I thought for my third cultural artifact, I would introduce a fascinating subject that relates to Borneo and East Malaysia (both of which I have yet to touch upon in these cultural artifact posts): the Bajau/Samo-Bajau tribe. The Bajau are an ethnic group that come from the Philippines (with a large portion of the community still living there) that have settled in and around the eastern side of Malaysian Borneo in Sabah, as well as in Indonesia. I first learned about the Bajau, sometimes colloquially (and perhaps disparagingly) referred to as the "Sea Gypsies," from my language partner, Melisa after I told her I had visited Borneo before in Kota Kinabalu and the neighboring region.
The most immediately intriguing distinction of the Bajau living on the water is the design of their homes and the interconnectedness of their communities. Each home is built on stilts above the shallow water and is connected to other homes via bridges. The water is truly part and parcel of these communities, and as such many Bajau have become skilled in spearfishing and can hold their breath for upwards of five minutes at a time - a possibility that is made possible from larger spleen sizes, as studies suggest. They also rely heavily on small sailboats called teba-teba (I am not sure if this is an instance of reduplication in their native language) to get around and to go on fishing trips. This adaptation to and control over the environment in which they live yields many positive results, but also places them in a precarious position elsewhere. It is important to shed light on this other side of the story as well to more fully understand their place in Malaysian society.
Living under the aforementioned conditions in water presents serious problems for the Bajau in terms of interacting with the modern Malaysian state. Some villages have been referred to as "water slums" because of the presence of trash and the cramming of homes into tight quarters within them. Moreover, not every village has access to schoolteachers, healthcare, or other basic amenities and as such disadvantage the communities tremendously in their development and possibilities. Those that interact with the communities in-shore, especially Kota Kinabalu, are often exploited for cheap later or, worse yet, at risk of facing legal issues purely based on their citizenship (or complete lack thereof in the case of many stateless Bajau). Poverty is rampant and incidents of crime involving Bajau are not unheard of. That said, centuries of living in isolation in such a distinct environment cannot be undone overnight, and local and state governments in Malaysia are trying to create policies to accommodate and integrate these populations into Malaysian society more fluidly. Though the numbers of those living in water is decreasing, there are still hundreds of thousands of Bajau living across the Sulu Archipelago in the Philippines and into East Malaysia and Indonesia.
(Image: https://loveandroad.com/bajo-tribe-sea-gypsy-wakatobi-indonesia/)
While I have focused mostly on those Bajau living in communities in the sea offshore coastal cities and towns, there are also several communities that live on land in Sabah. These communities are renowned for having extraordinary skill on horseback and for dressing horses in traditional cultural attire. They also live in homes raised by stilts, but will often build two floors - one for their horses, and the above one for them to live in. It appears as if this community is more integrated with surrounding communities (Malaysian and indigenous alike), which is likely due to increased exposure and proximity.
All things considered, I really enjoyed delving into Malaysian culture more deeply through this cultural artifact and focusing on Borneo. The Bajau raise many interesting questions regarding the place of indigenous groups in the modern nation state. To learn more about them, see this interesting Youtube video and refer to the sources listed below.
(Image: https://hiveminer.com/Tags/bajau%2Ctamubesar)
Sources (and Further Reading Material):
https://www.atlasofhumanity.com/bajau
https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/12/11/bajau-people/
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/sabahs-water-villages-living-on-the-fringe
https://loveandroad.com/bajo-tribe-sea-gypsy-wakatobi-indonesia/
Comments