īritish administrators in Sabah classified the Sama-Bajau as "Bajau" and labelled them as such in their birth certificates. The term Bajau has pejorative connotations in the Philippines, indicating poverty in comparison to the term Sama, especially since it is used most commonly to refer to poverty-stricken Sama-Bajau who make a living through begging. Other possible origins include the Brunei Malay word bajaul, which means "to fish". Some authors have proposed that it is derived from a corruption of the Malay word berjauh ('getting further apart' or 'the state of being away'). The exact origin of the exonym Bajau is unclear. Sama is believed to have originated from the Austronesian root word sama meaning "together", "same", or "kin". Even these distinctions are fading as the majority of Sama-Bajau have long since abandoned boat living, most for Sama-style piling houses in the coastal shallows. Historically in the Philippines, the term Sama referred to the more land-oriented and settled Sama–Bajau groups, while Bajau referred only to more sea-oriented, boat-dwelling, nomadic groups. The modern outward spread of the Sama-Bajau from older inhabited areas seems to have been associated with the development of sea trade in sea cucumber ( trepang).Ī Sama-Bajau flotilla in Lahad Datu, Sabah, Malaysia Sama-Bajau have sometimes been called the "Sea Gypsies" (their children often seen begging for currency in various markets near the Sea) or "Sea Nomads", terms that have also been used for non-related ethnic groups with similar traditional lifestyles, such as the Moken of the Burmese-Thai Mergui Archipelago and the Orang Laut of southeastern Sumatra and the Riau Islands of Indonesia. As of 2010, they were the second-largest ethnic group in Sabah. Within the last fifty years, many of the Filipino Sama-Bajau have migrated to neighboring Sabah and the northern islands of the Philippines, due to the conflict in Mindanao. In the Philippines, they are grouped with the religiously similar Moro people. They are also found in other islands of the Sulu Archipelago, coastal areas of Mindanao and the northern Philippines spotted in Zambales on the Island of Luzon, and northern and eastern Borneo, Sulawesi, and throughout the eastern Indonesian islands. The Sama-Bajau are the dominant ethnic group of the islands of Tawi-Tawi in the Philippines. Some Sama-Bajau groups native to Sabah are also known for their traditional horse culture. They usually live a seaborne lifestyle and use small wooden sailing vessels such as the perahu ( layag in Meranau), djenging ( balutu), lepa, and vinta ( pilang). The name collectively refers to related people who usually call themselves the Sama or Samah (formally A'a Sama, "Sama people") or are known by the exonym Bajau ( / ˈ b ɑː dʒ aʊ, ˈ b æ-/, also spelled Badjao, Bajaw, Badjau, Badjaw, Bajo or Bayao). The Sama-Bajau include several Austronesian ethnic groups of Maritime Southeast Asia. Malays, Bugis, and other wider Austronesian peoples Sinama, Bajau, Tausug, Tagalog, Malay/ Indonesian, Chavacano West Coast Bajau women of Sabah in their traditional dress
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