The Dayak people in remote areas across West Kalimantan have long been afflicted by a communal inferiority complex, which has proved a barrier to improving their lot.

Many members of the community have succumbed to such feelings and thus seemingly confirming the stigma of Dayak people being backward.

Pontianak Archbishop Agustinus Agus, 67, admitted he once suffered from such an inferiority complex, particularly after he was ordained a Catholic priest 40 years ago. At that time, he was the only native priest working among white European priests assigned to pastoral jobs in Sekadau regency, West Kalimantan.

“Feelings of inferiority overpowered me at that time and in the following years. That’s why I feel the urge to push young people to dare to fight against various stigmas that have afflicted the Dayak people,” said Agus.

The priest shared his struggle during a mass on Monday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of his ordination. The mass was celebrated at the Antonino Ventimiglia Theological College, an educational institution for candidates for the priesthood in Pontianak.

Following the mass, Agus launched his biography entitled Anak Kampung Jadi Uskup Agung (A Village Child Becomes an Archbishop) written by Chatarina Pancer Istiyani.

Agus said he intentionally highlighted the “village child” in the title of his book to motivate younger people, especially those from Dayak tribes in remote areas, to continuously strive to keep fighting and not to easily give in to their limitations.

Agus said he was fully aware that as a local Catholic priest, he should pay attention to all people, not only Dayaks. However, the inferiority syndrome that affected most of the tribal communities left them in dire need of role models.

Born in Lintang, a remote village in Sanggau, Agus was ordained a priest on June 19, 1977. He was the first and only native priest in the regency at that time. He pursued his further education at the University of the State of New York, the United States, from 1983 to 1985.

The Vatican appointed Agus bishop of Sintang after he had served as a priest for 23 years on Feb. 6, 2000.

In 2014, Agus was named archbishop of Pontianak.

Anthropologist R. Giring from Pontianak told The Jakarta Post that West Kalimantan alone was home to 151 Dayak sub-tribes that lived in 14 regencies and cities across the province.

The 2010 census conducted by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) revealed that Indonesia was home to over 3 million Dayak people in 268 sub-tribes. Of the total, 576,372 lived in urban areas while 2.4 million lived in rural areas.

“Several remote regencies have majority Dayak populations. They include Bengkayang, Kapuas Hulu, Landak, Sanggau and Sekadau,” said Giring, a former Institut Dayakologi researcher.

He said the inferiority complex among the Dayak people partly resulted from educational patterns within their communities, which lead to parents not allowing their children to play too far from home, resulting in a lack of challenges.

The syndrome is compounded by the stigma that colonial rulers attached to Dayak people. By labelling them as barbarians and primitive people, it was easier for the colonial rulers to control Kalimantan.

“This stigma has been internalized for years, to the point where an inferiority complex is a common condition,” said Giring.

Agus said the Dayak people must fight against this stigma by freeing themselves from backwardness, especially through education.

“Having a status as a village child should not pose a barrier to someone achieving a life equal to others,” he said.

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