West Kalimantan is a province of Indonesia. It is one of five Indonesian provinces comprising Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo. Its capital and largest city is Pontianak. It is bordered by East Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan to the east, the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Java Sea to the south. The province has an area of 147,307 km2, and had a population of 4,395,983 at the 2010 Census and 5,414,390 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid 2022 was 5,541,376. Ethnic groups include the Dayak, Malay, Chinese, Javanese, Bugis, and Madurese. The borders of West Kalimantan roughly trace the mountain ranges surrounding the vast watershed of the Kapuas River, which drains most of the province. The province shares land borders with Central Kalimantan to the southeast, East Kalimantan to the east, and the Malaysian territory of Sarawak to the north.
Bidayuh is the collective name for several indigenous groups found in southern Sarawak, Malaysia and northern West Kalimantan, Indonesia, on the island of Borneo, which are broadly similar in language and culture. The name Bidayuh means 'inhabitants of land'. Originally from the western part of Borneo, the collective name Land Dayak was first used during the period of Rajah James Brooke, the White Rajah of Sarawak. At times, they were also lesser referred to as Klemantan people. They constitute one of the main indigenous groups in Sarawak and West Kalimantan and live in towns and villages around Kuching and Serian in the Malaysian state of Sarawak, while in the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan they are mainly concentrated in the northern Sanggau Regency. In Sarawak, most of Bidayuh population can be found within 40 km of the geographical area known as Greater Kuching, within the Kuching and Serian 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 Krio people are a Dayak ethnic group in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. They live on the upper course of the Krio River and speak the Krio Dayak language.
The Malayic languages are a branch of the Malayo-Polynesian subgroup of the Austronesian language family. The most prominent member is Malay, a pluricentric language given national status in Brunei and Singapore while also the basis for national standards Malaysian in Malaysia and Indonesian in Indonesia. The Malayic branch also includes local languages spoken by ethnic Malays, further several languages spoken by various other ethnic groups of Sumatra, Indonesia and Borneo even as far as Urak Lawoi in the southwestern coast of Thailand.
The Batin are a sub-group of Malay people that inhabits the interior parts of Jambi province
The Bantenese are an indigenous ethnic group native to Banten in the westernmost part of Java island, Indonesia. The area of Banten province corresponds more or less with the area of the former Banten Sultanate, a Bantenese nation state that preceded Indonesia. In his book "The Sultanate of Banten", Guillot Claude writes on page 35: “These estates, owned by the Bantenese of Chinese descent, were concentrated around the village of Kelapadua.” Most of Bantenese are Sunni Muslim. The Bantenese speak the Sundanese-Banten dialect, a variety of the Sundanese language which does not have a general linguistic register, this language is called Basa Sunda Banten.
The Ibanic languages are a branch of the Malayic languages indigenous to western Borneo. They are spoken by the Ibans and related groups in East Malaysia and the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan. Other Dayak languages, called Land Dayak, which are not Ibanic, are found in the northwest corner of Kalimantan, between Ibanic and non-Ibanic Malayic languages such as Kendayan and the Malay dialects of Sarawak and Pontianak.
The Ngaju people are an indigenous ethnic group of Borneo from the Dayak group. In a census from 2000, when they were first listed as a separate ethnic group, they made up 18.02% of the population of Central Kalimantan province. In an earlier census from 1930, the Ngaju people were included in the Dayak people count. They speak the Ngaju language.
Kendayan, or Salako (Selako), is a Malayic Dayak language of Borneo. The exact number of speakers remains unknown, but is estimated to be around 350,000.
Mualang are an indigenous people of West Kalimantan from the Dayak group and a sub-ethnic of the Iban people. They speak the Mualang language and they are mostly concentrated in areas in the Sekadau Regency and Sintang Regency of West Kalimantan, Indonesia. The specific districts where the Mualang people live include:
- Belitang Hilir district, Sekadau
- Belitang district, Sekadau
- Belitang Hulu district, Sekadau
- Sepauk, Sintang and its surrounding region
The Pandat is the war sword of the Dayak people of northwest Borneo and is never used as a tool. On October 18, 2016, this weapon was featured in season 3 episode 9 of the American bladesmithing competition series Forged in Fire.
Maluku, a group of islands within the Indonesian archipelago, has a variety of culture and customs expressed in music, tools, languages, dance, and art.
The Lampung or Lampungese are an indigenous ethnic group native to Lampung and some parts of South Sumatra, Bengkulu, as well as in the southwest coast of Banten. They speak the Lampung language, a Lampungic language estimated to have 1.5 million speakers.
The Muna or Wuna are an indigenous group that inhabits Muna Island, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia. From the physical appearance of the body, skull, skin color, and hair it appears that the aboriginal Muna people are closer to the ethnic groups of Polynesians and Melanesians in the Pacific and Aboriginal Australians compared to the Buginese or Malays. This is evident by the similarities of the people and their culture with of those in the East Nusa Tenggara, and the islands of Timor and Flores generally. Woven sarong motifs found in East Nusa Tenggara and Muna Island share similar features such as horizontal lines with basic colors of yellow, green, red, and black. The shape of their headwear also has a resemblance to each other. Since before until today, Muna fishermen often harvest sea cucumbers and go fishing up to the waters of Darwin, Australia in the Timor Sea. This has caused Muna fishermen to have been arrested several times in these waters by the Australian government. These habits may probably indicate the existence of a traditional relationship between the Muna people with Aboriginal Australians.
Rangkiang is a granary or rice barn of the Minangkabau people used to keep rice. The rangkiang is a distinctive feature of Minangkabau architecture. The structure is traditionally found in the courtyard of a rumah gadang, the traditional house of Minangkabau people.
Banten Sundanese or Bantenese is one of the Sundanese dialect spoken predominantly by the Bantenese —an indigenous ethnic group native to Banten— in the westernmost hemisphere of Java island, and in the western Bogor Regency, as well as the northwestern parts of Sukabumi Regency. A variety of Bantenese is spoken by the Ciptagelar people in the Kasepuhan Ciptagelar traditional community in the Cisolok district and the Kasepuhan Banten Kidul traditional community in the Lebak Regency.
The Dayak Desa War or Majang Desa War was an armed uprising by the Dayak Desa tribe, and later Indonesian nationalists, in West Kalimantan against the Japanese Empire and the Dutch East Indies during World War II. The war was initially caused by the local population's opposition against the rōmusha system and disappointment with Japanese occupation. In the initial phase of Japanese occupation, several Japanese companies entered the region to gain natural resources in order to support the Japanese war effort in the Pacific. Occupying Japanese forced locals to work for free for these companies, mainly in coal mining and timber production. After that, a Japanese foreman working in a company wanted to marry the daughter of Pang Linggan, a respected Dayak chief in the region, which caused more tension between locals and the Japanese. Dayak tribes in the region initiated mangkuk merah ritual, as a sign to mobilise men from villages and prepare for war. The Japanese were driven out of the Borneo interior in June 1945, but returned on 17 July and continued until 31 August 1945 when Japanese forces there surrendered and left the region, replaced by Allied forces including the Dutch, who would later be opposed again until recognition of Indonesian independence in 1949.
Negara Dipa was a Hindu kingdom in South Kalimantan that appears in Hikayat Banjar. It was located in Amuntai near modern-day Tabasan. It was also the predecessor of Negara Daha and Banjar Sultanate.
The Tangkin is a traditional parang (knife) of the Iban people from Sarawak, Malaysia and West Kalimantan, Indonesia.
Indonesia (West Kalimantan)