Kayan

Kayan refers to a group of indigenous peoples on the island of Borneo. They are part of the Dayak peoples and share linguistic and cultural traits with neighboring groups. The Kayan are distributed primarily in the Indonesian portion of Borneo, especially in East Kalimantan and North Kalimantan, with communities along interior river valleys and in villages rather than urban centers. The Kayan languages constitute a branch of the Austronesian language family and include several related languages or dialects that vary by subgroup and region.

Traditionally, Kayan communities practiced subsistence agriculture, hunting, and fishing, with living patterns adapted to riverine forest environments. Social organization historically centers on kinship networks and customary law, known as adat, which regulate marriage, inheritance, and community decisions. Dress, crafts, and ceremonies vary among subgroups, reflecting a diversity of local customs.

In modern times, Kayan people have faced changes brought by contact with Malay, Chinese, and European traders, as well as the incorporation of Borneo into the Indonesian state. Issues affecting Kayan communities today often relate to land rights, resource management, and environmental change, including deforestation and habitat loss. Population figures are not uniform across sources but the Kayan number in the tens of thousands.

See also: Dayak, Austronesian languages, Kalimantan.