The Bisaya are a group of indigenous people from the northwest coast of East Malaysia and Brunei, on the island of Borneo. Their populations are concentrated around the towns of Beaufort and Kuala Penyu in southern Sabah (where they are included under the Kadazan-Dusun group of peoples), Labuan Federal Territory, and in Limbang District of Sarawak (in which they are grouped under the Orang Ulu designation). The Bisaya tribe bears many similarities to the Tatana Dusun tribe, especially in terms of language, as there is a high degree of mutual intelligibility between the two groups. Nowadays, most Bisaya in Sabah are Muslim, while those living in Sarawak are mostly Christians. In Brunei, they are referred to as Dusun, Jati Dusun, and Bisaya.[5]
Several theories have been put forward by various researchers regarding the origins of the name of the Bisaya people. H. Otley Beyer in 1926, Hester E.D. in 1954, and Harrison in 1956 suggested that the name may have come from the Sumatran empire of Srivijaya (Sonza, 1972). However, in 1960, Eugene Vestraelen (professor of linguistics at the University of San Carlos, Cebu City, Philippines) cautioned that the linguistic derivation of Vijaya would not be Bisaya but Bidaya, or Biraya.[6]
According to John Carroll (1961:499–541), the term Visaya might be the Sanskrit Vaisya, denoting the 3rd caste of the Hindu caste system. The Philippines Bisaya were first referred to by the general term Pintados ("the painted ones") by the Spanish, in reference to the prominent practice of full-body tattooing (batok). The word Bisaya, on the other hand, was first documented in Spanish sources in reference to the non-Ati inhabitants of the island of Panay.
—John Carroll, The word Bisaya in the Philippines and Borneo, Sarawak Museum Journal, 1960
Restored traditional Bisaya house in the Heritage Village of Kota Kinabalu, Sabah
The Bisaya people are skilled in agriculture, particularly in the areas of paddy planting, ginger, sago, ginger, tapioca, banana, yam, pepper, and coconut. They also hunt animals and breed others, such as chicken, ducks, geese, goats, buffalo, and cows. They also catch fish, either from the river or the sea.
The Bisaya language of Sabah shares 90% intelligibility with Tatana, a Dusun dialect. It also has 58% lexical similarity to Sarawak dialects of Bisaya and 57%–59% with the Brunei dialect.[8]
Bewsher (1958), Sandin (1971), and Hussain & Newman (1987)
Beccari, Dr. O., Nelle Foreste di Borneo (1902)
Bock, Carl, The Head-hunters of Borneo (1882)
Furness, W. H., The Home Life of Borneo Head-hunters (1902)
Haddon, E. B., "The Dog-motive in Bornean Art" (Journ. Anth. Inst., 1905)
Hamer, C. den, Iets Over Het Tatoueeren of Toetang Bij De Biadjoe-Stammen
Hein, A. R., Die Bildenden Kunste Bei Den Dayaks Auf Borneo (1890)
Ling Roth, H., The Natives of Sarawak and British North Borneo 1896, vol. ii.
Nieuwenhuis, Dr. A. W., In Central Borneo (1900). vol. i.
Nieuwenhuis, Dr. A. W., Quer Durch Borneo (1904), vol. i.
Schwaner, Dr. C. A. L. M., Borneo (1853—54); cf. Ling Roth, vol. ii. pp. cxci to cxcv
Whitehead, J., Exploration of Mount Kina Balu, North Borneo (1893)
Selamat Jati; Sejarah Sosio Ekonomi Bisaya (thesis 1990)
Dr. Shafiq Sarawak Museum Journal (1989); "Bisaya Ethnography: A Brief Bisaya Report."
Antarano Peranio; The Structure of Bisaya Society
Bewsher; Kumpulan tulisan Bewsher (Tuan Busa kajun Bisaya)
Prof. Vernon L. Poritt; "Bapa Guru Bisaya"
Harrisson; Kaitan Bisaya Sarawak, Brunei dan Sabah; "Some origins and attitudes of Brunei Tutong-Belait-Dusun, North Boreneo Dusun', and Sarawak Bisayan" (1958)
Asmah Hj, Omar (1983), Araneta and Bernard (1960), Hussain Jamil & Newman (187); Bisaya language
R.E. Stubbs (1968); Kegemilangan Bisaya
St. John (1862) volume 2; Tulisan yang awal tentang kampung-kampung Bisaya
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Brunei: 45,000 [1] 
Malaysia 
Sarawak: 7,000 (1984) [2] 
Sabah: 74,000 [3] 
United States: 14,000 [4] 
