I have travelled the world (well almost) and every time I balance it by traveling my country, I fall in love more and more with my own country. You can jump from island to island and it feels like you are in a different country! Seriously! There are 33 provinces, approximately 300 ethnic groups, 600 languages (YES, language! Not dialect). And I speak the Java (Kromo), Java (Ngoko), Balinese, Ambonese, and National language Bahasa Indonesia.
Enough of Geography and straight to my new ins today! My niece recently traveled for work in Borneo (Kalimantan) bordered to Malaysian Borneo (Sabah & Sarawak). She bought me this beautiful Clutch in Kalimantan's Batik, and a coin purse,
The Dayak are the native people of Borneo. It is a loose term for over 200 riverine and hill-dwelling ethnic subgroups, located principally in the interior of Borneo, each with its own dialect, customs, laws, territory and culture, although common distinguishing traits are readily identifiable. The Dayak were animist in belief; however many converted to Christianity & Islam recently. The Dayak indigenous religion has been given the name 'Kaharingan', and may be said to be a form of animism, can you see it in their motifs here?
In the past the Dayak were feared for their ancient tradition of headhunting practices. After conversion to Christianity or Islam and anti-headhunting legislation by the colonial powers; the practice was banned and disappeared. The "green revolution" in the 1950s, spurred on the planting of new varieties of wetland rice amongst Dayak tribes. The modern day rise in large scale mono-crop plantations such as palm oil and bananas. Metal working is elaborately developed in making Mandaus (machetes) and these beautiful brass accessories,
I can really blabbering about the whole Dayak culture and would probably put you all to sleep, so I must stop now and let you enjoy the images that I Googled.
[tattoo]
[back in their hay days, similar till this day with a little coverage of some part]
[todays look]
[todays look down in the jungle area]
Have a good weekend you all...
