Kayan people (Borneo)
"The Tattooing of a Married Kayan Woman," (c. 1896-98), photograph by William Henry Furness III. Illustration from The Home-Life of Borneo Head-Hunters (1902). | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 200,000 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Borneo: | |
| Malaysia (Sarawak) | 30,000 (2010) |
| Languages | |
| Kayan-Murik languages (Kayan), Indonesian, Malay (Sarawak Malay), and English | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity (predominantly), Bungan (Folk religion), and Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Bahau • Bulungan • Kenyah | |
Being an indigenous people in Borneo, the Kayan people are similar to their neighbours, the Kenyah people, with which they are grouped together with the Bahau people under the Apo Kayan people group. The Kayan people are categorised as a part of the Dayak people. They are distinct from, and not to be confused with, the Kayan people of Myanmar.
The population of the Kayan ethnic group may be around 200,000. They are part of a larger grouping of people referred collectively as the Orang Ulu, or upriver people. Like some other Dayak people, they are known for being fierce warriors, former headhunters, adept in upland rice cultivation, and having extensive tattoos and stretched earlobes amongst both sexes.