Tawarikh Okt 2014.Indb
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
TAWARIKH: International Journal for Historical Studies, 6(1) October 2014 ABDUL RASYID ASBA & ISMAIL ALI Gypsy from the Oriental: Bajo Ethnic in the Sulawesi Sea ABSTRACT: The Bajo is a greatest maritime community in Indonesia archipelago. The community is not only known as a nomad tribe upon the boat, but as an ethnic without settlement habit geographically. However, her existence as an ethnic cannot be denied, especially from socio-cultural aspect. It is caused by a fact that the Bajo ethnic has a language, custom, trust system, kinship, and cultural values as basic for her social live. In maritime world of Indonesia, as a link that related to political and economic powers in Nusantara, the Bajo’s role and existence cannot be ignored. Her function even is equated with another maritime ethnic such as Bugis, Makassar, Buton, Mandar, and Malays. The main difference to another groups is her cultural exclusive, namely the Bajo ethnic did not play a crucial role in a culture spread as Islamization. The Bajo did not have an active role in the establishment of political control by ruling elite, locally as well as regionally. Her living that limited to her role as ϔisher and supplier of maritime products for economically traditional and domestic markets confers a special character for the community. Her apathy toward political polarization and her refusal to participate in domestic political constellation motivates her to avoid any reason to open conϔlict. This attitude makes the Bajo to be known as a loving- peace group with her subsistence and conϔlict avoiding. With her nomad live style, the Bajo can be termed as a subsistence Gypsy from the Oriental. KEY WORDS: Bajo ethnic, maritime community, nomad tribe, ϔisher and supplier of maritime products, loving-peace group, and Gypsy from the Oriental. INTRODUCTION Based on a such result, a new In 1882, the Dutch colonial regime ordered understanding on this community outstood a research on some native local communities among Dutch high oficials and public in that had a nomad living style as the maritime Netherlands India. This understanding grew adventurers. The background of such decision into a collective memory about the Bajo’s was a potential of pirate escalation against existence and their activities that previously Dutch civil and economic shipping in some seas identiied with a traditional maritime world and straits in Netherlands India (Indonesia in Nusantara (Malay acrhipelago). This now). The result of research showed that identiication had a more special character and any collective name was related to the pirate limited to a local group, although in a form of a activities, namely Bajo (TNAG, 1883:102). collective unit that spread. From this research result published in TNAG Compared with a collective memory that (Tijdschrift van Nederlandsch Aardrijkskundig directed toward another maritime community Gennootschap), researcher calls all tribes who like Bugis, Makassar, Aceh, and even Java in live at the sea as the Bajo. the past time, which had any afiliation with About the Authors: Prof. Dr. Abdul Rasyid Asba is a Lecturer at the History Department, Faculty of Humanities UNHAS (Hasanuddin University) in Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia; and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ismail Ali is a Lecturer at the History Program, School of Social Sciences UMS (Malaysia University of Sabah) in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. They can be reached via e-mails at: rasbawecu@yahoo. com and [email protected] How to cite this article? Rasyid Asba, Abdul & Ismail Ali. (2014). “Gypsy from the Oriental: Bajo Ethnic in the Sulawesi Sea” in TAWARIKH: International Journal for Historical Studies, Vol.6(1) October, pp.25-34. Bandung, Indonesia: Minda Masagi Press and UNHAS Makassar, ISSN 2085-0980. Available online also at: http://www.tawarikh-journal.com/index.php?p=abs&view=detail&id=87 Chronicle of the article: Accepted (September 2, 2014); Revised (October 2, 2014); and Published (October 28, 2014). © 2014 by Minda Masagi Press Bandung and UNHAS Makassar, Indonesia 25 ISSN 2085-0980 and website: www.tawarikh-journal.com ABDUL RASYID ASBA & ISMAIL ALI,, Gypsy from the Oriental some political centers, the identiication and south Bajo groups lived in Zamboanga with Bajo community with her maritime island and around. They were under Sultans of background was more limited to social, Sulu. They were known as Sultans’ subordinate economy, and cultural aspects (van Hasselt and experienced a migration at the time of & Scwartz, 1898:48). The evident of general Sulu’s expansion to abroad. As the sultanate identiication is a fact that the Bajo community tried to expand her power to North Borneo is found also in South China sea waters and in 19th century, the Bajo people followed and Riau archipelago. Because of her dominant and they migrated from South Philippine to North majority, according to one of Tujuh Islands in Borneo, a region that captured by Sultan of Riau is called as Bajo island. Sulu (Miller, 2007:3).1 It raises an interesting theme for a study In a maritime region between Mindanao on Bajo community in Netherlands India and North Borneo, Bajo sailors’ activity was in the past. Given in colonial archives, this made and with her extensive knowledge about community was found more in eastern the region and guaranteed by her loyalty to a Nusantara than elders; and the research is dominant political power. The Bajo established focused to the water around Sulawesi island. an informal sphere of inluence on maritime The spatial term is based on a consideration living in a region between Borneo and that in colonial era, this region was a maritime Mindanao islands (Sather, 1997:29).2 centre in eastern Indonesia. Therefore, based As main actor in economic and maritime on strategic consideration, many Bajo people activities in this region, the Bajo was a symbol lived here. of Sulu’s culture inluence in Nusantara (Malay To realize a short, but deep and objective archipelago), mainly in areas dominated history reconstruction, historic sources by her existence, namely North Borneo and method is a prime condition. The main (Sabah now). Slowly, the Bajo spread over information is got mainly from some articles her local interaction to eastern Borneo, with of the contemporaneous journals and previous any political interaction with some local studies. A great hindrance for it is a fact that rulers. Sulu’s dominant culture identity in no single document was found that related to 13th – 16th century, and her prime function Bajo. Thus, data that found was spread in some in maritime economic activities, facilitated articles and studies. the Bajo to make any contact and relation with local people (Warren, 2007:69).3 Islam, THE ORIGIN OF BAJO TRIBE as a common identity in Sultanate of Sulu According to anthropology-history that spread with a conversion process of this research, Bajo tribe origins from Sulu islands religious in Nusantara at that time, gave an in South Philippines archipelago. With a easy and cooperative way for Sulu sailors to be group of islands that dominated by water welcomed by Malays rulers in eastern Borneo as background, the tribe has more relations (Magenda, 2010:20).4 with a maritime potential in her original region for her primary living spaces, than 1In Marx T. Miller’s research, it was found that in North Kalimantan, the Bajo community has an interaction with local her relation with Sulu mainland. Over her people, that known as Mapun tribe. However, beside living and relation, Bajo tribe experienced some effect integrating into the social community in North Kalimantan and was formed by nature that identiied as a dominant element, majority of Bajo often returns to her ancestor land in South Philippine (Miller, 2007). with a maritime. Therefore, since early, Bajo 2From her main base in Idahan, the Bajo often sailed in community was formed as a maritime group South Philippine sea to Sabah. They brought some forest or sailor community with mobile, dynamic, products as candle, honey, and birdnest to Idaman; and took rice and sagoo to Tidong. The products were sold in capital of and democracy in her characters. Sulu Sultanate. From there, they often sailed with slaves and Although having Bajo as a collective term, another import products as their loading. 3This phenomenon is proven by the relation between the the community was indeed consisted of two Bajo sailors and people of Sandakan, Sabahan, and another great groups based on their origins: north towns as long as the coastline. Their object was same, namely and south Bajo. North Bajo tribe populated tripang trade. 4Trade partners of Sulu for 16th – 17th centuries were Cagayan island, as a part of Mindanao islands; Bulungan, Sibuko, Sembakung, and Berau. These towns and 26 © 2014 by Minda Masagi Press Bandung and UNHAS Makassar, Indonesia ISSN 2085-0980 and website: www.tawarikh-journal.com TAWARIKH: International Journal for Historical Studies, 6(1) October 2014 The spread of Bajo was taken place from that limited to maritime area. As a result, her northern to eastern Borneo, as one of her potential was more maritime power than socio-economic and cultural interaction with political power that developed into a dynasty another ethnics in Indonesia. With the Bajo’s structure as the Bugis and the Makassar inluence, eastern Borneo was a location of migrants (Boomgaard ed., 2008). another ethnic’s inluence that having a same Although not intervening into local politic social identity with the Bajo, namely Bugis dynamic, the impression of Bajo sailors in and Makassar. As a local power that based political competition remained. As a result on her maritime potential, the Bugis and the of her old commonality that brought from Makassar sailors were local maritime rulers her original place, as a part of her maritime in the region around their original places, activities, the Bajo’s military and political role namely South Celebes.