Kaharingan (Dayaks of Indonesia)

Dayak is a collective term for over 200 hillside and valley dwelling Indonesian ethnic groups primarily located in the central and southern interior of Borneo. The traditional Dayak belief systema are categorized as forms folk animism or paganism outside of Indonesia, but since the Indonesian goverment officially recognizes only six religions (Islam, Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism) Dayak religion is catagorized as Hinduism, but only because both are similarly ancient. The Dayak indigenous religion has been named Kaharingan. The practice of Kaharingan differs among each of the 200 plus ethnic groups, but shamans are central to the Dayak religion. Shamans can bridge the various realms of Heaven (the Upper-world), earth, and the Under-world. They can heal the sick by retrieving portions of their souls that have aleady begun to journey to the Upper-world land of the dead. They can accompany and protect the soul of a dead person enroute to their designated place in the Upper-world Shamans also preside over yearly renewal and agricultural regeneration festivals, etc. Death rituals are most elaborate when a noble (kamang) dies. Because of the recent institutionalization of Kaharingan beliefs in Indonesia, practices have been codified and remolded into a more organized form. Even houses of worship have become standardized and are called Balai Basarah. Over the last two centuries, many Dayaks have converted to Christianity. Embracing the Muslim faith serves better to assimilate a Dayak into mainstream Indonesian culture. Certain Dayak ethnic groups, the Bakumpai people, for example, convert to Islam but still maintain linguistic and cultural ties to ancestral traditions. They are proud of their heritage, identifying themselves as Muslim Dayaks. In the past, the Dayaks were feared for their ancient tradition of headhunting, a ritual named Ngayau. In 1874, during the era of Dutch colonial rule, a formal meeting gathered all the Dayak tribes. In the wake of protracted negotiations, the tribes agreed to end their tradition of hunting heads.