Visit to Pontianak and Dayak in Kalimantan
Greetings!
Adil ka’ talino
Bacuramin ka’ saruga
Basengat ka’ Jubata
The capital of West Kalimantan, (PONTIANAK).
or Kalbar (short for “Kalimantan Barat”), PONTIANAK is a sprawling, grey industrial city of 400,000 lying right on the equator on the confluence of the Landak and Kapuas Kecil rivers. It is hot and noisy, and most travelers stay just long enough to stock up on supplies before heading up the Kapuas or straight on to Kuching.
On the western side of Sungai Kapuas Kecil you’ll find the Chinese quarter, the commercial heart of the city where most of the hotels, restaurants and travel agents are located. In the centre of this quarter, right on the water’s edge, is the Kapuas Indah bemo terminal , which is connected to a second bemo terminal in Siantan , on the eastern side of the river, by a regular passenger ferry.
Sites you must see
The eye-catching Istana Kadriyah , built in 1771, and the traditional Javanese four-tiered roof of Mesjid Jami stand near each other on the eastern side of the Kapuas Kecil, just to the south of the confluence with the Landak.
But Pontianak’s most entertaining attraction is the Museum Negeri Pontianak, a comprehensive collection of Dayak tribal masks, weapons and musical instruments. The museum lies 1.5km south of the town centre on Jalan Jend A Yani.
Just round the corner from the museum, on Jalan Sutoyo, is an impressive replica of a Dayak longhouse , over 50m long and 15m high, where you’re free to wander around.
Pontianak’s twelve-metre-high equator monument stands by the side of Jalan Khatulistiwa on the way to the bus terminal. Catch any bemo to the bus terminal from the Siantan ferry port; the monument stands about halfway along the road on the left-hand side.
Dewan Adat Dayak
An organization to unite ALL Dayak in Kalimantan and the focus is in managing the Dayak cultural heritage which span from their performing culture, handicraft and their traditional “adat” or rules and guidelines of the Dayak communities. Through this effort, the Dayak will focus on development and forget about war among themselves or “ngayau” as it is known in Kalimantan.
Donation for a new long house for Dewan Adat Dayak
The Dewan Adat Dayak in Kalimantan Barat (Kalbar) is now collecting money and donation to build another a new long house and Dayak in Sarawak are encourage to donate through their national association, Sarawak Dayak National Union.
1894 Peace among Dayak
In 1894, The Dayaks in Kalimantan signed a peace treaty among themselves to stop the practice of head hunting or “ngayau” in Tumbang Anoy in Kalimantan Tengah ( Kalteng).
Dayak
The Dayak in Kalimantan wanted to be only known as Dayak, and their various ethnicities and languages is secondary to external visitor and is only used within the Dayak communities.
Those Dayak from Malaysia better take note of this requirement because in Kalimantan they do like to be the idea of “divide and rule” which is in the form of Iban, Bidayuh, Kelabit, Kayan, Kenyah and so forth.
Sarawak DayakNational Union is the only organization that is widely recognized in Kalimantan.
Dayak Madurese Conflict
Violence between Dayak and Madurese has occurred several times in in West Kalimantan — eight times in the last two decades. Ethnic tensions continue in West Kalimantan, where hundreds of people were killed and thousands displaced following fighting that began in late December 1996.
Bloody clashes between the indigenous Dayak people, migrants from Madura and the military started in early January 1997, and resulted in a death toll of over 500; the army admitted to 300 dead. The army sent in 3,000 troops to fight tribesmen, including six battalions of troops and the Army Strategic Reserve, eventually patched together a fragile truce.
By late March 1999, Indonesian press reports said that at least 33,000 Madurese refugees were sheltering in the capital, Pontianak.
Why is the violence happening?
The violence is a symptom of discontent which has built up over many years, and the history of clashes between the Dayaks and the Madurese go back as far as 1983, when many died in clashes in Pontianak.
Many landless peasants from Java and the island of Madura (SE of Java) moved to West Kalimantan as part of a government resettlement program which offers free land, housing and food aid. Tensions between Dayaks, who make up 40 per cent of West Kalimantan’s population and have converted to Christianity, and the Muslim Madurans have been fueled by fears that the migrants will take away land and jobs from the indigenous people.
Dayak dispossessed of land and equal opportunities
Dayak communities have been dispossessed as their traditional forest lands are appropriated by outsiders in government-supported resettlement, development and large-scale commercial enterprise schemes.
Anthropological accounts of Dayaks make much of their former reputation as headhunters, based on a belief that to take a head is to take the strength of your victim.
Conclusion
The Dayak communities in Sarawak continue to be dispossessed of their land, NCL, NCR and given to investors from West Malaysia with UMNO connection and in Sarawak with Taib connection. There is much tension among the Dayak communities on “land grabbing from Barisan Nasional.
Indeed some Dayak political leaders are having a “go” on their Dayak community land for their own selfish economic needs. The Dayak political leaders are trying to deny this fact and even try to say that such problem do not exist.
We hope the Dayak in Sarawak do not have to resort to “ngayau” to address this wrong but “ngayau”is still an option when everything else fail.
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7 Responses to “Visit to Pontianak and Dayak in Kalimantan”
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Inspirational word from gkm2020
Ngayau in politics and unity is possible.
I just found this institute:
http://dayakology.org/eng/index.htm
Anybody got this report:
Assessment for Dayaks in Malaysia ? which cannot be accessed now?
Bisi bulih pengaroh din, Dr.? He, he, he….
JS – bisi bala mesan ngasuh ngiga jayau, tang bedau bulih ke bisa. Seruran di padah ke unggal din “bisa” semua utai, enda nemu ni utai ke amat bisa.
Bisa pak!
Aruuuuuuuussssssss !!!!!!
Food Aids are badly needed by third world countries like in Africa in Asia.’;”