Dayak Ethnogenesis and Conservative Politics in Indonesia's Outer Islands

Abstract

Dayaks are the most self - conscious ethnic group in Indonesia today, especially in West and Central Kalimantan. However, in Central Kalimantan, the subject of this paper, the origins of Dayak ethnic awareness lie not with the iconic forest - dwelling tribals. They lie with a small Dayak urban middle class that first emerged in the 1920s and 1930s. Encouraged by missionaries and colonial administrators, who saw ethnic identity as more authentic and politically manageable than class or national feeling, Dayak activists created myths and built organisations. They wanted to compete with Banjar ethnics for colonial patronage. We gain an impression of this history by focussing on the career of the father of Dayak ethnicity, Hausmann Baboe.