Introduction / History

Scattered throughout the Sulu Archipelago of the Philippines live the Sama Badjao, a people nobody wants. Badjao
means "man of the seas." By tradition, the people are sea nomads, traveling by boat from one island to the next in
search of a fishing harvest.

The origin of the Sama Badjao is not clear. The Sama originally inhabited the islands and coastal areas between the
island of Mindanao and the Sulu Islands. Evidence suggests that they began to leave their homeland during the first
millennium AD. Most moved south and westward, establishing themselves along the main Sulu Archipelago, the
Cagayan Sulu Islands, and the eastern Borneo coast. Many believe they came from either Sumatra or the South Sea
Islands. Some think their migration in the first millennium A.D. resulted from expanding Chinese trade. Originally,
the Sama Badjao may have been a land-based tribe pushed into the seas by population pressures and by more
dominant tribes. Historically, they held no land or other property ashore, except for small burial islands. Through
years of oppression, the Sama Badjao have found solace on the seas.

The Sama are a highly fragmented people with no overall political unity. Specific Sama groups can be distinguished
by dialect. However, most identify themselves with a particular island or island cluster.

The Central Sama of the Philippines live on several islands in the Sulu Archipelago, near the island of Borneo. Their
language, Siasi Sama, is similar to Tausug and other Sama languages. In general, the term Sama refers to a diverse
group of Sama-Bajau speaking peoples who are scattered from the central Philippines to the eastern shore of
Borneo, and throughout the Indonesian islands.
What Are Their Lives Like?
The lives of the Central Sama revolve around fishing, seafaring, and trade, with some farming along the coastal
strips. Throughout much of Sulu and eastern Sabah, copra (the meat of the coconut from which coconut oil is
derived) is the major cash crop. Copra holdings are small, and few families own enough palms to support
themselves entirely from copra sales.

Trade has also long occupied a central place in Central Sama society. Since long ago, seafarers were valued as
suppliers of trepang (sea cucumbers), dried fish, pearls, pearl shells, and other marine commodities. Among the
Central Sama, both men and women share in agricultural labor and engage in trade. Fishing, building boats, and

working with iron are primarily male occupations. Women generally weave mats and market pottery.

The people now live in one of three types of dwellings: stilt houses on the coast, ordinary land houses clustered
along protected shorelines or houseboats. Houses, which are raised one to three meters above the ground or
highest water mark, usually consist of a single rectangular room with an attached kitchen. Houses built over the
water are connected by small bridges or planks. Houseboats are often double dugout canoes. Typically each boat
shelters five or six people - a family and maybe one or two other relatives. Two to six families anchor their boats in
a cluster while fishing, sharing food and pooling labor and resources.

Households are grouped in larger units called tumpuk, which means "clusters." The Central Sama live near their
families and maintain close ties with their relatives. One household head is selected by the cluster members to act
as the tumpuk spokesman. A parish consists of local groups whose members are affiliated with a single mosque.
Sometimes, clusters and parishes are one and the same.
What Are Their Beliefs?
Many identify themselves as Muslims. Those who are well versed in religious matters, including the imams (religious
leaders) and other mosque officials are called paki or pakil. The paki preside over all major rites, act as religious
counselors, and conduct minor rites of thanksgiving.

Friday prayers are performed in the parish mosque and are the climax of a weekly cycle of daily prayers. An annual
religious calendar includes Ramadan (the ninth month in which all Muslims fast) and the prophet Mohammed's
birthday.

Almost all the Badgao hold animistic beliefs. They believe that non-living objects have spirits. Spirits of the dead are
thought to remain in the vicinity of their graves. These spirits require offerings for appeasement. Some graves have
reportedly become the sources of miracle working power.

During the month of Shaaban, it is said that Allah permits the souls of the dead (roh) to return to this world. To
honor their return, the people offer special prayers to the dead and clean the grave areas.
What Are Their Needs?

Since the early 1970's, the fight for independence has resulted in massive relocation of the islanders to other parts
of the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Muslim extremists are still very active and there have been numerous
murders, kidnappings, and battles with the Philippine military forces. These fiercely independent people need to
find their identity and future in Jesus in order to know peace.

An area of great need for the Badjao is education. Currently less than 10% of the school age children attend school
despite the fact that the public schools are free to attend.
Prayer Points
* Ask the Lord of the harvest to send forth Christian laborers to work among the Central Sama of the Philippines.
* Ask the Holy Spirit to grant wisdom and favor to missions agencies focusing on the Central Sama.
* Pray that God will give the few Central Sama believers boldness to share Christ with their own people.
* Ask God to raise up prayer teams who will begin breaking up the soil through intercession.
* Ask the Lord to save key leaders in the Philippines who will boldly declare the Gospel.
Ethnonyms: Badjao, Badjau, Bajao, Bajaw, Sama Dilaut, Sea Gypsies
Countries inhabited: Indonesia, Malaysia, The Philippines
Language family: Austronesian
Language branch: Malayo-Polynesian

The Bajau are featured in our documentary, Peoples of the World: Southeast Asia.
The Bajau have been a nomadic, seafaring people for most of their history. Many Bajau still practice that same lifestyle to this day,
which explains why they are still commonly called "sea gypsies." They chart particularly the waters of the Sulu Sea, off the
southwestern coast of the Philippines, and the various seas that surround the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. These are among the
most dangerous waters in the world with sporadic policing at best and a very high incidence of open piracy. Yet these Bajau claim
never to have wielded weapons preferring to simply flee from potential attack. They come ashore only to bury the deceased and
to live temporarily while making new boats.
Other Bajau began living entirely on land about 200 years ago. Many of these are to be found in Malaysia's eastern state, Sabah, on
the island of Borneo. Of course the seafaring Bajau make their living from fishing. Those who have abandoned that lifestyle have
become farmers and cattle rearers, earning them the local nickname, "cowboys of the east." Indeed their equine skills are well
known in this part of the world, and are always to be found displayed in Bajau ceremonial events. Still other Bajau live a lifestyle
between nomadic and sedentary, housed in villages on the water, but not far from land.
From old to young, the Bajau are a colorful, festive and musical people. They believe they are descended from royalty. This is
perhaps partly why they wear such richly colorful clothes, often made by hand from traditional dastarfabric. Brides and grooms wear
even more colorful clothing at their wedding. The more highly regarded a woman is the more brightly and colorfully she will be
dressed. She will also receive many water buffalo which, to the Bajau, is a special animal that usually forms part of any woman's
dowry. Arranged marriages are common. Marriage by kidnap and elopement are also still quite frequent.
Although they are the second largest indigenous people in Sabah, the precise origin of the Bajau is unknown. They may have come
from Johore, in peninsular Malaysia, long before the two Borneo states became a part of the country. Wherever they came from
their migration has been attributed in part to their pursuit of trade, particularly in a sea cucumber species called the trepang. It is
considered a delicacy and is used in soups made as far away as China, where it is also used medicinally. Bajau divers can descend
as deep as 30 meters (100 feet) in search of it.

Almost all Bajau today claim to be Sunni Muslim. They believe that among their people are direct descendants of the prophet
Mohammed. Yet many predominantly the seafaring, nomadic Bajau retain spiritually based religious practices that pre-date
any major religion. In their religion designated spirit mediums communicate with the spirit world in ritual ceremonies of celebration,
worship and exorcism in which, for example, spirit boats are sailed into the open seas to cast the offending spirit away from their
community. They also worship the God of the sea, Omboh Dilaut.
A large part of Bajau history and tradition is captured in their folklore. One ancient story tells of a very large man, named Bajau
himself. His people used to follow him into rivers because whenever he went there the river was so overflowed by his body mass
that they could easily collect dead fish! They eventually came to call on his service just to help harvest fish. Other tribes in the area
soon learned of his reputation and, being envious of the advantage he bestowed on his people, plotted to kill him. But their efforts
came to no avail and he survived the poisoned arrows they fired at him. His epitaph today is a stone which he carried to his own
burial place a stone that no other man could lift. Some Bajau and other local indigenous peoples still fear his stone and his
reputation to this day.
Folkloric stories like this are these days based on interpretation throughout countless generations. Yet however much the original
story might have been distorted or exaggerated over time, it reflects a common theme in many people's folklore: that theirs is the
dominant or superior people in a region.
The Bajau, like any distinct group, have already lost some of their heritage as some of their stories were never re-told to the next
generation. The Bajau are also beginning to lose something of their identity as they integrate with their adopted, land-based
communities. Even the most traditional, seafaring Bajau are losing their boat-building craft as they replace their hand-made lipa-lipa
boats with commercially built, mass-produced ones. On Sabah's southeastern-most coast these lipa-lipa boats are a feature of the
annual Semporna festival, for which the boats are colorfully decorated and raced against each other in a celebration of Bajau
culture. It is uncertain how long this festival might be able to continue.
Despite these changes, the richness of Bajau heritage is starting to be recognized as worthy of preservation. In addition to
anthropological works (see Books/Articles below), organizations like the Sabah Bajau Arts and Cultural Association and the Centre
for Borneo Studies sponsor various events that spotlight Bajau What language do the Badjao speak?
Published by Luke on January 4, 2013 | 7 Responses
Problems with identifying what language the Badjao speak
When asking Sama from Tawi-Tawi, Sulu, Basilan, or Zamboanga what language do the Badjao speak, their answer is all the same.
Sinama. However, when linguists examined the Sinama from these areas closer, they concluded that there are actually 4 languages
described as Sinama. Northern Sinama (Sama Banguingi), Central Sinama, Sinama Pangutaran, & Southern Sinama.
The largest subgroup or dialect of the Central Sama group are the Sama Dilaut who are known by most as the Badjao. Throughout
Luzon, Visayas, & Mindanao the Sama Dilaut we have met all speak Central Sinama. I have often heard that there are two Sama
Dilaut groupings: Those from Sulu & those from Tawi-Tawi. According to Arlo Nimmo in his book, Magosaha, the Sama Dilaut
from Siasi & Zamboanga tend to travel much farther in their houseboats than the Badjao he studied in Tawi-Tawi.
As a student of Central Sinama, I have wondered at the prospects of studying Central Sinama in Malaysia. It is well known that
Southern Sinama is more frequently found there, but the strong presence of Sama Tabawan and Sama Dilaut hints at language
learning opportunities for me in Semporna. But what Sinama do the Badjao (Sama Dilaut) of Semporna speak?
Clifford Sather in his book, The Bajau Laut: Adaptation, History, and Fate in a Maritime Fishing Society of South-eastern Sabah
states the following, Within the Semporna-Sibutu area, all Sama Dilaut speak the same dialect, which Walton and Moody identify
as a variety of Southern Sama.
At first it was by gut feeling that I felt this to be untrue. After listening to Sinama spoken in several documentaries about the Bajau
Laut of Semporna, my wife, a Sama Siasi, agreed that seemingly they are speaking the same Sinama as the Badjao that we know.
That is Central and not Southern. This again was her impression when we met a family living on a houseboat in Semporna.
Unfortunately on our trip we were unable to collect a wordlist from a Sama Palau.
Thanks to friend, Erik Abrahamsson, we were able to get a Swadesh Wordlist Collected from a Sama Palau living in Semporna. To
see the actual wordlist click the following: Badjao Swadesh Wordlist.
These are my initial observations:

Most of the adjectives collected in the Swadesh Wordlist were prefixed with the a- affix. An affix that is absent in Southern Sinama.
An example of this is the word aheka, the Central Sinama word for many as opposed to heka the Southern Sinama rendering of the
same word.
Several verbs collected use the prefix aN-, also a Central Sinama prefix. Examples of this are anginum, amangan, angutta, angnda
etc.
Several words collected are only used by Central and not Southern Sinama. Examples are nggai ka being used for the word not. The
Southern Sinama would be sikeya or siraka. Sai was the word used for the English word who. The Southern Sinama is sayyan or
seyyan. To be afraid was atw as collected. The Southern Sinama is talow. Buun is a Central Sinama word. B kk is the Southern
Sinama.
Southern Sinama would pronounce words such as daing as deyng, daun as down, kaa as kau, atay as atey, togel as tegol.
There are a few words that may be closer to Southern Sinama than Central. Ulagat is a good example of this. Also using ongka to
describe music is characteristic of Southern Sinama. Alabu is the Southern Sinama for ahg or ahulug, meaning to fall.
Conclusion that the Badjao (Sama Dilaut) in Malaysia are Central Sinama Speakers
Actually this wordlist even though it may have many imperfections is a very clear evidence that the Sama Dilaut, those known by
Malaysians as the Bajau Laut of Semporna, are speaking Central Sinama. This may make very little difference to the Sama people
themselves. They will go on recognizing themselves as speakers of Sinama. For the most part they can understand across the four
languages. For researchers and also local governments in Malaysia, this is an important discovery. One that you might be misled
about when reading some of the more extensive works on the Bajau/Sama.

Marriage.Kin are favored as marriage

partners. Exceptions are the children of brothers and those nursed by the same mother
or nursemaid. Marriage is either parentally arranged or initiated by elopement or abduction. Arranged marriages are the ideal, but
elopement is frequent. Marriage negotiations are normally set in motion by the man's family, often with the help of a go-between.
After a proposal is accepted, the bride's father designates one of his kinsmen to act as his daughter's guardian (wakil). The man
chosen formally receives bride-wealth from the groom's family and represents the woman's side during the weddingceremony. The
religious component of the rite is conducted by an imam. Weddings usually take place in the guardian's house, to which the couple
is conducted in separate ceremonial processions, often with music and dancing. Divorce is frequent during the first two or three
years of marriage and remarriage is relatively easy for both partners. After that, divorce tends to be infrequent. Following marriage, a
couple is expected to set up its own household within two or three years, except for one child, usually the youngest, who normally
remains to look after the parental couple in their old age. New houses are generally built close to the natal household of the bride.
Polygyny is permitted but infrequent.
Domestic Unit.Domestic organization is variable. Among boat-dwelling groups, each boat typically shelters a nuclear family, plus
often one or two additional kin, averaging, in all, five or six persons. Here the family is both a domestic group and an independent
economic unit. Among groups whose members divide their time between village residence and dispersal at sea, domestic
organization is characteristically complex. While the nuclear family functions independently at sea, its members are frequently
incorporated, upon their return to the village, into larger, multifamily households. The members of these larger groups share a
common hearth, meals, and residence within a single village pile house; they are identified by name with its owner, as
histindug(followers). Among settled, shore- and land-based groups, households are often large. Although the majority are reported
to contain a single stem or nuclear family, larger groups, consisting of the families of two or more married siblings, are not
uncommon. Each household has an acknowledged head. The latter, usually the house owner, is most often a man still actively
engaged in making a living.
Inheritance.Inheritance is generally bilateral. Many forms of property, however, are associated through their use with one sex or the
other. Such property ordinarily passes from father to son, or from mother to daughter. Examples of traditional male property are
cattle, farmland, suspended gongs, and fishing boats; female property includes household furnishings, cooking utensils, jewelry,
andkulintangan(stationary gongs). In addition, the Bajau distinguish between property acquired in the course of marriage and
property inherited separately, to which the owner's spouse acquires no claim.
Socialization.Preadolescent children traditionally undergo ritual haircutting(maggunting), followed by prayers, weighing
(magtimbang), and a public distribution of foodstuffs. At puberty boys are circumcised, while in most communities girls undergo
partial clitoridectomy between the ages of 2 and 6. Unlike male circumcision, the latter is a small private rite witnessed only by
women. For one or two years, most children receive a course of Koranic instruction. Those who complete their studies undergo a
"graduation" ceremony (magtammat) sponsored by their parents. Today, in addition, most children attend public school, although few

complete more than three or four years of primary education.

Read more: http://www.everyculture.com/East-Southeast-Asia/Bajau-Marriage-andFamily.html#ixzz4VXvRunLpReferences and Further ReadingWeb LinksUnsustainable sea-farers: the last Bajau
sea nomads
Bajau Wedding
Twilight of the Sea PeopleBooks
Sather, C., (1997) The Bajau Laut: Adaptation, History, and Fate in a Maritime Fishing Society of South-Eastern Sabah. Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
Teo, S. S., (1989) Lifestyles of the Badjaos. Manila: Centro Escolar University Research and Development Center.
Bottignolo, B., (1998) Celebrations With the Sun: An Overview of Religious Phenomena among the Badjaos. Quezon City: Ateneo
de Manila University Press.
Nimmo, H. A., (1972) The Sea People of Sulu: A study of Social Change in the Philippines. San Francisco: Chandler Publishing
Company.
Nimmo, H. A., (1994) Songs of Salanda and Other Stories of Sulu. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press.
Warren, C., (1983) Ideology, Identity and Change: The Experience of the Bajau Laut of East Malaysia. James Cook University,
Southeast Asian Monograph Series, No.14.
National Conference on the History and Culture of the Bajau. February 26-27, 2001. Culture and Peace Studies, 1, 1, June 2001.
Yamamoto, H., (2002) "The Emergence of Bajau Identity in British North Borneo (Sabah)" Southeast Asia: History and Culture, 31,
May 2002.
Photography copyright 1999 - 2017, Ray Waddington. All rights reserved.
Text copyright 1999 - 2017, The Peoples of the World Foundation. All rights reserved.
To cite this article using the American Psychological Association citation style, copy and paste the following:
Waddington, R. (2003), The Bajau People. The Peoples of the World Foundation. Retrieved January 12, 2017, from The Peoples of
the World Foundation.
<http://www.peoplesoftheworld.org/text?people=Bajau>

Languages. The SamaBajau peoples speak some tenlanguages of the SamaBajau subgroup of the Western MalayoPolynesian language family. Sinama is the most common name for these languages, but they are also called Bajau, especially in
Malaysia. The Tausg people refer to these languages as Siamal. references: Fernando Impang / Bethany World Prayer
Center
The BADJAO
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

1. Bajau Laut belongs to the Sama-Bajau group. They are known under different names like bajau or badjao w/c means
man of the seas.
2. The origin of the Badjao is not clear.
3. cloth
4. cloth The traditional attire of a Badjao is the patadjong.
5. It has many uses; they are made large enough to fit any person and is worn by both men and women as a skirt or gown
tucked at the chest level. cloth
6. cloth
7. Houses of the semisedentary badjaos, who spend periods alternately between theirhouseboats and their village homes.
cloth stilt houses on the coast

8.
9.
10.
11.

12.
13.

14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.

21.

22.

8. cloth ordinary land houses clustered along protected shorelines Houses of the sedentary badjaos, with commercial
pursuits and permanent homes
9. Houses of the the badjaos (sea gypsies), who live in houseboats as itinerant fisherfolk in search of rich fishing grounds.
cloth houseboats
10. cloth
11. cloth A Badjao settlement or community consists of a kawman (moorage), the equivalent of the land-based purok. The
head is the panglima, whose main functions are to settle disputes, collect fines, and officiate at weddings. The position is
usually inherited, but the title is conferred by the sultan.
12. cloth
13. The staple food of the Badjao is panggi (cassava) and fish. Rice is served only for dessert or on special occasions.
They have no regular meals; hence, there are no Badjao words for breakfast, lunch, a nd supper. They eat whenever they
are hungry and there is food. cloth
14. cloth For subsistence and commerce, the men engage in fishing, pearl diving, boat building, fish-trap making, and
fishnet weaving. Their fishing methods require group or communal participation.
15. The women engage in mat weaving and, together with their children, gath er clam, snail, se aweed, and so forth, at
low tide. cloth
16. cloth
17. Religion Islam 95.26% Christianity 0.52% cloth Folk Religion/ Other Religions No Religion/ Unknown 0.08% 4.14%
18. cloth Marriage A Badjao wedding is a three day affair with dancing, food and festivities. The whole town is invited.
19. Marriage arrangements are made after the girls third menstrual period cloth .The boy is about a year older. Early
marriage has evolved as a solution to the cramped living conditions in the houseboat.
20. Medical Practices In times of epidemics, the panday (the medicine man or woman) are acalled upon to remove illness
clothcausing spirits from the community. They do this by setting a "spirit boat" adrift in the open sea beyond the village or
anchorage.
21. Some Muslim practices have been adopted by some Badjao, such as male and female circumcision and female ear
piercing. The panday is called to assist in childbirth, to heal women who have miscarried, to prescribe herbs for abortion,
and to perform the pagsunnat (female circumcision). cloth
22. cloth The END