The interior of the household rooms of Bidayuh longhouse

 The interior of the household rooms in the longhouse ,above-the fireplace is stacked dry bamboo for firewood and to the side a bundle of- corn is hanging to dry the floor of the room is of bamboo,Phototaken at long house of land Dayak,circa 1930's.

Old Bidayuh Man Wrapping Roasted Glutinous Rice

 Old Bidayuh Man Wrapping Roasted Glutinous Rice during Gawai Dayak Festival, at Kamung Annah Rais nearby Siburan, a Bidayuh Longhouse at Sarawak, 

The last generation of Ring Lady from Semban Village Ulu Pedawan

The last generation of Ring Lady from Semban Village,Ulu Pedawan.Their number has decreased year by year as no new Generation continuing this tradition anymore.
 

History Of Gawai Dayak Day in Sarawak

 "Hari Gawai Dayak" was gazetted as an official public holiday on September 25,1964 and was officially celebrated for the first time in 1st June 1965.

The Dayak Community in Sarawak,celebrated the second Dayak Festival day on Wednesday 1st June 1966.In Kuching,the festival day eve was celebrated at the Sarawak Union Club,it was attended by most community leader of Sarawak including Chief Minister,Datuk Seri Kalong Ningkan.

In an address he said that the Festival marked the ending of a harvest season and signalled the approach of another padi farming season.

The Chief Minister continued"As we celebrate This Gawai Taun,and when we greet each other during this happy day,let us be mindful of the great and continuing need to preserve and strengthen the unity of our country"

The inter room of Land Dayak family

 The inter room of Land Dayak family is small and not particularly tidy.Everything possible is suspended from the ceiling,or hung up on the wall,padi carrying baskets and length of rattan,a mosquito net,hats and rubber latex strainer,while the owner squats below and  weaves himself anew mat.

Photo taken  by Hedda Morrisson circa 1950's

Bambbo bridge made by Land Dayak

 Bamboo is an extremely useful and easily worked material.It is really giant grass,very heavy when green but light and strong  when dried.The Land Dayak make good use of bamboo to make walks across dump places but such in a place the lenghts of bamboo will only have a life about a year or even less.

by Hedda Morrison,circa 1950's

Land Dayak man from Bau area

 Land Dayak (Bidayuh)man from Bau area in early 1900's.

The Bidayuh Pedawan lady

This picture taken on April 9, 2017, shows Anyu Daik (R), 70, and Anat Ugom, 44 (L), from a sub-tribe of the Bidayuhs indigenous group, wearing traditional yellow copper rings called "rasung" on their calves, "ruyang" on their forearms and "tumbih" as necklaces as they eat inside their kitchen in Padawan. 

There are currently only three Bidayuh women or "ring ladies" still alive there. The women started wearing the yellow copper rings when they were around 10 and have continuously worn them since as they are seen as a sign of beauty and prestige. According to the Bidayuh community, this is a tradition that has been passed down for generations. 

It is also believed that their ancestors traded with the Chinese and the copper rings were payment for goods procured from the villagers.

 

Women winnowing rice in Land Dayak house

 Photograph showing two Land Dayak women (Bidayuh's), sitting on the floor of a timber house. The elderly woman on the left side is holding a child, while the woman to siiting on the right winnows rice by tossing it into the air on woven mats. A woven mat, with a pile of rice on it, sits between the two women.

The rice or padi was husked in the longhouse, once harvested, and then winnowed to remove the rice bran.'Women winnowing rice in Land Dayak house' by Hedda Morrison,Circa 1960's.

Sifting rice with their personal machines in their house yard

 Two bidayuh women are sifting rice with their personal machines in their house yard in the Tebedu area.Circa 1965.

The Skull Offering Ceremony

 An Bidayuh elder preparing ceremonial offerings to the Skull spirit Mentu Tapu during "The Skull Offering Ceremony" Circa August 1954.

Photo of Old Bidayuh Woman smoking his cigarette.

 Photo of Old Bidayuh Woman smoking his cigarette.

The Ring Ladies or the Golden Ladi

 Here are the last few remaining women who still practice this tradition, sometimes nicknamed the "Ring Ladies" or the "Golden Ladi".Out 0f five,only three women available.Two of them has returned their soul to the god.

Land Dayak chief with his son and grandson

 Land Dayak chief with his son and grandson,circa 1910.

The last Ring Woman of Padawan

 The last Ring Woman of Padawan

Retro Photo of Land Dayak

The land Dayak ( Circa early 1900's)

Bidayuh Longhouse

Traditional Bidayuh Longhouse is open and conducive for a disciplined, communal way of life where honesty, discipline and deligence is automatically imposed on all inhabitants.
Unlike the Ibans, Bidayuh Longhouse actually consists of small longhouses (a few doors) or separate individual homes placed close together and are connected together by platforms of bamboo. Thus they are not that long, straight and level. Ours can be considered split-level, as we have to follow the contour of the land/hills.
Traditional Bidayuh houses are built using timber frames (post and beams), the wall are made of bark or flattened bamboo, the floor is made of section of split bamboo or flattened bamboo and the roofing is of 'attap' (palm-leaf thatch). Another unique thing about Bidayuh architecture, is the complete absent in the use of iron nails. We use a system of joints and the building materials are held in place with the use of special ropes/rattan.

Unfortunately, you can't find anymore Bidayuh Longhouse in Bau District. There might still be one or two in Penrissen, Pedawan or Serian area.

---

Kpg Giam in the '60s as painted by Ricky Guing Senen.
This is a painting of a Bidayuh Longhouse. Unfortunately you don't get to see these longhouses anymore. Ricky is a programmer dealing with multi-media in a semi-government agency and in recent years is more involved in Communication, Multi- media, DTP and Public Relations activities. One of his hobbies is painting, so I have included this masterpiece of his here on my page. If anyone is interested in his paintings, he can be contacted at:-ssedc@po.jaring.my

Credit to :http://www.cdc.net.my/paular/arch.html

Bidayuh's Baruk house

Bidayuh's Baruk headhouse @ Kg Opar, Sarawak.

Some pronounce it as Baruk and others spell it as Barok.Both are same meaning and refer to Bidayuh people.

Baruk can be made into a model for a modern cool community hall. The Baruk structure capitalised on air convection as the principle for keeping the building cool. The other aspect is that it provide an atmosphere of equality in term of status when come to the seating arrangment.

In the old days, this is where the Bidayuh keep their enemies skulls.

'Mukah', a Bidayuh religious festival to appease the spirits of 'Tikurouk' (skulls of enemies) is held here. This is no longer practise because most Bidayuhs are now Christians.

Uses of the Baruk.

• Used by the Pagans to practise the 'Adat Oma' and performing traditional dances.
• In the olden days, a defensive point for the Bidayuh Village.
• Used by all unmarried men and young boys of the village as their sleeping place. (Keep them out of mischief!).
• Rest house for visitors. (Most of them must have had nightmare!).
• A meeting place for the villagers/with Government Officials.
• A venue for religious and cultural ceremonies.

Another unique thing about Bidayuh architecture, is the complete absent in the use of iron nails. We use a system of joints and the building materials are held in place with the use of special ropes/rattan.

Credit to : http://www.cdc.net.my/paular/arch.html

Bidayuh People Of Sarawak

Bidayuh is the collective name for several indigenous groups found in southern Sarawak, on the island of Borneo, that are broadly similar in language and culture (see also Issues below). The name "Bidayuh" means 'inhabitants of land'. Originally from the western part of Borneo, the collective name Land Dayaks was first used during the period of Rajah James Brooke, the White Rajah of Sarawak. They constitute one of the main indigenous groups in Sarawak and live in towns and villages around Kuching and Samarahan in the Malaysian state of Sarawak. Related groups are also found in the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan. In Sarawak, most of Bidayuh population are found within 40 km of the geographical area known as Greater Kuching, within the Kuching and Samarahan division. They are the second largest Dayak ethnic group in Sarawak after the Iban.

Location

Predominantly Bidayuh areas are: Lundu, Bau, Penrissen, Padawan, Siburan and Serian. Most of the Bidayuh villages can be found in the rural areas of Lundu, Bau, Padawan, Penrissen and Serian district. The area in which they live is mainly in the basin of the Sarawak River and hilly to mountainous forest, traditionally worked by rotational agriculture and hunting based around farms populated from parent villages situated on the hills for protection. Today, almost all the traditional longhouse-villages have been replaced by individual houses, by roads and there is some plantation agriculture and a reduced emphasis on the growing of hill-padi. Fruit trees, especially durian, remain important property markers. The distinctive architectural and cultural feature of the Bidayuh is the headhouse, now adopted as a symbol.

Language

In Sarawak there are generally said to be three main linguistic groupings (Biatah; Bau-Jagoi; Bukar-Sadong) but these can be broken down even beyond the list referenced below as most people can be distinguished by locals down to village level through smaller differences in vocabulary and intonation. Each area speak its own dialect:

1. Lundu speak Jagoi, Salako & Lara
2. Bratak, Singai, Krokong and Jagoi speak Singai-Jagoi
3. Penrissen speak Bisitang
4. Siburan vicinity speak Biatah
5. Bidayuhs who live around Serian such as Tebekang, Mongkos, Tebedu to Tanjung Amo near the border of Kalimantan Indonesia speak Bukar-Sadong.
6. Bidayuhs in Padawan speak several but related dialects like Bi-anah, Pinyawa, Braang, Bia', Bisepug & Emperoh/Bipuruh.

The dialects are not mutually intelligible and English or Malay are often used as common languages.

Language issues

The Serian Bidayuhs have a distinct dialect known as the Bukar-Sadong Bidayuh, which is not intelligible to Bidayuhs from other Districts. Here are some examples of the differences in the various dialects spoken in Serian, with their English and Malay equivalents. Also included are two Philippine languages, Kapampangan and Tagalog:

English	Malay	Bukar-Sadong	Bau-Jagoi	Siburan-Padawan	Bra'ang-Pinyawa	Lundu (Salako)	Kapampangan	Tagalog
Father	Bapa	Amang	Sama	Sama	Sama'	Apak, Bapak	Ibpâ, (Bapa - Uncle)	Amang, Ama
Mother	Ibu	Andĕ/ayang	Sino	Sinĕ	Sin(d)o	Inuk, Indok, Umak	Indû	Inang, Ina
Food	makanan	pima-an	pinguman	pimaan	Pinguman	Pamakanan	Pamangan	Pagkain
Rice	nasi	songkoi/sungkoi	tubi	tubi	Tubi	nasik	nasi	kanin
I	aku	aku	oku	Ěku	aku	aku	aku/I-aku	ako
You/thee	kamu/anda	amu/akam	mu-u/ingan	ku-u/kaam	(K)u'u/ ka'am	kau	ika (sing.)/ikayu (pl.)	ikaw

Religion & beliefs

Bidayuhs are traditionally animist, and vestiges of these beliefs still remain. The British colonial times (known as the Brooke family era) saw the arrival of Christian missionaries, bringing education and modern medicine. The great majority of Bidayuh are now Christians, majority of them being Roman Catholic.

Most Bidayuh villages have either a Roman Catholic or Anglican church or a mosque -- rarely more than one or the village would tend to split. The Biatah people, who live in the Kuching area, are Anglican, while the people of the Bau area are Catholic.

The Bidayuh of Bau have a unique tradition of hanging the bodies of the dead on trees and leaving them to rot away. The skeletons are left on trees as a reminder of the dead. The tradition is rarely done nowadays.

Salako & Lara people issues

Although classified as "Bidayuh" by the Malaysian government, the Salako and Lara culture have little resemblance to other Bidayuh groups and their oral tradition claim different descent and migration histories. Linguistically, the Salako belong to another language family tree which is of the Malayic-Dayak family (the same family as the Iban).^[1] The Lara, although said to be more related to the Bidayuh (Jagoi-Singai), speak a language almost not mutually intelligible at all with the Bidayuh but belonged to the same language family tree which is the Land Dayak.^[1] Even their customary rituals and rites differ from the other Bidayuhs (all Bidayuhs share almost the same ritual and customary rites).

Link : Wikipedia

Bidayuh Girls

Dua orang gadis manis ini mengenakan pakaian tradisional kaum Bidayuh Suku Salako dan Bukar-Sadong,iaitu antara kumpulan etnik rumpun bangsa Bidayuh.Suku kaum lain yang termasuk dalam rumpun Bidayuh ialah Biatah,Jagoi dan Lara.