Kedayan

Kedayan people
Kadayan / Kadaian / Kadyan

Kadayan women, c. 1908. Note the light tunic with rows of buttons.
Total population
Template:Estimated in Borneo
Regions with significant populations
Borneo: (Sabah, Sarawak and the Federal Territory of Labuan)
Languages
Kedayan and Sabah Malay, Sarawak Malay, Standard Malay and English
Religion
File:Star and Crescent.svg Sunni Islam (majority)
Related ethnic groups
Bruneian Malay, Dusun (Brunei), Banjarese, Javanese, Lun Bawang/Lundayeh, Other Indigenous peoples of Brunei

The Kedayan (also known as Kadayan, Kadaian or Kadyan) are an ethnic group residing in Brunei, Federal Territory of Labuan, southwest of Sabah, and north of Sarawak on the island of Borneo. According to the Language and Literature Bureau of Brunei, the Kedayan language (ISO 639-3: kxd) is spoken by about 30,000 people in Brunei, and it has been claimed that there are a further 46,500 speakers in Sabah and 37,000 in Sarawak. In Sabah, the Kedayan mainly live in the southern districts of Sipitang and Beaufort, where they are counted as a part of the local Malay populace (and they are often considered as Bruneians owing to assimilation as well as mixed marriage factors). Whilst in Sarawak, the Kedayans mostly reside in the towns of Lawas, Limbang and Miri (especially the Subis area).

History

File:Image from page 90 of "Abhandlungen der Senckenbergischen Naturforschenden Gesellschaft" (1896) (16145308194).jpg

A Kedayan man, standing underneath a rice barn.

The origins of the Kedayans are uncertain. Some of them believe their people were originally from Java island, which they left during the reign of Sultan Bolkiah. Because of his fame as a sea captain and voyager, the Sultan was well-known to the people of Java, Sumatra and the Philippines, It is believed that when the Sultan arrived to the island of Java, he became interested in the local agricultural techniques. He brought some of the Javanese farmers back to his country to spread their techniques. The farmers inter-married with the local Bruneian Malay people, giving birth to the Kedayan ethnicity. Most Kedayans have adopted Islam since the Islamic era of the Sultanate of Brunei. They have also adopted Malay culture. The Kedayans are recognised as one of the indigenous people of Borneo. They are experts in making traditional medicines and various spiritual healings. The Kedayans are well known for their cultivation of medicinal plants, which they grow to treat a wide range of ailments and to make tonics.

Language

The Kedayan language is similar to Brunei Malay, and it has been claimed that as many as 94% of the words in the two languages are cognate. The main differences in pronunciation are that Kedayan has initial /h/ while Brunei Malay does not, so Kedayan hutan (forest) is utan in Brunei Malay; and Kedayan does not have /r/, so Malay rumah (house) is umah in Kedayan.

The language of one of the indigenous tribes, the Banjar people in Kutai, East Kalimantan, Indonesia, is said to share more than 90% of the vocabulary with the Kedayan language, with the Banjarese separated from both the Brunei Malay and Kedayan for 400 years with similar adherence to Islam. Both the Kedayans and the Banjarese are related, to a certain extent, because of the similarities in their languages.

Notable people

Brunei

• Muslim Burut – Bruneian writer.

Sabah

• Sapawi Ahmad – former Malaysian federal representative for Sipitang constituency.
• Dr. Yusof Yacob – former Sabah state minister and Malaysian federal representative for Sipitang constituency.
• The late Pengiran Ahmad Raffae (1907–1995) – the second of Governor of Sabah (also of mixed Bruneian descent).
• Sr. Safar Untong – Sabah State Secretary since 2019, former Sabah Lands and Surveys Department director from 2014 to 2019.
• Noki K-Clique – Sabahan famous hip-hop rapper.
• Datuk Prof Dr Rossita Shapawi - Assistant Vice Counselor for University Malaysia Sabah (Academic and dan International)
• Dr Ferro Firdaus Ibrahim - Director of Hospital Queen Elizabeth 2

Labuan

• Bashir Alias – Malaysian senator for Labuan.
• Rozman Isli – former Malaysian member of parliament for Labuan from 2013 to 2022.
• Yussof Mahal – former Malaysian member of parliament for Labuan from 2008 to 2013.

Sarawak

• Awang Tengah Ali Hasan – Deputy Premier of Sarawak.
• Ahmad Lai Bujang – former Malaysian federal representative for the Sibuti constituency.

Australia

• Omar Musa – Malaysian-Australian author, poet, rapper and visual artist.

References

Bibliography

• King, Julie K.; King, John Wayne (1984). Languages of Sabah: A Survey Report. Department of Linguistics, Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-85883-297-8.
• Ibrahim, Ahmad; Siddique, Sharon; Hussain, Yasmin (1985). Readings on Islam in Southeast Asia. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. ISBN 978-9971-988-08-1.
• Nothofer, B; et al. (Steinhauer, H.) (1991). "The languages of Brunei Darussalam". Papers in Austronesian Linguistics, Pacific Linguistics: 151–176. doi:10.15144/PL-A81.151. Archived from the original on 12 March 2026 – via Australian National University Open Research Repository. File:CC BY-SA.svg Text is licensed by Australian National University under CC BY-SA 4.0
• Hasan, Mohd Yusof (1998). Novel Negara Brunei Darussalam, 1940-1992: suatu analisis kritis intrinsik-ekstrinsik [Brunei Darussalam Novel, 1940-1992: an intrinsic-extrinsic critical analysis] (in Bahasa Melayu). Institute of Language and Literature, Brunei, Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports. ISBN 978-99917-0-078-6.
• Zanko, Michael; Ngui, Matt (1 January 2003). The Handbook of Human Resource Management Policies and Practices in Asia-Pacific Economies. E. Elgar Pub. ISBN 978-1-84064-751-8.
• Canagarajah, A. Suresh (15 January 2005). Reclaiming the Local in Language Policy and Practice. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-62351-7.
• Kamus Kedayan-Melayu, Melayu-Kedayan [Kedayan-Malay Dictionary, Malay-Kedayan] (in Bahasa Melayu). Institute of Language and Literature, Brunei, Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports. 2006. ISBN 978-99917-0-434-0.
• Tiwary, Shiv Shanker; Kumar, Rajeev (2009). Encyclopaedia of Southeast Asia and Its Tribes. Anmol Publications. ISBN 978-81-261-3837-1.
• Daftar Leksikal 7 Dialek Brunei Darussalam [Lexical List of 7 Brunei Darussalam Dialects] (in Bahasa Melayu). Institute of Language and Literature, Brunei, Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports. 2011. ISBN 9-991-70814-6.
• Skutsch, Carl (7 November 2013). Encyclopedia of the World's Minorities. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-19388-1.
• Othman, Normala (2016). "Sejarah dan Latar Belakang Masyarakat Kedayan" [History and Background of the Kedayan Community] (PDF). Al-Hikmah (in Bahasa Melayu). 8 (2): 3–18. ISSN 1985-6822. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 May 2018 – via UKM Journal Article Repository.
• Lah, Salasiah Che; Ramakrishna, Rita Abdul Rahman (2019). Research Mosaics of Language Studies in Asia Differences and Diversity (Penerbit USM). Penerbit USM. ISBN 978-967-461-379-2.
• Haji Rozaimee, Siti Faahirah; Deterding, David (2019). "The Pronunciation of Kedayan" (PDF). Southeast Asia. Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei: 78–85. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 March 2026 – via Universiti Brunei Darussalam.
• Mohd Mokhtar, Ros Aiza; Hakim Mohad, Abd; Abdul Latiff, Latifah; Sulaiman, Mashitah (2019). "Mandi Langir dan Kepentingannya dalam Masyarakat Kedayan serta Perspektif Islam Mengenainya" [The Importance of Langir Bath in Kedayan Community and the Islamic Perspective About it]. Sains Insani. 4 (1): 37–46. doi:10.33102/jsi2019.4.1.06. eISSN 0127-7871. Archived from the original on 6 June 2019 – via Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia. File:CC BY icon.svg Text is licensed by Sains Insani under CC BY 4.0

External links

Media related to at Wikimedia Commons Template:Ethnic groups in Sabah