Preserving Coastal and Marine Resources:The Existence of Local Wisdom among the Bajau Tribe

Abstract

The Bajo or Bajau tribe is a tribe that lives and survives in the sea. In some countries, the Bajau tribe is known as Sama or Samal. The Bajo tribe is more widely spread in Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Brunei, and Malaysia. Bajau as a maritime community certainly have hereditary habits relating to their lives in utilizing marine and coastal natural resources. On this basis, this research aims to determine the form of local wisdom of the Bajau tribe in utilizing marine and coastal natural resources, and second, to know the efforts made by the Bajau tribe to maintain local wisdom so that it remains sustainable now and in the future. This research was conducted using a post-positivism (qualitative) paradigm. The research location chosen was the Bajau tribe who inhabit the Spelman waters, precisely along the coast of the Tiworo Strait in Muna Regency, West Muna Regency, and Central Buton Regency, Southeast Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. The research involved around 17 people who were determined purposively, namely Tribal Heads. Research data comes from primary and secondary sources. Primary data resulting from in-depth interviews were then analyzed descriptively. It was found that the local wisdom of the Bajau tribe in preserving marine and coastal natural resources is sangal and pamali. The current efforts of the Bajau tribe to preserve local wisdom so that it remains intact is by upholding the advice of their ancestors and maintaining a figure (Tribal Chief) as the trustee of the source of ancestral knowledge. Therefore, the agenda for the future is the wisdom of the Bajau people which has been proven to protect the sea so that it can be replicated in other coastal communities. Regarding replication and conceptual models is a challenging discussion for future research.