Is it true that the origin of the Dayak tribe comes from Chinese descent?
Ditulis pada: March 11, 2022
Since I was a teenager and started to expand my social circle, many people have asked me, am I a Dayak? The same question over and over again made me wonder where the Dayak actually came from.
Determined to answer my intense curiosity, I finally asked my grandmother. And yes, it turns out that I am half-Dayak and half-Chinese. Then where did the origin of the Dayak actually come from?
Around 3000-1500 BC, the continents of Asia and Borneo were still united. At that time there was a massive migration of people from Yunnan. They wandered across the land, exploring forests and mountains until they reached the mainland of Borneo.
The Chinese from Yunan entered Borneo during the Ming Dynasty between 1368 - 1643. The main purpose of the Chinese was to trade. Along the way, in every area they passed, they traded the goods they brought, such as opium, silk, glassware, which included plates, cups, bowls, jars and various other ceramics.
Along with the entry of the Chinese into mainland Kalimantan, there were also other groups known as the Negroid and Weddid groups which later became known as the Malays.
The two immigrant groups eventually lived side by side and settled in Kalimantan. From just trading, finally there was a mixing of the population through marriage. The children of the marriage of two immigrant groups that eventually became the Dayak tribe.
The origin of the Dayak tribe is told from generation to generation by word of mouth. And because of mixing with the Chinese, many Dayak children have oriental faces, very similar to Chinese children. Slanted eyes and olive skin.
In fact, Dayak girls look prettier than actual Chinese girls. The Dayak girls look more exotic. The Dayak tribe, the result of this mixing, eventually spread to almost all areas in Kalimantan. They comb the rivers, then inhabit the coast of the island of Borneo.
The mixing continues. The next generation of Dayak women/men marry fellow locals who created pure Dayak tribes or marry the descendants of the Chinese who settled in their area.
The Dayak tribe also formed a kingdom called "Nansarunai Usak Jawa" or the Nansarunai Dayak kingdom. However, this kingdom was destroyed due to the expansion of the Majapahit kingdom who wanted to expand its territory.
With the entry of the Majapahit kingdom, the spread of Islam began to penetrate the Dayak tribe, which on average still adhered to animism and dynamism or worship of objects and nature.
Some of the Dayak people eventually embraced Islam and since then they no longer recognize themselves as Dayaks. Because the mystical world of the Dayak people is so strong that it is very contrary to the religion of Islam which worships Allah. The Dayak tribes who embraced Islam called themselves Malays or Banjar people.
However, some of the Dayak people still believe in their beliefs. They do not want to embrace Islam because they still adhere to their customs, traditions, and beliefs. So that the Dayaks eventually fled by walking along long rivers and into the interior of Central Kalimantan.
They eventually settled in the areas of Kayu Tangi, Amuntai, Margasari, Watang Amandit, Labuan Lawas and Watang Balangan. Even some of the Dayak people who do not want to be influenced by the outside world choose to enter the jungles and live in seclusion far from the outside world. Until now, the remote Dayak people still live primitively.
It was from my grandmother's story that I finally learned about the origins of the Dayak tribe. The marriage of one of my great-grandfathers who was of Chinese descent and a Dayak tribe made his descendants including me inherit half Chinese blood and half Dayak blood.
So, it's not wrong if some of my friends think I'm of Dayak descent, but some of my other friends think I'm of Chinese descent. Now, in this modern era, the notion of belonging to which ethnic group is not important.
Whatever ethnicity flows in my body should not be the difference that divides society. Differences in ethnicity and culture make the Indonesian nation very rich in culture and special. And I was born special!
