Jama Mapun

The Sama-Bajau include several Austronesian ethnic groups of Maritime Southeast Asia. The name collectively refers to related people who usually call themselves the Sama or Samah (formally A'a Sama, "Sama people"); or are known by the exonym Bajau (, also spelled Badjao, Bajaw, Badjau, Badjaw, Bajo or Bayao). They usually live a seaborne lifestyle and use small wooden sailing vessels such as the ''perahu'' (''layag'' in Meranau), '' djenging'' (''balutu''), '' lepa'', and '' vinta'' (''pilang''). Some Sama-Bajau groups native to Sabah are also known for their traditional horse culture.

The Sama-Bajau are the dominant ethnic group of the islands of Tawi-Tawi in the Philippines. They are also found in other islands of the Sulu Archipelago, coastal areas of Mindanao, northern and eastern Borneo, Sulawesi, and throughout the eastern Indonesian islands. In the Philippines, they are grouped with the religiously similar Moro people. Within the last fifty years, many of the Filipino Sama-Bajau have migrated to neighbouring Sabah and the northern islands of the Philippines, due to the conflict in Mindanao. As of 2010, they were the second-largest ethnic group in Sabah.

Sama-Bajau have sometimes been called the "Sea Gypsies" or "Sea Nomads", terms that have also been used for non-related ethnic groups with similar traditional lifestyles, such as the Moken of the Burmese-Thai Mergui Archipelago and the Orang Laut of southeastern Sumatra and the Riau Islands of Indonesia. The modern outward spread of the Sama-Bajau from older inhabited areas seems to have been associated with the development of sea trade in sea cucumber ( trepang).

Ethnonym

Sama-Bajau is a collective term, referring to several closely related indigenous people who consider themselves a single distinct ''bangsa'' ("ethnic group" or "nation"). 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; in Malaysia, they identify as Bajau Laut.

Historically in the Philippines, the term ''Sama'' referred to the more land-oriented and settled Sama–Bajau groups, while ''Bajau'' referred only to more sea-oriented, boat-dwelling, nomadic groups. 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.

''Sama'' is believed to have originated from the Austronesian root word ''sama'' meaning "together", "same", or "kin". 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'). Other possible origins include the Brunei Malay word ''bajaul'', which means "to fish". 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.

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". 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.

In the 17th-century, the Spanish priest Francisco Combés calls the Sama-Bajau as the ''Lutao'' ("he who floats in the water") in his ''Historia de las Islas de Mindanao, Iolo, y sus adyacentes'' (1667), and describes them as building houses on the sea because they "hate land". They were described as being the subjects of the Sultanates of Sulu and Maguindanao, and they were esteemed for their shipbuilding skills and were commonly hired as crews of warships.

History and origin

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. A 2021 genetic study shows that some Sama-Bajau have Austroasiatic ancestry.

Oral traditions

Most of the various oral traditions and ''tarsila'' (royal genealogies) 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. This legend is popular among Sabah Sama-Bajau as it legitimizes their claim to "Malay-ness" and strengthens their ties to Islam, which puts them in a favorable position in the ''Bumiputera'' laws of Malaysia (similar to the usage of the name "Bajau" instead of "Sama").

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 that are 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. Incidentally, the native pre-Hispanic name of Zamboanga City is "Samboangan" (literally "mooring place"), which was derived from the Sinama word for a mooring pole, ''sambuang'' or ''samboang''.

Modern research on origins

The origin myths claiming descent from Johor or Gowa have been largely rejected by modern scholars, mostly because these kingdoms were established too recently to explain the ethnic divergence. Though whether the Sama-Bajau are indigenous to their current territories or settled from elsewhere is still contentious. Linguistically, they are distinct from neighbouring populations, especially from the Tausūg who are more closely related to the northern Philippine ethnic groups like the Visayans.

In 1965, the anthropologist David E. Sopher claimed that the Sama-Bajau, along with the Orang laut, descended from ancient "Veddoid" (Australoid)The concept of an Australoid "race" is antiquated. Most modern literature refer to these peoples as the Australo-Melanesians. However, their exact relationship within their member groups and with other ethnic groups in Asia and Oceania is still debated. hunter-gatherers from the Riau Archipelago who intermarried with Austronesians. They retained their hunter-gatherer lifestyle, though they became more maritime-oriented as Southeast Asia became more populated by later Austronesian settlers.


In 1968, the anthropologist Harry Arlo Nimmo, on the other hand, believed that the Sama-Bajau are indigenous to the Sulu Archipelago, Sulawesi, and/or Borneo, and do not share a common origin with the Orang laut. Nimmo proposed that the boat-dwelling lifestyle developed among the ancestors of the Sama-Bajau independently from the Orang laut.

A more recent study in 1985 by the anthropologist Alfred Kemp Pallasen compares the oral traditions with historical facts and linguistic evidence. He puts the date of the ethnogenesis of Sama-Bajau as 800 CE and also rejects a historical connection between the Sama-Bajau and the Orang laut. He hypothesises that the Sama-Bajau originated from a proto-Sama-Bajau people inhabiting the Zamboanga Peninsula who practised both fishing and slash-and-burn agriculture. They were the original inhabitants of Zamboanga and the Sulu archipelago, and were well-established in the region long before the first arrival of the Tausūg people at around the 13th century from their homelands along the northern coast of eastern Mindanao. Along with the Tausūg, they were heavily influenced by the Malay kingdoms both culturally and linguistically, becoming Indianised by the 15th century and Islamised by the 16th century. They also engaged in extensive trade with China for "luxury" sea products like trepang, pearls, and shark fin.

From Zamboanga, some members of these people adopted an exclusively seaborne culture and spread outwards in the 10th century towards Basilan, Sulu, Borneo, and Sulawesi. They arrived in Borneo in the 11th century. This hypothesis is currently the most widely accepted among specialists studying the Austronesian peoples. This would also explain why even boat-dwelling Sama-Bajau still practice agricultural rituals, despite being exclusively fishermen. Linguistic evidence further points to Borneo as the ultimate origin of the proto-Sama-Bajau people.

A genetic study of three groups—the Derawan of Northeast Borneo, the Kotabaru of Southeast Borneo, and the Kendari of Southeast Sulawesi—suggested that their origin was in southern Sulawesi. Their ethnogenesis is estimated to have dated back to around the 4th century CE by an admixture event between the Bugis people and a Papuan group. The authors suggest that the Sama moved to eastern Borneo at around the 11th century CE, and then towards northern Borneo and the southern Philippines at around the 13th to 14th centuries CE. They hypothesize that they were driven to migrate during the increase of influence and trading activities of the Srivijaya Empire. Genetically, the Sama-Bajau are highly diverse, indicating heavy admixture with the locals or even language and cultural adoption by coastal groups in the areas they settled. However, the study is restricted to the Indonesian Bajo subgroup, and the authors recommend additional studies from Sama-Bajau groups in neighboring regions.

A 2021 genetic study discovered a unique genetic signal among the Sama-Bajau of the Philippines and Indonesia. This genetic signal (called the "Sama ancestry" by the authors) identifies them as descendants of an ancient migration of Austroasiatic-affiliated hunter-gatherer groups from mainland Southeast Asia via the now sunken land bridges of Sundaland around 15,000 to 12,000 years ago. These populations admixed with both the preexisting Negrito populations, and later on, the incoming migrations of the Austronesian peoples (also adopting an Austronesian language in the process). They are genetically clustered with the Lua and Mlabri peoples of mainland Southeast Asia, as well as the Manobo people of mainland Mindanao. The study also identifies minimal South Asian gene flow among Sama populations starting at around 1000 years ago. Sama ancestry was highest among the Sama Dilaut, followed by more land-based Sama. But it was also detected among other ethnic groups that do not self-identify as Sama in Palawan, Zamboanga, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi.

Historical records

The epic poem '' Darangen'' of the Maranao people record that among the ancestors of the hero Bantugan is a Maranao prince who married a Sama-Bajau princess. Estimated to have happened in 840 AD, it is the oldest account of the Sama-Bajau. It further corroborates the fact that they predate the arrival of the Tausūg settlers and are indigenous to the Sulu archipelago and parts of Mindanao.

Sama-Bajau were first recorded by European explorers in 1521 by Antonio Pigafetta of the Magellan-Elcano expedition in what is now the Zamboanga Peninsula. Pigafetta writes that the "people of that island make their dwellings in boats and do not live otherwise". They have also been present in the written records of other Europeans henceforth; including in Sulawesi by the Dutch colonies in 1675, in Sulawesi and eastern Borneo by Thomas Forrest in the 1770s, and in the west coast of Borneo by Spenser St. John in the 1850s and 1860s.

Sama-Bajau were often widely mentioned in connection to sea raids (''mangahat''), piracy, and the slave trade in Southeast Asia during the European colonial period, indicating that at least some Sama-Bajau groups from northern Sulu (e.g. the Banguingui) were involved, along with non-Sama-Bajau groups like the Iranun. The scope of their pirate activities was extensive, commonly sailing from Sulu to as far as the Moluccas and back again. Aside from early European colonial records, they may have also been the pirates described by Chinese and Arabian sources in the Straits of Singapore in the 12th and 13th centuries. Sama-Bajau usually served as low-ranking crewmembers of war boats, directly under the command of Iranun squadron leaders, who in turn answered to the Tausūg '' datu'' of the Sultanate of Sulu.

The Bajoe harbour in Sulawesi was the site of a small settlement of Sama-Bajau under the Bugis Sultanate of Bone. They were significantly involved in the First and Second Bone Wars (1824–1825) when the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army sent a punitive expedition in retaliation for Bugis and Makassar attacks on local Dutch garrisons. After the fall of Bone, most Sama-Bajau resettled in other areas of Sulawesi.

During the British colonial rule of Sabah, the Sama-Bajau were involved in two uprisings against the North Borneo Chartered Company: the Mat Salleh rebellion from 1894 to 1905, and the Pandasan Affair of 1915.

Modern Sama-Bajau

Modern Sama-Bajau are generally regarded as peaceful, hospitable, and cheerful people, despite their humble circumstances. However, a significant number are also illiterate, uneducated, and impoverished, due to their nomadic lifestyle.

The number of modern Sama-Bajau who are born and live primarily at sea is diminishing. Cultural assimilation and modernisation are regarded as the main causes. Particularly blamed is the dissolution of the Sultanate of Sulu, the traditional patron of the Sama-Bajau for bartering fish for farm goods. The money-based fish markets which replaced the seasonal trade around mooring points necessitates a more land-based lifestyle for greater market penetration. In Malaysia, some hotly debated government programs have also resettled Bajau to the mainland.

The Sama-Bajau in the Sulu Archipelago were historically discriminated against by the dominant Tausūg people, who viewed boat-dwelling Sama-Bajau as 'inferior' and as outsiders (the traditional Tausūg term for them is the highly offensive ''Luwaan'', meaning "spat out" or "outcast"). They were also marginalised by other Moro peoples because they still practised animist folk religions either exclusively or alongside Islam, and thus were viewed as "uncivilised pagans". Boat-dwelling and shoreline Sama-Bajau had a very low status in the caste-based Tausūg Sultanate of Sulu. This survived into the modern Philippines where the Sama-Bajau are still subjected to strong cultural prejudice from the Tausūg. The Sama-Bajau have also been frequent victims of theft, extortion, kidnapping, and violence from the predominantly Tausūg Abu Sayyaf insurgents as well as pirates.

This discrimination and the continuing violence in Muslim Mindanao have driven many Sama-Bajau to emigrate. They usually resettle in Malaysia and Indonesia, where they have more employment opportunities. But even in Malaysia, their presence is still controversial as most of them are illegal immigrants. Most illegal Sama-Bajau immigrants enter Malaysia through offshore islands. From there, they enter mainland Sabah to find work as manual labourers. Others migrate to the northern islands of the Philippines, particularly to the Visayas, Palawan, the northern coast of Mindanao, and even as far as southern Luzon. Though these are relatively safer regions, they are also more economically disadvantaged and socially excluded, leading to Filipinos sometimes stereotyping the boat-dwelling Sama-Bajau as beggars and squatters.
The ancestral roaming and fishing grounds of the Sama-Bajau straddled the borders of the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia. And they have sometimes voyaged as far as the Timor and Arafura Seas. In modern times, they have lost access to most of these sites. There have been efforts to grant Sama-Bajau some measures of rights to fish in traditional areas, but most Sama-Bajau still suffer from legal persecution. For example, under a 1974 Memorandum of Understanding, "Indonesian traditional fishermen" are allowed to fish within the Exclusive Economic Zone of Australia, which includes traditional fishing grounds of Sama-Bajau fishermen. However, illegal fishing encroachment of Corporate Sea Trawlers in these areas has led to concern about overfishing, and the destruction of Sama-Bajau vessels. In 2014, Indonesian authorities destroyed six Filipino Sama-Bajau boats caught fishing in Indonesian waters. This is particularly serious for the Sama-Bajau, whose boats are also oftentimes their homes.

Sama-Bajau fishermen are often associated with illegal and destructive practices, like blast fishing, cyanide fishing, coral mining, and cutting down mangrove trees. It is believed that the Sama-Bajau resort to these activities mainly due to sedentarisation brought about by the restrictions imposed on their nomadic culture by modern nation-states. With their now limited territories, they have little alternative means of competing with better-equipped land-based and commercial fishermen and earn enough to feed their families. The Indonesian government and certain non-governmental organisations have launched several programs for providing alternative sustainable livelihood projects for Sama-Bajau to discourage these practices (such as the use of fish aggregating devices instead of explosives). Medical health centres (''puskesmas'') and schools have also been built even for stilt-house Sama-Bajau communities. Similar programs have also been implemented in the Philippines.

With the loss of their traditional fishing grounds, some refugee groups of Sama-Bajau in the Philippines are forced to resort to begging (''agpangamu'' in Sinama), particularly diving for coins thrown by inter-island ferry passengers (''angedjo''). Other traditional sources of income include selling grated cassava (''magliis''), mat-weaving (''ag-tepoh''), and jewelry-making (especially from pearls). Recently, there have been more efforts by local governments in the Philippines to rehabilitate Sama-Bajau refugees and teach them livelihood skills. In 2016, the Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources started a project for distributing fishing boats, gear, and other livelihood materials among Sama-Bajau communities in Luzon. This was largely the result of raised awareness and an outpouring of support after a photo of a Sama-Bajau beggar, Rita Gaviola (dubbed the "Badjao Girl"), went viral in the Philippines.

Subgroups

The Sama-Bajau are fragmented into highly diverse subgroups. They have never been politically united and are usually subject to the land-based political groups of the areas they settle, such as the Sultanate of Brunei and the former Sultanate of Sulu.

Most subgroups of Sama-Bajau name themselves after the place they originated from (usually an island). Each subgroup speaks a distinct language or dialect that are usually mutually intelligible with their immediate neighbouring subgroup in a continuous linguistic chain. In the Philippines, the Sama-Bajau can be divided into three general groups based on where they settle:
* 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. They have a more flexible lifestyle than the Sama-Gimba (Dilaut Origin) 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, Sama Pala'u, 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 considers 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. A recent study shows that the Sama-Dilaut people of the Philippines have Indian or South Asian ancestry.

Other minor Sama-Bajau groups named after islands of origin include the Sama Bannaran, Sama Davao, Sama Zamboanga Sikubung, Sama Tuaran, Sama Semporna, Sama Sulawesi, Sama Simunul, Sama Tabawan, Sama Tandubas (or Sama Tando' Bas), and Sama Ungus Matata. Mixed-heritage Sama-Bajau and Tausūg communities are sometimes known as "Bajau Suluk" in Malaysia. People of multiple ethnic parentage may further identify with a three-part self-description, such as "Bajau Suluk Dusun". The following are the major subgroups usually recognised as distinct:
* Bajo (Indonesia) – Also known as "Same'" (or simply "Sama") by the Bugis; and "Turijene" or "Taurije'n" (literally "people of the water"), "Bayo", or "Bayao" by the Makassar. They are Sama-Bajau groups who settled in Sulawesi and Kalimantan, Indonesia through the Makassar Strait from as early as the 16th century. They have spread further into nearby islands, including the Lesser Sunda Islands, Maluku Islands, and Raja Ampat Islands.

* Banguingui (Philippines, Malaysia) – Also known as "Sama Balangingi", "Sama Balanguingui", or "Sama Bangingi". Native to the Philippines. Some have recently migrated to Sabah. They are sometimes considered distinct from other Sama-Bajau. They have a more martial-oriented society and were once part of regular sea raids and piracy against coastal communities and passing ships.

* East Coast Bajau (Philippines, Malaysia) – are Sama Dilaut who settled in the eastern coast of Sabah, particularly around Semporna. They still identify themselves as Bajau Laut or Sama Laut. Though they are called East Coast Bajau to distinguish them from the Sama Kota Belud of western Sabah. They are also known by the exonym "Pala'u" ("boat-dwelling" in Sinama), but it is sometimes considered derogatory. Some have retained their original boat-dwelling lifestyle, but many others have built homes on land. They are known for the colourful annual Regatta Lepa festival, which occurs from 24 to 26 April.
* Samal (Philippines, Malaysia) – "Samal" (also spelled "Siamal" or "Siyamal") is a Tausūg and Cebuano term and is sometimes considered offensive. Their preferred endonym is simply "Sama", and they are more accurately a general subgroup of Sama Dea ("land Sama") native to the Philippines. A large number are now residing around the coasts of northern Sabah, though many have also migrated north to the Visayas and southern Luzon. They are predominantly land-dwelling. They are the largest single group of Sama-Bajau. In Davao del Norte, the Island Garden City of Samal was possibly named after them.
* Ubian (Philippines, Malaysia) – Originated from the island of South Ubian in Tawi-Tawi, Philippines, and make up the largest Sama-Bajau subgroup in Sabah. They reside in sizeable minorities living around the towns of Kudat and Semporna in Sabah, Malaysia.

* West Coast Bajau (Malaysia) – Also known as "Sama Kota Belud". Native to the western coast of Sabah, particularly around Kota Belud. The