Sama-Bajau
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 (/ˈbɑːdʒaʊ, ˈbæ-/, 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 Maranao), djenging (balutu), lepa, and vinta (pilang). Some Sama-Bajau groups native to Sabah are also known for their traditional horse culture.
West Coast Bajau women of Sabah in their traditional dress | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 1.3 million worldwide | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Philippines | ~499,620 |
| Malaysia | ~436,672 |
| Indonesia | ~345,000 |
| Brunei | ~12,000 |
| Languages | |
| Sama–Bajaw languages, Tausug, Filipino, Malay, Indonesian, Chavacano | |
| Religion | |
| Predominately: Sunni Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Yakan, Iranun, Lumad Other Greater Barito-speaking peoples, Tausūg, other Moros, Filipinos Malays, Bugis, and other wider Austronesian peoples | |
The Sama-Bajau are the dominant ethnic group of the islands of Tawi-Tawi. They are also found in other islands of the Sulu Archipelago, coastal areas of Mindanao and other islands in the northern Philippines; as well as 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 neighboring 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).