Hannah Elizabeth P.

Garrido

MM-1

Sama Dilaut

The Sama Dilaut are a small ethnic Sama group (Bajao, Bajaw, Samal Laut, Pal’au, Orang Laut,
Badjau, Lutao, Sama Dilaut, Sama Jengngeng) commonly known as “sea gypsies” among the
Western peoples, but as Sama Dilaut in the localities. The places of population concentrations
are in Sitangkai, Tawi-tawi (1,075), and Bongao (660). In the province they number about 1,735
(NSO 1980) and the national count is about 29,754 (NM 1994). It is difficult to get an accurate
census since the group are highly mobile and spread out in a wide area that extends even to the
northern tip of Luzon.

There is a question in the use of the name “Badjao,” for the true Badjao are found in northern
Borneo. The Sama Dilaut claim that when they were in Sabah, they were called Badjao due to the
similarity of their culture with the boat peoples of Borneo. There is a considerable difference
between the language of the Sama Dilaut from the eastern or western Badjao of north Borneo.
The centers of population are in Sitangkai, Tando-owak, and Tungihat in the province of Tawi-
tawi.

The people live in house boats called lepa and their culture is closely linked with the sea. The
Sama houseboat, lepa, is one of the most beautiful of traditional boats, possessing an ancient
type of boat architecture with a uniquely designed sail featuring a “mouth” which enables the
boat to go almost directly into the eye of the wind. Their houses are usually on stilts over shallow
seas, linked by bridges. House interiors are not partitioned and often feature a hanayan, an
ornate shelving.

Lepa, moored offshore from Sitangkai Island in Tawi-Tawi, southern Philippines, photograph taken in the early 1990s
© Jesus Peralta
Culture traits are very similar to the mainstream of Southeast Asia especially with similar groups
with marine orientations. Subsistence is largely associated with marine resources. Cassava is the
staple. Traditionally a non-aggressive people, they claim to have no weaponry. When confronted
with aggression, the reaction of the Sama is generally to take flight.

History

The origins of the Badjao are uncertain. According to a legend, they came from the shores of
Johore, Indonesia, where they had already been living in clusters of houseboats. Anthropologist
H. Arlo Nimmo (1968) believes, however, that the Badjao were originally of the land-based Sama
group but branched off into boat dwellers as a result of their occupation. This practice might have
subsequently spread to the area around Malaysia. Historian Najeeb Saleeby (1908) traces the
Badjao to the Sama in Johore, who migrated to the Philippines in the early 14th century, before
the coming of Islam. Another theory is that the Badjao were originally boat dwellers who
eventually built stilt houses near fertile fishing grounds.
Performing Arts
The Badjao have five types of song: leleng, binoa, tenes, panulkin, and lugu. Except for the last
two, the lyrics are improvised and sung to a traditional tune. The leleng is sung for any occasion,
by anyone of any age: children at play, a boy teasing a playmate, a youth singing about a faraway
sweetheart, a man fishing or resting. It is also sung for special occasions like weddings, haircuts,
or circumcisions. The chanting is monotonous and is similar to the tune of the pasyon (Lenten
chant on the life of Christ). A specific type of leleng is the lia-lia, which a little girl sings to express
her resentment against her parents’ perceived wrongdoing.
The binoa is similarly chanted as the leleng.
The tenes-tenes is a ballad whose tune changes with the lyrics. It may be sung for any occasion
and by anyone, but especially by a young man for his sweetheart. The melody of a known tenes
may be used for a different set of lyrics. Some tenes are love or courtship songs, fishing songs,
and even songs addressed to sharks.
A woman sings the lugu at a wedding as the imam or panglima walks with the groom to the
bride’s side. The lugu’s lyrics are verses from the Quran; it has a traditional and melancholy tune.
The panulkin is sung only by the imam and has traditional tune and lyrics. It is sung during the
vigil for the dead, from 7 P.M. to 1 A.M. It is a way of keeping awake and of making the community
aware that someone has died.