepper and cocoa, whilst, the other tribes still mostly practice subsistence farming through the slash and burn lifestyle.
Although many Dayaks have modernized and converted to Christianity and Islam, however, the majority still adhere to the original Kaharingan belief, also known as the Hindu-Bali Kaharingan, which is a state recognized faith
Kaharingan belief focuses on the supernatural world of spirits, including ancestral spirits. For this reason, funeral rites and structures are elaborate.
Most essential, however, are the secondary funeral rites, called tiwah, when the bones of the deceased are exhumed, cleaned and placed in a special mausoleum, called sandung, which are placed next to their other ancestors.
These coffins are normally beautifully carved and adorned. The tiwah is believed to be a most essential ceremony to allow the soul of the deceased finally to be released to the highest heaven.
The government is taking good care of the preservation of nature and maintaining the condition of the forest.
The environment is also well maintained.
Activity
Visiting The Dayak Tribe, we will witness routine community activities in unique traditional cultures. And there are special dishes and food as part of culinary tours that are delicious and yummy.
When visiting the Dayaks upriver one can also see many funeral poles. While best examples of funerary art are found on the upper reaches of the Kahayan River at Tumbang Kuring.
There are many activities here:
The Ngaju Dayak tribe, the most popular Dayak tribe occupying around Kahayan and Kapuas River, is known for their arts, especially the wooden-coffins at elevated cemeteries, ships of the dead and funeral poles.
If you want to know further about Dayak tribe, learn Dayak traditional dances and music instruments, like the plucked stringed instruments and drums.
While the Ot Danum tribe inhabits around the Kahayan River, north of areas occupied by the Ngaju and south of the Schwaner and Muller mountain ranges.
The Ot Danum live in long houses built on 2-5 meter pillars above the ground. One house has around 50 rooms. These longhouses are locally known as betang.
The Ot Danum tribe is known for their skill in plaiting rattan, palm leaves and bamboo. Until today they still continue to follow the ways of their ancestors.
While in the village of the Ma’anyan this tribe still belief in the spirit world, and continue to practice their agriculture rituals and complex mortality ceremonies.
They also call the shaman whenever they need healing. The cemeteries indicate social hierarchy. The cemetery of the nobility is located the upstream of the river, followed by their warriors, while the simple folk are buried the downstream, slaves at the very edge downstream. .
For visitors who seek activities, they can fish with local fishermen. Then to top it all, go hunting with locals for deer or wild boar.
Dayak tribes make a living by clearing forests and hunting for wild animals. Dayaks do not actively chase the animals, but make their prey to approach them.
When hunting deer, they imitate the sounds of a young deer. Since the doe always protects its young, female deer will approach as soon as they hear the sound for help.
In hunting, they use lances or blowpipes. The size of a blowpipe is long as also functions as a lance. The blowpipe arrows are smeared with poisonous concoctions to paralyze or kill their prey.
In this place there are also regular events or activities held every year, both national and international.
Accessibility
The journey to The Dayak Tribe is now very easy. We can enter through various modes of transportation.
Access to go to this place:
Garuda Indonesia and Sriwijaya Air operate scheduled flights to Palangkaraya from Jakarta, while Lion Airand Batavia Air fly from Surabaya.
You need to return to Palangkaraya to rent a car or book a customized trip package where you can ask the guide to show you around wherever you want. The guide will give you a prediction on how long it should take to get there and what you should do to make the experience enjoyable.
- Palangkaraya
Palangkaraya, In the local Dayak language, Palangkaraya means ‘holy container’. Palangkaraya can easily be reached from Jakarta, Banjarmasin, Samarinda, Balikpapan and other points on the island by air.
The town has become the center of government, trade and education of the province. The Regional Museum of Palangkaraya contains a collection of historical and cultural interest from all over Central Kalimantan.
Here are some other places you can visit while going to or from the Dayak village.
Kuala Kapuas. It is located at Kapuas River, 40 km from Banjarmasin. A well-known tourist attraction is Telo Island, a pleasant fishing village and port.
For the adventurer, white-water rafter and nature lovers, there is Gohong Rawai, known for its beatiful and challenging rapids.
The gold mines of Teweh and Batu Api, Rung¬an district, are also interesting sites to be visited. In this region, gold mining is a major source of livelihood for the people, who pan for the valuable metal using the old traditional method.
Sampit. Sampit is the biggest timber port in Kalimantan. The Orchid Park of Pembuangan Hulu is home to a number of rare and beatiful orchid varieties. Hunters can engage in their favorite pastime in hunting park of West Kotawaringin.
Pangkalanbun. Make sure to visit the old Palace of Pangkalanbun, constructed completely out of ulin (iron wood). It is the only Banjar royal legacy found in Central Kalimantan.
Tanjung Puting National Park is a well-known nature and wildlife reserve in lowland and swamp forests, inhabited by orang utans, owa-owa, bekantan and other primates.
We can visit the Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre which is supported by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
The condition of the infrastructure is getting better. Starting from highways, airports, trails, ports, bridges, stairs, even some places can be reached by toll roads.
We can visit by plane, car, ship, bus, motorcycle and bicycle. At some point, we can take the train. We can also walk freely.
Amenity
In The Dayak Tribe, as technology getting better. We can easily find locations for mini markets, shops (warung kedai), Money Changer, ATMs, Bank BRI BCA BNI Mandiri, BTPN Bank Nagari BJB, supermarkets, and restaurants. So we will not starve or lack the necessary items.
If you are sick and need help, you can also visit clinics, drugstore pharmacies (apotek), practice doctors, hospitals, and health centers (puskesmas).
In this place we can also look for places of worship such as mosques, churches, and others.
Accommodation
Finding place to stay in The Dayak Tribe is very easy. We can stay at home stays, hotels, inns, hostels and other places.
To get lodging at a cheap and definitely comfortable price, please see below:
Booking.com
Experience and Reviews
There are already many visitors have visited The Dayak Tribe, there are many interesting stories that are told. Like feeling satisfied, happy, wanting to come again, sleep well, and almost no one is disappointed or complains to come here.
So, visitors will find out on how to find the best hotels, where is exactly located, why it is amazing, how much is the fare and rate, who are the people, whom to ask, and when is the best time to visit.
We can visit these tourist attractions from Tanjung Pinang, Tanjung Redep, Tanjung Selor, Tapak Tuan, Tarakan, Tarutung, Tasikmalaya, Muara Bungo, Muara Enim, Muara Teweh, Muaro Sijunjung, Muntilan, Nabire, Negara, Nganjuk,
That’s all the information we provided, hopefully useful.
Comments are closed.