Kayan

The Kayan live along a number of river valleys in northern Borneo, including the Kayan, from which they take their name. Historically, the Kayan were skilled ironworkers, and exported knives and swords to other indigenous peoples of Borneo.

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Traditional Culture(1899)Expand All +

Belief +

Supernatural Beings

Supernatural Beings

Nature Spirits	Present, and a major focus of supernatural practice (Source)
Hose & McDougall (1912b), pp. 23, 26

Nature god(s)	Present, and a major focus of supernatural practice (Source)
Hose & McDougall (1912b), pp. 1 Rousseau (1998), pp. 93, 105

Ancestral spirits	Present, but not a major focus of supernatural practice (Source)
Rousseau (1998), pp. 109 Hose & McDougall (1912b), pp. 1-11

Deified ancestor(s)	Present, and a major focus of supernatural practice (Source)
Rousseau (1998), pp. 93, 109 Hose & McDougall (1912b), pp. 10-11, 138

God(s)	Present, and a major focus of supernatural practice (Source)
Hose & McDougall (1912b), pp. 4-5 Rousseau (1998), pp. 103-104

Supernatural Punishment

Supernatural Punishment

Supernatural punishment for impiety	Present (Source)
Hose & McDougall (1912b), pp. 23

Afterlife and Creation

Afterlife and Creation

One's actions while living can affect the nature of one's afterlife	Actions while living are one factor in determining the nature of one’s afterlife (Source)
Hose & McDougall (1912b), pp. 40-41

The actions of others after one has died can affect the nature of one's afterlife	Actions of others after one has died are one factor in determining the nature of one’s afterlife (Source)
Hose & McDougall (1912b), pp. 32, 33

Myth of humanity’s creation	Present, and evolutionary (Source)
Hose & McDougall (1912b), pp. 137-138 Rousseau (1998), pp. 95

Primordial pair	Present, and genealogically linked to humans now living (Source)
Hose & McDougall (1912b), pp. 137-138 Rousseau (1998), pp. 95

Culture hero(es)	Present, but not a major focus of supernatural practice (Source)
Rousseau (1998), pp. 93 Hose & McDougall (1912a), pp. 1-11, 136-152

General Features

General Features

Forces of nature are controlled by or imbued with the supernatural	Present (Source)
Hose & McDougall (1912b), pp. 1 Rousseau (1998), pp. 93

Classes of Tapu

Classes of Tapu

Social hierarchy tapu	Present (Source)
Hose & McDougall (1912b), pp. 158 Rousseau (1998), pp. 62

Resource management tapu	Absent (Source)
Rousseau (1998)

Kinship tapu	Present (Source)
Hose & McDougall (1912b), pp. 196-198

Mana

Mana

Mana related to social influence or technical skill	Absent (Source)
Blevins (2008), pp. 263 Blust (2007) Keesing (1984)

Mana as a personal quality	Absent (Source)
Blevins (2008), pp. 263 Blust (2007) Keesing (1984)

Mana as a spiritual or religious concept	Absent (Source)
Blevins (2008), pp. 263 Blust (2007) Keesing (1984)

Practice +

General Supernatural Practices

General Supernatural Practices

Headhunting	Present (Source)
Rousseau (1998), pp. 84-89

Costly sacrifices and offerings	Present (Source)
Rousseau (1998), pp. 51

Political and religious differentiation	Some overlap (Source)
Hose & McDougall (1912a), pp. 65 Rousseau (1998), pp. 127

Rites

Rites

Tooth pulling	Absent from culture (Source)
Hose & McDougall (1912b), pp. 153-176 Hose & McDougall (1912a), pp. 224-272

Scarification	Absent from culture (Source)
Hose & McDougall (1912a), pp. 246

Piercing	Present in the culture as a rite or feature of a rite (Source)
Hose & McDougall (1912a), pp. 44-45 Hose & McDougall (1912b), pp. 159-160

Tattooing	Present in the culture as a rite or feature of a rite (Source)
Hose & McDougall (1912a), pp. 247, 251, 252

Genital cutting	Present in the culture as a rite or feature of a rite (Source)
Hose & McDougall (1912b), pp. 168, 170

Social Environment

Population	10,000 (Source)
Rousseau (1974), pp. 33-34, 93-94

Population of largest political community	1,000-9,999 (Source)
Hose & McDougall (1912a), pp. 39-40 Lebar (1972), pp. 171

Importance of Patrilateral descent	Medium (Source)
Rousseau (1998), pp. 15, 17

Importance of Matrilateral descent	Medium (Source)
Rousseau (1998), pp. 15, 17

Polygamy	Monogamy preferred, but exceptional cases of polygyny (Source)
Hose & McDougall (1912a), pp. 73

Marital residence	Ambilocal - with either wife's or husband's kin (Source)
Strouthes (1993C), pp. 134

Conflict

(No) external warfare	Occasional, at least every generation (Source)
Hose & McDougall (1912a), pp. 158-159 Rousseau (1974), pp. 81-83

Conflict within community	Low (Source)
Hose & McDougall (1912a), pp. 158-159

(No) internal warfare	Rare or never (Source)
Hose & McDougall (1912a), pp. 158-159

Isolation +

Contact with other cultures	Frequent, through trade, warfare, travel, etc. (Source)
Hose & McDougall (1912a), pp. 151-157 Lebar (1972), pp. 169, 170

Distance to closest landmass inhabited by a different culture (km)	0.0 (Source)
Rousseau (1974), pp. 13

Distance to nearest continent	991.0 (Source)
Rousseau (1974), pp. 13 Daft Logic Distance Calculator (2014)

Pre-Austronesian population	Present: Clear evidence of human occupation prior to Austronesian settlement (Source)
Bellwood (1995), pp. 109

Hindu / Buddhist influence on supernatural belief	No evidence of influence but in a region where contact is likely (Source)
Cribb (2000), pp. Map 2.21 Rousseau (1998)

Islamic influence on supernatural belief	No evidence of influence but in a region where contact is likely (Source)
Cribb (2000), pp. Map 2.23 Hose & McDougall (1912b), pp. 13

Christian influence on supernatural belief	No evidence of influence but in a region where contact is likely (Source)
Rousseau (1998), pp. 18

Subsistence and Economy +

Land-based means of subsistence

Animal husbandry as a source of food	Minor (Source)
Rousseau (1998), pp. 14 Lebar (1972), pp. 170

Land-based hunting performed by individuals	Minor (Source)
Rousseau (1998), pp. 14 Lebar (1972), pp. 169 Hose & McDougall (1912a), pp. 143-144

Land-based gathering	Medium (Source)
Hose & McDougall (1912a), pp. 149-157 Lebar (1972), pp. 169

Land-based hunting performed by one or more groups	Medium (Source)
Rousseau (1998), pp. 14 Lebar (1972), pp. 169 Hose & McDougall (1912a), pp. 143-144

Agriculture / Horticulture	Principal (Source)
Hose & McDougall (1912a), pp. 97 Lebar (1972), pp. 169

Water-based means of subsistence

Fishing and water-based hunting performed by one or more groups	Major (Source)
Lebar (1972), pp. 169 Hose & McDougall (1912a), pp. 131, 134-142

Fishing and water-based hunting performed by individuals	Major (Source)
Lebar (1972), pp. 169 Hose & McDougall (1912a), pp. 131, 134-142

Water-based gathering	Medium (Source)
Lebar (1972), pp. 169 Hose & McDougall (1912a), pp. 131-142, 138-139

Commercial Activity

Trade / wage labour as a source of food	Absent (Source)
Lebar (1972), pp. 170, 173 Hose & McDougall (1912a), pp. 97-157

Metalworking	Present (Source)
Hose & McDougall (1912a), pp. 193-194

Physical Environment +

Geographical Range of Culture

Number of islands inhabited by culture	One (Source)
'Kayan' (2019)

Features of Island with Largest Culture Population

Island type (island with largest culture population or largest island if unknown)	Continental island (Source)
Quek (2009), pp. 112

Island Size (km²)	740000.0 (Source)
Quek (2009), pp. 111

Maximum elevation (meters)	4095.0 (Source)
Quek (2009), pp. 112

Location

Latitude	2.1 (Source)
Rousseau (1974), pp. 13 Google Maps (2014)

Longitude	115.1 (Source)
Rousseau (1974), pp. 13 Google Maps (2014)

Post Contact History(1899-2014)Expand All +

Religious History +

Conversion

Use of force in conversion	Low (Source)
Rousseau (1998), pp. 25-30

Adoption of a world religion	Present and predominant (Source)
'Kayan' (2019) Rousseau (1998), pp. 25-30

Resident missionary involvement in conversion process	Present, and from non-Austronesian societies (Source)
Rousseau (1998), pp. 25-30

Syncretic Movements

Syncretic religious movements	Present, and survived to the present day (Source)
Winzeler (2008), pp. 51-52 Rousseau (1998), pp. 22-25

Secular History +

Economic Changes

Changes in means of subsistence	Low (Source)
'Kayan' (2019)

Exportation of goods to other cultures	Present but minor (Source)
Hose & McDougall (1912b), pp. 270-271 Eghenter (1999), pp. 12-13

Modern Infrastructure

Vehicles and roads	Absent (Source)
'Kayan' (2019) Eghenter (1999), pp. 12

Air travel	Present, local only (Source)
Eghenter (1999), pp. 12

Sea port	Absent (Source)
Eghenter (1999), pp. 12

Loss of Autonomy

Loss of political autonoomy	High (Source)
Lebar (1972), pp. 169 Rousseau (1998), pp. 19-20 Okushima (2006), pp. 94

Nature of loss of autonomy	Largely involuntary (Source)
Hose & McDougall (1912b), pp. 260-261

Demographic and Social Changes

Immigration	Absent (Source)
Okushima (2006)

Foreign government systems	Present, and of high importance (Source)
Okushima (2006), pp. 94

Current Culture(2014)Expand All +

Belief +

Religious Demographics

Dominant world religion	Christianity (Source)
'Kayan' (2019)

External Links

References

Bellwood, P. (1995). Austronesian Prehistory in Southeast Asia: Homeland, Expansion and Transformation. P. Bellwood, J.J. Fox, & D. Tryon (Eds.), The Austronesians: Historical and Comparative Perspectives (pp 113-114). Canberra, Australia: ANU Press.

Blevins, J. (2008). Some Comparative Notes on Proto-Oceanic *Mana: Inside and Outside the Austronesian Family. Oceanic Linguistics, 47 (2), 253-274. Retrieved from http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/ol/summary/v047/47.2.blevins.html

Blust, R. (2007). Proto-Oceanic *Mana Revisited. Oceanic Linguistics, 46(2), 404-423. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20172322

Cribb, R. (2000). Historical atlas of Indonesia. Surrey, UK: Curzon Press.

Daft Logic Distance Calculator. (2014). http://www.daftlogic.com/projects-google-maps-distance-calculator.htm.

Eghenter, C. (1999). Migrants' practical reasonings: The social, political, and environmental determinants of long-distance migrations among the Kayan and Kenyah of the interior of Borneo. Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia, 14(1), 1-33

Google Maps (2014). Retrieved from maps.google.com

Hose, C., & McDougall, W. (1912). The Pagan Tribes of Borneo: Volume One. London, U.K.: Macmillan & Co. Retrieved from https://archive.org/details/pagantribesofbor01hose/mode/2up

Hose, C., & McDougall, W. (1993). The Pagan Tribes of Borneo: Volume Two. London, U.K.: Macmillan & Co. Retrieved from https://archive.org/details/pagantribesofbor02hose/mode/2up

Kayan (2019). Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Kayan

Keesing, R. M. (1984). Rethinking "mana". Journal of Anthropological Research, 40(1), 137-156, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3629696.

Lebar, F. (Ed.). (1972). Eastern Sumbanese in Ethnic Groups of Insular Southeast Asia. Volume 1: Indonesia, Andaman Islands, and Madagascar. New Haven, CT: Human Relations Area Files Press.

Okushima, M. (2006). Ethnohistory of the Kayanic peoples in Northeast Borneo. Borneo Res. Bull, 37, 86-126.

Quek, S. (2009). Borneo. In R. G. Gillespie & D. A. Clague (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Islands (pp 111-116). Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

Rousseau, J. (1974). Social organization of the Baluy Kayan (Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation). University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.

Rousseau, J. (1978). The Kayan. In V. T. King (Ed.), Essays on Borneo Societies (pp. 78-91). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Rousseau, J. (1998). Kayan religion: Ritual life and religious reform in central Borneo. Leiden: KITLV Press

Strouthes, D. (1993C). "Kenyah-Kayan-Kajang". In P. Hockings (Ed.), Encyclopaedia of World Cultures (Volume V - East and Southeast Asia) (pp 133-134). New York: G.K. Hall & Co.

Winzeler, R. L. (2008). Religious conversion on the ethnic margins of Southeast Asia. In Conference on Mainland Southeast Asia at its Margins: Minority Groups and Borders Tentative Agenda. Wat Damnak, Siem Reap: Center for Khmer Studies (CKS) International Conference.