RACES BIDAYUH

Bidayuh is the collective name for several indigenous groups found in southern Sarawak and northern West Kalimantan, 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 nameLand Dayak was first 

used during the period of Rajah James Brooke, the White Raja of Sarawak. They constitute one of the main indigenous groups in Sarawak & West Kalimantan and live in towns and villages around Kuching and Samarahan in the Malaysian state of Sarawak, while in West Kalimantan they are mainly concentrated in the northern Sanggau Regency. 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 and one of the major Dayak tribes in West Kalimantan.

The Bidayuh have a musical heritage consisting of various types of agung ensembles - ensembles composed of large hanging, suspended or held, bossed/knobbed gongs which act as drone without any accompanying melodic instrument

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 similar process were also taken place in Dutch Borneo in the Dutch controlled side. 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 but few villages are Muslims -- 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.

Now some renown church also being establish in some villages such as SIB (Sidang Injil Borneo) also called as Borneo Evangelical Church, Baptist Church, Assemblies Of God church and other churches as SDA, Latter Rain.

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.