The Dayaks

Dayak Nomad O.C.C.

Dayak Hunting Methods

Dayak Relations With Others

   The Dayaks are the native inhabitants of the central region of Borneo. They have occupied the area for thousands of years and have grown accustomed to the difficult living conditions deep within the rainforest. They are a nomadic people who travel in set patterns where the hunted prey is located. They do not farm and must hunt and travel to survive.
    Dayak's are recognized by two distinct features: one the females have their ears peirced young and get heavy earrings placed on the lobes which cause them to stretch. The earlobes can stretch very far down and are considered a sign of how much status the female has within Dayak society. The second feature is that they get their teeth filed into jagged edges. The reasoning for this is to help better eat meat.
    Unlike many societies, Dayaks don't segregate roles and responsibilities. Everyone is expected to know all facets of life: from building construction, trapping, cloth mending, singing, dancing, spirit communication, etc. The reasoning is that the tribe shouldn't become too dependent on any one person, and also it allows each individual to learn what is expected of the tribe so that everyone can contribute in some way. Thsi formula has worked for them and even into the era of Rifts, although they have had to make some adjustments to deal in a mega-damage environment.
    The Dayak will allow foreigners into the tribe but they will not truly "fit in." They will not be treated badly or made to feel stupid, but the Dayak will simply not feel the individual will know about life in the jungle (often with good reason). The Grimbor are traded with and allied, but the two peoples remain distinctive and do NOT mix their people together. Likewise, the huge Adarok are not feared, but rather respected, and usually also help the Dayak whenever they can.
    There are currently 34 tribes of Dayak people located in central Borneo. Each tribe has between 12 and 400 individuals. This means that there are about 1500 total Dayak on the entire island! This is a very small population indeed, when you consider that most of the towns in Rifts North America have populations this large! To give some perspective of just how sparsely populated this area is, the pre-Rifts geographical land mass was 286,914 square miles; after the Rifts erupted the island shrunk to approximately 234,184 square miles. The state of California is 163,707 square miles! It's about five times the size of Tennessee! This island is huge! And the human population is definitely in the minority next to the tens of thousands of supernatural creatures stalking the rainforest. Thus the Dayak remain an unknown element inside the jungles of the rainforest of Borneo, undiscovered by most of the major forces on Rifts Earth.