idayuh is the collective name for several indigenous groups found in southern Sarawak, on the island of Borneo, that

are broadly similar in language and culture (see also Issues below). The name "Bidayuh" means 'inhabitants of land'. Originally from the western part of Borneo, the collective name Land Dayak was first used during the period of Rajah James Brooke, the White Rajah of Sarawak. They constitute one of the main indigenous groups in Sarawak and live in towns and villages around Kuching and Samarahan in the Malaysian state of Sarawak. Related groups are also found in the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan. In Sarawak, most of Bidayuh population are found within 40 km of the geographical area known as Greater Kuching, within the Kuching and Samarahan division. They are the second largest Dayak ethnic group in Sarawak after the Iban

Predominantly Bidayuh areas are: Lundu, Bau, Penrissen, Padawan, Siburan and Serian. Most of the Bidayuh villages can be found in the rural areas of Lundu, Bau, Padawan, Penrissen, and Serian district. The area in which they live is mainly in the basin of the Sarawak River and hilly to mountainous forest, traditionally worked by rotational agriculture and hunting based around farms populated from parent villages situated on the hills for protection. Today, almost all the traditional longhouse-villages have been replaced by individual houses, by roads and there is some plantation agriculture and a reduced emphasis on the growing of hill-padi. Fruit trees, especially Durian, remain important property markers. The distinctive architectural and cultural feature of the Bidayuh is the head-house, now adopted as a symbol.

Predominantly Bidayuh areas are: Lundu, Bau, Penrissen, Padawan, Siburan and Serian. Most of the Bidayuh villages can be found in the rural areas of Lundu, Bau, Padawan, Penrissen, and Serian district. The area in which they live is mainly in the basin of the Sarawak River and hilly to mountainous forest, traditionally worked by rotational agriculture and hunting based around farms populated from parent villages situated on the hills for protection. Today, almost all the traditional longhouse-villages have been replaced by individual houses, by roads and there is some plantation agriculture and a reduced emphasis on the growing of hill-padi. Fruit trees, especially Durian, remain important property markers. The distinctive architectural and cultural feature of the Bidayuh is the head-house, now adopted as a symbol.

idayuhs are traditionally animist, and vestiges of these beliefs still remain. The British colonial times (known as the Brooke family era) saw the arrival of Christian missionaries, bringing education and modern medicine. The great majority of Bidayuh are now Christians, majority of them being Roman Catholic.

Most Bidayuh villages have either a Roman Catholic or Anglican church or a mosque but few villages are Muslims -- rarely more than one or the village would tend to split. The Biatah people, who live in the Kuching area, are Anglican, while the people of the Bau area are Catholic. Now some renown church also being establish in some villages such as SIB (Sidang Injil Borneo) also called as Borneo Evangelical Church, Baptist Church, Assemblies Of God church and other churches as SDA, Latter Rain. The Bidayuh of Bau have a unique tradition of hanging the bodies of the dead on trees and leaving them to rot away. The skeletons are left on trees as a reminder of the dead. The tradition is rarely done nowadays.

Although classified as "Bidayuh" by the Malaysian government, the Salako and Lara culture have little resemblance to other Bidayuh groups and their oral tradition claim different descent and migration histories. Linguistically, the Salako belong to another language family tree which is of the Malayic-Dayak family (the same family as the Iban).[1] The Lara, although said to be more related to the Bidayuh (JagoiSingai), speak a language almost not mutually intelligible at all with the Bidayuh but belonged to the same language family tree which is the Land Dayak.[1] Even their customary rituals and rites differ from the other Bidayuhs (all Bidayuhs share almost the same ritual and customary rites).