Well-known for their “golden-brown” unkempt hair, dark-skin, and nomadic lifestyle, the Badjaos (also called sea gypsies), are among the most ambiguous, highly misconstrued and awfully marginalized people among the Filipino ethnic groups residing in the Philippines.
The Badjaos have crisscrossed the Sulu Seas even before the creation of international borders. They always consider the Sulu Seas as their ancestral domain. These sea gypsies tracked the flow of the fish, went after the tides, and took their cues from varying seasons as part of their daily existence.
The Badjao group is a division of the transnational Sama-Bajaw who have prospered among the Sama Moro tribe in Tawi-Tawi. They are called “Sama Abaknon” in Western Samar, “Sissano” in Papua New Guinea, “Orang Laut” in northern Indonesia, Singapore and mainland Malaysia; and “Bajaw” in Maluku (Indonesia) and beyond territorial waters of Indonesia.
The families of these sea gypsies can likewise be found in Mindanao and the Sulu Sea, the Moro Gulf, Davao Gulf and Illana Bay.
It needs to be highlighted though that the recognized character of the Badjaos by those who don’t really know them well is believed to be a far cry from who they really are.
Unknown to many, the Badjaos defied the colonization of both the Spaniards and Americans several decades ago. They were able to defend and safeguard their culture against conditions of deculturalization from invaders. Aside from this, they possess demonstrated skills in diving and in building boats.
Gentle, peace-loving
One thing many Filipinos don’t know about the Badjaos is that they are a gentle and peace-loving populace. This is possibly the reason why they keep on moving, that is, to avoid conflict and confrontation.
During the administration of President Aquino, he said, “Aside from the arms conflict, there are certain areas in Mindanao that remain underdeveloped and poverty is experienced. Thus, they (the Badjaos) are lured by the comforts in big cities.”
Unfortunately, over the decades, they have become homeless, “nameless,” “faceless,” and unwanted forgotten people, displaced by wars, relocated due to piracy, moved to and because of discrimination, fishing and environmental issues that tremendously impact their way of existence. These also led them to desert their wandering and boat-dwelling life.
Currently, they are dispersed alongside the coastal areas of Tawi-Tawi, Sulu, and some-coastal municipalities of Basilan, Zamboanga del Sur, ZaNorte, Davao City, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Negros Oriental (especially in Dumaguete), Tagbilaran, Palawan, and Batangas.
Based on the figures found in the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples website, as of 2010, the Badjao population was placed at 115,443. According to Dr. Antonio Montalvan, head of the National Commission for Culture & the Arts Subcommittee on Cultural Heritage-National Committee on Museums, Badjaos have no sense of land subsistence because they are boat people.
Marginalized
So much disparaging remarks have been thrown at the Badjaos. These could be the reasons why they are viewed as insignificant or a nuisance, and for the most part, invisible. They are scoffed at and even banished.
All these can be attributed to their constant migration, their incessant mobility, and their begging for alms and imploring mercy of passersby in big cities.
Even the Tausugs, who are part of the Muslim group of ethnic tribes, enforce their supremacy over the Badjaos. In Sulu, the Badjaos are known to inhabit the lowest status in their own social order.
The peace and order situation and the underdevelopment of some areas in Mindanao are also reasons why the Badjaos have become marginalized. Much as they want to stay at a specific location, they cannot and do not have a choice. The reason why they feel more sheltered and protected if they are at sea and, at the same time, move from one place to another.
Shades of optimism
It is believed that all human beings have rights which go beyond the color of their skin, the language/ dialect they speak and the place that they happen to live in.
In the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples of 2007, it is asserted that indigenous peoples are equal to all other peoples, while recognizing the right of all peoples to be different, to consider themselves different, and to be respected as such.
To boot, Article 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, underscored: Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.
Everyone has a stake
Thus, it is everyone’s business to contribute to the resolution on the dilemma of the Badjaos’ pitiable existence in this country. The government cannot do this alone. It must be a determined and concentrated effort from all segments of society.
If people will again “look the other way” just like what they do to street children, the Badjaos will forever be “irritants” and “eye-sores” to a country that claims to conserve its culture and take care of its people.
Badjaos are Filipinos who deserve a chance to prove that they too are part and parcel of this small but great nation.
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Author’s email: legis616821@gmail.com
