Of the many topics related to the societies and peoples of Southeast Asia, greater attention needs to be paid to the socio-economic and socio-cultural changes of the maritime world. This paper deals with changes in the society of the Bajaus, who are, or used to be, known as sea nomads of the Sulu Sea. Changes in their traditional way of life are related to the abandonment of their boat-dwelling way of life. I shall use the word sedentarization to epitomize these changes. The primary concern of this paper is to examine the causes and effects of sedentarization. I focus upon the following factors as the main causes: I) the establishment of market centers and the penetration of a money economy; 2) the introduction of a new maritime product, namely, agar-agar or seaweed; and 3) technological innovations, such as cotton and, recently, nylon fishing nets and outboard engines. These factors cannot be discussed in isolation, nor can they all be treated as immediate causes of the sedentarization of the Bajaus. The interaction of these factors brought the 8ajaus to a land-dwelling way of life, which was accompanied by many changes. The following changes are considered to be related to their sedentarization: 1) abandonment of the nomadic life. 2) emergence of concentrated settlement patterns among Bajau communities, 3) social differentiation between rich and poor, 4) acceptance of Islam or Christianity, and 5) increased interest in occupations other than fishing. Focusing on these points associated with sedentarization, I discuss change and continuity in Bajau society.
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