The Dayaks live in longhouses, which is a structure of hardwood posts that can be hundreds of meters long, mostly located along a river bank. At one side there is a long communal platform, the other side (back side) has the individual households apartments for each family.
Headhunting kept the practice of old headhunts alive and was an important part of Dayak culture. The Dayak wars In the past Reports captured enemy heads, there have been massive coordinated raids in the interior, and throughout coastal Kalimantan.
Mandau (machetes) is a a narrow strip of a harder iron wedged into a slot in the cutting edge for sharpness. Headhunting necessitated being able to draw the machete quickly. The mandau is short, and nowadays used for trail cutting in the forest. It is holstered with the cutting edge facing upwards and at that side there is an upward protrusion on the handle, so it can be drawn very quickly with the side of the hand without having to reach over and grasp the handle first. The hand can then grasp the handle while it is being drawn. The combination of these three factors (short, cutting edge up and protrusion) makes for an extremely fast drawing action. The ceremonial mandaus used for dances are as beautifully adorned with feathers as the dresses are.