Cosmos

Although there are many differences between tribes, there three basic religious similarities. Most traditional Dayaks are polytheists which means that they believe in many deities that control the world. Dayaks believe that these deities can be coerced into making their lives more pleasant, whether it be from a good harvest to protecting them from other tribes. Like Christianity the Dayaks believe in a creator but they believe that after he created the world his job was done and he now has little to do with the people that inhabit the earth.

(jakhongirshaturaev.wordpress.com)

Traditional Dayak religion says that the body has two souls; one stayed with the corps until decomposition and the other would stay within the village until the ritual was preformed to send them off on their journey to the land of the dead. The body of the dead would then be burned and the bones would be collected and placed in their ossuary or mausoleum (sandung). This carving is shaped to house the bones and important symbols are inscribes on it; including the hornbill bird (symbolizing the upper world) and a snake/dragon (symbolizing the lower world). At the climax of the ceremony a water buffalo is tied to the sacrificial post (sequnduq) and is speared to death by the relatives of the decease. This is thought to reunite the deceased with his/her spirit. On top of the sacrifice of the water buffalo, pigs too are killed; in earlier times slaves would have replaced the animals. Some of the Dayak cultures believe that the souls are then guided along to the after world by sailing ships that are manned by spirits.