Republic of the Philippines

WESTERN MINDANAO STATE UNIVERSITY

College of Social Work and Community Development
Bulatok, Pagadian City

II. MINDANAO INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES - BAJAU

Group Members:

1. CANOY, ROSHEL C.

Content:

The Sama Dilaut people make up one of the many Sama groups that are
widely dispersed in the southern Philippines. The Sama Dilaut’s traditional
places of residence are the seas and shores of the Zamboanga Peninsula and
the Sulu Archipelago, which consists of the Sulu province, Tawi-Tawi, and
southern Palawan. They are traditionally boat dwellers, also popularly called
“sea gypsies,” whose religion has evident Islamic influences.

“Badjao” (sometimes spelled Badjaw, Bajau) is the name by which the

Sama Dilaut are commonly known to the non-Sama Dilaut. The word itself as
a common noun may mean “fisherfolk.” “Bajau” was originally the generic
Indonesian word for boat-dwelling people and came to be used in Borneo to
refer to all Sama people, whether land-based or boat-dwelling. When one
wanted to refer specifically to the boat-dwelling Bajau, one added the modifier
laut (sea), thus describing them as the Bajau laut (Bajau of the sea).

GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION

 The Badjao are traditionally from the islands of the Sulu Archipelago, as
well as parts of the coastal areas of Mindanao and northern Borneo. In the
last fifty years, many of the Filipino Badjao have migrated to neighboring
Malaysia and the northern Philippines, due to the continuing conflict in the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Currently they are the second
largest ethnic group in the state of Sabah, making up 13.4%of the total
population. Groups of Badjao have also migrated to Sulawesi and
Kalimantan in Indonesia, although figures of their exact population are
unknown.
 Republic of the Philippines
WESTERN MINDANAO STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Social Work and Community Development
Bulatok, Pagadian City

CULTURE AND TRADITION

The kinship system of the Sama Dilaut is central to their life and is shown in
the various terms they have for different types of blood relationship.
Dakampungan is the generic term for “relative,” but it may also mean the clan
or alliance of related families “who regularly tie up together at a moorage.”
Another term for a clan in one moorage is pagmundah. Dakau-man means “of
the same group or moorage.” Magdau-danakan means “all siblings.” Magtau
taianaak means the “extended family,” including the offspring down to the
great grandchildren. Dalahah means “of the same blood,” and dapu-unan
means “of the same descendants.” A person addresses anyone older than
him or her as “umboh.”

 Prescribed practices and taboos attend every phase of the Sama Dilaut’s
life cycle. When a woman becomes pregnant, ferns are forbidden in the
dwelling because they are believed to cause poor health in the infant.

 Pag-islam (male circumcision) is done on the boy when he reaches

puberty. It is a special occasion, with festivities beginning on the eve of the
ceremony. All the relatives and friends are invited to the merrymaking,
where the young people dance the pag-igal. The next morning, the imam
(religious leader) takes the boy, who is covered only by the tadjong (an
oversized tube-shaped garment), to a corner of the house where the pag-
islam is performed. The boy recites the angang-gasa (dedication to the girl
he loves) to distract himself from the pain. The wound is treated with
ashes and covered with white cloth. The boy’s initiation into manhood
culminates with a string of advice on his obligations to his family and
proper conduct in society. Lunch is then served to the guests, relatives,
and friends. The boy stays home until he is healed, for it is believed that
stepping on animal feces would prevent healing.

 Badjao or Sea Gypsies have strange beliefs. Believes indigenous Badjao

recognition of their master and having wisdom is the most beautiful way to
having a good life.They also believe that where the spirits of the dead are
kept in a grave and every period of Shaaban, the soul is allowed their
master to come back to our world. They also believe that the dead can
communicate with the living through the ritual ceremonies of celebration,
worship, and exorcism. As a welcome, people were cleaning graves and
conduct prayers. A ritual allegedly accepting tribe, the Badjao throwing
newborn in the deep-sea and re-ascent of the older men in the baby.

Mode of Dressing

 Regarding about their background on culture, beliefs and costume, many

Badjao of the east coast retain their seaborne lifestyle, together with
remnants of traditional pre-Islamic beliefs. Focusing on their mode of
 Republic of the Philippines
WESTERN MINDANAO STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Social Work and Community Development
Bulatok, Pagadian City

dressing the traditional attire of a Badjao is the “patadjong.” It has many

uses. They are made large enough to fit any person and are used by both
men and women as a skirt or gown tucked at the chest level. It can serve
as head cover, waistband, sash, blanket, hammock, shoulder bag, cradle,
pouch, hood, or pillow.The women’s “sablay” is a loosed sleeved blouse
reaching down to the hips. A “simpay” (band) forms the front opening and
extends to the back from a small collar. A woman’s typical accessories are
jewelry and colored combs. The bracelet is the most popular ornament.
Other pieces of jewelry are the pendant, earring, ring, necklace, and
anklet.

FOODS

 Jā (lukot-lukot) - A rice cookie made of strands of thin battercooked in oil

to form a kind of mesh, and rolled up while still hot.

 Panyām - A heavy pancake made of rice flour and sugar,fried in deep oil.

 Oko’-oko’- A sea urchin cooked with rice inside it.

 Pali’ kambing - A banana batter, fried.

 Panggi’-panggi’- Another fried batter.

 Juwalan- Bananas glazed with sugar.

LANGUAGE

 The Sama Dilaut call their language Sinama. Others, however, call it
Bajau, also Badjaw or Badjao, to distinguish it from the language spoken
by the land-based Sama.

 Sinama is the language of Badjao that is being used on their way of

communication. The Sinama has a seven classifications based on their
mutual intelligibility. The seven Sinama languages are Northern Sinama,
Central Sinama, Southern Sinama, Sinama Pangutaran, Mapun Badjao
West Coast of Sabah and Badjao Indonesia. These classifications are
rarely recognized by Sama themselves who instead classify their Sinama
by the village or island it originates from.
 Republic of the Philippines
WESTERN MINDANAO STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Social Work and Community Development
Bulatok, Pagadian City

BRIEF HISTORY/ORIGIN

 The origins of the Sama Dilaut (Badjao) are uncertain. According to a

legend, they came from the shores of Johore, Indonesia, where they had
already been living in clusters of houseboats. This is confirmed by one
historical account, which traces the Sama Dilaut to the Samal in Johore,
who migrated to the Philippines in the early 14th century, before the
coming of Islam, and which describes them as being originally boat
dwellers who eventually built stilt houses near fertile fishing grounds. A
reverse theory, however, is that the Sama Dilaut were originally of the
land-based Sama group but branched off into boat dwellers as a result of
their occupation. This boat-dwelling practice might have subsequently
spread to the area around Malaysia (Saleeby 1908; Nimmo 1968).

 The history of the Sama-Badjao people in the Philippines begins in

Zamboanga, circa 1,000 AD. Sama Dilaut settlements were originally
located along the Basilan Strait and in the Zamboanga City area, where
they developed their own distinct variant of the Sama language. In the next
hundred years, as Arab, Chinese, and Brunei merchants turned the Sulu
area into a trading center, the various Sama groups began to establish
settlements on its islands, including Jolo, which had become a major
trading center. They preceded the Tausug, who arrived in Jolo, circa 13th
century. The seafaring Sama Dilaut supplied the market with marine
products, while the land-based Sama provided the forest products.
Attracted by these same economic opportunities, the Tausug began to
move from their original site in northwest Mindanao into Sulu, particularly
Jolo. Subsequently, the Tausug established the Sulu Sultanate, and the
Sama adjusted to their domination in any of three ways: they merged with
the Tausug population, moved to other islands, or worked under Tausug
control to continue collecting marine products.