Теңіз халықтары: Сама Баджау этносының тарихы мен мәдениеті

Group of Austronesian peoples of Maritime Southeast Asia
the peoples

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"); 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).

Sama Bajau is a collective term, referring to several closely related indigenous people who consider themselves a single distinct bangsa ("ethnic group" or "nation"). 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. 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".

The ancient Sama Bajau were animistic, and this is retained wholly or partially in some Sama Bajau groups. The supreme deities in Sama Bajau mythology are Umboh Tuhan (also known as Umboh Dilaut, the "Lord of the Sea") and his consort, Dayang Dayang Mangilai ("Lady of the Forest"). In modern Muslim Sama Bajau, Umboh Tuhan (or simply Tuhan or Tuan) is usually equated with Allah. The trance dancing is called mag igal and involves female and male and igal jinn, called the jinn denda and jinn lella respectively. The jinn denda perform the first dance known as igal limbayan under the dangkan tree, with the eldest leading. They are performed with intricate movements of the hands, usually with metal fingernail extensions called sulingkengkeng. If the dance and music are pleasing, the bansa are believed to take possession of the dancers, whereupon the wali jinn will assist in releasing them at the end of the dance. The bansa are not feared as they are regarded as spirits of ancestors. Temporarily serving as hosts for the bansa while dancing to music is regarded as a "gift" by the living Sama Dilaut to their ancestors. After the igal limbayan, the wali jinn will invite the audience to participate, to celebrate, and to give their thanks. The last dance is the igal lellang, with four jinn lella performing a warrior dance, whereupon the participants will proceed to the kama'toolang grove. There they will perform rituals and dance (this time with male and female dancers together), symbolically "inviting" Dayang Dayang Mangilai to come with them back to the dangkan tree. Further games and celebrations are held under the original dangkan tree before the celebrants say their farewells to the spirits. Unlike pag umboh, pagkanduli is a joyous celebration, involving singing, dancing, and joking among all participants. It is the largest festive event among the Sama Dilaut communities. These mooring points are usually presided over by an elder or headsman. The mooring points are close to sources of water or culturally significant locations like island cemeteries. There are periodic gatherings of Sama Bajau clans usually for various ceremonies like weddings or festivals. They generally do not sail more than from their "home" moorage. Sama Bajau women also use a traditional sun protecting powder called burak or borak, made from water weeds, rice, and spices.

Sama Bajau traditional songs are handed down orally through generations. The songs are usually sung during marriage celebrations (kanduli pagkawin), accompanied by dance (pang igal) and musical instruments like pulau (flute), gabbang (xylophone), tagunggo' (kulintang gongs), biula (violin), and in modern times, electronic keyboards. Among the more specific examples of Sama Bajau songs are three love songs collectively referred to as Sangbayan. These are Dalling Dalling, Duldang Duldang, and Pakiring Pakiring.

The more settled land based West Coast Bajau are expert equestrians – which makes them remarkable in Malaysia, where horse riding has never been widespread anywhere else. The traditional costume of Sama Bajau horsemen consists of a black or white long sleeved shirt (badu sampit) with gold buttons (betawi) on the front and decorated with silver floral designs (intiras), black or white trousers (seluar sampit) with gold lace trimmings, and a headpiece (podong). They carry a spear (bujak), a riding crop (pasut), and a silver hilted keris dagger. The horse is also caparisoned with a colourful outfit called kain kuda that also have brass bells (seriau) attached. The saddle (sila sila) is made from water buffalo hide and padded with cloth (lapik) underneath.

Though some Sama Bajau headsmen have been given honorific titles like "Datu", "Maharaja" or "Panglima" by governments (like under the Sultanate of Brunei), they usually only had little authority over the Sama Bajau community. Sama Bajau society is traditionally highly individualistic, Divers work long days with the "greatest daily apnea diving time reported in humans" of greater than 5 hours per day submerged. Some Bajau intentionally rupture their eardrums at an early age to facilitate diving and hunting at sea. Many older Sama Bajau are therefore hard of hearing. This difference is apparently related to a variant of the PDE10A gene. FAM178B, a regulator of carbonic anhydrase, which is related to maintaining blood pH when carbon dioxide accumulates; and another one involved in the response to hypoxia.

Mat Salleh (Datu Muhammad Salleh) – Sabah warrior from Inanam, Kota Kinabalu, during the British administration of North Borneo. Tun Datu Mustapha (Tun Datu Mustapha bin Datu Harun) – The first Yang di Pertua Negeri (governor) of Sabah and the third Chief Minister of Sabah from Kudat. Tun Said Keruak – The seventh Governor of Sabah and the fourth Chief Minister of Sabah from Kota Belud. Tun Sakaran Dandai – The eighth Governor of Sabah and also the eighth Chief Minister of Sabah from Semporna. Ahmadshah Abdullah – The ninth Governor of Sabah from Inanam, Kota Kinabalu. Salleh Said Keruak (Datuk Seri Panglima Mohd Salleh bin Tun Mohd Said Keruak) – The ninth Chief Minister of Sabah from Kota Belud and a former federal minister with the rank of Senator in the Dewan Negara. Osu Sukam (Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima Osu bin Sukam) – The twelfth Chief Minister of Sabah from Papar. Mohd Nasir Tun Sakaran (Dato' Mohd Nasir bin Tun Sakaran Dandai) – Sabah politician from Semporna. Shafie Apdal (Dato' Seri Hj Mohd Shafie Bin Apdal) – The fifteenth Chief Minister of Sabah from Semporna. Pandikar Amin Mulia – Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, former Member of Parliament of Malaysia from Kota Belud. Askalani Abdul Rahim (Datuk Askalani Bin Abdul Rahim) – Former Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports from Semporna. Abdul Rahman Dahlan – Former Cabinet Minister from Tuaran as well the former Member of Parliament in the Dewan Rakyat for the constituency of Kota Belud from 2008 to 2018. Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis – Member of Parliament of Kota Belud in the Dewan Rakyat (also half Kadazan Dusun ancestry on paternal side). Manis Muka Mohd Darah – Former Member of Sabah State Legislative Assembly for Bugaya. Sultan Ombra Amilbangsa From Simunul, in what is now the province of Tawi Tawi. He was a member of the National Assembly of the Philippines from 1935 to 1938, and from 1943 to 1944, and the Philippines House of Representatives from 1945 to 1949, and from 1951 to 1961. In 1961, he filed House Bill No. 5682, for the granting of independence to the Province of Sulu as a sovereign nation due to what he felt was the negligence of the central government over the concerns of his province. He married Dayang Dayang Hadji Piandao Kiram, niece and adopted daughter of Sultan Jamalul Kiram II. He succeeded as Sulu Sultan from 1936 to 1964.

Haja Amina Appi — Filipino master mat weaver and teacher from Ungos Matata, Tandubas, Tawi Tawi; recipient of the Philippine National Living Treasures Award. Adam AF2 (Aizam Mat Saman) – Malaysian singer and actor, great nephew of Tun Ahmadshah Abdullah (his grandmother is the elder sister of the latter) from Inanam, Kota Kinabalu. Sitti – Filipino singer. Zizi Kirana – Malaysian rapper from Semporna. Yanie (Mentor) (the late Siti Surianie Julkarim) – Malaysian singer who gained fame through the reality show known as Mentor on TV3 from Likas, Kota Kinabalu. Wawa Zainal – Malaysian actress from Lahad Datu. Azwan Kombos – Malaysian actor from Kota Belud. Rita Gaviola – Filipino actress in the Pinoy Big Brother Season 7.

Bana Sailani – A Filipino Olympic swimmer who represented the Philippines in the 1956 Summer Olympics, the 1958 Asian Games (where he won 5 bronze medals, and 1 silver), and the 1960 Summer Olympics. He was more popularly known as Bapa' Banana. Estino Taniyu – A Malaysian swimmer from the Royal Malaysian Navy who swam across the English Channel in 13 hours, 45 minutes, and 45 seconds on 21 September 2012. Matlan Marjan – Former Malaysian football player and the former Sabah FA captain from Kota Belud. Eldio "Imam" Gulisan – A Filipino freediver who set the Philippines national record at the Japanese Cup 2019 on 7 September 2019. Featured in Episode 3 of the Netflix series Home Game. Zainizam Marjan – Former Malaysian football player, younger brother of Matlan from Kota Belud.