BORNEO EXPERIENCE

Brief History of the Bajau people

The Bajau people originated from the many islands of Southern Phillippines. In the old days, the Sulu Sultanate used to rule the Northern part of Borneo Island and so noblemen who carried the title of Datu were sent as the Sultan's representatives in various areas in the part that is now known as Sabah. One particularly famous Bajau Nobleman and Warrior was Datu Paduka Mat Salleh, who used to rule North-West of Sabah and based in Tambunan. He was believed to lead not only Bajau people but also evey ethnic in Northern Borneo until he was reported to be killed by the British for defying their occupation and launching serial attacks at Police Stations. The truth of the story was never known for sure as the body of Datu Paduka Mat Salleh was never found after a fierce battle in Ranau.

The descendants of those noblemen and their families who moved out from the Phillippines and settled in Sabah is now know as Bajau Darat or Land Bajau. Apart from the noble familes, they also brought in slaves to help them cultivate the land. Little is known about the slaves origin, but according to the Bajau elderly in Kota Belud the slaves were not from Phillippines. One story that has been passes down for generations is that they used to have slaves auctioned in the market before the practice was banned in the late 1890s. Afterwards, the slaves were freed and they eventually assimilate into the Bajau society and accepted as equals.

The Bajau used to build their houses near a rivermouth to ease them sailing back and forth to Phillippines to pay out tributes to the Sultan of Sulu.  However, constant attacks from Bajau Laut or the Sea Bajau had forced them to move further inland. Bajau Laut comprises of few sub-ethnic groups like the Ubian or Obian, Kagayan, Binadan, Suluk Laut, Illanun, and Pala'au, among others. The Sea Bajaus are believed to be the descendants of the once notorious pirates of the Sulu and South China Sea. Even the name of one of the sub-ethnic i.e The Illanun suggests that suspicion as the word 'lanun' is the Malay word for 'pirate'. Hence, in the 1990s a local political figure and assembyman from that sub-ethnic had lobbied the government for a name change. Now, the name Illanun has been changed to Irranun to eliminate any link to their rumored dark past.

Nowadays, the Land Bajau and Sea Bajau are still distinguished by their traditional economic activities and general geographical distribution. While the Land Bajau which include sub ethnics of Sama, Sulu, Sama Dopo', and a few others depend on agricultural activities like planting padi and rearing livestock, their coastal cousins are mostly fishermen collecting any edible sea creature that they can get. Once a week, on Sunday mornings these 2 groups meet up to trade their harvests. In the old days, trades are done through bartering but now the practice is becoming extinct due to expanding usage of money and modern day needs.

The Sama sub-ethnic of the 'Land Bajau' are famed for their skillful horsemanship and the colorful costumes on their horses. The horses are dressed like this only on special occasions like weddings and receiving dignitaries.