Upperworld God
Dayak · deity · primordial / creation · Recorded classification
Within Indonesian-recognized 'Hindu Kaharingan' he is titled Ranying Hatalla Langit. No native script (Ngaju is unwritten/Latin-script), so script fields are empty.
Domains
- upperworld and sky
- creation and cosmic order
Powers
- creates the world and humankind together with the water-serpent goddess
- manifests as the hornbill of the upperworld
Epithets
- Mahatala The supreme upperworld god, the hornbill and the male principle of the Ngaju cosmosHans Schärer, Ngaju Religion (secondary)
Relations
- sibling: Underworld Water-Serpent GoddessReciprocal of dayak_jata.sibling — The Ngaju dual godhead: Jata of the underworld waters is Mahatala's sister and complement (in some accounts consort), together the total godhead.Hans Scharer, Ngaju Religion: The Conception of God among a South Borneo People (trans. Needham, 1963) (secondary)
Sources
- Mahatala (Hatala) is the male upperworld deity of the Ngaju Dayak of Borneo, who with the underworld water-serpent goddess Jata forms the dual total godhead and created the world and humankind; symbolized by the hornbill.: Schärer, Hans (1963/1946). Ngaju Religion: The Conception of God among a South Borneo People. Trans. R. Needham. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff. (secondary); Encyclopedia.com, 'Ngaju Dayak' (Encyclopedia of World Cultures), consulted 2026. (secondary)