Bidayuh

Bidayuh people
Land Dayak

A native Land Dayak chief in Sarawak, Malaysia.
Total population
(205,900 (2014))
Regions with significant populations
Malaysia (Sarawak: 198,473 (2010))  Indonesia (West Kalimantan)
Languages
Bidayuh languages: Bukar & Sadong, Jagoi, Biatah (Siburan and Padawan), Malaysian/Indonesian and English language
Religion
Christianity, Islam and Animism
Related ethnic groups
Bekati', Binyadu, Jongkang, Ribun, Selako, Lara', Sanggau, Sara', Tringgus, Semandang, Ahé

Bidayuh is the collective name for several indigenous groups found in southern Sarawak, Malaysia and northern West Kalimantan, Indonesia, on the island of Borneo, 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 Brooke, the White Rajah of Sarawak. At times they were also lesser referred to as Klemantan. They constitute one of the main indigenous groups in Sarawak and West Kalimantan and live in towns and villages around Kuching and Samarahan in the Malaysian state of Sarawak, while in the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan they are mainly concentrated in the northern Sanggau Regency. In Sarawak, most of Bidayuh population are found within 40 km of the geographical area known as Greater Kuching, within the Kuching and Samarahan division. They are the second largest Dayak ethnic group in Sarawak after the Iban and one of the major Dayak tribes in West Kalimantan.

Predominantly Bidayuh areas in Sarawak are: Lundu, Bau, Penrissen, Padawan, Siburan and Serian. Most of the Bidayuh villages can be found in the rural areas of Lundu, Bau, Padawan, Penrissen, and Serian district. The area continued to the adjecting West Kalimantan border where they resides in Kembayan, Noyan, Sekayam and Jangkang district in Sanggau Regency. The area in which they live is mainly in the basin of the Sarawak River 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 Today, almost all the traditional longhouse-villages have been replaced by individual houses, by roads and there is some plantation agriculture and a reduced emphasis on the growing of hill-padi.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 Durian, remain important property markers. The distinctive architectural and cultural feature of the Bidayuh is the head-house, now adopted as a symbol.