Mabul Sea Gypsys

If you have been following along on this blog then you probably realize that one of the most intersting things that I have seen while I have been in Malaysia are the Sea Gypsys (Bajau Laut). Maybe I should go back to school and get another Ph.D. in Sea Gypsy anthropology. If the Peace Corps is looking for someone to stay on Mabul Island to work with the Sea Gypsys they should give me a call.

A group of about a dozen boats was achored off the shore of our resort for the entire time that we were there. People are living on these boats. At least they have a great view of the sunset.


It seems that each of these boats is home to one family. I was able to count two parents and six kids living on one boat.


With so little privacy, I am not sure how the parents have time to make more kids!


When I saw the Sea Gypsys at Sibuan Island during my last visit to Sabah I noticed that many of the women had green stuff on their faces (you can see it on the woman wearing black). At first I wandered if it was some sort of religious ritual, but someone told me that that was some sort of beauty treatment. It apparently works because some of the young women were strikingly attractive. Of course it is possible that some of the "old ladies" are really 20 years younger than I am.


Kayaking.


During low tide, they foraged on the reef. I am not sure exactly what they were collecting. These guys poled (like a gondola) their canoe in search of goodies.


Some of the women collected along the shore. It appears that the "Donald Duck" look is popular with some of the kids.


Many of the women and children waded through the water. There were signs along the beach saying that guests should be careful because the sandy area near the shore were full of stingrays and poisonous scorpionfish. I wonder how often they get stung?




At least they had a short communte from home.


I wish that this picture had turned out better. I was trying to get the Sea Gypsies collecting from the sea in the same photo as the Malaysian flag. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib frequently states that "Malaysia will be a high income nation by 2020". It looks to me like they still have a long way to go. Of course, it is possible that these Sea Gypsys are people without a country who are not actually citizens anywhere. It is not surprising that they are often ignored.




There do not appear to be any child labor laws.




You can see the flames from the fire that is cooking up today's dinner.