Apart from the cultural and religious diversity in West Kutai, where Catholic missionaries preached the gospel and built schools for the Dayak people in interior regions over a century ago, this East Kalimantan regency is also home to black orchids (Coelogyne pandurata) and clouded leopards (Neofelis diardi borneensis), now in an endangered state.

It takes about 45 minutes from Sepinggan International Airport, Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, by a private chartered flight to Melalan Airport, West Kutai. Besides a 10-hour drive from Balikpapan, visitors can also fly by two airline companies’ Cessna aircraft to West Kutai, also known for its Ulap Doyo Dayak woven fabric, which is worth
millions of rupiah in Jakarta.  

In addition to Melalan Airport in the Barong Tongkok district, West Kutai, passengers from Samarinda, the capital city of East Kalimantan, can also land at the Datah Dawai pilot airstrip in the Long Pahangai district, with a runway of 450 meters.

On Nov. 5, the West Kutai regency with a population of 184,394 marked its 13th anniversary. Dayak communal presidium chairman Yustinus Dullah Mangkujaya Kusuma V, clad in traditional ethnic Dayak dress, and several female dancers welcomed their guests. Thereafter, they conducted a greeting ritual with chickens, eggs and rice as offerings.

It was part of the Dahau Sentawar Festival, a public celebration held in Sendawar Cultural Park, which is an icon of pluralism in a regency covering 15 percent of East Kalimantan. The annual festival featured art performances and handicraft products typical of Kalimantan.

Once were warriors: Dayak ethnic leaders wear diverse traditional outfits during the festival.

 “We wish to introduce ethnic Dayak culture and our natural beauty to the world. Although the majority of Dayak people in Kalimantan have become Christians and Catholics, we continue to adhere to the ethnic Dayak custom,” Yustinus told The Jakarta Post.

According to the West Kutai Religious Affairs Office, Protestants in the regency total 51,642 (28.16 percent), Catholics 53,430 (29.13 percent), Muslims 77,506 (42.26 percent), Hindus 266 (0.15 percent), Buddhists 45 (0.02 percent) and other beliefs 513 (0.28 percent).

Islam entered West Kutai through two kingdoms, Kutai Martadipura under King Mulawarman and Kutai Kartanegara under King Aji Batara Dewa Sakti (1300-1325). The religion was propagated by two ulemas, Syekh Abdul Qadir Khatib Tunggal, entitled Datok Ri Bandang and Datok Ri Tiro, known as Tuanku Tunggang Parangan. Around 1605, many royal family members became Muslims. Hasan Basri, former chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council, is an ethnic Dayak.

Christianity reached the interiors of Kalimantan through the hard work of Dutch missionaries. They turned Laham in Mahakam Ulu, West Kutai, into the First Missionary Center in East Kalimantan. Later, in 1907, several Capuchin missionaries from the Borneo Vicariate based in Pontianak went to Laham to start their mission. From Laham, the evangelists proceeded to Samarinda, Balikpapan, Banjarmasin and Tarakan to preach and build schools for Dayak children.  

Today Dayak community members still study in the missionary schools; some have even succeeded and contributed to Indonesia’s development efforts, such as the professor of anthropology from Airlangga University, Surabaya, Laurentius Dyson, and the city planning specialist from 10 November University, Surabaya, Johan Silas.

In their early period of propagation in Kalimantan, many missionaries were killed as the Dayak ethnic group found it hard to accept their sermons, leading to the mission almost being abandoned. But eventually most Dayak people were ready to embrace the faith. Quite a number of Dayak descendants have become Protestant and Catholic figures: Pontianak Archbishop Hieronimus Bumbun, Samuel Oton Sidin, Fridolin Ukur and Ding Ngo.  

Some of the missionary heritage buildings that still exist in the regency today are a church with an old tabernacle and an elementary school in Laham built in 1911. “We renovated this church in mid-2006. The Laham community worked by mutual assistance to expand the church, build a parish house and a park complete with a grotto of Mary and stations of the cross for pilgrimage purposes,” said Elisa Awon, a church executive.

Playing it safe: Although many Dayaks are Christians and Muslims, they still continue to uphold their ancient customs and rituals, such as giving offerings.

The renovated church in Laham was inaugurated and blessed by Vatican Ambassador Mgr. Leopoldo Girelli, Pontianak Archbishop Mgr. Hieronimus Bumbun, Samarinda Archbishop Mgr. Sului Florentinus MSF and West Kutai Regent Ismail Thomas in the centenary celebration of missionary work in East Kalimantan on July 8, 2007, which also reopened the Laham parochial office.

History also records West Kutai as a protective bastion for Dutch missionaries who were chased by Japanese troops in the period of World War II. Some of those captured by Japanese soldiers were also killed. Up to the present, the church in Laham has been frequented by foreign tourists.

The regency’s tourism office indicates that European tourist arrivals have dominated tourist visits to several West Kutai destinations. Besides the Laham church, other favorite spots are Kersik Luway Nature Reserve in Sekolaq Darat, Lake Aco in Linggang Melapeh village, a waterfall in Temula village, Nyuatan district, and the Dayak Benuaq Lamin Eheng ethnic group’s long houses in Pepas Eheng village, Barong Tongkok.

Tourists can also watch the Dayak Bahau group’s custom ceremony called Laliiq Ugaal, to start the planting season in September. Beliatn, a ritual of healing, is performed by the Dayak Benuaq and Dayak Tunjung people. There is still Mamat Bali Akang, a ceremony conducted by the Dayak Kenyah group to express gratitude after winning a battle.

Markus Madang, a local civil service staffer, said despite the different religions and ethnic groups, they had been living in harmony and peace. “Formerly, as my grandfather told me, tribal wars frequently took place. At present we live in mutual assistance. Our friendship is reflected in the Sendawar Cultural Park, which unites six major groups in Kutai,” he noted.

Besides the Lamin — communal houses — of Bahau and Benuaq, of the ethnic groups in the 5-hectare Sendawar park, which was finished in November 2012 at a cost of Rp 60.69 billion (US$6.26 million), there are also the Lamin of Melayu, Kenyah, Aoheng and Tunjung ethnic groups.  

West Kutai Regent Ismail Thomas said the cultural center was also a symbol of the community’s rich resources in the regency. “The spirit of pluralism we’ve fostered has succeeded in producing a positive effect on the economy of local people. Up to the end of 2011, economic growth reached 7.85 percent,” he revealed.

His administration, said Ismail, also continues with the development of infrastructure like highways, clean water installations in the Sekolaq Darat district, and the bridge of Aji Tulur Jejangkat on Mahakam River, slated for completion in 2014. “The bridge is built to put an end to the presence of isolated areas in Kalimantan,” he added.

West Kutai is rich in flora and fauna, notably its leopards and black orchids in the Kersik Luway Nature Reserve. The orchids are protected and banned from free trading, except those from cultivation. Kersik Luway’s 5,000-hectare zone is also the habitat of cane orchids (Grammatophyllum speciosum), pigeon orchids (Dendrobium rumenatum), sragotanga orchids (Coelogyne foerstermanii) and kantong semar (Nephentes sp).

Sanctuary: A visitor strolls along a path in Kersik Luwai Nature Reserve Park. The park is a sacred place for Benuaq and Tunjung Dayak ethnic groups as well as a habitat for rare orchids, such cane orchids, pigeon orchids, sragotanga orchids and kantong semar.

Locally called macan dahan, in 2007 the leopards with large fangs were classified as Kalimantan’s indigenous species, unlike the ones in other Asian regions, and have been protected as well. They also belong to Appendix I of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna), and the Red List of IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature).

These Borneo leopards total only about 5,000 — 11,000 in the wild, whereas Sumatra’s leopards (Neofelis diardi diardi) are only recorded at 3,000 — 7,000. Their scarcity has been due to their shrinking habitat as a result of wildfires, illegal logging and hunting for their skins and fangs. Kersik Luway is also threatened by forest fires, which consumed the zone in 1982, 1998 and 2009, razing around 1,000 hectares of vegetation.

Kersik Luway, with its mysterious white-sand desert within the forest, is considered sacred by the Dayak Benuaq and Dayak Tunjung people, so that the zone bears this name, which means “peaceful sand”. Kersik Luway is also likened to Ayers Rock in Australia, a scared place for the Aborigines.

The West Kutai regional administration is committed to conserve its black orchids and clouded leopards as the regency’s natural wealth, with the animal even being adopted as the regency’s symbol. Nonetheless, their existence still faces the imminent threat of the government’s plan to expand oil palm estates in East Kalimantan.

— Photos by JP/Indra Harsaputra