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About the BajauBajau is the name of an ethnic group living in Sabah. They are in fact native to southern Philippines, but due to conflicts in the Sulu Archipelago, many Bajaus have moved to live in Malaysia in the last fifty years, particularly to Sabah, where they are now the second largest ethnic group after the Kadazans, forming 13.4% of the population. The Bajaus have also migrated to Sulawesi and Kalimantan in Indonesia.Bajaus are often called Sea Gypsies, even though this term has also been applied to other non-related ethnic groups that practise a similar lifestyle elsewhere in the region. Just like the term Kadazan-Dusun, the term Bajau is also an umbrella term to describe several groups of closely related peoples. They share close similarity to the Sama people, so much so that there is also the term Sama-Bajau people. The one difference is that the Sama people are more likely to dwell inland whereas the Bajaus are sea-oriented, living in boats and leading a nomadic lifestyle. However, in this modern age, the traditional differences are fast fading. The Sama-Bajau peoples speak ten closely related languages or dialects which are within the Sama-Bajau subgroup. The Bajaus themselves do not call themselves Bajau, but refer themselves to their own subgroups, usually related to the name of the places where they live. It is most likely that the British administrators who give the term Bajau to this group of people. In the same way, the British labelled the Samah people Bajaus, and entered that as their race on their birth certificates. Many Bajaus are beginning to identify themselves as Malay, so as to gain access to the special privileges accorded to Malays. This is especially true of the many illegal Filipino immigrants. Traditionally, Bajaus are nomadic, seafaring people. They either live on stilt houses over water, or directly in boats called lepa-lepa. The boat-dwelling Bajaus spend their whole time in their hand-made boats, coming ashore only on special occasions such as for funerals. Many Filipinos who are illegal immigrants in Sabah are from the Bajau ethnic group. This includes the huge settlement of illegal immigrants on Pulau Gaya. Most Bajaus are Muslims adhering to Sunni Islam of the Shafi'i school. The Bajau subgroups include the Ubian, Samah/Sama, Simunal, Samal, Banadan, Tando' Bas, Ungus Matata, Tolen, Palao, Tabawan, Banguingui and Sikubung. Bajau DancesFamous Bajaus
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Malaysia Hotel Room Price CheckerBefore booking a hotel room, make sure you are getting the lowest price for it. Different hotel booking websites offers the same room at different prices. If you stick with one site all the time, you could be paying more for the same room. Now why pay more?The form below is a Research Engine. It doesn't take bookings. Instead it lets you find the hotel booking website that offers the room you want at the lowest price. You can see and compare what different sites are offering, and then click to choose the one with the best price. Do this, and you're guaranteed to save a whole lot of money on your room reservations! |
Flight CheckerFlying somewhere? Say you're going to fly from Kuala Lumpur to Penang or Kuching to Singapore, which airline gives you the best rate for the date and time of your trip? Instead of visiting each airline website one by one, use our Flight Checker on the right to find out.Just enter you trip details: where you will be flying to, your departure date and return date. Select the number of passengers, and then click search. Our engine will return you a list of possible flights that you can take. You can compare the fare of different airlines for your trip. Click on your selected airline, and we transfer you to the airline website. |
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 Exploring Malaysia is researched and written by Timothy Tye. Content and articles in Exploring Malaysia are provided in goodwill and are believed to be correct at time of writing. While every reasonable care is taken to check and verify the information shared, Exploring Malaysia disclaims responsibility for its use. All pages may be printed out for your own personal, non-commercial use. Photographs appearing in Exploring Malaysia are available according to the licensing terms specified in its caption. Photographs not credited to a third party belong to Timothy Tye and may not be reused in any form unless you are first given permission. Write in to inquire if interested. Third party photographs are governed by their respective licenses. Contact Tim at the following email address:  |
