Bornean Religions
BORNEAN RELIGIONS. From earliest times, the coasts of Borneo have been visited by travelers going between ancient centers of civilization in Asia. Since the sixteenth century Islam has slowly spread from coastal trading centers, such as Brunei in the north and Banjarmasin in the south. Immigrant Chinese have brought the practices of their homeland, and in the last century Christian missionaries have been increasingly successful in the interior, prompting syncretic revivalist cults. This article, however, is concerned with the indigenous religions of the great island. Many of these have passed out of existence or are imminently about to do so without being studied in depth. The existing data indicate wide variation in belief and practice. Nevertheless, there are features widely characteristic of Bornean religions, and it is these that are summarized here.
Ethnic Diversity
All the indigenous peoples of Borneo speak Austronesian languages, but they exhibit bewildering ethnic diversity. There is still no generally agreed upon taxonomy, and many of the most familiar ethnic terms are vague. In the south and west there are large, politically fragmented populations that nevertheless manifest considerable cultural uniformity. Examples of these are the Ngaju and Iban, both numbering some hundreds of thousands.
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