Bidayuh

The Bidayuh, also known as Dayak land, are an indigenous ethnic group of the island of Borneo. They are counted among the Dayak peoples. They settle today in the southwest of belonging to Malaysia state of Sarawak and the neighboring Indonesian province of Kalimantan Barat. Most of the Bidayuh in Sarawak located in the administrative divisions of Kuching and Samarahan in a radius of about 40 km around the region, referred to as " Greater Kuching ". Today, many Bidayuh to Kuching, the capital of Sarawak, pulled.

Most Bidayuh settlements are located in the rural areas of Lundu, Bau, Penrissen, Padawan and Serian, where they mostly represent the largest population group. Their main settlement area is located at the headwaters of the rivers Lundu, Sarawak, Sadong and Samarahan. Traditionally, they operated shifting cultivation and hunting. Today, almost all traditional longhouses have been replaced by individual houses with roads. There is some plantation economy and a little cultivation of upland rice. Fruit trees, especially the durian, still serve to mark possession. An important cultural and architectural feature of the Bidayuh was the chief house, which is now used as a symbol. The " Baruch " is a round house, which is being built about 1.5 meters from the ground.

In general, three linguistic groups in Sarawak are now accepted: Biatah, construction Jagoi and Bukar - Sadong. However, the basis of differences in vocabulary and emphasis locals can often identify the origin of a speaker of a particular village. The dialects can be summarized to the following groups:

• The Lundu speak Salako and Lara.
• The Bratak, Singai, Krokong and Jagoi speak Singai - Jagoi.
• The Penrissen and around Sibu speaks Biatah.
• Bidayuh who live around Serian such as the Tebekang, Mongkos and Tebedu up to Tanjung Amo near the border with the Indonesian province of Kalimantan, speak Bukar - Sadong.
• The Bidayuh in Padawan speak several related dialects as Pinyawa, Braang, Bia ', Sepug and Emperoh.

Since not all dialects are mutually intelligible good, Malay or English is often used as a lingua franca.

Religion was originally animist, but since the time of Rajah Brooke, as missionaries brought a school and medical care, and after the colonial era, when the Malays were more political influence, the animistic influence declined dramatically. Most villages have either a Roman Catholic or Anglican church. Mosques are rare. Rarely is there more than one religious building in a village, as this could otherwise split the village community. The Biatah to the Sarawak River tend to be Anglican, while the people in the area of construction are more Catholics.