Apo Kayan people
Dayak ethnic group
The Apo Kayan people are one of the Dayak people groups that are spread throughout Sarawak of Malaysia, North Kalimantan and East Kalimantan of Indonesia. The earliest Apo Kayan people are from the riverside of the Kayan River, Bulungan Regency, North 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:-
Kayan people (Borneo)
Kenyah people
Bahau people
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 (Sedatuk) that still retain their family genealogy.
Kenyah people
The Kenyah Dayak people comprises 24 smaller sub-ethnics:-
Kayan people
The Kayan Dayak people are divided into 10 smaller sub-ethnics:-
Bahau people
The Bahau Dayak people are made of 26 smaller sub-ethnics:-
Geographical location
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.
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