Badjaw begging

I was eating in a resto and all of a sudden, an adolescent girl carrying an infant was in front of me, begging for a dime. Begging has become synonymous with the Bajaw, an unfortunate one. Are they entirely to blame?

Why did they came to the city, in the first place? They have no employable vocational skills, this they know. But city provides them relative safety and daily income.

The state through several laws has usurped their traditional maritime homeland and give it up to giant fishing companies. Even the IPRA mention only land-dwelling groups. How about the Badjaw whose homeland is the Sulu and Celebes seas?

The lowlanders expanded into their villages, and pacifists they are, they just decided to move farther until there was no more place beyond. The lowlanders got an upper hand in their traditional livelihood like fishing and seaweeds farming. 

Sea gangs harass them and go after their meagre income. Everyone ridicules, shuns or drives them away because people do not like their peculiar smell.

Where do you think will they go? How will they live? Here we are just talking about subsistence, not yet their political rights!

Sinug and Sinama?

As a Tausug- and Sama-descent person, I am fascinated by the Sinug (Tausug Language) and Sinama (Sama Language).

While Sinug is largely spoken by the Tausug of Sulu, its language siblings, such as Butuanon and Surigaonon, can not be found anywhere in the Sulu Archipelago, but hundreds of miles to the Eastern region of Mainland Mindanao in Caraga.

Sinama is a language shared by several inter-related ethnic groups (e.g. Sama, Bajaw, Bangingi) spanning three countries in Equator Asia. Isn't it a surprise to learn that its northern speakers, the Abaknon, can be found in Samar in the Eastern Visayan Region of the Philippines?

The Sama - Who are they?

The Sama of the Philippines are traditionally around the Sulu Archipelago; although the northernmost Sama community, the Abaknons, can be found in the areas of Samar and Leyte.

Linguists and language researchers have conveniently lumped all Philippine Sama under three (3) broad categories:

1. The southern Sama of Tawi-Tawi
2. The central Sama of Siasi and Laminusa
3. The northern Sama of Pangutaran

However, upon closer scrutiny, the Sama of Tawi-Tawi are very diversified too, falling into the following sub-categories:

1. The Sama of Sibutu and Sitangkai Islands
2. The Sama of Simunul and Nusa Islands
3. The Sama of Kapoan (Sapa-Sapa, Tandubas, Bellatan and Balimbing, South Ubian and Northern region of Mainland Tawi-Tawi)
4. The Sama of Buan (Boan) Island in Panglima Sugala are Sama Bangingi

Similar sub-categorization can also be undertaken for the Central and Northern Sama.

Sama Studies?

Descended from a Sama ancestor myself, the Sama of Tawi-Tawi represents a small group in the larger Sama-Bajaw cultural conglomeration in Equator Asia.

This blog represents a journey of discovery ...