Regatta Lepa
(Bajau Semporna Tradition Fiest)
Credit : Google

Just so you know, you never know how "native" you were until you met some of the aunties at home during a party hosted by parents. For all this while, I am being extraordinarily among all my friends holding the same race as I am. You see, even in my blog, I put the Bajau conversation to let the people know a bit how the conversation between us goes. At the same time, I wanted to put some of a surface knowledge on google about how do we talks and some of the Bajau vocab so people at least knows even a tiny word of it.

So, the night when I had a conversation with my so native-aunties about this and that and we laughed together. Had I opened an issue, and been spoken in Bahasa and mix with the Bajau Languange. Among all the aunties, one of them stopped me and  to my surprise, she said:

Anganad konon ka mag bajjau. Insan du ka iskulan, bang takalipat nu na hilling bangsata, na dalua ai na kita lu.. dakka maghilling Malayu. Mag bajjau hal ka. 

 (You should master our own language, even if you are an educated person, should you aren't forgetting our mother tongue and if you do, everything will be 'rubbish'  So please, don't speak Malay. Speak Bajau instead)

 Dush!. So deep. Bet the aunty so irritated listening to me spoke in Malay, because as long as I remember, she never speaks in Malay and it's just me who replied her in a diff language. It's true. I had to agree with this. I remember a text that I read from one of my Whatsaap group said about every of the races in Borneo will be vanished if we don't apply the norms of a society in our daily life, or at least speak your mother tongue. Don't just let our cultures slide by the globalization. Agree. I also read from the text about how Red Indians were only a history in their own home. I don't want that to happen to the heritage of Borneo. It's a big lost to us.




Queen of Lepa for 2007.
Showing her Bajau dance (MAGIGAL or so called "Mengalai" in Bahasa)
Credit : Google


Personally, I am so proud of mastering many languages,  including my own mother tongue. I understand some of the third-culture kids who might not be able to master all their supposed-to-be-mother-tongues as either their maternal or paternal side might be dominant. But, it is a greater and a big loss, if you are belongs to a group who had this specific language,  but just let it slide and only speak one language. I mean it is totally a loss when you had the opportunity to master that and had the soul of that language, but, just ruin it by the method so called IGNORING. You should not do that. Just don't do.

Love your culture and do proud of it. Not many people were born in this kind of culture. You should be proud of yourself.


Sincerely, 
Your Proud Bajau Girl.