The Dayak people of Borneo possess an indigenous account of their history, mostly in oral literature, partly in writing in papan turai (wooden records), and partly in common cultural customary practices. In the past, the highly developed and complex religious practices of the Dayak peoples involved numerous local spirits and omen animals. Intertribal warfare was common, with headhunting a major feature. Since the mid-20th century, however, Dayak peoples have steadily adopted Anglicanism, Roman Catholicism, and Protestantism; by the early 21st century the vast majority of the population was Christian.
Lamin Dayak is the traditional house of Dayak Kenyah Tribe. The natives use these houses either for resting or gathering with others and it has been appointed as the traditional house of East Kalimantan Province. Above all, more tourists are likely to visit Berau to witness its uniqueness with their own eyes. Both the architecture and philosophy of the house are worth learning, after all. Not to mention it becomes a perfect object for photography.
The Nuance
In terms of size, Lamin Dayak is indeed big, having the length of 300 meters and width of 15 meters. Not to mention the height is 3 meters. Due to such gigantic size, the houses can accommodate up to 100 people. This explains how Dayak Tribe lives, actually. The ample space of the house represents their excellent kinship. The fact is the locals live in a group of families. That means a house may store about 12-30 families and all of them live together peacefully.
Exploring Lamin Dayak
One of the reasons in exploring Lamin Dayak is its architecture. Not only it has a big size, but the house features unique ornaments and shape. The most interesting one is the ethnic carvings, which have different meanings. Most of those carvings have the shape of living beings, especially human. Those explain the story of farming, hunting, etc. Apart from being the ornaments, those beautiful carvings act as the protector of the house against black magic. It is because Dayak Tribe believes in supernatural powers and magic, so they want to avoid any of them.
Tourists would enjoy exploring Lamin Dayak due to its majestic paints, as well. According to the locals, each color of the paint represents different meaning. For example, red encourages bravery and yellow shows the dignity of the residents. There are also other colors like black and white, which represent shade and purity. When it comes to the material, the house uses mostly hardwood. No wonder, it appears durable and solid. Even water won’t ruin it! With all those features, Lamin Dayak would get more visitors over time, for sure.
Once visitors enter Lamin Dayak, they might see several parts of the house, consisting of 3 rooms. These include bedroom, living room, and kitchen. The widest one is definitely the living room as it is used to greet the guests. When it comes to the bedroom, there are both males and females. Visitors are allowed to explore all parts of the house, even take pictures of them. The thing is they must obtain permission first. That is an easy requirement as long as they come with a tour guide.
Nearby Attractions
- Kaniungan Island
- Labuan Cermin Lake
- Sulaiman Bay
- Biantan Hotspring
How to Get There
For those living outside East Kalimantan, they must visit Balikpapan City first. The fastest method is by airplane and the destination is Sultan Aji Muhammad Sulaiman Airport. Once they arrive at the airport, they may continue the trip to Berau District, which takes roughly 14 hours.
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