The Dayak people of Borneo, like many people in the world, see their territory as sacred space surrounded by chaotic foreignness. They are the people of the Supreme Being, who has a male aspect, Mahatala, associated with the Sun, and an Underworld female aspect, Jata. Jata is represented by the coiled watersnake biting its own tail, forming a sacred maṇḍala (see Maṇḍala) of sorts that supports the Dayak world. The snake rests on the primeval chaotic waters between the upper and lower worlds. The people communicate with Mahatala by way of ascetic disciplines on certain sacred mountains (see Mountain Mythology). The Supreme Being created the world out of the sun and the moon. According to several so-called bakowo (“hiding away”) myths, the universe will come to an end as a result of human failings. Following the destruction of the universe, only a maiden will remain—hidden in a rock or a tree, symbolizing the Underworld. A ritual reflection of this myth is the hiding away (bakowo) of girls for a set time at the beginning of puberty. The annual ritual cycle of the Dayak reflects the mythological sense of the progress of the universe from beginning to end.
