The Kendayan (also known as Dayak Kenyan or Kanayatn) are an Indonesian ethnic group native to

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 ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

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 population of the group is around 366,000.

Language

Kanayatn languages has a high dialectal variety, it encompass the Brahe, Badame, Jare, and Bang App dialects. Socio-linguistically, it is very difficult to specify the language repertoire because it is used with various dialects and patois pronunciation. However, these languages are all considered a part of the

Malayic language The Malayic languages are a branch of the Malayo-Polynesian subgroup of the Austronesian language family. The two most prominent members of this branch are Indonesian and Malay. Indonesian is the official language of Indonesia and has evolved ...

family which also includes Indonesia's official language,

Bahasa Indonesia Indonesian (; ) is the official and national language of Indonesia. It is a standardized variety of Malay, an Austronesian language that has been used as a lingua franca in the multilingual Indonesian archipelago for centuries. With over 2 ...

. The increased adoption of Indonesian words by the Kanayatn has drastically changed Dayak Kanayatn dialects for modern speakers. With many speakers of traditional dialects in the older generations, this change has resulted in communication problems between generations.

Weapons

The Tangkitn is a unique weapon to the Kanayatn people and was used as their primary

head-hunting Headhunting is the practice of human hunting, hunting a human and human trophy collecting, collecting the decapitation, severed human head, head after killing the victim. More portable body parts (such as ear, rhinotomy, nose, or scalping, scal ...

weapon in the past. In the Salako language, the Tangkitn is also referred to as the Parang Pandat. The Kanayatn tribe employed shields to deflect attacks from swords. According to the Kanayatn people in Mempawah (Compaq-mem pa wah Hulu-mental-too-Sada Niang), there are two types of shields in Kanayatn culture: Gun amp and Jabakng. However, according to Kanayatn members in Landak (including sea Ambawang and Kuala Mandor), there is just one type of shield, namely Gun amp.

Religion

The original religion of the Kanayatn people is not the

Kaharingan ''Kaharingan'' is an Native Indonesians, indigenous Animism, animistic folk religion of the Dayak people such as Katingan people, Katingan, Lawangan people, Lawangan, Ma'anyan people, Ma'anyan, Ngaju people, Ngaju, Ot Danum people, Ot Danum peopl ...

as it is with 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 ...

. Kanayatn Dayak's indigenous religion is inseparable from their customs (Adat). It can even be said their customs assert their religious identity. In daily practice, Kanayatn Dayak people never mention religion as their normative, but Adat (custom). This religious system is not a

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

system. Kanayatn people refer to God as Juba. Juba is said to have passed down indigenous customs to the ancestors of Dayak Kanayatn located in Bukit Ba wang (now entering the district Bengkayang). In expressing belief in Jubata, they have a place of worship called "panyugu" or "padagi" (kadiaman). It is also important for the ''panyangahatn'' priest to become a liaison between man and God (Jubata). Today, many Dayak Kanayatn have embraced other religions, including

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 ...

and

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 ...

. Kenanyatn people who have embraced another religion may no longer consider themselves as Dayak Kanayatn once they have abandoned their customary practices. Similarly, Kanayatn people who have embraced

will no longer regard themselves as Dayak, but as

Malay people Malays ( ; , Jawi: ) are an Austronesian ethnoreligious group native to eastern Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula and coastal Borneo, as well as the smaller islands that lie between these locations. These locations are today part of the countries ...

Orang laut The Orang Laut are several seafaring ethnic groups and tribes living around Singapore, Peninsular Malaysia and the Indonesian Riau Islands. The Orang Laut are commonly identified as the Orang Seletar from the Straits of Johor, but the term may a ...

Ethnic origins (disputed)

The Kanayatn were grouped into the category clump Land Dayak-Kalimantan by H. J. Mallinckrodt; but according to C. H. Duman, they are part of the Kanayatn Dayak Ot Danum Clump- Maanyan- Ngaju. However, research completed by W. Stohr conflicts with C. H. Duman's theory. Stohr's research suggests that when considering aspects of the region, language and customary law, the Dayak Kanayatn group appears to be more closely associated with the Land Dayak-Kalimantan group than the Ot-Danum- Maanyan- Ngaju group. Landmark District names have been based on the majority Dayak community Kanayatn which is part of the clump Land Dayak (or Land Djak in Dutch spelling). Kanayatn and

Salako Salako is a hat from Îles des Saintes (French Antilles). It appeared towards the end of the 19th century. It is made on Terre-de-Bas Island by some last craftsmen who still have the art and the technics of its making. Description Salako is the ...

are, in fact, one tribe and

people assume that "Kanayatn" is not the real name of this tribe.

Folk songs

* Kao Ada Ka Atiku * Tagila-Gila * Taringat Ka' Kao * Cintaku Ka' Ia * Pasatn Urakng Tuha * Batamu * Babalas Pantun * Gawe Panganten * Nunggu Kao Pulakng * Bakanalatn * Lupa Ka' Janji * Buah Atiku * Sayang * Bapantun * Kambang Bepanggel * Sayangku Ka Kao * Ka'o Ningalat'n * Malam Batabur Bintakng * Niat Idup Badua * 4 Tingkakok Nimang Padi

References

{{Portal, Indonesia Dayak ethnic groups Ethnic groups in Indonesia