Orang Bajau

The Sama-Bajau refers to several Austronesian ethnic groups of Maritime Southeast Asia.

 The name collectively refers to related people who usually call themselves the Sama, Samah, 

or Samal; or are known by theexonym Bajau (/ˈbaːdʒaʊ/, also 

spelled Badjao, Bajaw, Badjau, Badjaw, Bajo or Bayao). They usually live a seaborne lifestyle, 

and use small wooden sailing vessels such as 

the perahu, (Layag in Meranau) djenging,balutu, lepa, pilang, and vinta (or lepa-lepa). Sea 

nomads or ‘sea people,’ namely the ‘Bajau Laut’ in the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia 

are skilled divers, and many Bajau Laut make a living from freediving. Men do most of the 

spearfishing, but women also dive, predominantly for gathering sea food. They start to dive at 

an early age and spend most days of their lives on and in the sea.

Some Sama-Bajau groups native to Sabah are also known for their traditional horse culture.

The Sama-Bajau are traditionally from the many islands of the Sulu Archipelago in 

the Philippines (where they are grouped together with the Moro people), as well as parts of the 

coastal areas of Mindanao and northernBorneo. In the last 50 years, many of the Filipino 

Sama-Bajau have migrated to neighbouring Malaysia and the northern islands of the 

Philippines, due to the conflict in Mindanao. As of 2010, they were the second-largest ethnic 

group in the Malaysian state of Sabah. Groups of Sama-Bajau have also migrated 

to Sulawesi and North Kalimantan in Indonesia, although their exact population is unknown.

Sama-Bajau have sometimes been called the "Sea Gypsies" 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-ThaiMergui Archipelago and the Orang Laut of southeastern from 

older inhabited areas seems to have been associated with the development of sea trade in sea 

cucumber (trepang).