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2001a. A death on Easter. International Institute for Asian Studies Newsletter 25: 36
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ARTICLES
Bajau / Sama
The Bajau people are the second largest indigenous group in Sabah is the Bajau, a collective term for a predominantly Muslim people and their kindred groups. Originally seafarers, there are now two distinct groups, the East Coast Bajau and West Coast Bajau. The West Coast Bajau have now settled down around the Kota Kinabalu to Kota Belud
The Bajau or Sama, as they are called in some places, are Austronesian peoples who speak languages from the Sama Family of Languages. Traditionally, they were maritime communities who inhabited the seas and coasts of Borneo, the southern Philippines and some of the Indonesian islands, and beyond. Over the centuries, Bajau fishermen have also periodically visited the coast of northwest Australia in search of trepang and other marine creatures. In Sabah, Malaysia, many Bajau communities have settled on land, in coastal areas, and have acculturated some of the practices of neighbouring indigenous land peoples, such as rice planting and the rearing of water buffaloes. Bajau/Sama communities have very rich cultures in terms of music, handicrafts (including boat building), oral history and other traditions, and are historically important in transmitting ideas and artifacts amongst other Austronesian communities in the region. Nowadays, many Bajau are educated and work in the civil service and private business sector
The Southern Sama of Malaysia live along the coastal strips of northeastern Sabah on the island of Borneo. They are a subgroup of a much larger group of Sama. They speak the Sama Sibutu dialect of the Sama-Bajau language. They are a maritime people, with fishing being their major economic activity. They also engage in seafaring trade and some farming. Throughout much of the area, copra (dried coconut meat yielding coconut oil) is the major cash crop. Settlements consist of densely clustered houses situated along well-protected stretches of shoreline. In some places, houses are built directly over the sea, but in other places, they are located along the beach front. If over the water, they are connected by planks or narrow bridges. Built on stilts one to three meters above the ground or high-water mark, houses usually have one rectangular room with an attached kitchen. Households are grouped into larger units called tumpuks (clusters), which are located near one another and are related by close kinship ties with the tumpuk spokesman as the household head and in some instances coincide with the parishes, whose members belong to a single mosque.
The Sama are known for their traditional dances, songs, percussion and xylophone music, dyed mats and food covers, and wood carvings. The Sama are almost all Sunni Muslims. They still retain some of their traditional ethnic religious beliefs. Spirits of the dead are thought to remain in the vicinity of their graves, requiring expressions of continued concern from the living. Some graves have reportedly become the sources of miracle working power. During the month of Shaaban, it is said that God permits the souls of the dead (roh) to return to this world. To honor them, the living offer special prayers to the dead and clean the graves.
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