Ethnic Groups of Sabah
Bajau horsemen, dubbed the cowboys of the East, are renowned for their equestrian skills.
Sabah has an ethnically complex and diverse population. Its demographic profile lists 24 indigenous or Bumiputera groups, and several other tribes as being ‘other indigenous’. The latter category is made up of small groups concerning whom there is a lack of ethnographical information, although the customs and traditions of some groups among the Kadazandusun and Bajau have been extensively recorded. The Iban, who are associated with Sarawak, have formed a community in Sabah as a result of economic migration during the timber boom from 1950–70s. Malay Bumiputera in Sabah comprise not only Malay Muslim migrants from other parts of Malaysia but also Muslim indigenous people, such as the Brunei Malays on the southwest coast of Sabah, who are distinguished by their dialect and by their use of hereditary titles that reflect their historical links with the Brunei Sultanate.
Other migrants, too, have become part of the indigenous population or have assumed new ethnic identities to differentiate themselves from those in their original homeland. These include the Suluk, who have lived in Sabah for centuries and are known as Tausug in the southern Philippines, while the Kagayan are known as Jama Mapun in the Philippines. The Bugis, too, distinguish themselves from their Indonesian counterparts.
The largest non-indigenous group in Sabah is the Chinese, most of whom are descendants of late 19th- and early 20th- century settlers. The Chinese have influenced the cultural, social and economic face of Sabah, notably dominating trade and commerce. Their offspring from intermarriage with indigenous people have come to be known as Sino-natives, who in all but name have assimilated indigenous identities and customs.
The hallmark of Sabah’s multicultural population is the tolerance and harmony between the ethnic groups. It is not unusual for family members of different faiths to live together harmoniously as a household. Groups from varied cultural, ethnic and religious backgrounds have lived contiguously with each other over the years leading to symbiosis and interdependence. These relationships have provided the foundation for the harmony and well-being among the groups that exist today. Kadazandusun and Bajau farmers continue to help each other to plant and harvest rice. The weekly tamu (market) evolved from a need to provide ethnic groups with an avenue for trade with one another, and a meeting point for interaction and exchange. Feuding tribes respected the neutrality of the tamu ground, and oath stones were erected as permanent reminders.
Modernization, education and improved infrastructure have begun to have an impact on Sabah’s indigenous population and their cultural traditions. Practitioners and keepers of old customs are diminishing in number. Initiatives are aimed at revitalizing cultural traditions to ensure, at the very least, their documentation for future generations.