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| Bajo floating market. |
PROYEK
KAMUS BAJO
(BAJO DICTIONARY PROJECT)
Proyek Kamus Bajo (Bajo Dictionary Project) is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserve the Bajo language as a central pillar for the sustainability of Bajo culture and to preserve the baong goya' (language of the waves) as indigenous knowledge of the Bajo people which is very unique, rare, useful, but threatened with extinction. This non-profit was initiated by Ali Maturahim, a Bajo leader, in 2017.
One of the most strategic problems that threatens the existence of the Bajo community today is the drastic reduction in the number of Bajo speakers due to various external and internal pressures (we will describe this in the next section). As a result the Bajo language is threatened with extinction.
In order to overcome this problem, we are trying to compile Bajo dictionaries consisting of the Bajo – Indonesian Dictionary, the Indonesian – Bajo Dictionary, the Bajo – English Dictionary, and the English – Bajo Dictionary along with Bajo grammar for the Bajo community itself as well as for researchers and ecotourists from many parts of the world who more and more visit to Bajo villages.
This initiative will be a phenomenal milestone because since its inception 12 centuries ago, the Bajo indigenous people in Indonesia have never had any dictionary.
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| Seaweed is a vital livelihood in the Bajo community. |
ABOUT THE
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF BAJO (SAMA)
The Bajo people are a semi-nomadic group who still live in very simple ways. Some maintain to live on small sailboats together with their family and relatives. There are several wealthy Bajo villages. But these comprise only a small proportion of the population and do not reflect the poverty, ignorance and social isolation suffered by most.
‘Bajo” is an exonym given by outsiders. Bajo people call themselves ‘Sama’. However, there are two occasions where the Bajo call themselves ‘Bajo’ namely when they speak of their heroism or greatness, and in iko-iko’.
Iko-iko’ is a form of anonymous legacy epic poem, recited in songs by a narrator who is deliberately in trance.
POPULATION & LIVELIHOODS
There is no demographic information of the indigenous Bajo people in Indonesia. According to a Japanese anthropologist, Kazufumi, in 2013, the total population of Bajo people throughout Indonesia was 158,970 people. Other experts estimate that this number may now have doubled, namely about 300,000 people, or more, due to the fact that the average Bajo rejects family planning.
The Bajo people – most of whom suffer from chronic poverty – build their simple houses on the beaches and around the various outlying islands. Their traditional life is on the sea. They make their livelihood by fishing.
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| Bajo fisherman is getting ready to dive with his homemade goggles. |
HISTORY
The history of the Bajo is a mystery - even to the people themselves. Their day-to-day struggle to live is paramount and gives no time to reflect on such things. The only sources of information about their past are iko-iko’ and oral, ancient stories called pakanna-ang. The two appear as a cultural art form, rather than a scientific history.
CULTURE
Each Bajo believes that Papuallatala or The Almighty God created only four nations on Earth. These were Sama (the Bajo people), Ara' (the Arabs), Cina' (the Chinese) and Bagai. Bagai includes other Indonesians (the Bajo do not identify themselves as Indonesians) and all other races.
The Bajo speak Baong Sama (Sama language). The vocabulary and accent differs according to region.
The Bajo are Moslem and also practice pre-Islamic animism. Thus their religion is a mixture of both.
Some Bajo can read and write the Koranic, Arabic characters. Some can read and write Buginese scripts. However, more than 60 per cent of the population is unable to read or write. The government has attempted to build basic schools in the villages, yet literacy has not improved.
Most Bajo children, especially those from poor families, or whose settlements are isolated from school building locations, leave school before learning to read and write to a proficient level. This is because Bajo parents need their children to help with fishing. In this sense, parents like to have many children and that is why they are resistant to family planning.
The Bajo have unique art forms like kadandio (melodrama), iko-iko' (sung legacy epic poems), manca' piddah (war dance). Unfortunately the arts are disappearing, because of the lack of interest and effort to maintain them.
The Bajo people have their own philosophy and unique culture. Technology wise, they develop special tools in relation to their farming. But these being traditional and simple, are not enough to maintain their basics of life which is increasingly threatened by over-population.
The Bajo community is divided into datu' (the nobles) and sesehe' (the slaves). The Dutch abolished slavery in the early 1900s. However, discrimination has persisted especially in traditional events.
The datu' are the rural elite. In social matters such as traditional ceremonies and festivals, the sesehe' always play a lower role. This is a matter of contention. The datu' wish to keep their elevated position. The sesehe' are unhappy being treated as underlings.
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| Bajo girls are doing nubba. |
ECONOMY
In order to survive, the Bajo people seek a living by doing palilibu, pongka', sakai and lama'. Palilibu is a term used for fishing. This means returning home on the same day. If they stay away longer – several days, weeks or even months – they call it pongka'. If the distance is longer – to different provinces or even other countries – and they stay away months or even years, they call it sakai. Australian authorities catch people doing sakai. They imprison them for breaking international fishing boundaries – one of the many alien terms and systems about which the majority of Bajo are ignorant.
Lama' is sailing cargoes to other areas. This can take months. If the owner accompanies the boat as captain, he is called ana'koda. If the captain is not the owner, he is called juragang.
Pongka', sakai and lama' are ways of making money. But they require large capital inputs to buy tools and equipment. Among the poor, only a few can rely upon their local businesses. Thus ample provisions must also be supplied for those left behind.
The last choice is palilibu. But this in the immediate vicinity has many problems. Due to over population, resources are over exploited. Resistance to family planning means the population continues to grow very fast (the average rate is estimated at 8% per year or more), making resources even scarcer.
In order to support the family, women and girls do nubba and men and boys do nyulu'. Nubba is fishing by walking around shallow waters during daylight hours to catch sedentary fishes like sea-shells, and slow-moving fishes like sea cucumbers and crabs. Nyulu' is fishing by using a fish spear and kerosene lamp at night to catch reef based fishes.
Life in the Bajo world is badly affected by prevailing social and environmental conditions. There are serious problems of illiteracy, sickness, infant mortality, water shortage, environmental damage, etc. These combined factors bring suffering to all Bajo people, especially the women, children and babies, the aged and the disabled.
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| Researchers and ecotourists love to visit Bajo village. |
URGENT
NEED FOR BAJO DICTIONARIES
Development and globalization have changed the Bajo indigenous people’s culture and way of life. This has a positive impact on the one hand, as well as a negative impact on the other.
Education – a development activity that is very prominent among the Bajo – has made them intelligent and skilled. However, education also erodes their culture and language because the education system in Indonesia is very less sensitive and less accommodating to the development of culture and language of local ethnic groups including the Bajo indigenous people.
Consequently, the more advanced the education of the Bajo people is, the more they feel ignorant about their own culture and language.
Various studies have shown that in the last two decades the number of Bajo youths who do not understand Bajo language has increased dramatically. The majority of Bajo youths speak Indonesian or other non-Bajo languages in their daily communication at home and in the community.
The internet and social media – whose use is increasingly prevalent to remote areas – has both positive and negative impacts. Bajo people are well connected to the entire national and global society, and are increasingly mastering a lot of science, technology and information that make them smart and skilled. However, various languages, terms, and cultural values in cyberspace are rapidly destroying Bajo language and culture so that they are increasingly isolated from their own language and culture.
All of the aforementioned problems – according to the researchers – have dragged the indigenous Bajo people into a situation where their social and cultural cohesion and solidity has weakened to a very concerning level. As a result, they are increasingly vulnerable to various socio-cultural problems, especially poverty due to erosion of the tradition of mutual help, as well as internal and horizontal conflicts. All of this has a negative impact on environmental sustainability and various development activities in general.
Meanwhile, a growing number of researchers from a variety of disciplines – particularly anthropologists, marine biologists, social scientists and economists – are interested in studying the Bajo people and their unique culture. However, it is very difficult for them to communicate with the Bajo people and to study various important aspects about them due to the absence of Bajo language dictionaries.
Likewise, foreign tourists, especially ecotourists, are now increasingly visiting various Bajo settlements to enjoy the exotic Bajo culture and nature. However, their enjoyment of adventure is constrained by the absence of Bajo language dictionaries.
All is rooted in one core problem, namely: the Bajo people in Indonesia who according to researchers have existed since around 800 AD until now they do not have a language dictionary. This is a very tragic fact.
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| Bajo junior high school students and their teacher. |
STRATEGIC
FRAMEWORK OF BAJO DICTIONARY PROJECT
In order to overcome the strategic problem described above, one of the leaders of the Bajo indigenous community named Ali Maturahim took the initiative to garner the participation of Bajo community leaders as well as Bajo community researchers and sympathizers to find solutions. On June 2, 2017 they agreed to establish an institution which they named Proyek Kamus Bajo (Bajo Dictionary Project) with the following strategic framework:
VISION:
A culturally intact Bajo society.
MISSION:
We are dedicated to preserve the Bajo language as a central pillar for the sustainability of Bajo culture.
OVERALL GOAL
(2018-2023):
To compile the first Bajo dictionaries in Indonesian and English that are easily accessible offline and online by everyone in the world, especially the Bajo people themselves as well as researchers and ecotourists.
MAIN PROGRAMS:
1—Compiling the first four Bajo language dictionaries in Indonesia, namely the Bajo-Indonesian Dictionary, the Indonesian-Bajo Dictionary, the Bajo-English Dictionary, and the English-Bajo Dictionary which are easily accessible offline and online by everyone in the world, especially the Bajo people themselves as well as researchers and ecotourists.
2—Compiling Bajo grammar.
3—Organizing a project team for preserving the language of the waves.
WORK TO DATE
Until December 2021 we have successfully collected more than 5,000 words and phrases in Bajo which we have compiled into a Bajo-Indonesian Dictionary. This dictionary can be accessed here.
This dictionary will then be revised and improved by experts from both languages into a standard Bajo-Indonesian Dictionary.
This is an extraordinary historical momentum for the Bajo indigenous people because this is the first Bajo language dictionary in Indonesia since the inception of the Bajo ethnic group 12 centuries ago.
In adddition, we have identified and approached the wave linguists and intensively discussed the strategic and action plans towards the preservation of the language of the waves.
To finance all the activities of the Proyek Kamus Bajo (Bajo Dictionary Project), we collect financial and other contributions from indigenous Bajo communities throughout Indonesia, especially from entrepreneurs.
In addition, we also obtain financial contributions from government agencies in Indonesia interested in education, social affairs, and ecotourism.
Because the amount of funds we need is very large compared to the total contribution we receive, we are also trying to raise funds from various institutions and individual at the national to global levels who are interested in Bajo language and the language of the waves.
