Being an indigenous tribe in

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

, the Kayan people are similar to their neighbours, the Kenyah tribe, with which they are grouped together with the Bahau people under the Apo Kayan people group. The Kayan people are categorised as a part of the

Dayak people The Dayak (; older spelling: Dajak) or Dyak or Dayuh are the native groups of Borneo. It is a loose term for over 200 riverine and hill-dwelling ethnic groups, located principally in the central and southern interior of Borneo, each with its ...

. They are distinct from, and not to be confused with, the Kayan people of Myanmar. The population of the Kayan ethnic group may be around 200,000. They are part of a larger grouping of people referred collectively as the

Orang Ulu Orang Ulu ("people of the interior" in Malay) is an ethnic designation politically coined to group together roughly 27 very small but ethnically diverse tribal groups in northeastern Sarawak, Malaysia with populations ranging from less than 30 ...

, or upriver people. Like some other

, they are known for being fierce warriors, former headhunters, adept in

Upland rice Upland or Uplands may refer to: Geography *Hill, an area of higher land, generally *Highland, an area of higher land divided into low and high points *Upland and lowland, conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level *I ...

cultivation, and having extensive tattoos and stretched earlobes amongst both sexes.

History

They may have originated from along the Kayan river in the North Kalimantan province of Borneo. They live along the upper Kayan and the middle Kapuas and Mahakam rivers. They seem to have expanded to the south in

Sarawak Sarawak ( , ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. It is the largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak is located in East Malaysia in northwest Borneo, and is ...

in historic times, generating some conflicts with the

Iban IBAN or Iban or Ibán may refer to: Banking * International Bank Account Number Ethnology * Iban culture * Iban language The Iban language () is spoken by the Iban, one of the Dayak ethnic groups who live in Brunei, the Indonesian provinc ...

that were expanding north at the same time. They have settled in Sarawak on the middle Baram River, the Bintulu River and along the

Rajang River The Rajang River () is a river in Sarawak, northwestern Borneo, Malaysia. The river originates in the Iran Mountains, flows through Kapit, and then towards the South China Sea. At approximately , the river is the seventh-longest in Borneo and th ...

, having been pressed back a little during the late 19th century. In 1863

West Kalimantan West Kalimantan () is a province of Indonesia. It is one of five Indonesian provinces comprising Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo. Its capital and largest city is Pontianak. It is bordered by East Kalimantan and Central ...

Iban people The Iban are an indigenous ethnic group native to Borneo, primarily found in the Malaysian state of Sarawak, Brunei and parts of West Kalimantan, Indonesia. They are one of the largest groups among the broader Dayak peoples, a term historically ...

migrated to the upstreams of Saribas River and Rejang River and started to attack the Kayan people in those areas and continued doing so northwards and later eastwards. Wars and headhunting attacks have caused many other tribes to be displaced, including the Kayan people, who make up of 1.4% of the

West Kutai Regency West Kutai Regency () is a regency (''kabupaten'') in the Indonesian province of East Kalimantan. It previously covered a much greater area, with a population of 165,091 at the 2010 Census, but on 11 January 2013 the five northernmost districts we ...

population. Significant expansion to the east Borneo also occurred during the historical times, the conversion of the Kayan people to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

forming the

ethnogenesis Ethnogenesis (; ) is the formation and development of an ethnic group. This can originate by group self-identification or by outside identification. The term ''ethnogenesis'' was originally a mid-19th-century neologism that was later introduce ...

of the Bulungan people.

Language

The Kayan language belongs to the

Malayo-Polynesian The Malayo-Polynesian languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages, with approximately 385.5 million speakers. The Malayo-Polynesian languages are spoken by the Austronesian peoples outside of Taiwan, in the island nations of Southeast ...

branch of the

Austronesian language family The Austronesian languages ( ) are a language family widely spoken throughout Maritime Southeast Asia, parts of Mainland Southeast Asia, Madagascar, the islands of the Pacific Ocean and Taiwan (by Taiwanese indigenous peoples). They are spoken b ...

Main activities

Their basic culture is similar to the other

. Their agriculture was based upon

shifting cultivation Shifting cultivation is an agricultural system in which plots of land are cultivated temporarily, then abandoned while post-disturbance fallow vegetation is allowed to freely grow while the cultivator moves on to another plot. The period of cul ...

techniques and the cultivation of

. Other farming such as

sago Sago () is a starch extracted from the pith, or spongy core tissue, of various tropical palm stems, especially those of ''Metroxylon sagu''. It is a major staple food for the lowland peoples of New Guinea and the Maluku Islands, where it is c ...

, corn, yams, pumpkin and tobacco are also cultivated. During the years of famine, sago is mined. Fishing (killing fish with poisons) plays an important role, and a smaller role is played by hunting with a '' sumpitan''. The Kayan people are engaged in breeding pigs and chickens, while dogs are kept for ritual purposes. The Kayan people are known as excellent blacksmiths (the Kayan

Mandau The Mandau () is a river in Bohemia (Czech Republic) and Saxony (Germany). It is a left tributary of the Lusatian Neisse, which it joins near Zittau. It originates from multiple springs north of the 580.6m (1902 feet AMSL) Wolf Mountain (Czec ...

swords are the main item of exchange), boat builders and carpenters.

Loom A loom is a device used to weaving, weave cloth and tapestry. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the Warp (weaving), warp threads under tension (mechanics), tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads. The precise shape of ...

, weaving, production of tans, arts, wood carving, making of masks and pottery are also developed.

Social structure

Traditionally, they live in

long house A longhouse or long house is a type of long, proportionately narrow, single-room building for communal dwelling. It has been built in various parts of the world including Asia, Europe, and North America. Many were built from lumber, timber and ...

s on river banks. Their settlement consists of one or several

s as long as 300 meters, which can accommodate up to 100 families (400–600 people) and consist of a common veranda and rooms. Residents of a long house constitute a tribal community. The Kayan people are divided into three

endogamous Endogamy is the cultural practice of marrying within a specific social group, religious denomination, caste, or ethnic group, rejecting any from outside of the group or belief structure as unsuitable for marriage or other close personal relatio ...

estate groups; "house owning group" or aristocrat (''ipun uma, maren,'' or ''keta'u''), community members or commoners (''panyin'') and slaves (''dipen''). Among some Kayan, there is a fourth estate, the lower aristocrats (''hipuy ok''). Among the nobility, marriages are usually outside of the community, sometimes with other ethnic groups; while community members and slaves usually marry within the community. The leader is usually elected from the nobility class (in the 19th century, he also served as a military leader). The settlement is bi-localized, and the filiation is bilateral.

Religion

The Kayan people developed a religion and a complex cult (bounty hunting and human sacrifices that disappeared at the beginning of the 20th century, as well as shamanism). The core event was the feast of collected heads, during which warrior initiations and funeral ceremonies were held. In the 20th century, some Kayan people were converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

, while others developed an indigenous religious reform after World War II, ''Adat Bungan''. This reform started with the Kenyah Lepo' Tau of Long Nawang.

Culture

Traditional Kayan song

* Alam Lening (Dayak Kayaan Mendalam, Kalbar) * Lung Kayaan Mendalam

Notable people

* Francisca Luhong James -

Miss Universe Malaysia 2020 Miss Universe Malaysia 2020, the 54th edition of the Miss Universe Malaysia, was held on 5 September 2020 at Kota Damansara, Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Francisca Luhong James of Kuala Lumpur, Sarawak was crowned by the outgoing titleholder, Shwet ...

and a part-time model. She is of mixed Kayan, Kenyah and

lineage.