Blue sky, green sea water, white sandy beach, tall coconut trees swinging to the rhythm of warm sea breeze. Like a setting for yet another Hollywood film of tropical island fantasy love story.This is what greet our eyes when we arrive and I talked to myself "The islanders must be living a fantasy life that the city people like me dream of"
Our speed boat took only 20minutes journey from Semporna Town to this tinny Sibuan Island. But before departure, the boat has to drop by the Tourist Jetty to pay Rm2.00 per person Park Entrance Fee. (Rm10.00 for Non Malaysian)
Underneath the coconut trees are huts of Bajau Laut people. At the Northern end of island is Malaysian army guard post where government officers stay when on duty.Their simple homes of huts made out of coconut leaves and drift woods. Those who are more capable have huts made of plywood and zinc roof.Over looking from the huts is spectacular view of clear green water of Celebes Sea that attracted thousands of sea lovers from all over the world each year.Sea Bajau (Bajau Laut or Sea Gypsies or what ever name given by the so called modernized people on the land) are sea faring people.They used to live on boats, many have moved to land to live on huts. After several years, they may move to another island where food are abundant.The people on this island is among the world's last marine nomads.This Bajau ethnic group have lived at sea for centuries, plying a tract of ocean between the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia.They themselves are not sure where their home town is, neither historian knows where they were originated.Bajau people : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bajau_people
Sea Bajau people has a proud tradition of skilled craftsmanship in hand-made boat ‘LEPA’ (Bajau language : boat that hand-crafted).A LEPA boat usually measured 5 to 7 meters long. This LEPA boat in the making is about 4 meters.Sea Bajau language is different from Malay. Their language is related to South Philippines."Dalok Bin Mangona" he told me when I asked what his name is.
Dalok Bin Mangona is certainly proud of his little LEPA that would soon sail him over the Celebes Sea.Dalok is certainly proud of his boat making skill handed down in the thousand years tradition of his people. But a skill and tradition rapidly disappearing in this part of industrializing world where the young generation has to face the challenge of mastering new skills to survive in a large modern society............. and human's civilization has always been cruel to the culturally weak groups.
Under the tropical sun are playing children and drying strips of shell meat hung horizontally.
For the children here, their daily routine consists of plenty of playing (above) while the more industrious, usually girls, traipsing the shallows sea (photo below), gathering food and subsistence for the family.Celebes sea provide staple foods of the Bajau Laut in this island that includes sea cucumber, sea urchins and shellfish.
One of the Sea Gypsies sea flavors is the Sea Urchins the red girl above collected.While snorkeling I saw many of these spiny dark brown sea urchins at the coral area and nearby me the red girl was collecting them using a long iron hock.An hour later she was at the beach side cutting open the urchins with a parang (long knife) and scooping the eatable orange color meat into a plastic bowl.These are considered a bit of a delicacy because the amount of effort takes to collect them from the sea floor and the small amount of edible material you actually get for quantity collected.Opening the sea urchin is an important process because the edible part rests completely on one side. The edible part is the organ that produces eggs rather than the eggs themselves.Town people in my town do not know much about this delicacy from the sea but the Japanese use sea urchins as ingredient for their shushi.Sea cucumbers (photo below) is a delicacy among them and a commodity they have traded for centuries. A main cash income for many of these fishermen.These dark color dried sea cucumber in photo below may not be the high grade for export. They consume themselves or sold in local town market at a lower price and usual customers are local Chinese.
| ......their migration has been attributed in part to their pursuit of trade, particularly in a sea cucumber species called the Trepang. It is considered a delicacy and is used in soups made as far away as China, where it is also used medicinally.
The Bajau. The Peoples of the World Foundation
http://www.peoplesoftheworld.org/text?people=Bajau |
The Sea Cucumber of above photo may not be the species Trepang that has high export value. These are sold in local market in Semporna and Tawau.
"She sells sea shells on the sea shore."Yes, the girls do sell sea shells at the sea shore collected from Sibuan Island sea shore.But this sea shell I saw on sea shore she not sells (photo above).This spider sea shell has a bottom half broken that spare it from being sold.
| "All Bajau people are poor. To travel to Semporna with boat without engine took 5-6 hours. We can't afford an engine boat. I ever thought of selling coconut to the tourist but climbing the tall trees are dangerous." |
Perhaps this is the most wealthiest family unit in the island as shown in this young lady's procession - a CD Player powered by a car battery and a Gas tank underneath the hut.
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