The encounter (Sea Gypsy of Semporna)

Hi all.

I heard many stories about this group of people and I think at one point some academicians at UMS set out to study them, too. The Sea Gypsy refers to a group of people that live at sea more than 60% of the time, nomads and usually have no official identification and no country that they belong to. They, otherwise, live prefectly well. They can be found in the tropics from Andaman, Myanmar, Thailand, Some parts of Indochina, eastern Sabah, the Philippines and Indonesia. I think many other countries have them, too. I met them recently - not on purpose but two small canoes were taken in and booked for tresspassing the Marine Park. They are known here as the Pala'o - from the word "perahu" - people who live in boats.

Three boys, the smallest said that he was 9 - He looks more like 12 to me. But it is obvious that they do not have a dimension of numbers and time (a study by an expert in Andaman). They are free people and age does not mean anything.

That is not the traditinal boat that they used to have. Traditional gypsy in Semporna used the lepa-lepa, a long wooden sail boat with a lot of carvings and colors. They do away with lepa-lepa now and use boats made/bought in Semporna. Funnily, the Regatta Lepa Lepa, held annually in Semporna is not about the Palao - it is about the boat thet they have now abandoned. Is their culture being erased?

The bamboo poles seen on the port and starboard of the boat are actually wrapped with rain-tarp for shelter and they sometimes even sleep on this tiny boat at sea. Of course they have bigger ones. Space is made on deck by having bamboo flooring between the outriggers. In the trunk are some polysterine boxes for fish and other sea catch.

They even cook on the boat. Seen here is their stove - fire is made on sand and stones. In the wok is tapioca "putu" a popular food at sea not only amongst this people but for fishermen in general. Slightly to the lower left of the wok is a smoked fish - almost burnt. But many of their protein is not cooked and eaten raw, just like what the Japanese likes to eat. "Latok" - a seaweed that looks like a bunch of grapes, "Tayum" - the sea urchin, "ba'at" - the sea cucumber and "tehe-tehe" another sea urchin are almost always eaten raw. The words are Bajau - I'm unsure if Pala'o use the same words. The bamboo deck is clearer here.

Then the Park management recorded their details - writing their names and their island, whatever they say. Even the boy clad in blue t-shirt was unsure if what he told the guy was right or wrong. The boy in Hawaiian short appeared indifferent and wished he was at sea. The mid-age man at the back seemed to know all of them and spoke on behalf of the group - in Suluk. They have their own language. They were in two canoes - I'm switching between boat and canoe here, I feel a boat is too modern and too big. Whatever. One was a dugout canoe that was confiscated but the boat with outrigger was returned to them. As a punishment, they were asked to do community work - collecting rubbish in and around the Park complex which they did without hesitation. Then, the Park management fed them with rice and fruits, which they ate well. They they were let go. Their catch - three large octopuses were confiscated. Each was about 3kg. I asked the boy (scratching his head) what he call it in their language - he said "koheta".

On my way to Sipadan, I saw this Palao village on near the island of Omadal. The stilt huts were erected on a sand-bank mid sea, seen here at low tide. Huts were small, but one of them had a tv antennae. In there live about 5 people, usually 3 or three generations. They never had their huts destroyed by storm. Amazing. Then I passed the Kapalai island resort - also a sandbank but a resort was built on stilt - just the way the Palao built theirs. They are worth learning from!

You can read many amazing stories of the sea gypsies in this world. One was the story about the Moken people of the Andaman that saved themselves from the recent tsunami by relying on stories told to them by words of mouth. They knew the wave was coming and ran to higher land. Their village was gone but nobody died.

OK, guys. I think they are amazing people.

Hamid.