Socio-Historical Background of the Bajo Tribe in Tomini Bay

Muhammad Obie

doi:10.5539/ach.v10n2p73

Abstract

This research aimed to analyze the socio-historical background of the Bajo Tribe to gain an academic explanation of the existence of the Bajo Tribe in Tomini Bay. Data collection techniques were conducted through indepth interview, passive participation observation, and Focused Group Discussion (FGD). Data collection was also done through literature study by collecting documents related to this research topic. The results showed that the Bajo tribe who currently live and settle in Tomini Bay is believed to be moving from the bay of Bone, South Sulawesi. They ran the ocean to form settlements in Tomini Bay. The Bajo tribal settlement in Tomini Bay was originally called Toro Siajeku which in 1901 was inaugurated by the Dutch Colonial Government into a village. The inauguration of the settlement which has now changed its name to Torosiaje Village is the momentum of the solidifying of sedentary life for the Bajo Tribe community in Tomini Bay.

Highlights

The Bajo tribe has different characteristics with other tribal communities in the archipelago in general, because the so-called Bajo tribe cannot be separated by sea and boat
Before settling in Tomini Bay, Torosiaje, the Bajo Tribe was moving from the bay of Bone to Pagimana, Central Sulawesi
Many historical versions of the origin of the Bajo tribe, until now no one can identify with certainty

Summary

Introduction

The Bajo tribe has different characteristics with other tribal communities in the archipelago in general, because the so-called Bajo tribe cannot be separated by sea and boat. The Bajo tribe is known to prefer living on a boat and moving places according to the potential of fishes to be caught, so dubbed a sea nomad (Zacot, 2008; Saad, 2009). Geoghegan (1975) mentions that the Bajo tribe is originate from the Southern Philippines. Nuryadin (2010) states that the Bajo community comes from a single family with their union language is baong same. They include Proto Melayu Nation from Funan (Old Malay) which spread throughout Southeast Asia, especially the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia. In Nusantara Archipelago, Indonesia, they spread to Sumatra, Riau, Sulawesi, Maluku, Flores, and others

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