The History of Dayak (18): The Dayaks of Sarawak, From Prehistoric Roots to Contemporary Wisdom

Read The History of Dayak (17): The Cultural Landscape of Sarawak

The presence of the Dayak peoples, including the Iban, in Sarawak is in fact a continuation of the prehistoric human footprint on Borneo, which spans tens of thousands of years. One of the most significant archaeological sites is Niah Cave, located in the Miri region of northern Sarawak. 

Archaeologists have uncovered remains of modern humans over 40,000 years old at this site, making it one of the oldest prehistoric sites in Southeast Asia. These findings confirm that Borneo, and particularly Sarawak, served as an early center for the dispersal of modern humans in the region. In other words, the Dayak peoples, including the Iban and their subgroups, are direct heirs of the ancient civilization of Niah Cave.

The connection between the prehistoric inhabitants of Niah Cave and modern Dayak communities is not only biological but also cultural. Communal living in longhouses, animistic belief systems, and spiritual relationships with the forest demonstrate a long continuity between prehistoric life and contemporary culture. Amid rapid modernization, awareness of this historical grounding is crucial for sustaining identity.

Many researchers argue that the best way to understand contemporary Dayak life is to trace the long trajectory of human habitation from Niah Cave: a journey from cave to longhouse, from ancient ritual to modern celebration, from anonymous ancestors to conscious, self-aware identities. 

Today, as the modern world moves toward globalization and cultural homogenization, the existence of the Dayak in Sarawak offers a vital mirror for humanity. They are not merely an indigenous community, but custodians of Borneo’s historical memory, exemplifying how local cultures can endure while transforming. In their arts, music, and rituals, one finds ecological wisdom that remains profoundly relevant today. 

Amid global environmental crises, traditional Dayak knowledge of ecological balance provides a thoughtful and practical pathway forward. Being Dayak in Sarawak today is thus not merely about preserving heritage, but about imparting new meaning to human sustainability on the island of Borneo.

The Land Dayaks in Morrison’s Notes and the Brooke Legacy

Hedda Morrison, a German photographer and writer who spent many years in Sarawak during the British colonial period, devoted one of the longest sections of her 1957 book Sarawak to the Land Dayaks. Titled The Land Dayaks, this section spans pages 245 to 315 and constitutes meticulous ethnographic documentation of the Bidayuh people—then referred to as Land Dayaks—who lived in the interior around Kuching, Bau, and the mountains bordering western Borneo. 

Morrison not only captured their lives in hundreds of invaluable photographs but also provided nuanced ethnographic descriptions of their ways of life, social values, and spiritual relationship with the land. She wrote at a time when colonialism framed historical narratives, yet her work clearly sought to penetrate this perspective and present the Dayaks as full human beings, rather than exotic objects.

According to her notes, the Land Dayak population in the mid-20th century numbered around sixty thousand, spread across Sarawak’s First Division and some border areas. Morrison observed that they differed from other Sarawakian groups in language, customs, and social structure. They lived under a strong customary law system, occupied their own longhouses, and formed small communities, each speaking distinct dialects. She noted that 120 years earlier, they had been nearly annihilated by pressures from two fronts: attacks by the Iban from the Second Division and oppression by Brunei Malay rulers. The Brunei authorities even sanctioned Iban raids on the Land Dayaks, yielding human heads and slaves sold to Brunei.

The arrival of the Brooke administration altered their circumstances. The first Rajah brought a degree of stability and security previously unimaginable to the interior communities. Morrison wrote that following the end of this period of violence, the population began to recover, though the Land Dayaks largely remained in the same territories. 

Unlike the Iban, who expanded into new areas, the Land Dayaks were highly place-bound, spiritually connected to the land they cultivated—even as its fertility declined. Morrison highlighted their meticulous rice-harvesting technique, picking grains by hand rather than cutting them with knives, demonstrating a profound connection to every part of the living process.

Morrison described them as gentle, honest, and non-aggressive, physically short with round faces. Among their distinctive practices, Morrison was struck by the heavy metal bracelets worn by young women around their calves—a custom largely faded by her time but formerly a marker of beauty and social status. 

With ironic humor, she noted, “This tradition is painful and ungainly, yet Land Dayak girls are fashion slaves, much like women in advanced countries.” She also depicted their dances, where two performers face each other with a long cloth stretched between them, resembling two large, exotic birds—traces, she suggested, of ancient Hindu influence. Hindu-style artifacts were indeed present in Land Dayak territory, and Morrison observed that they practiced cremation, a custom not found among other Sarawakian groups.

Their longhouses, Morrison observed, were similar to Iban structures but without open verandas. They had tall, pointed-roof buildings serving as social centers and youth gathering spaces. Many had long contact with Europeans and had adopted Christianity, though conversion had not erased traditional beliefs. 

Morrison wrote cautiously: “Many disputes remain, especially over land.” Land tenure was customary, passed down without written records, causing boundaries to blur over generations and leading to conflicts between families claiming common ancestry—further complicated when some members were Christian and others adhered to ancestral beliefs. Local officials spent much of their time resolving these disputes.

In terms of leadership, Morrison noted that Land Dayaks were led by figures called Orang Kaya. With gentle humor, she wrote, “It is strange to see a village head wearing a hat boldly labeled ‘O.K.’” The title signified social rank and honor, not material wealth.

When juxtaposed with James Brooke’s accounts, the Dayaks are portrayed from a colonial perspective as a people to be guided toward civilization. Brooke wrote from a position of authority and colonial mission; Morrison wrote from a perspective of culture and human empathy. Together, they form two mirrors of the same reality: Borneo as a space of tension between tradition and colonialism. Yet Morrison, unlike many European writers of her era, saw the Land Dayaks not as “backward,” but as guardians of ecological and spiritual values preserved for centuries. 

Morrison wrote with understated admiration: “They may be poor in possessions, but they are rich in the wisdom of the land.”