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Badjao Badjao means fisherfolk(Llamzon 1978) Boat dwellers or seagypsies http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sulu_archipelago.

ng Religion: ancestor worship, albeit with Islamic influences. Identical to Samal group but considered as two distinct groups Tausugs call Badjao Luwaan (outsiders/outcasts) and Palau (floating people) Palau variant of Paraw (boat). Samal refer them as kuto dagat or kuto tahik (lice of the sea) Badjao call themselves as Samal (Nimmo1968) Total population: 24, 330 as of 1986 (RRs Philippine Almanac 1990) May be divided into two groups: o Southern Badjao located on the islands of Tawi-Tawi, Sibutu, and Semporna (Sabah) o Northern Badjao located on Siasi, Jolo, Basilan and Zamboanga. The Southern Badjaos call themselves as bangsa (people/nation) before the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) secessionist movement. Tawi-tawi have six Badjao villages o Tungkalang (place of coral heads) or tung (pony/in) kalang (sandbar) located at the Southern tip of Sanga-Sanga largest village of Badjao in TawiTawi consists of 85% houseboats and 15% stilt houses o Luuk-Tulai o Bnadulan o Lamiun

o Tungbangka o Lioboran Sibutu has the villages of Badjao: o Sitangkai o Tungnehat o Tandowak o Omapoi Seporna have the two villages: o Bangau-Bangau o Labuanghadji The Badjao living on Sibutu and Seporna are house dwellers and use their houseboats only on long fishing trips On Siasi islands, on northern side, have five Badjao villages: o Sisangat o Kud-Kud o Musu o Tuhog-Tuhog o Laminusa Language: Sinama o A dialect of Samal language. o Others call it Bajau/Badjaw/Badjao for the distinction of the language spoken by the land-based Samal 3 types of Badjao based on residences o Sedentary with commercial pursuits and permanent homes, such as Sitangkai o Semi-sedentary spends periods alternately between their houseboats and their village homes in Sisangat on Siasi Island o Sea gypsies live on houseboats as itinerant fisherfolk on search of rich fishing grounds

HISTORY The origin of the Badjao are uncertain According to a legend, they came from the shores of Johore, Indonesia where they live in cluster boats already. Badjao were originally a land-based Samal grouop but branched off into boat dwellers as a result of their jobs as fishers, according to anthropologist H. Arlo Nimmo(1968)/ According to a historian, Najeeb Saleeby (1980), before the Islam came they migrated to the Philippines in the early 14 th century. Another theory says that the Badjao were already boat dwellers who gradually built stilt houses near fishing grounds.

Due to its territory Muslim Filipinos, least influenced by Islam and itinerant travellers the influences of Spaniards and Americans became nothing. Some Badjao groups travelled as far as Manila in search for livelihood, because the fishing grounds around Sulu archipelago is no longer sufficient.

Economy Panggi(cassava) and fish the staple food of Badjaos Rice is served only for dessert or on special occasions. They have no regular meal like breakfast, lunch and supper. For subsistence and commerce, the men engage in fishing, pearl diving, boat building, fish trap making, and fishnet weaving. Fishing methods requires group work. The women engage in mat weaving, gathering clams, snails, seaweed, and so forth at low tide Tukang boat maker The paraw or vinta is made of casco (timber or log) cut in various sizes. They interact with Samal only when they go to the village market to sell or barter their cathch of fish for cassava and matches. Some Badjao villages evolved a sedentary lifestyle with the arrival of fish buyers on their islands.

Political System A Badjao settlement consists of a kawman, panglima Kawman the equivalent of the land-based purok Panglima o the head of kawman o Its main function is to settle disputes, collect fines, and officiate at weddings. o The position is usually inherited, but the title is conferred by the sultan. Although at present, the presence of panglima is weakening because of the presence of the municipal mayor or the barangay captain, he is still consulted on matter of marriage and divorce and on the schedule of fishing boats to cast off. The moorage is composed of several nuclear families jointly organized to work as a team. The leader of the Badjao in a group is considered if one is expert in a specific occupation such as boat building or fishing.

Dakampungan the generic term for relative but it may also mean the alliance of related families who regularly tie up together at a moorage"( Theo 1989:41). Dakau-man means of the same group or moorage. Magdaudanakan means all siblings Magtau tai-anaak means the family, including the offspring down to the great grandchildren Dalahah means of the same blood. Dapu-unan means of the same descendants Magdanakan nuclear family The magdanakan may not include any other close relative if its members live in cramped quarters. A houseboat typically measures 305m long, 1.7m wide and 1.3m deep. If they live in a stilt house , the parents and grandparents of the married couple may stay with them. They marry at a very young age 13 or 14 and soon after the wedding theyll live independently. When the woman becomes pregnant, fern are forbidden in the dwelling because they belied to cause poor health in an infant. When the moon is out, the pregnant woman bathes on a fishnet or on a paddle, so that the child will be brave and strong and know his own way to the sea, During childbirth, the father keeps a torch burning at the door to drive away evil spirits attracted to the blood expelled during delivery. The placenta is places in a coconut shell and, as a man takes it to the shore, the people in the house call to him. He is not supposed to heed them, for if he looks back, the babys head will face backward all its life. The placenta is buried deep enough in the sand so that animals cannot dig it up. The placenta is considered the infants twin; throwing it away will distress the infant. The infant is names after a place, event or anything related to the circumstances of birth. The children usually wear no clothes until they are about 10 years old. Panday the medicine man or woman

Architecture and Community Planning Samboang the Badjao metaphor for mooring place o Literally, a stake to which they tie their houseboats Palaw - native term for the place where they permanently settle or their traditional mooring age.

Social Organization and Customs The kinship system if the Badjao is central to their life and is shown in the various terms they have for different types of blood relationship.

Kawman considered as a a place of hometown which they where raised, whether they are nomadic or settled A kawman consists of several related nuclear families, with a male elder as the panglima. A larger moorage consists of several clans, with panglima of the original kin group serving as the overall head. The biggest house in the kawman belongs to panglima, On the rooftop, a white pennant, measuring 70 cm x 1 m, proclaims panglimas position Stilt houses are connected through footbridges or catwalks, made of loosely nailed boards The village structure wherein stilt houses are connected through footbridges or catwalks, made of loosely nailed boards has been described as a cluster of stilt huts woven around . . . like a cobweb: (De Henning 1973). Lepa/Lipa houseboats that are used as a temporary lodging for fishing trips There are three types of dwellings o Luma stilt house a house standing in the seashore o It made of sturdier material than the stilt house posts are made from tree trunks that can withstand seawater harun (ladder) a log into which notches are carved to serve as steps. One end is buried in the sand and roses about three notches above water; the other end leans on the footbridge, which serves as the landing leading to an open doorway. The house has a long frame about 4m wide. The roof is made of tin sheet, nipa or coconut leaves. The walls and floors are made of wooden boards sawn from logs floating on the sea, lying on the seashore, or felled in the inland forests. Two window openings are cut out of the front wall and a third window, out of another wall. The living room also serves as the sleeping area, toilet and storage space for household possesions. On the inner walls are attaches as many mirrors as there are children in the family. Mirrors are believed to drive away evil spirits.

A roof beam holds the fishnets. A second doorways leads to the kitchen, which is a separate structure from the main house and connected with a footbridge. The kitchen contains the stove, consisting of three rocks arranged in a triangle and set atop a round metal sheet. Other kitchen paraphernalia are water jar, kerosene can, coconut grater, and a flat-bottomed basket containing fruits, cassava and coconuts. Pantan an extension where fish is dried. Clothes are hung to dry from poles stretched across the landing. Stilt houses also built along the shores made of lighter materials, such as bamboo posts and nipa, which are free or the cost is very little Labour too is free, because relatives and neighbors help build the house. palaw The Badjao have two kinds of boats, the hulls which are made of single tree trunks: dapang or vinta used for short fishing trips palaw which maybe either a permanent dwelling place or temporary lodging during fishing trips The vinta is a speedy and sleek sailboat with bamboo outriggers and a sail is attached to a tripod mast made of bamboo The palaw has two types: o Pidlas/lepi/lipa - the lighter and speedier Has no outriggers The hull is a log that is hollowed out, called dugout, about 20m long with a beam 2m tall Planks are laid across the hull to serve as the foundation on which the palaw (nipa hut) is constructed These planks are not securely fastened so that they can be raised to allow storage of household objects in the hull Sticking out above the roof may be the owners fishing spears and harpoon gun Has a framework of poles over which thatched nipa palm is rolled to form a curved gable.

The structure is about 1m high, just for a seated person. Mats are stretched from end to end between the bow and stern to keep out the rain. Living in th epalaw has curved the posture of the Badjao, who stand or walk with protruding buttocks, especially the women who are more house bound. Djenging the bigger and heavier has been describes as a floating Sulu barong-barong (shanty) (Folk Architecture 1989). Observed that the djenging was found only in Tawi-Tawi by Nimmo, 1968. Has outriggers Its hull measures 13-17m long and 2m wide Its house structure, a wooden cabin, is meant to last longer than that of the lepa Walls are made of wooden boards fasten with nails The roof us made of galvanized iron sheets There windows and a doorway. Its sizes varies according to economic status The kitchen is at the bow, which is the front part of the boat. It consists of a clay stove set atop a tin sheet on a plank, and a rack for dishes, pots, and pans. Clothes, fishing nets, sails, and drinking water are stored at stern. Hanging from the posts are burlap bags containing food and condiments.

Badjao wood carving is distinctive for its more massive, bold, and unrestrained designs. The prows if the houseboats are carved in combinations of dragon and sarimanok designs, or curvilinear designs such as rising leaves and flowers. The bows feature shafts imitating a crocodiles gaping mouth. When the head of the family dies, this carved part of the boat may be sawed off to serve as his grave marker Sundok (grave marker) may also be especially fashioned from a separate piece of wood. It may carry the same designs as those on the boat. o It is 60 cm high and stands on a heavy wooden base placed over the grave. o It is carved into an animal form, such as dragon, serpent, seahorse or bird, which will carry the spirit afterlife.

Visual Arts and Crafts Ukkil/Okil/Okir refers to either the art of wood carving or the particular design which characterizes the textile, wood carvings, mats and metal engraving in Sulu and Lanao. o The ukkil design is a combination of stylized scroll, leaf, and vine elements in a seemingly infinite range of abstract variations(Szanton 1973:33)

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