Sabah Folklore ~ The Story of Bajau

When a person visits Kampong Solibog in Tambunan, he or she will hear about a man called Bajau. The say that Bajau was a very tall and powerful man who helped the villagers. His wife was called Pangkung and she too was tall as Bajau. No one really can tell how tall Bajau was or even how strong he was. From his achievements it can be said that Bajau must have been an unusually tall man indeed.

            There is a stone in Kampung Solibog. It is about 2.5 metres high and 0.6 metres wide. Its was said that Bajau  once carried this huge stone under his arm. The stone is called Batu Bajau. From here, it seems that Bajau was a very strong man indeed.

            Bajau’s feet were so wide that when he walked in the river, the fish would die. They would have been trodden by him. The people would follow Bajau and collect the fish. One can imagine how easy it must have been for the people. Sometimes the people would say Bajau, “Could you please lie down in the Pegalan River? We need some fish” Bajau would lie down in the river and the fish would be washed to the banks of the river. The people would then collect the fish.

            Everyone loved Bajau very much. He was not only tall and strong, he was humble and friendly. He would often visit the people and ask them, Do you need any help? If so please let me know.”
            The next day when the people went to the forest, they were shocked. They saw that the forest had already been cleared and was ready for planting. They knew that Bajau had uprooted all the trees and cleared the place. They were grateful.

           One day, Bajau went away. He went to see a friend who was living far awere killed.ay. During this time, a tiger came into the village and disturbed the people. The tiger was wounded and was looking for an easy way to find food to eat.

            The chief became anxious and sent  a messenger to Bajau. “There is a tiger attacking us and we are in great danger.” As soon as Bajau heard this, he rushed back to the village. He caught the tiger and threw it across the hills. The tiger was never seen again.

            The village became peaceful and happy with the presence of Bajau. It was also prosperous as the neigbouring villages had heard about Bajau and kept away from the place. There were no wild animals and everything was wonderful.

            Across the hills, there lived a tribe called Tasapang. These people were also prosperous. The attacked the neighbouring villages and took everything away. Every day, the chief would send his followers to find out about villages which were rich and prosperous. They would then attack these places without any warning.

            A messenger came and told the chief. “There is a kampung across the hills called Kampong Salibog. It is a prosperous community.”

            The chief replied, “We should attack the place. Prepare for it. We will leave tomorrow.”

The following day, the chief took his best warriors and left for Kampung Salibog. He sent one of his spies ahead. “Go and check the place. See how they defend their place and report back.”
               The man went ahead. He pretended to be friendly with the villagers of Kampung Salibog. Hew came to know about Bajau and his great strength. He rushed back to his chief and said, “There is the story of the great man. He is said to be very tall and has the power of a hundred men.”



            The chief replied, “Our men are strong and powerful too. We have poisonous darts. We shall increase the amount of poison in the darts. They should kill the man.” With this they marched towards Kampung Salibog.

            Meanwhile, the chief had heard about a suspicious man who was asking a lot of questions. He knew from experience that someone was going to attack the village. He called Bajau and said, “Someone is going to attack our village. We must be careful.” Bajau replied. “Don’t be afraid. Do not tell the others or they will be frightened.”

            The Tasapang tribe attacked at night. When they reached the village, they saw Bajau. They were so shicked that they stood rooted to the ground. Soon, all their warriors were running around in a state of confusion and panic. The battle lost, they returned home.

            Some of the warriors took the poisonous darts and placed them in blowpipes. They then attacked Bajau, but it was in vain for Bajau considered the darts that hit him a little mosquito bites. When they saw the darts having no effect on Bajau, they said, “Let us run away from here, or else we will all die.” From that moment onwards, the Tasapang tribe stopped attacking Kampung Salibog.

            Bajau’s stone or Batu Bajau therefore is well respected by the people. Whenever people pass that way, they stand there for a while as a mark of respect for Bajau. Their love for Bajau is very great. As we can see from all the incidents, Bajau was a great warrior. This great man died at a very old age.

(Courtesy from: www.sabah.edu.my)