Bajau

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Bajau in their characteristic Vinta boats

The Bajau or Bajaw ( ˈbædʒɔː or ˈbɑːdʒaʊ ), also Bajao, Badjau, Badjo, Badjaw, Badjao , are an indigenous ethnic group of the Malay Archipelago . Because of their way of life in boats, they were counted among the sea ​​nomads . In the meantime, many Bajau have completely or partially given up pure life at sea. However, they maintain a lifestyle related to the sea, which finds its expression in the use of small wooden sailing ships such as the lepas , perahu and vinta .

Due to the widening conflicts in their original habitat on the Sulu Archipelago and disadvantages in the education sector and on the labor market in the Philippines, the majority of the Bajau have migrated to Malaysia over the past 50 years. Currently they are the second largest ethnic group in the state of Sabah, with 14% of the population. Groups from Bajau have also migrated to Sulawesi and Kalimantan in Indonesia, although precise knowledge of their distribution there is not known.

Ethnological demarcation

Up until the second half of the 20th century it was assumed that all sea nomads in Southeast Asia had a direct ethno-linguistic connection. However, the new research shows that three main groups with their own cultural and linguistic characteristics can be distinguished:

  • The Moken and their related Moklen of the Burmese-Thai Mergui Archipelago,
  • the Orang Laut , also called Sea People , a colorful mixture of ethnic groups from the coastal waters of southeast Sumatra, southern Johor , Batam and other Riau Islands of Indonesia,
  • the Bajau Laut of the Sulu Archipelago , East Borneo, Sulawesi and the islands of eastern Indonesia. The nomadic groups are stateless, which is why their children are excluded from the state school system.

With the exception of a small overlap with the Moken and Urak Lawoi , a subgroup of the Orang Laut , the three groups can be found in different geographic regions.

designation

Indonesian Bajau with a captured sea turtle
Bajau families living in poverty often ask passengers on ferries coming from the Philippines for some change.

As with the Kadazan Dusun , the term "Bajau" is a collective term used to describe a number of closely related indigenous groups. The Bajau groups culturally merge with the Sama , whereby the more appropriate expression would actually be “Sama-Bajau”. Historically, the term Sama was used for the Sama-Bajau who had settled on the mainland, while the term Bajau was reserved for the sea-bound, nomadic groups living on their boats. However, this distinction is now disappearing as the majority of the Bajau have given up their boat life in favor of pile dwelling settlements in the shallow coastal waters. Nowadays the distinguishing feature between the Bajau and the Sama is their poverty.

The Sama-Bajau peoples are assigned about ten languages ​​within the Sama-Bajau branch of the Malayo-Polynesian language family.

The term Badjo or Badjau is used exclusively in the Indonesian-speaking area.

history

The origin of the word "Bajau" is not clearly outlined. There is agreement that while the people of this people are referred to by the term Bajau , they have never called themselves that. Rather, they name themselves with the names of their tribes, which in turn are based on the current or original settlement areas. Their naming with the term Bajau is accepted by the different groups, however, as they have recognized that they have similarities in vocabulary and in general genetic traits such as dark skin - although the Simunuls with their lighter complexion are an exception here.

The British administrators in Sabah generally named the Sama as "Bajau" and entered this under the heading "Race" in their birth certificates. For political reasons and to gain access to the privileges of the Malays , many began to refer to themselves as Malays. This is often the case for Bajau migrants from the Philippines.

A Bajau child dives in Tagbilaran Harbor for coins that tourists throw into the water.

For most of their history, the Bajau were a nomadic, seafaring people who made a living from trade and fishing. The Bajau living in their boats (lepa-lepa) saw themselves as a non-warlike people. They stayed near the coast and built stilt houses there. Although it has been proven that they came from the southern shores of the Philippines, the legends of the Sama in Sabah tell that they were descended from members of the royal guard of the Sultan of Johor and, after being drawn here by a storm, on the east coast found a new home from Borneo. Another legend tells that the Bajau escorted the Sultan's bride, but the bride was later kidnapped by the Sultan of Brunei. Linguistic and historical evidence suggests that the Bajau's anthropological roots lie in the south of the Philippines. The legends show the historical influence of the Malay living environment.

Traces indicate that the Sama came from the Riau Archipelago , especially the Lingga Islands , more than 300 years ago . Some believe that the Sama migration to northwest Borneo began more than a hundred years earlier and is linked to trade ties with the Sultanate of Brunei. When the influence of the Johore Sultanate waned and the Bugis had seized political power, the Sama fled to the west coast of northern Borneo and placed themselves under the protection of the Sultan of Brunei. For this reason, the Kadazan-Dusun call the Sama tuhun Sam or tulun Sama , which means "the people of Sama". It is believed that the Sama were not royalty but were devoted workers, artisans, boat builders, and farmers who fled the ethnic cleansing in Johor when the Bugis took power.

The number of Bajau that are born and live at sea continues to decline, in part due to the controversial government programs of the state government of Sabah to encourage Bajau settlement on the mainland. There is currently a huge settlement of Philippine Bajau on Pulau Gaya off the coast of Sabah. Many of the residents are illegal immigrants. With the island as a base, many work as auxiliary workers in nearby Kota Kinabalu .

The Indonesian government is also trying to resettle the Bajau living within its national territory. Although many Badjo decide against it, as this would mean largely renouncing their tradition, others take this opportunity to give their children an education.

The discrimination against the Bajau (mostly by the dominant Tausug , whom they consider to be “inferior” for historical reasons and partly also by the Christian Filipinos) and the ongoing violence in the Muslim part of Mindanao , have forced many Bajau to begging or to emigrate. Most often they move to Malaysia or Indonesia, where they are less often exposed to discrimination.

Demographics and religion

Religious affiliation of the Bajau
religion percent
Islam
  
 95.26%
Christianity
  
 0.52%
Folk religions
  
 0.08%
without / unknown
  
 4.14%

The various subgroups of the Bajau differ in cultural, linguistic and religious respects. The religious expression ranges from a strict adherence to Sunni Islam through forms of popular Islam to animistic beliefs with spirits and ancestor worship . Christians are a very small minority.

Subgroups

The 2010 census found a population of 469,620 Bajau in Sabah. In Sarawak a smaller subgroup of the Iban belongs to the Bajau, but is not broken down statistically. Bajau in other states are of no statistical relevance.

In general, many of the Bajau subgroups are named for the area or island where they have lived for many years. Although they are all equally called Bajau, each subgroup has its own language, culture, and tradition. Nevertheless, individual subgroups understand the languages ​​of other groups. For example, some Bajau understand the Bajau-Ubian language, and the Bajau-Ubian and Simunul understand and speak the Tausug language, which is also called the Suluk language in Sabah.

List of Bajau subgroups:

  1. Ubian (Malaysia) - The largest group of the Bajau. They live as a numerically strong minority group in the cities of Kudat and Semporna in Sabah , Malaysia.
  2. Bannaran (Malaysia) - This subgroup is originally from the island of Bannaran. They are mainly found in Kudat, Kunak , Semporna and Tawau .
  3. Sama (Malaysia) - Mostly known as Kota Belud-Bajau as a large number of them live in or near Kota Belud in Sabah State . Nonetheless, the naming is misleading as they live along the entire west coast of Sabah and not exclusively in Kota Belud. You call yourself Sama , not Bajau.
  4. Samah / Sama Sulawesi Selatan (Malaysia)
  5. Simunul (Malaysia) - The Simunul live mainly in Kampung Bokara near Sandakan, in Semporna and in the area of Lahad Datu . The Simunuls in Sabah are originally from Tawi-Tawi ; where the majority of them still live. The Simunul are the only light-skinned subgroup of the Bajau.
  6. Samal (Philippines, Malaysia) - Originally from the south of the Philippines, a large number of Samal populate the coasts of northern Sabah. Nevertheless, manymigratedto the northern marine areas of the Visayas and southern Luzon . The Samal are sometimes perceived as significantly different from the rest of the Bajau. They also represent the largest subgroup of the Bajau.
  7. Bajau Suluk (Malaysia) - This subgroup lives mainly in Kudat. Their roots are in the Philippines, so for a long period of their history they have been able to communicate in the Tausug and Samal languages.
  8. Tando 'Bas (Malaysia) - Before the 1970s, this subgroup was rarely found in Sabah. She only recently migrated from Tando Bas in the Philippines to Sabah.
  9. Ungus Matata (Malaysia) - Before the 1970s, this subgroup was rarely found in Sabah. She only recently migrated from Ungus Matata in the Philippines to Sabah.
  10. Tolen (Malaysia) - This subgroup was native to Pulau Bum Bum near Semporna. No other traces of them have been found, not even in the Philippines.
  11. Pala'u (Malaysia) - This sub-group originally lived exclusively on boats. It is only recently that some have settled on the mainland in Sabah.
  12. Tabawan (Philippines, Malaysia) - Before the 1970s, this subgroup was rarely found in Sabah. She only recently migrated from Tabawan, Tawi-Tawi in the Philippines to Sabah.
  13. Banguingui or Balangingi Samal (Philippines, Malaysia) - Native to the Philippines, where the majority still live. Before the 1970s, this sub-group was rarely found in Sabah. Some of them have only recently migrated to Sabah. The Balanguingui were slave traders and pirates from the 16th to the 19th centuries. They integrated some of their slaves into their own cultural community.
  14. Sikubung (Malaysia) - Before the 1970s, this subgroup was rarely found in Sabah. She only recently migrated to Sabah.

religion

Claims to religious piety and education are an important source of individual prestige among the coastal Bajau. The title salip / sarip (descendant of the Prophet Mohammed ) shows that the bearer enjoys a special reputation in his home village. Since not all Bajau can fall back on their own mosques, they also use the religious institutions of the Arabs and Malays. Because of their nomadic lifestyle at sea, the Ubian Bajau are not oriented towards orthodox Islam, but rather practice a syncretic popular belief in which sea spirits - known as jinn in Islamic terminology - are worshiped.

Culture

Rebuilt traditional Bajau dwelling in the Heritage Village of Kota Kinabalu , Sabah
Bajau headdress; it is worn when riding

Bajau are excellent riders - this is their peculiarity in Malaysia, where equestrian sport was never very popular. The Bajau are also known for their skills in weaving and various handicrafts.

In Semporna, the local Bajau perform the Pangalay dance adopted by the Tausug. On the basis of this dance, called in Sabah Daling-Daling , the Bajau developed their own dance, which they call Igal-Igal and which is based on the movements and costumes of Daling-Daling . This dance is now used at all Bajau wedding ceremonies in Semporna and has spread to Sandakan. Since the year 2000 this dance has been used together with the Joget dance in the nightly wedding ceremonies of the Sama Bajau.

Traditional beliefs

Many of the east coast Bajau, along with their traditional sea lifestyle, also retain the remnants of a traditional pre-Islamic belief. Traditional Bajau communities are characterized by membership of a dukun ( shaman ) and the observance of taboos in the cultural environment and in dealing with the sea. For example, they celebrate an offering of thanks to the sea god Omboh Dilaut when a particularly large catch is brought in. In Semporna, on the east coast of Sabah, the regatta lepa is held annually with the traditional Bajau boats .

Within the Bajau community, only the shaman is allowed to tell the story of its origins.

In particular, the Bajau who live on boats consult a medium belonging to the community at least once a year as part of a public séance and nocturnal trance dances . In times of epidemics, it is the task of these media to drive disease-causing ghosts out of the community. This is done by sending a "ghost boat" away from the community's anchorage into the open sea.

Some researchers suggest that trips by the Bajau to Arnhem Land established the origin of the stories about the mysterious Baijini in the myths of the Australian Yolngu .

Marine technology and fisheries

The small covered boats on which the Bajau spend much of their lives are called lepas . A whole family often lives on them in an area of ​​around ten square meters. Several of these boats together form a village. They practically only leave the Bajau when it is absolutely necessary, for example to obtain firewood or material for tools. Even storms do not drive them ashore, but merely cause them to seek shelter near islands, in bays or mangrove forests .

The main food of the Badjo is fish in all variations. When hunting, they use a special flap in the bottom of their boats to listen to the movements of the schools of fish below them. They are said to be able to sense the activity of the seabed and are said to have heard the tsunami of December 26, 2004 near.

The fishermen of the Bajau use wooden sailing boats (perahu lambo) for trips to the Timor and Arafura seas . The construction and launching of the handcrafted boats are subject to traditional rites and, according to the Bajau, the ship itself is spiritually inspired ( sumangaq ). Under an international agreement from 1974, “traditional Indonesian fishermen” are allowed to fish in Australia's 200-mile zone , which also includes the traditional fishing grounds of the Bajau. However, fishing in the area has raised concerns about overfishing and the destruction of Bajau vessels.

Bajau are also for their extraordinary capabilities in freediving known. Through physical adaptation, they are able to see better underwater and dive longer than other people. As a genetic adaptation , they have a spleen that is twice as large . Adolescent Bajau often pierce their eardrum to make diving and hunting in the sea easier. Many older Bajau are therefore hard of hearing.

Personalities from Malaysia

literature

  • Clifford Sather: The Bajau Laut - Adaption, History, And Fate In A Maritime Fishing Society Of South-Eastern Sabah , Oxford University Press, Kuala Lumpur, 1997, ISBN 983-56-0015-5
  • Frank M. LeBar (Ed.): Ethnic Groups of Insular Southeast Asia, Volume 1: Indonesia, Andaman Islands, and Madagascar ; Human Relations Area Files Press, New Haven, 1972
  • Frank M. LeBar (Ed.): Ethnic Groups of Insular Southeast Asia, Volume 2: Philippines and Formosa ; Human Relations Area Files Press, New Haven, 1972
  • Mark Miller: A Grammar of West Coast Bajau. (Dissertation) The University of Texas at Arlington, 2007

Movie

  • Eliza Kubarska: Walking under water . Documentary, 77 min, 2014

Web links

Commons : Bajau  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Population Distribution by Local Authority Areas and Mukims, 2010 (Census 2010) ( Memento of the original from February 27, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 359 kB), page 369  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.statistics.gov.my
  2. ↑ Lotte Kemkens: Living on Boundaries: The Orang Bajo of Tinakin Laut, Indonesia ( Memento of the original from November 17, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ; University of Utrecht; Accessed March 21, 2011 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / igitur-archive.library.uu.nl
  3. ↑ a b Clifford, page 320 ff.
  4. ^ A b Twilight of the Sea People in: Philippine Center of Investigative Journalism, Vol. III, Issue 2, June 2001; Accessed March 21, 2011
  5. ↑ Clifford Sather: The Bajau Laut . Oxford University Press, 1997
  6. ↑ entry Bajau of Badjau on page 100/101 in: J. Paul Encyclopaedie van Nederlandsch-Indië , 2nd Edition, Part 1 (AG), Marinus Nijhoff, 'S-Gravenhage & EJ Brill, Leiden, 1917
  7. ↑ a b c d The Guardian: The last of the sea nomads , issue of September 18, 2010; Accessed September 18, 2010
  8. ↑ Mellie Leandicho Lopez: A handbook of Philippine folklore , page 50, UP Press, 2006, ISBN 971-542-514-3
  9. ^ A b Edsel L. Beja: Negotiating globalization in Asia , page 286, Ateneo de Manila University Press, 2006, ISBN 971-0426-01-X
  10. ↑ 2010 Population and Housing Census of Malaysia ( Malay and English , PDF; 6.8 MB) Department of Statistics, Malaysia. Archived from the original on November 13, 2013. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved June 17, 2012. p. 107 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.statistics.gov.my
  11. ^ Ethnic extract from the 2010 Population and Housing Census ; Communication from the Statistical Office of 6 September 2010
  12. ↑ Manusia Bugis, Christian Pelras, ISBN 979-99395-0-X , translated from "The Bugis", Christian Pelras, 1996, Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Ltd.
  13. ^ Harry Nimmo: The sea people of Sulu: a study of social change in the Philippines , Chandler Pub. Co., 1972, ISBN 0-8102-0453-3
  14. ↑ Countries and Their Cultures: Samal - Orientation , accessed June 17, 2011
  15. ↑ James Francis Warren: The Sulu zone, 1768–1898: the dynamics of external trade, slavery, and ethnicity in the transformation of a Southeast Asian maritime state , page 207, NUS Press, 2007, ISBN 9971-69-386-0
  16. ↑ Ronald Murray Berndt , Catherine Helen Berndt : Arnhem Land: its history and its people in: Volume 8 of Human relations area files: Murngin, page 34, FW Cheshire, 1954
  17. ↑ a b c Stacey, Natasha: Boats to burn: Bajo fishing activity in the Australian fishing zone (PDF; 33.4 MB), ANU E Press, Canberra, Australia, 2007, ISBN 978-1-920942-95-3
  18. ↑ Field, IC, Meekan, MG, Buckworth, RC, Bradshaw, CJA: Protein mining the world's oceans: Australasia as an example of illegal expansion-and-displacement fishing . In: Fish and Fisheries , Volume 10, p. 323, doi : 10.1111 / j.1467-2979.2009.00325.x
  19. ↑ a b Megan Lane: What freediving does to the body in: BBC News; January 12, 2011; Accessed March 21, 2011
  20. ↑ Der Spiegel : The Secret of Super Divers , April 20, 2018, loaded on April 20, 2018
  21. ↑ Melissa A. Ilardo et al. in Cell (Journal) : Physiological and Genetic Adaptations to Diving in Sea Nomads , issued April 19, 2018, loaded on April 20, 2018

Remarks

  1. ↑ The information from the census is based solely on the respondents' answers without further evidence.