# Bisaya (Borneo)

The Bisaya are a group of indigenous people from the northwest coast of East Malaysia, on the island of Borneo. Their populations are concentrated around the towns of Beaufort and Kuala Penyu in southern Sabah (where they are included under the Kadazan-Dusun group of peoples), Labuan Federal Territory, and in Limbang District of Sarawak (in which they are grouped under the Orang Ulu designation). The Bisaya tribe bears many similarities to the Tatana Dusun tribe, especially in terms of language, as there is a high degree of mutual intelligibility between the two groups. Nowadays, most Bisaya in Sabah are Muslim, while those living in Sarawak are mostly Christians. In Brunei, they are referred to as Dusun, Jati Dusun, and Bisaya.

## Origin and etymology

Several theories have been put forward by various researchers regarding the origins of the name of the Bisaya people. H. Otley Beyer in 1926, Hester E.D. in 1954, and Harrison in 1956 suggested that the name may have come from the Sumatran empire of Srivijaya (Sonza, 1972). However, in 1960, Eugene Vestraelen (professor of linguistics at the University of San Carlos, Cebu City, Philippines) cautioned that the linguistic derivation of Vijaya would not be Bisaya but Bidaya, or Biraya.
Another theory was suggested by John Carroll:
   According to John Carroll (1961:499–541), the term Visaya might be the Sanskrit Vaisya, denoting the 3rd caste of the Hindu caste system. The Philippines Bisaya were first referred to by the general term Pintados ("the painted ones") by the Spanish, in reference to the prominent practice of full-body tattooing (batok). The word Bisaya, on the other hand, was first documented in Spanish sources in reference to the non-Ati inhabitants of the island of Panay.

## Culture and practices
### Agriculture and hunting

The Bisaya people are skilled in agriculture, particularly in the areas of paddy planting, ginger, sago, ginger, tapioca, banana, yam, pepper, and coconut. They also hunt animals and breed others, such as chicken, ducks, geese, goats, buffalo, and cows. They also catch fish, either from the river or the sea.

### Language

The Bisaya language of Sabah shares 90% intelligibility with Tatana, a Dusun dialect. It also has 58% lexical similarity to Sarawak dialects of Bisaya and 57%–59% with the Brunei dialect.

### Music

Traditional Bisaya musical instruments include the kulintang as well as various gongs.

### Weapons

Bisayas weapons include the sumpit, parang, and keris.

### Beliefs

The majority of Bisaya in Sabah are Muslims, while those in Sarawak are mostly Christians.

### Festivals

Babulang
The annual Babulang festival includes music, dance, the wearing of traditional costumes, and water buffalo races.

## Notable people

* Matbali Musah – member of parliament for Sipitang since 2022 and former member of the Sabah State Legislative Assembly for Lumadan, from 2018 to 2020
* Lajim Ukin – former Malaysian federal deputy minister; former Sabah state cabinet minister
* Ruslan Muharam – member of the Sabah State Legislative Assembly for Lumadan since 2020
* Kamarlin Ombi – former Sabah state assistant minister and former member of the Sabah State Legislative Assembly for Lumadan, from 2008 to 2018
* Siti Aminah Aching – member of parliament for Beaufort since 2022
* Azizah Mohd Dun – former member of parliament for Beaufort twice, from 2004 to 2008 and again from 2013 to 2022