Apo Kayan people


The Apo Kayan people are one of the Dayak people groups that are spread throughout Sarawak of Malaysia, East Kalimantan and North Kalimantan of Indonesia. The earliest Apo Kayan people are from the riverside of the Kayan River, Bulungan Regency, East Kalimantan, Indonesia. According to the Apo Kayan Dayak legend, the Kayan people are the forefathers of which all smaller sub-ethnic Dayak people that are found along the Kayan River came from. Today, the population of the Apo Kayan people are estimated about 64,900.

Sub-ethnic

The Apo Kayan people group are divided into 3 sub-ethic Dayak people, namely:-
From the 3 sub-ethnic Dayak people group, they are further divided into 60 smaller sub-ethnic groups that are spread across 60 settlements that are located in Kalimantan and making them the smallest of the sub-ethnic group that still retain their family genealogy.

Kenyah people

The Kenyah Dayak people comprises 24 smaller sub-ethnics:-
The Kayan Dayak people are divided into 10 smaller sub-ethnics:-
The Bahau Dayak people are made of 26 smaller sub-ethnics:-
Geographically, the meaning of Apo Kayan can be understood as plateau that is located at the North Kalimantan-Sarawak boundary. Including Kayan Hulu district, Malinau Regency, North Kalimantan, Indonesia, this region has a height between 450 and 1,700 meters above sea levels.

Culture

The uniqueness of the Apo Kayan Dayak community is their wearing of earrings and tattoos on the hands and feet of both men and women. According to the ancestral beliefs, the wearing of earrings separates men from animals. While the tattoos signifies the difference in social rankings. According to them, the more tattoo markings are found on the body meant the higher the social status in the society would be. However, today the tradition of wearing earrings and tattoos are slowly being left out by the younger generation of the Apo Kayan people. This is due to the feeling of embarrassment to uphold such practices in today's modern society.