THE AWESOME BAJAU TRIBE

BAJAU IN MALAYSIA
10 INFORMATION OF BAJAU PEOPLE

1. History:   For most of their history, the Sama-Bajau have been a nomadic, seafaring people, living off the sea by trading and subsistence fishing. The boat-dwelling Sama-Bajau see themselves as non-aggressive people. They kept close to the shore by erecting houses on stilts, and travelled using lepa, handmade boats which many lived in.
2. Oral tradition:   Most of the various oral traditions among the Sama-Bajau have a common theme which claims that they were originally a land-dwelling people who were the subjects of a king who had a daughter. After she is lost by either being swept away to the sea (by a storm or a flood) or being taken captive by a neighbouring kingdom, they were then supposedly ordered to find her. After failing to do so they decided to remain nomadic for fear of facing the wrath of the king.One such version widely told among the Sama-Bajau of Borneo claims that they descended from Johorean royal guards who were escorting a princess named Dayang Ayesha for marriage to a ruler in Sulu. However, the Sultan of Brunei (allegedly Muhammad Shah of Brunei) also fell in love with the princess. On the way to Sulu, they were attacked by Bruneians in the high seas. The princess was taken captive and married to the Sultan of Brunei instead. The escorts, having lost the princess, elected to settle in Borneo and Sulu rather than return to Johor.Among the Indonesian Sama-Bajau, on the other hand, their oral histories place more importance on the relationship of the Sama-Bajau with the Sultanate of Gowa rather than Johor. The various versions of their origin myth tell about a royal princess who was washed away by a flood. She was found and eventually married a king or a prince of Gowa. Their offspring then allegedly became the ancestors of the Indonesian Sama-Bajau.However, there are other versions which are also more mythological and do not mention a princess. Among the Philippine Sama-Bajau, for example, there is a myth that claims that the Sama-Bajau were accidentally towed into what is now Zamboanga by a giant stingray.
3. Subgroup
   • Sama Bihing or Sama Lipid – The “shoreline Sama” or “littoral Sama”. These are the Sama-Bajau which traditionally lived in stilt houses in shallows and coastal areas. An example is the Sama Simunul. They are originally from the larger islands of Tawi-Tawi.[16][25] They have a more flexible lifestyle than the Sama Dilaut, and will farm when there is available land. They usually act as middlemen in trade between the Sama Dilaut and other land-based peoples.
   • Sama Dea, Sama Deya, or Sama Darat – The “land Sama”. These are the Sama-Bajau which traditionally lived in island interiors. Some examples are the Sama Sibutu and the Sama Sanga-Sanga. They are usually farmers who cultivate rice, sweet potato, cassava, and coconuts for copra through traditional slash-and-burn agriculture (in contrast to the plow agriculture technology brought by the Tausūg). They are originally from the larger islands of Tawi-Tawi and Pangutaran.In the Philippines, the Sama Dea will often completely differentiate themselves from the Sama Dilaut.
   • Sama Dilaut, Sama Mandilaut or Bajau Laut – The “sea Sama” or “ocean Sama”. In the Philippines, the preferred ethnonym is Sama Dilaut;while in Malaysia, they usually identify as Bajau Laut. This subgroup originally lived exclusively on elaborately crafted houseboats called lepa, but almost all have taken to living on land in the Philippines. Their home islands include Sitangkai and Bongao. They are the Sama-Bajau subgroup most commonly called “Bajau”, though Filipino Sama Dilaut consider it offensive. They sometimes call themselves the “Sama To’ongan” (literally “true Sama” or “real Sama”), to distinguish themselves from the land-dwelling Sama-Bajau subgroups.
4. Language:   The Sama–Bajau peoples speak some ten languages of the Sama–Bajau subgroup of the Western Malayo-Polynesian language family.Sinama is the most common name for these languages, but they are also called Bajau, especially in Malaysia. The Tausūg people refer to these languages as Siamal.Most Sama-Bajau can speak multiple languages.
   The Sama-Bajau languages were once classified under the Central Philippine languages of the Malayo-Polynesian geographic group of the Austronesian language family. But due to marked differences with neighbouring languages, they were moved to a separate branch altogether from all other Philippine languages.For example, Sinama pronunciation is quite distinct from other nearby Central Philippine languages like Tausūg and Tagalog. Instead of the primary stress being usually on the final syllable; the primary stress occurs on the second-to-the-last syllable of the word in Sinama.This placement of the primary stress is similar to Manobo and other languages of the predominantly animistic ethnic groups of Mindanao, the Lumad peoples.In 2006, the linguist Robert Blust, proposed that the Sama-Bajaw languages derived from the Barito lexical region, though not from any established group. It is thus a sister group to other Barito languages like Dayak and Malagasy. It is classified under the Bornean geographic group.Sama-Bajau languages are usually written in the Jawi alphabet.
5. Religion:   Religion can vary among the different Sama-Bajau subgroups; from a strict adherence to Sunni Islam, forms of folk Islam, to animistic beliefs in spirits and ancestor worship. There is a small minority of Catholics and Protestants, particularly from Davao del Sur in the Philippines.Among the modern coastal Sama-Bajau of Malaysia, claims to religious piety and learning are an important source of individual prestige. Some of the Sama-Bajau lack mosques and must rely on the shore-based communities such as those of the more Islamised or Malay peoples. Some of the more nomadic Sama-Bajau, like the Ubian Bajau, are much less adherent to orthodox Islam. They practice a syncretic form of folk Islam, also revering local sea spirits, known in Islamic terminology as Jinn.

   A Sama-Bajau village in Omadal Island, Sabah, Malaysia
   The ancient Sama-Bajau were animistic, and this is retained wholly or partially in some Sama-Bajau groups. The supreme deities in Sama-Bajau mythology are Umboh Tuhan (also known as Umboh Dilaut, the “Lord of the Sea”) and his consort, Dayang Dayang Mangilai (“Lady of the Forest”). Umboh Tuhan is regarded as the creator deity who made humans equal with animals and plants. Like other animistic religions, they also fundamentally divide the world into the physical and spiritual realms which coexist together. In modern Muslim Sama-Bajau, Umboh Tuhan (or simply Tuhan or Tuan) is usually equated with Allah.

   Other objects of reverence are spirits known as umboh (also spelled omboh or m’boh), Traditionally, the umboh referred more specifically to ancestral spirits, different from the saitan (nature spirits) and the jinn (familiar spirits); though some literature refer to all of them as umboh. These include Umboh Baliyu (the spirits of wind and storms), and Umboh Payi or Umboh Gandum (the spirits of the first rice harvest). They also include totemic spirits of various animals and plants, including Umboh Summut (totem of ants) and Umboh Kamun (totem of mantis shrimp).The construction and launch of sailing vessels are also ritualised, and the vessels are believed to have a spirit known as Sumangâ.The umboh are believed to influence fishing activities, rewarding the Sama-Bajau by granting good luck favours known as padalleang and occasionally punishing by causing serious incidents called busong.Traditional Sama-Bajau communities may have shamans (dukun) traditionally known as the kalamat. The kalamat are also known in Muslim Sama-Bajau as the wali jinn (literally “custodian of jinn”) and may adhere to taboos concerning the treatment of the sea and other cultural aspects. The kalamat preside over Sama-Bajau community events along with mediums known as igal jinn.The kalamat and the igal jinn are said to be “spirit-bearers”, and are actually believed to be hosts of familiar spirits. It is not, however, regarded as a spirit possession, since the igal jinn never lose control of their bodies. Instead, the igal jinn are believed to have acquired their familiar spirit (jinn) after surviving a serious or near-fatal illness. For the rest of their lives, the igal jinn are believed to share their bodies with the particular jinn who saved them.One important religious event among the Sama-Bajau is the annual feast known as pag-umboh or magpaay-bahaw, an offering of thanks to Umboh Tuhan.In this ceremony, newly harvested rice (paay-bahaw) are dehusked (magtaparahu) while Islamic prayers (duaa) are recited. They are dried (magpatanak) and are then laid out in small conical piles symbolic of mountains (bud) on the living room floor (a process known as the “sleeping of rice”). After two or three nights, two-thirds are set aside for making sweet rice meals (panyalam), while one-third is set aside for making sweet rice cakes (durul). Additional prayers (zikir), which includes calling the names of ancestors out loud, are offered to the Umboh after the rice meals have been prepared. Pag-umboh is a solemn and formal affair.Another annual religious ceremony among the boat-dwelling Sama Dilaut is the pagkanduli (literally “festive gathering”).It involves ritual dancing to Umboh Tuhan, Dayang Dayang Mangilai, and ancestral ghosts called bansa. The ritual is first celebrated under a sacred dangkan tree (strangler figs, known elsewhere in the Philippines as balete) symbolising the male spirit Umboh Tuhan; and afterwards in the center of a grove of kama’toolang trees (pandan trees) symbolising the female spirit Dayang Dayang Mangilai.A Sama-Bajau family on a vinta boat.The trance dancing is called mag-igal and involves female and male and igal jinn, called the jinn denda and jinn lella respectively. The jinn denda perform the first dance known as igal limbayan under the dangkan tree, with the eldest leading. They are performed with intricate movements of the hands, usually also with metal fingernail extensions called sulingkengkeng. If the dance and music are pleasing, the bansa are believed to take actual possession of the dancers, whereupon the wali jinn will assist in releasing them at the end of the dance. The bansa are not feared, however, as they are regarded as actual spirits of ancestors. Temporarily serving as hosts for the bansa while dancing to music is regarded as a “gift” by the living Sama Dilaut to their ancestors. After the igal limbayan, the wali jinn will invite the audience to participate, to celebrate and to give their thanks. The last dance is the igal lellang, with four jinn lella performing a warrior dance, whereupon the participants will proceed to the kama’toolang grove. There they will also perform reituals and dance (this time with both male and female dancers together), symbolically “inviting” Dayang Dayang Mangilai to come with them back to the dangkan tree. Further games and celebrations are held under the original dangkan tree before the celebrants finally say their farewells to the spirits. Unlike pag-umboh, pagkanduli is a joyous celebration, involving singing, dancing, and joking among all participants. It is the largest festive event among the Sama Dilaut communities.Aside from pagkanduli and magpaay-bahaw, public dances called magigal jinn may also occur at various times of the year. During these celebrations, the igal jinn may be consulted for a public séance and for nightly trance dancing.In times of epidemics, the igal jinn are also called upon to remove illness causing spirits from the community. They do this by setting a “spirit boat” adrift in the open sea beyond the village or anchorage.

6. Boat-dwelling
   A few Sama-Bajau still live traditionally. They live in houseboats which generally accommodates a single nuclear family (usually five people). The houseboats travel together in flotillas with houseboats of immediate relatives (a family alliance) and co-operate during fishing expeditions and in ceremonies. A married couple may choose to sail with the relatives of the husband or the wife. They anchor at common mooring points (called sambuangan) with other flotillas (usually also belonging to extended relatives) at certain times of the year.[21][27]These mooring points are usually presided over by an elder or headsman. The mooring points are close to sources of water or culturally significant locations like island cemeteries. There are periodic gatherings of Sama-Bajau clans usually for various ceremonies like weddings or festivals. They generally do not sail more than 40 km (24.85 mi) from their “home” moorage.[3][21] They periodically trade goods with the land-based communities of other Sama-Bajau and other ethnic groups.[21] Sama-Bajau groups may routinely cross the borders of the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia for fishing, trading, or visiting relatives.

   Sama-Bajau woman from Maiga Island, Semporna, Malaysia, with traditional sun protection called burak
   Sama-Bajau are also noted for their exceptional abilities in free-diving, with physical adaptations that enable them to see better and dive longer underwater.[64] Divers work long days with the “greatest daily apnea diving time reported in humans” of greater than 5 hours per day submerged.[65] Some Bajau intentionally rupture their eardrums at an early age to facilitate diving and hunting at sea. Many older Sama-Bajau are therefore hard of hearing.[19][64] Sama-Bajau women also use a traditional sun-protecting powder called burak or borak, made from water weeds, rice and spices.

7. Music,dance and art:Sama-Bajau traditional songs are handed down orally through generations. The songs are usually sung during marriage celebrations (kanduli pagkawin), accompanied by dance (pang-igal) and musical instruments like pulau (flute), gabbang (xylophone), tagunggo’ (kulintang gongs), and in modern times, electronic keyboards.[24] There are several types of Sama-Bajau traditional songs, they include: isun-isun, runsai, najat, syair, nasid, bua-bua anak, and tinggayun.Among the more specific examples of Sama-Bajau songs are three love songs collectively referred to as Sangbayan. These are Dalling Dalling, Duldang Duldang, and Pakiring Pakiring. The most well-known of these three is Pakiring Pakiring (literally “moving the hips”), which is more familiar to the Tausūg in its commercialised and modernised form Dayang Dayang. The Tausūg claim that the song is native to their culture, and whether the song is originally Tausūg or Sama-Bajau remain controversial. Most Sama-Bajau folk songs are becoming extinct, largely due to the waning interest of the younger generations.

   Sama-Bajau people are also well known for weaving and needlework skills.

8. Horse culturethe more settled land-based West Coast Bajau are expert equestrians – which makes them remarkable in Malaysia, where horse riding has never been widespread anywhere else. The traditional costume of Sama-Bajau horsemen consists of a black or white long-sleeved shirt (badu sampit) with gold buttons (betawi) on the front and decorated with silver floral designs (intiras), black or white trousers (seluar sampit) with gold lace trimmings, and a headpiece (podong). They carry a spear (bujak), a riding crop (pasut), and a silver-hilted keris dagger. The horse is also caparisoned with a colourful outfit called kain kuda that also have brass bells (seriau) attached. The saddle (sila sila) is made from water buffalo hide, and padded with cloth (lapik)
9. SocietyThough some Sama-Bajau headsmen have been given honorific titles like “datu”, “maharaja” or “panglima” by governments (like under the Sultanate of Brunei), they usually only had little authority over the Sama-Bajau community. Sama-Bajau society is traditionally highly individualistic,[21] and the largest political unit is the clan cluster around mooring points, rarely more. Unlike most neighbouring peoples, Sama-Bajau society is also more or less egalitarian, and they did not practice a caste system. The individualism is probably due to the generally fragile nature of their relationships with land-based peoples for access to essentials like wood or water. When the relationship sours or if there is too much pressure from land-based rulers, the Sama-Bajau prefer to simply move on elsewhere.[25] Greater importance is placed on kinship and reciprocal labour rather than formal authority for maintaining social cohesion.[17] There are a few exceptions, however, like the Jama Mapun and the Sama Pangutaran of the Philippines, who follow the traditional pre-Hispanic Philippine feudal society with a caste system consisting of nobles, notables, and commoners and serfs. Likely introduced by the Sultanate of Sulu.
10. EthnonymLike the term Kadazan-Dusun, Sama-Bajau is a collective term, used to describe several closely related indigenous peoples who consider themselves a single distinct bangsa (“ethnic group” or “nation”).[3][9] It is generally accepted that these groups of people can be termed Sama or Bajau, though they never call themselves “Bajau” in the Philippines. Instead, they call themselves with the names of their tribes, usually the place they live or place of origin. For example, the sea-going Sama-Bajau prefer to call themselves the Sama Dilaut or Sama Mandilaut (literally “sea Sama” or “ocean Sama”) in the Philippines; while in Malaysia, they identify as Bajau Laut.[10][11]

    A Sama-Bajau flotilla in Lahad Datu, Sabah, Malaysia.
    Historically in the Philippines, the term “Sama” was used to describe the more land-oriented and settled Sama–Bajau groups, while “Bajau” was used to describe the more sea-oriented, boat-dwelling, nomadic groups.[12] Even these distinctions are fading as the majority of Sama-Bajau have long since abandoned boat living, most for Sama–style piling houses in the coastal shallows.[11]

    “Sama” is believed to have originated from the Austronesian root word sama meaning “together”, “same”, or “we”.[13][14][15][16] The exact origin of the exonym “Bajau” is unclear. Some authors have proposed that it is derived from a corruption of the Malay word berjauh (“getting further apart” or “the state of being away”).[16][17] Other possible origins include the Brunei Malay word bajaul, which means “to fish”.[17] The term “Bajau” has pejorative connotations in the Philippines, indicating poverty in comparison to the term “Sama”. Especially since it is used most commonly to refer to poverty-stricken Sama-Bajau who make a living through begging.[11]

    British administrators in Sabah classified the Sama-Bajau as “Bajau” and labelled them as such in their birth certificates. Thus the Sama-Bajau in Malaysia may sometimes self-identify as “Bajau” or even “Malay” (though the preferred term is “Sama”), for political reasons. This is due to the government recognition of the Sama-Bajau as legally Bumiputera (indigenous native) under the name “Bajau”.[11] This ensures easy access to the special privileges granted to ethnic Malays. This is especially true for recent Moro Filipino migrants. The indigenous Sama-Bajau in Malaysia have also started labelling themselves as their ancestors called themselves, such as Simunul.