ABNORMAL? Meet The Dayak Tribe Of Indonesia Where Men Wear Body Jewelry And Get Symbolic Tattoos

Dayak is the name of Borneo native which currently still lives in the remote part of Borneo. The indigenous Dayak Tribe has maritime culture because their names have a lot of meanings and are related to the many rivers found in the remote area.

The meaning of the word ‘dayak’ itself is debatable. ‘Dayak’ means human, while many others say that Dayak means inland. The Iban people use the term Dayak as human, while the Tunjung and Benuaq people interpret it as the river upstream.

The most Dayak Tribes are Dayak Kenyah who use accessories as their body jewellery. Dayak Tribes generally have beads made of natural stones.

Previously, these stones were formed by hand without a machine, so that the colour is dull when compared to modern beads made in factories.

There are also differences in weight on the stones and beads. If you want to prove that the beads are genuine from the Dayak Tribe or not, then you must do a test by burning them.

Generally, Dayak people especially the men are not familiar with other stone accessories other than beaded jewellery. Accessories that are generally used are those that come from their hunting animals, such as canine and bear teeth and also pig fangs.

Another unique characteristic of the Dayak tribe is the tattoo, where tattoos for them have a very deep meaning. Tattoos for the Dayak are part of tradition, religion, social status of a person in the community and can also be a tribal appreciation for one’s abilities.

Therefore, tattoos can not be made haphazardly. Both tattoos on men or women, traditionally made using long orange fruit spines. They can do tattoos using one spine or use several needles at once. Meanwhile, the material for tattooing uses soot from a black pot.