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The exact or scientific origin of the Badjaos are uncertain. According to a legend, they came from the shores of Johore, Indonesia, where they had already been living in clusters of houseboats.
There are other theories that claim the Badjaos were originally from the land-based Samal group but branched off into boat dwellers as a result of their occupation. Another theory claims the Badjaos were originally boat dwellers that eventually built stilt houses near fertile fishing grounds.
The Spanish and American colonizers failed to influence the Badjaos because they live in the territory of the Muslim Filipinos, although they are also the least influenced by Islam.
The Badjaos are itinerant travelers.
Their paintings and carvings are integral to their life cycle. In wedding ceremonies, the wedding beautician must be adept at applying the special makeup on the bride and groom. With a razor blade tied with thread to a split bamboo twig, the beautician shapes the bride’s eyebrows into a triangle and carves tiny bangs on her forehead. Lampblack is used to outline a rectangle on her forehead and is emphasized by a yellow ginger juice. Black dots are outlined horizontally above the eyebrows and/or beneath the eyes with the pointed end of a coconut midrib. Another beautician attends to the groom and his face is made up the same way.
The traditional attire of a Badjao is the “patadjong.” It has many uses. They are made large enough to fit any person and is worn by both men and women as a skirt or gown tucked at the chest level. It can serve as head cover, waistband, sash, blanket, hammock, shoulder bag, cradle, pouch, hood, or pillow.
The women’s “sablay” is a loosed sleeved blouse reaching down to the hips. A “simpay” (band) forms the front opening and extends to the back from a small collar. A woman’s typical accessories are jewelry and colored combs. The bracelet is the most popular ornament. Other pieces of jewelry are the pendant, earring, ring, necklace, and anklet.
Metal craft designs can be classified into three kinds: the repousse, relief hammered from the reverse side; arabesque, incision of interlocking curves; and filigree, tracing with thin gild, silver, or brass wires.
The Badjaos have five types of songs: the 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 in most occasions. Anyone can sing the leleng.
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. The melody of a known tenes may be used for a different set of lyrics. Most tenes have a subject of courtship and love. The tenes is also a song addressed to the 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 Koran; 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 of the dead, from 7am to 1am. It is a way of keeping awake and of making the community aware that somebody has died.
The Badjao’s dance traditions are similar with the other ethnic groups of Sulu, particularly the tribes in Samal. The basic traditional dance movement is the igal or pangalay performed by the female. The dancer’s hair is preferably pulled back in a bun, although it may also be allowed to hang loose. Either a drum or a gabbang accompanies the dance.
Except for the “kata-kata” or narrative forms and riddles, Badjao literature is meant to be sung. It attributes its oral forms of literature such as animal tales, trickster tales, magical tales, and novelistic tales from the tribes in Samal.
There are two tales about the origin of the tribe. The first story involves the Princess Ayesha of Johore and the Sultans of Brunei and Sulu. She preferred the Brunei sultan, but was engaged to the Sulu sultan instead. Escorted by a fleet of war boats, she was sailing towards Sulu when a Brunei fleet, led by their Sultan, intercepted them and took the princess away. The princess’ entourage, fearing to go on to Sulu or return to Johore, stayed on the sea, mooring only at uninhabited islands. Some turned to piracy and established pirate dens along North Borneo coasts.
The other Badjao tale says that the ancestors of the Samal ha Laud came from a fishing clan in Johore, Indonesia. A group of boats sailed in search of richer fishing grounds. One night, a typhoon came and they had to anchor by a sandbar. As they were about to rest for the night, their boats suddenly started bucking up and down. They realized they had tied their boats to the nose of a giant manta ray, which had begun to swim round and round in a frantic attempt to unloosen the ropes tied to its nose. The fishers managed to untie their boats, but by then, they had been flung in an island that is unfamiliar to them.
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