东南亚的海洋吉普赛人

The Bajau Laut Tribe have been called "Sea Gypsies". They're a sea-borne ethnic group in Southeast Asia.

This is how Agunnay catches food. A centuries old tradition that is still practiced by his people. It combines free diving and spear fishing.

"When father took me to free dive for the first time, I didn’t know how to do it. He just showed me how to breathe and block the nose. Then he put a rope with some weights on me and dropped me into the ocean," said Agunnay, Bajau diver.

And ever since Agunnay has been diving for his daily catch. With an extraordinary ability to go down some 20 meters into the water. No oxygen tank, wet suit or flippers free diving is the only way he knows.

Agunnay is Bajau Laut – or Sea Gypsy. An indigenous ethnic group originally from the Sulu Archipelago in the Philippines coastal areas of Mindanao and northern Borneo. Here in the Malaysian state of Sabah, Bajau are said to be the second largest ethnic group.

But their exact numbers are unknown. Some roam the waters off Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. Others live in small stilt houses, built on reefs or islands. Agunnay and his family live in one such house. It’s an attempt to adopt a more modern way of life.

But there are those Bajau who determined to maintain their ancestors’ seaborne lifestyle. The only time Bungsali and his family go on land is to get fresh water or buy some food, fuel and cigarettes. Otherwise, they’re on or in the water.

The family’s biggest concern is to catch enough fish to eat. Anything extra gets sold – and Bungsali uses the money to buy other kinds of food to bring variety to their diets

"Bajau cannot move on. We know only this kind of life. We need to go fishing, to sell the catch to get money and pay for goods. But we don’t have much knowledge, we cannot move on. The sea and fishing is all we know," said Bungsali, Bajau diver.

And so the sea is the only place that Bungsali will ever call home. For Assignment Asia, I’m Berta Tilmantaite in Sabah, Malaysia.