Ngendau: An Effort to Preservation Language in The Dayak Kenyah Tradition

Oral tradition is not only a cultural treasure, but also has a role in the social practices of the owner's community. One such role is an effort to preserve language in the community traditions. Ngendau is the oral tradition of the Dayak Kenyah community. It is one of the tradition of singing poetry made by men and women, sometimes accompanied by musical instruments sampeq and dance. This study aims to describe the forms of Ngendau oral tradition as an effort to preserve language in Dayak Kenyah tradition. This research is descriptive qualitative and uses a sociolinguistic and ethnographic approach, collecting data in the form of observations, interviews, records, and notes. Data analysis uses interpretation techniques. This research is directed at the knowledge of the efforts made by the Dayak Kenyah community in preserving the Dayak Kenyah regional language through the oral tradition of Ngendau. The effort is in the form of performances in the customary traditions of the Dayak community. The results obtained are expected to support language preservation, language retention, and cultural wisdom of the archipelago.