What Dayak means!

Posted by Sir Rabow on January 18, 2005 at 14:17:29:

In Jagoi-Singhai dialect, "Dayak" can carry 2 meanings depending on the context in which it is used:

"Dayak" may mean "people" or "person" or simply, "human-being" in as far as Bau-Jagoi dialect is concerned as in the following case:

1. "Oku idoh dik ku ponai dilo dayak neh" (Iam not good at drawing human figure)

2. "Doii nyek tolu dek tarian singa neh! Dayak daang eh neh!" (You don't have to be scared of the lion dance. It is just human who dance)

But "Dayak" can also mean "race" in the following context:

"Onak Dayak idoh dik koda ayuo onak Bisina ....." (Dayak children are not like Chinese children....) or "Ayuo Bisina lobih maju so otto Dayak ...." (Chinese are more advance than us, Dayaks)

Interestingly the Malays take "Dayak" to mean "race" rather than "people" because 'people' means 'manusia' to them.

The White Rajahs could only differentiate between the Ibans (Sikorang) and the "Dayaks" from their places of habitations. The Ibans were mostly found by the rivers or sea coast, thus "Sea Dayak" and "Land Dayaks" in the hills. (Dayaks here means 'race')

As for "Bidayuh" it simply means "Land People" and if you substitute the "people" with "Dayak" it simply is a direct translation of the Rajah's "Land Dayaks"

"Dayak Bidayuh" as in the abbreviation "DBNA" is a bit tricky:
As explained above, "Bidayuh" actually means "Land Dayaks". If we substitute this meaning into "Dayak Bidayuh" we end up with "DAYAK LAND DAYAK" (DLD) which simply means "the Dayaks of the hills type".

If take the first "dayak" in DLD to mean "people" then DLD actually means "people of the hills type"

So, the Dayak Bidayuh in DBNA actually makes sense...... heheheh....

But of The Great Hermes, I am lost! This could be a new breed of Bidayuh Pimegans, whatever that may mean. (Nyatik luang eh kea saai nyam odop eh!}