BORNEO ETHNIC GROUPS | Facts and Details

INDIGENOUS ETHNIC GROUPS IN SABAH

The largest indigenous ethnic groups of Sabah's population are the Kadazan Dusun, the Bajau and the Murut. The largest ethnic group of Sabah, the Kadazan Dusuns form about 30 percent of the state's population. Actually consisting of two tribes; the Kadazan and the Dusun, they were grouped together as they both share the same language and culture. However, the Kadazan are mainly inhabitants of flat valley deltas, which are conducive to paddy field farming, while the Dusun traditionally lived in the hilly and mountainous regions of interior Sabah. [Source: Malaysian Government Tourism]

The second largest ethnic group in Sabah, the Bajaus make up about 15 percent of the state's population. Historically a nomadic sea-faring people that worshipped the Omboh Dilaut or God of the Sea, they are sometimes referred to as the Sea Gypsies. Those who chose to leave their sea-faring ways became farmers and cattle-breeders. These land Bajaus are nicknamed 'Cowboys of the East' in tribute to their impressive equestrian skills, which are publicly displayed in the annual Tamu Besar festival at Kota Belud.

The third largest ethnic group in Sabah the Muruts make up about 3 percent of the state's population. Traditionally inhabiting the northern inland regions of Borneo, they were the last of Sabah's ethnic groups to renounce headhunting. Now, they are mostly shifting cultivators of hill paddy and tapioca, supplementing their diet with blowpipe hunting and fishing. Like most indigenous tribes in Sabah, their traditional clothing is decorated with distinctive beadwork.

Indigenous Ethnic Groups in Sarawak

Collectively known as Dayaks, the Iban, Bidayuh and Orang Ulu are the major ethnic groups in the state of Sarawak. Typically, they live in longhouses, traditional community homes that can house 20 to 100 families. Other indigenous groups include Kenyah, Kayan and about 10,000 Penan people.

The largest of Sarawak's ethnic groups, the Ibans form 30 percent of the State's population of 2.5 million. Sometimes erroneously referred to as the Sea Dayaks because of their skill with boats, they are actually an upriver tribe from the heart of Kalimantan. In the past, they were a fearsome warrior race renowned for headhunting and piracy. Traditionally, they worship a triumvirate of gods under the authority of Singalang Burung, the bird-god of war. Although now mostly Christians, many traditional customs are still practised. [Source: Malaysian Government Tourism]

Peace-loving and easy-going, the gentle Bidayuh are famous for their hospitality and tuak or rice wine. Making their homes in Sarawak's southern regions, they are mostly farmers and hunters. In their past headhunting days their prized skulls were stored in a 'baruk‘, a roundhouse that rises about 1.5 metres above the ground. Originally animists, now most of the 200,000 strong population have converted to Christianity.

Some 130,000 or 6 percent of the population of Sarawak are Melanau, believed to be among the original people to settle in Sarawak. Their language has different origins to the other ethnic groups of the state and today they are found mainly along the rivers and coastal plains of central Sarawak. Originally animists most have converted to Islam although some of the inland communities are Christian.

Twenty-seven of the inland tribal groups of Sarawak are collectively called Orang Ulu or upriver people. A total estimated population of around 100,000 people belong to tribes varied in size from 300 to 25,000 individuals. Arguably Borneo's most artistic people, their large longhouses are ornately decorated with murals and superb woodcarvings; their utensils are embellished with intricate beadwork. Traditional tattoos are a very important part of their culture; aristocratic Orang Ulu ladies also cover their arms and legs with finely detailed tattoos.

The aboriginal Penan people are also included as Orang Ulu by government census but the Penan are traditionally nomadic people living in small family groups constantly moving from place to place within the rainforest. Today most of the estimated 16,000 Penan people have settled in longhouse communities where their children have the chance to go to school. Like the Iban and Bidayuh, most of the Orang Ulu have converted from animism to Christianity or Islam.

Bisaya and Bidayuh

Bisaya is a general term to describe people living in central Borneo reached by the rivers in Sabah and Sarawak. Also known as the Beseya, Bisayah, Jilama Bawang, Jilama Sungai, they tend to be culturally diverse and live among other groups. Most are Muslims who practice wet rice agriculture and raise a variety of fruits and vegetables. They are skilled woodcarvers but never learned to smelt or forge metal or weave cloth.

Bisaya prefer to marry close kin. Only sex and marriage between parents and children is forbidden. Other kinds of unions are okay. Polygyny is allowed but rarely practiced because of the expense. Sometimes marriages are arranged for children as young as eight. The “crocodile” is the mai ceremony.

Sama-Bajau

The term Sama-Bajau is used to describe a diverse group of Sama-Bajau-speaking people who are found in a large maritime area with many islands that stretch from central Philippines to the eastern coast of Borneo and from Sulawesi to Roti in eastern Indonesia. The Sama-Bajau people usually call themselves the Sama or Samah (formally A'a Sama, "Sama people") and have traditionally been known by outsiders as Bajau (also spelled Badjao, Bajaw, Badjau, Badjaw, Bajo or Bayao). They have also been Sea Gypsies, Sea Nomads and Samal as well as Sama Moro and Turijene in the Philippines, Luwa’an, Pala’au, Sama Dilaut and Turijene in Indonesia, and the Bajau Laut in Malaysia. Some of these names refer to Sama-Bajua subgroups. [Source: Clifford Sather, “Encyclopedia of World Cultures Volume 5: East/Southeast Asia:” edited by Paul Hockings, 1993; Wikipedia]

Sama-Bajau speakers are probably the most widely dispersed indigenous ethnolinguistic group in Southeast Asia. Their settlements are scattered throughout the central Philippines, the Sulu Archipelago, the eastern coast of Borneo, Palawan, western Sabah (Malaysia), and coastal Sulawesi. They also have small enclaves in Zambales and northern Mindanao. In the Philippines, most Sama speakers are referred to as "Samal," a Tausug term also used by Christian Filipinos, with the exceptions of Yakan, Abak, and Jama Mapun. In Indonesia and Malaysia, related Sama-speaking groups are known as "Bajau," a term of apparent Malay origin. In the Philippines, however, the term "Bajau" is more narrowly reserved for boat-nomadic or formerly nomadic groups referred to elsewhere as "Bajau Laut" or "Orang Laut."

For most of their history, the Sama-Bajau have been nomadic seafaring people who live off the sea through trade and subsistence fishing. They have traditionally stayed close to shore with houses on stilts and traveled, and sometimes lived in, handmade boats lepa. Sama-Bajau are the dominant ethnic group in Tawi-Tawi islands and are generally associated with the Sulu islands, the southernmost islands of the Philippines. They are also found in the coastal areas of Mindanao and other islands in the southern Philippines, as well as in northern and eastern Borneo, Sulawesi, and throughout the eastern Indonesian islands. Most Sama-Bajau are Muslims. In the Philippines, they are grouped with the Moro people, who have similar religious beliefs. Some Sama-Bajau groups native to Sabah are also known for their traditional horse culture. The Orang Laut and Moken are two other traditional sea-based peoples. The Orang Laut have traditionally lived southern peninsular Malaysia, southeastern Sumatra and Singapore. The Moken live in southern Myanmar and western Thailand.

Rungus and Tidong

The Rungus live on Sabah. They show goodwill by shaking hands and then placing their right hand to their chests. They eat papaya “hinava” (a kind of local picked fish), Sabah vegetables, dry rice, and do a traditional bamboo stick dance, sort of like the one Filipinos do. Dancers jump up and down while the sticks are clapped together without getting their feet whacked. They also do a dragon dances and play nasal instruments.

The Rungus live 230 kilometers from Kota Kinabalu, They drink large amounts of “Mentako”, a transparent liquor similar to Japanese sake, and “lihing”, a sweet rice liquor. Usually one man pour single shots and passes them around. People spend much of their cracking open and chewing betel nut.

The Tidong live in northern Kalimantan and Sabah. Also known as the Bolongan, Camucones, Nonukan, Tarakan, Tedong, Tidoen, Tidung, Tiran, Tiroes, Tiroon and Zedong, they are believed to have originated from the interior of Borneo but now have largely been acculturated the through contact with the Tausug and Bugis.

Sulu Pirates

See Indonesia, Philippines

Samal arts includes dancing, singing, and music produced xylophone, drums and gongs. Gongs are used to provide the melody and they are often played by women. Their main dance, the “daling-daling” is performed mainly at weddings. and often involves the exchange of verse between men and women. Among the Samal crafts are dyed pandanus mats, food covers, ornaments made of shell and turtle shell, weaving and textiles, and decorative wood carving, often featured in houses, burial markers, boats and machete handles.

Samal textiles feature rectangular design elements and figurative motifs. Some men wear square head clothes known as “destar”. Nomadic Samals wear no clothes before the age of 10.

Samal girls often look like ghosts. They put white cake on their faces called borak which is made from rice, fruit and nuts. What does it do? It moisturizes the skin of course.

Samal Economics and Piracy

Samal have traditionally made their living from fishing, farming, seafaring and trade, and sometimes piracy and smuggling. The nature of their work is often defined by where they live and who their neighbors were. Some Samal in the Sulu islands run guns between Borneo and Muslim insurgencies in the southern Philippines

Samal fish using traps, spears, hand lines, long lines, drift nets and explosives. They catch dolphins and other sea mammals and sea turtles and collect shellfish, crustaceans, turtle eggs, sea urchins, pearls, mother-of-pearl, and edible algae and sea weed. Drift netting is often done with the fall tide, especially during new and full moons. Most fish are dried and salted for sale in markets. Many earn money from shark fins. Coconuts are a major cash crop for land-based Samal. They also grow dry rice, maize, beans, sugarcane and other crops.

Property rights are exercised in connection with fishing grounds and reefs and farms and residential land. Among nomadic groups overlapping fishing grounds have generally invited cooperation rather than fueled feuds. Inheritable possessions includes livestock, farm land. fishing boats, jewelry and gongs.

Most groups practice some kind of farming. Different groups specialize in producing different crafts such as pandanus mats, pottery, roofing, weaving, blacksmithing, and making shell bracelets, tortise shell combs and other items. Boat-building is an especially valued skill. The Sibuti Samal are known as being the best Samal boat builders. Trade is important to the Samal, who have traditionally relied on it even for necessities. They traditionally traded with all comers and exchanged products they gathered from the sea for things like grain and fruit. They also acted as middlemen for trade between other groups.

The Sulu islands between the Philippines and Sabah is ripe with pirates even today. It is not unusual for boats to go missing on perfectly fine days. Many of the pirates have normal day jobs when they are on land.

In Sulawesi Samal still dive for trepang, pearls and other marine products. When Chinese and Bugis introduced compressed air, which allowed them to dive longer they failed to explain about

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: “Encyclopedia of World Cultures Volume 5: East/Southeast Asia:” edited by Paul Hockings, 1993; National Geographic; New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Lonely Planet Guides, Library of Congress, Smithsonian magazine, The New Yorker, Time, Reuters, AP, AFP, Wikipedia, BBC, CNN, and various books and other publications.

Last Updated December 2025