Kenyah
Encyclopedia
| Kenyah people | |
|---|---|
| Total population | 45,000 |
| Regions with significant populations | Belaga, Bintulu Bintulu Division Bintulu Division is one of the eleven administrative divisions of Sarawak, east Malaysia, on the island of Borneo. It has a total area of 12,166.2 square kilometers, and is the third largest division after Kapit Division and Miri Division. Bintulu Division consists of two districts which is Bintulu... , Miri, Sarawak Sarawak Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which... , Malaysia and East Kalimantan East Kalimantan East Kalimantan is the second largest Indonesian province, located on the Kalimantan region on the east of Borneo island. The resource-rich province has two major cities, Samarinda and Balikpapan... , Indonesia Indonesia Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an... |
| Language | Kenyah Kenyah languages The Kenyah languages are a group of half a dozen or so closely related languages spoken by the Kenyah peoples of Borneo. They are:... |
| Religion | Christianity Christianity Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings... & Bungan |
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
, living in the remote Baram (Lio Mato, Long Selaan
Long Selaan
-External links:*...
, Long Moh, Long Mekaba, Long Jeeh, Long Belaong, Long San, Long Silat, Long Tungan, etc.), Data Kakus, Data Surau, Sg. Senep, Long Dungan, Long Busang, Long Beyak, Bintulu, Miri, Sungai ASAP, Long Bulan, Long Jawe and Belaga regions in Sarawak
Sarawak
Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
, Malaysia and the remote Apau Kayan, Bahau (Bau), Benua Lama & Baru and Mahakam regions in East Kalimantan
East Kalimantan
East Kalimantan is the second largest Indonesian province, located on the Kalimantan region on the east of Borneo island. The resource-rich province has two major cities, Samarinda and Balikpapan...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
.
Kenyah people are divided into various tribes including the Uma Bakah, Lepo Anan, Lepo Tau, Lepu Jalan, Lepo' Tepu, Uma Kelap, Badeng (Jamok, Lepo Aga'), Bakung, Kayan, Penan, Lepu Kulit, Uma Alim, Uma Timai, Uma Lasan, Lepo Ma-ot, Sambop, Lepo Ke', Lepo Ngao, Ngurek, Kiput, Long Ulai, Long Tikan, Long Sabatu, Lepo Ga, Lepo Dikan, and Lepo Pua
Culture and economy
The Kenyah people, traditionally being swidden agriculturalists and living in longhouses (uma dado'), is an umbrella term for over 40 sub-groups that mostly share common migration histories, customs and related dialects. Kenyah people lived in longhouses in a small communities. Each longhouse consists of families who choose their own leader (headman). When they have any event or celebration such as harvest festivalHarvest festival
A Harvest Festival is an annual celebration which occurs around the time of the main harvest of a given region. Given the differences in climate and crops around the world, harvest festivals can be found at various times throughout the world...
they will normally use the longhouse verandah (oseh bi'o) to gather and deliver speeches to guide their youngsters. Normally this harvest festival celebration (tau bio Ramay o o Ajau, pelepek uman) is a major festival because most of them are still farmers.
Religion
Almost all Kenyah people are ChristianChristian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
. Before they became Christian they believed in 'Bungan Malan Peselong Luan' (a traditional form of animism
Animism
Animism refers to the belief that non-human entities are spiritual beings, or at least embody some kind of life-principle....
). But now there are only a small number of Kenyah people that still believe in Bungan. When they die they believe they go to Alo Malau (heaven) with their ancestor
Ancestor
An ancestor is a parent or the parent of an ancestor ....
s (tepun).
Population
Statistical figures, based on the Indonesian and Malaysian national censuses collected in 2000, recorded a total of 44,350 Kenyah people in East Kalimantan and 24,906 in Sarawak.Origins
The Usun Apau (aka Usun Apo) plateau (in the Peliran river valley) or Apo Kayan Highlands (a remote forested plateau in Malaysian and Indonesian border) in the present-day Indonesian province of East Kalimantan was the largest concentration site of Kenyah populations between the late 19th century to the early 1980s.Further reading
External links
- Persatuan Kebangsaan Kenyah Sarawak website
- Kenyah Uma Vaha website
- Persatuan Kenyah Badeng Sarawak website
- United Nations University's Our World 2.0 "Forbidden forest of the Dayak people" Digital Video: In Setulang village, near the Malay-Indonesian border, lives the “Oma’lung” tribe — a particular sub-group of Kenyah Dayak, East Kalimantan, Indonesia, on the island of Borneo