Bisaya - Orientation

The name "Bisaya" is applied primarily to those people living on the middle reaches of rivers in Sabah and Sarawak draining into Brunei Bay on Borneo. The Bisaya are culturally diverse; in mainland Sabah, they are primarily Muslims engaged in wet-rice cultivation, but in Sarawak most are neither Muslim nor Christian (though one large group, the Limbang, are now converted to Christianity). The Bisaya live in small groups interspersed among other peoples, and have adapted many of their cultural features from these peoples. The Bisaya language belongs to the North Indonesian Branch of the Austronesian Family. In 1983, the Sarawak Bisaya numbered 4,000; in 1960 the Brunei Bisaya numbered approximately 7,000, and in 1970 the Sabah Bisaya population was 14,000.

Little is known of Bisaya history. Presently, their contact with the Malays gives them access to buffalo, boats, and fish. Some Bisaya gain prestige by paying Malays to slaughter buffalo at ceremonial feasts.