Ot Danum people explained

Group:Ot Danum people
Dohoi / Malahoi / Uud Danum / Uut Danum
Population:94,000[1]
Popplace: Indonesia (West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan)
Langs:Ot Danum, Indonesian
Rels:Christianity (Protestant & Roman Catholic) 51%, Kaharingan 38%, Islam (Sunni) 11% [2]
Related:Dusun, Lawangan, Ma'anyan, Ngaju

Ot Danum (also known as Dohoi, Malahoi, Uud Danum or Uut Danum) people are an ethnicity of the Dayak peoples (hence also referred as Dayak Ot Danum) dwelling at the upper reaches of south Kapuas River, and along the Schwaner range, bordering West Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan, Indonesia.[3] They are the most important group of the upper Melawi River and culturally and linguistically the most distinct from the Malay people.[4] Besides, the Malay people, the Ot Danum people are also linguistically distinct from the Ngaju people who live along the middle reaches of Central Kalimantan's great rivers and who are numerically and linguistically the dominant Dayak people group in the area.[5] Just like most Dayak people group, majority of the Ot Danum people also practice Kaharingan religion.[6]

The word Ot means people or upstream, while the word Danum means water. Therefore, the name Ot Danum means "water people" or "upriver people" or "people who live at the upstream river".[7] The Ot Danum people are closely tied to living with nature and would revere the traditions of their ancestors by taking care of the balance between mankind and the surrounding nature.

References

  1. Web site: Dohoi Ot Danum in Indonesia . . 2014-09-27.
  2. Book: Chalmers, Ian . Proceedings of the 16th Biennial Conference of the Asian Studies Association of Australia (ASAA): Asia Reconstructed, Jun 26–29 2006 . 2006 . Australian National University . Vickers . A. . Wollongong, NSW . en . The Dynamics of Conversion: The Islamisation of the Dayak Peoples of Central Kalimantan . 20.500.11937/35283 . Hanlon . M. . free.
  3. Web site: Ot Danum . Ethnologue . 2014-09-27.
  4. Book: Borneo Research Council (Williamsburg, Va.). Borneo Research Bulletin, Volumes 18-20. 1986. Borneo Research Council.
  5. Book: John F. McCarthy. Decentralisation and Forest Management in Kapuas District, Central Kalimantan. 2001. CIFOR. 979-8764-80-3.
  6. Book: Rosana Waterson. Paths and Rivers: Sa'dan Toraja Society in Transformation. 2009. BRILL. 978-90-04-25385-8.
  7. Book: Frank M. LeBar & George N. Appell. Ethnic Groups of Insular Southeast Asia: Indonesia, Andaman Islands, and Madagascar. 1972. Human Relations Area Files Press. 978-0-87536-403-2.