page_title: Sama-Bajau
section_title: Subgroups
hierarchical_section_title: Sama-Bajau / Subgroups
caption_attribution_description: English: Semporna, Sabah: Two lepa - the tradtional boat of the Bajau people - during the Regatta Lepa event 2015)
context_page_description: The Sama-Bajau refers to several Austronesian ethnic groups of Maritime Southeast Asia with their origins from the southern Philippines. The name collectively refers to related people who usually call themselves the Sama or Samah; or are known by the exonym Bajau. They usually live a seaborne lifestyle, and use small wooden sailing vessels such as the perahu, djenging, lepa, and vinta. Some Sama-Bajau groups native to Sabah are also known for their traditional horse culture.
  The Sama-Bajau are the dominant ethnic group of the islands of Tawi-Tawi in the Philippines. They are also found in other islands of the Sulu Archipelago, coastal areas of Mindanao, northern and eastern Borneo, Sulawesi, and throughout eastern Indonesian islands. In the Philippines, they are grouped together with the religiously-similar Moro people. Within the last fifty 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.
context_section_description: The Sama-Bajau are fragmented into highly diverse subgroups. They have never been politically united and are usually subject to the land-based political groups of the areas they settle, such as the Sultanate of Brunei and the former Sultanate of Sulu.
  Most subgroups of Sama-Bajau name themselves after the place they originated from (usually an island). Each subgroup speaks a distinct language or dialect that are usually mutually intelligible with their immediate neighbouring subgroup in a continuous linguistic chain. In the Philippines, the Sama-Bajau can be divided into three general groups based on where they settle:
  Sama Bihing or Sama Lipid – The "shoreline Sama" or "littoral Sama". These are the Sama-Bajau which traditionally lived in stilt houses in shallows and coastal areas. An example is the Sama Simunul. They are originally from the larger islands of Tawi-Tawi. They have a more flexible lifestyle than the Sama-Gimba (Dilaut Origin), and will farm when there is available land. They usually act as middlemen in trade between the Sama Dilaut and other land-based peoples.
  Sama Dea, Sama Deya, or Sama Darat – The "land Sama". These are the Sama-Bajau which traditionally lived in island interiors. Some examples are the Sama Sibutu and the Sama Sanga-Sanga. They are usually farmers who cultivate rice, sweet potato, cassava, and coconuts for copra through traditional slash-and-burn agriculture (in contrast to the plow agriculture technology brought by the Tausūg). They are originally from the larger islands of Tawi-Tawi and Pangutaran. In the Philippines, the Sama Dea will often completely differentiate themselves from the Sama Dilaut.
  Sama Dilaut, Sama Mandilaut, Sama Pala'u, or Bajau Laut – The "sea Sama" or "ocean Sama". In the Philippines, the preferred ethnonym is Sama Dilaut; while in Malaysia, they usually identify as Bajau Laut. This subgroup originally lived exclusively on elaborately crafted houseboats called lepa, but almost all have taken to living on land in the Philippines. Their home islands include Sitangkai and Bongao. They are the Sama-Bajau subgroup most commonly called "Bajau", though Filipino Sama Dilaut consider it offensive. They sometimes call themselves the "Sama To'ongan" (literally "true Sama" or "real Sama"), to distinguish themselves from the land-dwelling Sama-Bajau subgroups.
  Other minor Sama-Bajau groups named after islands of origin include the Sama Bannaran, Sama Davao, Sama Zamboanga Sikubung, Sama Tuaran, Sama Semporna, Sama Sulawesi, Sama Simunul, Sama Tabawan, Sama Tandubas (or Sama Tando' Bas), and Sama Ungus Matata. Mixed-heritage Sama-Bajau and Tausūg communities are sometimes known as "Bajau Suluk" in Malaysia. People of multiple ethnic parentage may further identify with a three-part self-description, such as "Bajau Suluk Dusun". The following are the major subgroups usually recognised as distinct:
  Bajo (Indonesia) – Also known as "Same'" (or simply "Sama") by the Bugis; and "Turijene" or "Taurije'n" (literally "people of the water"), "Bayo", or "Bayao" by the Makassar. They are Sama-Bajau groups who settled in Sulawesi and Kalimantan, Indonesia through the Makassar Strait from as early as the 16th century. They have spread further into nearby islands, including the Lesser Sunda Islands, Maluku Islands, and Raja Ampat Islands.
  Banguingui (Philippines, Malaysia) – Also known as "Sama Balangingi", "Sama Balanguingui", or "Sama Bangingi". Native to the Philippines. Some have recently migrated to Sabah. They are sometimes considered distinct from other Sama-Bajau. They have a more martial-oriented society, and were once part of regular sea raids and piracy against coastal communities and passing ships. Main article: Banguingui people
  East Coast Bajau (Philippines, Malaysia) – are Sama Dilaut who settled in the eastern coast of Sabah, particularly around Semporna. They still identify themselves as Bajau Laut or Sama Laut. Though they are called East Coast Bajau to distinguish them from the Sama Kota Belud of western Sabah. They are also known by the exonym "Pala'u" ("boat-dwelling" 
caption: The Regatta Lepa festival in Semporna, Sabah, Malaysia. Lepa refers to the houseboat in the dialect of east coast Bajau. In this festival, Bajau people decorate their boats with colourful flags.
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