Article/journal list (recommended):

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orang_laut
[2] http://japanfocus.org/-barbara_watson-andaya/2410/article.html (title: Oceans
Unbounded: Transversing Asia across "Area Studies" - Barbara Watson Andaya)
maritime history of south, east and southeast asia.
[3] http://press.anu.edu.au/austronesians/austronesians/mobile_devices/ch13s05.html
(title: Sea Nomads and Rainforest Hunter-Gatherers)
[4] http://www.projecturaklawoi.org/#!project-urak-lawoi-ethnic-group/c1bzd (title: The
Orang Laot Kappir A group that influenced the political scenario and history of
Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Philippines)
[5] http://www.peoplesoftheworld.org/text?people=Bajau (The Peoples of the World
Foundation - Education for and about Indigenous Peoples)
[6] https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/12978/MY
[7] http://www.jamesmorgan.co.uk/features/bajau-laut-sea-nomads/ (photographer
James Morgan)
[8] http://scribol.com/anthropology-and-history/the-bajau-sea-gypsies-of-borneo (culture
& current Bajau)
[9] http://www.everyculture.com/East-Southeast-Asia/Bajau-History-and-CulturalRelations.html (culture)
[10] http://busanhaps.com/bajau/
[11] http://matadornetwork.com/notebook/last-sea-nomads/ (title: Last of the Sea
Nomads)
[12] http://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2010/sep/20/bajau-sea-nomads
(title: Bajau sea nomads)
[13] https://opwall.com/wp-content/uploads/Society-and-Natural-Resources-2012-257716-725.pdf (PDF, title: Culture Conservation, and Conflict: Perspectives on Marine
Protection Among the Bajau of Southeast Asia)
[14] http://www-01.sil.org/silewp/2011/silewp2011-009.pdf (PDF, title: Social
Organization of the West Coast Bajau)
[15] http://www.adamdocker.com/photos/bajau-sea-gypsies/ (photographer Adam
Docker)
Definition
Regions: general (Strait of Melacca, Singapore, Urak Lawoi people)
Specific: Orang Laut
Source: Wikipedia
Etymology
The Malay term orang laut literally means the sea peoples. The Orang laut live and
travel in their boats on the sea.[2] Another Malay term for them, Orang Selat (literally
Straits People), was brought into European languages as Celates.
Distribution
Broadly speaking, the term encompasses the numerous tribes and groups inhabiting
the islands and estuaries in the Riau-Lingga Archipelagos, the Pulau Tujuh Islands, the
Batam Archipelago, and the coasts and offshore islands of eastern Sumatra, southern
Malaysia Peninsula and Singapore. [3]

[2] Adriaan J. Barnouw (February 1946). "Cross Currents of Culture in Indonesia". The
Far Eastern Quarterly (The Far Eastern Quarterly, Vol. 5, No. 2) 5 (2): 143151.
doi:10.2307/2049739. JSTOR 2049739.
[3] "The Malay Peninsula and Archipelago 15111722" The Encyclopedia of World
History 2001;
Regions: general (Southern Thailand)
Specific: Urak Lawoi people
Source: Wikipedia
Urak Lawoi (Malay: Orang Laut; Thai: ; rtgs: U-rak La-woi) are an Aboriginal
Malay people residing on the islands of Phuket, Phi Phi, Jum, Lanta, Bulon and on Lipe
and Adang, in the Adang Archipelago,[1] off the western coast of Thailand. They are
known by various names, including Orak Lawoi', Lawta, Chao Tha Le (), Chao
Nam (), and Lawoi.
The population of approximately 6,000 speak a language related closely to Malay but
influenced by Thai.[2] The Urak Lawoi are one of several southeast Asian ethnicities
referred to as "sea gypsies" (chao leh in Thai).[3] The local way of life has been
changing rapidly in recent years, due to the rapid encroachment of the market
economy, and the opening of Tarutao National Marine Park.[1]
[1] Wongbusarakum, Supin. "Changing Ways of Life of the Urak Lawoi (abstract)".
Retrieved 2008-09-09.
[2] "Ethnologue report for language code:urk". Retrieved 2008-09-09.
[3] http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/destinations/asia/thailand/phuket?
poi=82806
Regions: Southeast Asia
Specific: Seafarers/Sea Gypsies
Source: Wikipedia
East Asia
In the South China Sea area, the ethnic group name is called as Orang Laut, which
literally means "the sea people" in Malay. These Malay peoples of Southeast Asia trace
their forbears to Yunnan (now a province of China) some 500010000 years ago. They
were seafarers that migrated along rivers such as Mekong and Irrawady to the
Andaman Sea, South China Sea and various locations in the Malay archipelago. In the
15th century, large numbers of Malay Seafarers converted to Islam.
Along the west coast of Thailand and Burma, the ethnic group is referred as the Moken.
Their knowledge of the sea enables them to live off its organisms by using simple tools
such as nets and spears to forage for food. What is not consumed is dried atop their
boats, then used for trade at local markets for other necessities. During the monsoon
season, they build additional boats while occupying temporary huts. Many of the
Burmese Moken are still nomadic people who roam the sea most of their lives in small
hand-crafted wooden boats called Kabang, which serve not just as transportation, but
also as kitchen, bedroom, living area. Much of their traditional life, built on the premise
of life as outsiders, is under threat and appears to be diminishing. The Sea Gypsies are

a minority group that number only a few tens of thousands in Andaman Sea and
Thailand. They maintain a nomadic sea-based culture and live almost entirely on boats
and practice shamanic rites.
Other ethnic groups, who are often being grouped with the seafarers, are Bajau in the
southern archipelago of Philippines, eastern Malaysia and Indonesia, and Urak Lawoi
(the coastal dwellers of Thailand).
Recent maternal mitochondrial DNA analysis suggests that Polynesian seafarers,
including Tongans, Samoans, Niueans, Cook Islanders, Tahitians, Hawaiians,
Marquesans and Mori, are genetically linked to indigenous peoples of parts of
Southeast Asia, including those of Taiwan. These two groups together can be called the
Austronesians.
Region: Singapore
http://wildshores.blogspot.sg/2008/11/orang-laut-story.html#.VlwAld8rJTY
The Orang Laut or Sea Gypsies are tribes who traditionally lived off the sea in our
coastal regions, including Peninsular Malaysia, the Riaus and Sumatra.
Region: Singapore
http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_551_2005-01-09.html

Orang Laut, literally "Sea People", refers to sea nomads and sea gypsies. They were
one of the earlier immigrants who settled along the coastline of Singapore island during
pre-colonial days. The community typically lived off a long dwelling boat, known
colloquially as sampan panjang, or "long boat".
The Orang Laut who were inhabiting Singapore around 1819 were made up of different
groups. They included the Orang Laut of the Riau-Lingga archipelago such as the Orang
Galang, Orang Gelam, Orang Selatar, Orang Biduanda Kallang and the Orang Selat. The
only commonality they shared was some degree of Malay ethnicity and a preference for
living on boats rather than on land.

In early Singapore, the headman of the Orang Laut, referred to as batin (chief) acted as
messenger for the Temenggong and Viceroy of Riau. These officials offered protection
to the Orang Laut who in turn served as boatmen, rowers or warriors on pirate
escapades. Otherwise they lived off the sea as simple fishing folks. Many of the Orang
Gelam who lived along the Singapore River served as boatmen for merchant ships,
while their womenfolk were fruit sellers on boats.
The Orang Selat were believed to have traversed the waters of Keppel Harbour since
the early 16th century, making them one of the earliest settlers of the island according
to ethnologist Carl Alexander Gibson-Hill. By the early 19th century, more than 1,000
Orang Laut resided in Singapore with about 500 Orang Biduandan Kallang and 150
being boat dwellers. In 1940, at least 450 of the nomads, including the headman, were
relocated to Tanjong Rhu and others were moved to Telok Blangah, Selat Singkeh, Pasir
Panjang, Geylang and Pulau Brani. The Orang Biduanda Kallang were moved to Johor,
leaving only 40 tribesmen by the mid-20th century. Many thus abandoned their
nomadic lifestyle with some settling along the shoreline and assimilating with the
natives of the land, leaving only the Orang Seletar, the last remnant clinging on to their
nomadic lifestyle. By the early 1930s, the last of the Orang Laut who settled around the
Kallang River were moved to Kampong Melayu.
Author
Joycelyn Hwang
References
Gibson-Hill, C. A. (1952). The Orang Laut of the Singapore River and the sampan
panjang. [Singapore]: Malayan Branch, Royal Asiatic Society.
(Call no.: RCLOS 301.295957 GIB)
Mulliner, K. (1991). Historical dictionary of Singapore. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57003 MUL)
Sopher, D. E. (1977). The sea nomads: A study of the maritime boat people of
Southeast Asia. Singapore: National Museum.
(Call no.: RCLOS 959 SOP)
Turnbull, C. M. (1989). A history of Singapore: 18191988. Singapore: Oxford University
Press.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 TUR)
Geylang Serai: Down memory lane: Kenangan Abadi. (1986). Singapore: Heinemann
Asia.
(Call no.: RSING 779.995957 GEY)
Region: Singapore
http://aphindonesia.tumblr.com/post/126303788309/eastiseverywhere-singapore-weekjohn-crawford
The Orang Laut are oceanic nomads whove plied the routes consistently for centuries.
Their name means Sea People, and they lived virtually all their lives on boats, men,
women, and children.

They were commonly stereotyped as fishers and pirates, but in fact they were also
traders, exchanging exotic bird feathers and rare plants with merchants from Imperial
China long before colonisation.
Region: Melacca
http://untoldhistoriesofmalaya.blogspot.sg/2013/09/untold-history-orang-lautinvasion.html -- ** sensitive/untold story/conspiracy**

Region: general
Sea Nomads and Rainforest Hunter-Gatherers [*3]
http://press.anu.edu.au/austronesians/austronesians/mobile_devices/ch13s05.html
- althoughculturallyandlinguisticallyverydifferent,thesituationoftheOrangLaut,asweknow

itfromthe16ththroughtheendofthenineteenthcentury,wasinmanywayssimilartothatofthe
SamaBajau.EvenmorethanSulu,theStraitsofMalacca,alongthesouthernapproachesto
whichtheOrangLautwereverylargelyconcentrated,wereandcontinuetobeamajorcross
roadsofmaritimecommerce.TheywerealsotheprimaryarenaofMalaypoliticalhistory.Thus
historianslikeWolters(1967,1979)onSrivijayaandAndaya(1974,1975)ontheJohorKingdom
havestressedthecentrallyimportantroletheyseetheMalayspeakingOrangLautasplayingin
providingthenavalpowerandcommunicativelinksonwhichthehegemonyofsuccessiveMalay
stateswasbasedinazoneofotherwiserelativelysparsepopulation.Here,likeSulu,thesea
nomadssimilarlyemerged,togetherwithavarietyofrelatedcoastalandstrandpeoples,froma
commonculturalmatrix.
With the Orang Laut, we see boat nomadism, again, embedded in a complex political
order. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, for example, different named
groups of Orang Laut were incorporated in the Kingdom of Johor by their formalized ties
to the ruler (Andaya 1974). These ties were articulated in terms of the specific corve
duties assigned to each of these groups (or suku). With corves were associated
degrees of status. Thus Andaya (1974:7), writing of the seventeenth century, outlines
these relationships in the following terms:
"The more powerful and prestigious Orang Laut groups were associated with the larger
islands or those islands which were favourably situated on major sea trading lanes,
The duties of the Orang Laut were to gather sea products for the China trade, perform
certain special services for the ruler at weddings, funerals, or on a hunt, serve as
transport for envoys and royal missives, man the ships and serve as a fighting force on
the rulers fleet, and patrol the waters of the kingdom. Except in times of actual warfare
when their services were needed for the fleet, the Orang Laut were usually on patrol

providing protection for Johors traders or to those wanting to trade in Johor while
harassing all other shipping."
Groups such as the Orang Suku Galang, for example, comprising the upper stratum of
Orang Laut, were those whose duty, as might be expected, was to provide the naval
fighting force for the realm. In contrast, the corve duty assigned to the Orang
Mantang, who formed one of the lowest status groups, was to care for the rulers
hunting dogs. Later, with the breakdown of central hegemony, fighting groups like the
Orang Galang appear to have transferred their allegiance to local Malay chieftains who
engaged them as pirate crews. As a result, one of the consequences of the suppression
of piracy in the mid-nineteenth century was a rapid sedentarization of a number of
these Orang Laut groups (Sandbukt 1984:7; Sopher 1965). Today, former high status
groups have generally embraced Islam and become more or less assimilated into the
general Malay population, while marginal low status groups have generally continued to
maintain a separate ethnicity, even after becoming sedentary fishermen.
Like the Bajau Laut, the identity and mode of life of the Orang Laut was powerfully
shaped by their interaction with settled groups in a larger, hierarchically-constituted
field of political and economic relations. Both groups lacked an independent political
and economic existence, separate from that of their settled neighbours. Within the
Malay world, this interaction appears to have been even more formally structured than
it was in Sulu, where the sultanate remained, despite its formal patterning on a Malay
court model, a relatively loosely structured polity (cf. Kiefer 1972). Thus the Orang Laut
were divided, through their relationship to the ruler, into status groups, each
differentially situated to perform specific corve tasks, these tasks in turn associated
with positions in an almost caste-like status hierarchy. To the extent that the Orang Laut
functioned as marine foragers and fishermen, they were clearly, like the Bajau Laut,
professional foragers whose very existence presupposed trade, political hierarchy and
the institutions of the state.
Region: Straits of Melacca, Singapore
Specific: Act of Piracy
https://books.google.com.my/books?
id=DjdqFdEGmMIC&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=orang+laut+straits+malacca&source=bl&o
ts=uk2mLwPVwg&sig=4y9aI05DhPkM5VZzfioVNUbicY&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=orang%20laut%20straits
%20malacca&f=false
Region: Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines
Specific: Urak Lawoi people
The Orang Laot Kappir (with 1 documentary video)
http://www.projecturaklawoi.org/#!project-urak-lawoi-ethnic-group/c1bzd
(For Historical Memory preservation of the Urak Lawoi' Community in Koh Lipe)
Title: A group that influenced the political scenario and history of Malaysia, Thailand,
Indonesia and Philippines.
Along the picturesque west coast of Thailand are found three tribes of seafarers of
whom little has been written, they are the lasts descendants of the Orang Laot
Kappir.
The Moken, the Moklen and the Urak Lawoi'

The Moken have been described at length as inhabitants of South Burma but little
reference has been made to their presence in Thailand also. The Moklen, who
speak a variant dialect of Moken, are called Thai Mai. The Urak Lawoi' were referred
to by a few writers about the turn of the century under the name Orang Laut .
However these three tribes are all in existence, with distinctive languages of their
own and each in its own habitat. Much confusion has been caused by the different
names that have been loosely employed. To Thai people generally these tribesfolk
are all known as Chaaw Thalee (Sea People) or in some provinces Chaaw Naam (Water
People). Those who have become Thai citizens are known as Thaj Maj (New Thai). This
is a general name for any tribal man who has become a Thai citizen so cannot be
used to differentiate between the tribes. The tribal people tend to resent the name
Chaaw Thalee and especially the name Chaaw Naam but are proud to be called Thaj
Maj.
Title: The Austronesians aka Malayo-Polynesian
Video: https://vimeo.com/17188540 (Austronesian migration)
The Austronesian-speaking peoples are various populations in Southeast Asia and
Oceania that speak languages of the Austronesian family. They include Taiwanese
aborigines; the majority ethnic groups of Malaysia, East Timor, the
Philippines,Indonesia, Brunei, Madagascar, Micronesia, and Polynesia, as well as the
Polynesian peoples of New Zealand and Hawaii, and the non-Papuan people of
Melanesia. They are also found in the minorities of Singapore where Malay is an
indigenous language, the Deep South of Thailand, and the Cham areas of Vietnam,
Cambodia, and Hainan, China. The territories populated by Austronesian-speaking
peoples are known collectively as Austronesia.
Region: general (Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines)

The Orang Laut - Thailand

Polynesia - Hawai

Melaka Strait - Malaysia

Outriggers - Philippines

Title: Oceans Unbounded: Transfersing Asia across Area Studies

Region: Riau Archipelago
http://japanfocus.org/-barbara_watson-andaya/2410/article.html
modern society of orang laut & capabilities
(Para. 4) The inherited vigilance of societies whose existence is closely calibrated with
the rhythms of the sea, and who maintain an ability to read natures portents, was
dramatically demonstrated nearly two years ago, when a terrible tsunami devastated
so much of the area around the Indian Ocean. It was reported that isolated groups on
the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal recognized warning signs like
changes in bird cries and the behavior of land and marine animals. They therefore
moved to higher ground well in advance of the destructive walls of water that
penetrated so far inland. Nonetheless, although many communities are still living with
the tragic results of December 2004, the Asian seas are known less for their ferocity
than for their long function as a medium for connecting quite distant regions through
the exchange of people, goods, and ideas. It is the human dimension that makes this
interlocking relationship between land and ocean such a compelling teaching device. If
we insist that the sea and those who live with the sea deserve a more prominent place
in our study of Asia, we will take an important step in developing the framework
required for any comparative overview. In turn, this framework will go a long way
towards overcoming the confines of so-called area-studies while redressing the
scholarly preoccupation with land-based societies that has so informed the presentation
of Asian cultures.

Orang Laut houseboat, Riau Archipelago

1991. Courtesy of Cynthia Chou
http://japanfocus.org/-barbara_watsonandaya/2410/article.html
http://japanfocus.org/data/1.%20Orang
%20Laut.jpg

Orang Laut woman preparing food, Riau

Archipelago 1991. Courtesy of Cynthia
Chou
http://japanfocus.org/-barbara_watsonandaya/2410/article.html
http://japanfocus.org/data/2.%20Orang
%20laut.jpg

Village of Senggarang, near Tanjung Pinang, Riau, Indonesia.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RIAU_WEB.jpg

Lifestyle / Modern Orang Laut

Region: Borneo
Specific: Bajau
Title: On the water with the sea gipsies: Intimate portraits capture life of Borneo's Bajau
children who live their whole lives on the ocean
Link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-3017799/On-water-seagypsies-Intimate-portraits-capture-life-Borneo-s-Bajau-children-live-lives-ocean.html
- Photographer Rhahn lived among the seafaring Bajau tribe learning about their
aquatic lives
- The sea gipsies spend most of their time on boats or stilted huts, diving and
spearfishing
- Most can't read or write, and have little concept of time, but welcomed him
generously into their homes
- Being around water from a young age results in the best divers being able to stay
submerged at depths of 20 metres for several minutes, while they hunt for fish.
- Although some of the seafaring tribe are born on the ocean and never live on the land,
more frequently the sea gypsies are heading to the shore for trade and to gather
materials to build boats.
Region: Borneo (not far from the town of Semporna in the Malaysian state of Sabah)
Specific: Bajau
Title: The Bajau sea gypsies of borneo
Link: http://scribol.com/anthropology-and-history/the-bajau-sea-gypsies-of-borneo
Docker came to this village as part of a UK Channel 5 team making a documentary on
the plight of gypsies worldwide. Fortunately, getting to the village wasnt much of an
ordeal. The production company had arranged fixers for our whole shoot in Borneo,
says Docker. So when we arrived in Semporna we had two boats ready to take the 11-

man crew with all the kit to the islands where the Bajau live. It was a pleasant hour-long
trip on the water. The Bajau live on houses on stilts, which are situated just off an island
in one of the richest reefs in the world.
The reefs to which Docker is referring are part of the Coral Triangle, which is an
ecologically valuable area between Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, the Solomon
Islands, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Timor-Leste. Its also an area teeming with fish and
coral and is recognized as the global center of marine biodiversity earning it the
nickname The Amazon of the Seas. Over 120 million people are sustained by this
incredible part of the ocean, including the Bajau, who rely on fishing for sustenance and
income.
Image: Adam Docker

Descendent/where they came from

Nobody knows for sure where the Bajau came from, or why they first took to their
aquatic lifestyle. Two differing theories suggest that they may originate from the
Philippines or Johor in Malaysia, while a third theory claims that they came from the
Riau Archipelago islands of Indonesia. Some Bajau believe they descended from royal
guards of the Johor Sultanate who took to the seas. Yet wherever they derive from, the
Bajau have been living a nomadic, ocean-dwelling life for centuries.
Women cover their faces in a paste made from leaves crushed with tapioca and water
to prevent them from tanning.

Image: Adam Docker

The Bajau in their canoes, or lepa-lepa.

Image: Adam Docker

The Bajau collect clams and hunt for small fish in the beautiful surrounding waters and
then travel the one-hour journey to the market in Semporna where they sell their
wares, Docker explains. We followed one of the ladies with her weeks collection of
clams. She made 7 [$11]. The families we filmed were so friendly. In fact, everyone
there was friendly and all the crew were constantly snapping away on their cameras. It
was hard not to be invasive. They looked so fascinating.

Spearfishing in the crystal clear

waters
Image: Adam Docker

Among the Bajau there are a number of different sub-groups, which vary according to
where the people come from or where they live. The Bajau in these photographs are
Ubian and are thought to be from the island of South Ubian, which is in Tawi-Tawi in the
Philippines. This group makes up the largest sub-group of Bajau in the state of Sabah.
Culture, religion
Culture and religion can also vary within the different Bajau sub-groups. A small group
of them are Christian but most are Sunni Muslim. Others still hold to ancient animistic
beliefs and ancestor worship. And some, like the Ubian, who still live so much at sea,
follow a mixture of Islam and folklore, worshiping local sea spirits, or jinn as they are
called in the Islamic vocabulary.
Region: Borneo (Malaysia, Indonesia)
Specific: Bajau
Link: http://www.peoplesoftheworld.org/text?people=Bajau
Title: The Peoples of the World Foundation - Education for and about Indigenous Peoples
Bajau
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 dastar fabric. 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, massproduced 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 life.
Waddington, R. (2003), The Bajau People. The Peoples of the World Foundation.
Retrieved December 1, 2015, from The Peoples of the World Foundation.
<http://www.peoplesoftheworld.org/text?people=Bajau>
Region: Borneo
Specific: Bajau
Link: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2010/sep/20/bajau-sea-nomads
Title: Bajau Sea Nomads
Informations: Photos and media
Jatmin, an octopus specialist, swims
back to his boat carrying a freshly
speared cephalod mollusc
Photograph: James Morgan

Since diving is the main occupation

for the Bajau people, they
deliberately rupture their eardrums
at an early age. Unsurprisingly, most
older Bajau are hard of hearing.
They hunt with spear guns fashioned
from boat timber, tyre rubber and
scrap metal
Photograph: James Morgan

Region: Borneo
Specific: Bajau
Link: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/real-waterworld-refugees-banned-land5615336
Title: The REAL Waterworld: Refugees banned from land build floating village at SEA

The Bajau people of Malaysia live

their lives completely at sea, living
in wooden huts and spending their
days fishing.
Image: HotSpot Media

The Bajau people of Malaysia live

their lives completely at sea, living
in wooden huts and spending their
days fishing.
Image: HotSpot Media

Specific: Bajau Laut

Link: http://www.jamesmorgan.co.uk/features/bajau-laut-sea-nomads/
Information: photos
Author: James Morgan
Of all these communities, the Bajau Laut have perhaps suffered the most. The Bajau
Laut are some of the last true marine nomads. An ethnic group of Malay origin, they
have for centuries lived out their lives almost entirely at sea, plying a tract of ocean
between Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia. In the last few decades many have
been forced to settle permanently on land, but a dwindling number still call the ocean
home, living on long boats known as lepa lepa. Traditionally, they fish with nets and
lines and are expert free divers, going to improbable depths in search of pearls and sea
cucumbers or to hunt with handmade spear guns.
Traditional Bajau cosmology a syncretism of animism and Islam reveals a complex
relationship with the ocean, which for them is a multifarious and living entity. There are
spirits in currents and tides, in coral reefs and mangroves. My point of interest is the
potential for dovetailing the Bajaus uniquely intimate understanding of the ocean with
wider marine conservation strategies, in order to facilitate them in conserving, rather
than destroying, their culture and the spectacular marine environments they have
called home for centuries.

Reference: (#see X_Reference PDF file).

Sama-Bajau woman from Maiga Island, Semporna,
Malaysia, with traditional sun protection called burak.
Photo: Erik Abrahamsson