Reconstructing Marginalised Spaces

Beginnings :
My brother's experience as a doctor on the island and my personal intrigue towards the issues experienced by the Bajau Laut who are a Stateless Seafaring Nomadic tribe, had taken me to engage with an anthropologist, a volunteer teacher at an alternative school and further researching on their lifestyle, history, nomadology and current issues of the Bajau Laut in order to obtain an informed design proposal that seek to improve their facilities and celebrate the Bajau Laut culture.

Design Thesis

Sama is believed to have originated from the Austronesian root word ‘sama’ meaning “together”, “same”, or “kin”. The name refers to people who usually call themselves the Sama (formally A’a Sama, “Sama people”); or are known by the exonym Bajau. Sama-Bajau are known as “sea nomads” and have lived at sea since 800AD on small houseboats or stilt houses on coral reefs, along the shallow waters of the Coral Triangle, a region spanning the coastal regions of Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste.

Due to their nomadic and seafaring lifestyle, issues arise as they try to preserve a nomadic seafaring life that crosses state borders. They suffer many difficulties and deprivations since the freedom to cross borders in this day and age is seen as a subversive act, preventing states from exercising power and control over them. As they do not formally belong to any country they are rendered stateless and are unable to receive citizenship benefits, such as education, healthcare and economic support. Some countries are trying to help with the issues on statelessness, but the main concern is that with giving them citizenship, their Nomadic Seafaring heritage might be lost as younger generations start to assimilate to land.

Within this large region, this design thesis is focused towards Kg Bangau-Bangau, which is a water village in Semporna, Sabah. The population are a mix of marginalised people, migrant and local ethnics including Bajaus. What makes the village unique is its legalised status and its proximity to the city of Semporna that had been developed since the 1950s. However basic infrastructure are barely there and representation on these issues and statelessness are often overlooked.

This project uses ethnographic research to reconstruct and record digital models of their settlements, lifestyles and experiences and uses architectural research as a tool to explore ways to create the ‘Sama Instruments’.

The first instrument is a space for representation (The Exhibit centre) that displays and

tells the story of the Bajau and their Boat making culture.

The second set of instruments, are a series of cultural education instruments for the young Bajau and for the public (the Modular School and the Boat Workshop instrument).The second series comes  together with the Boat facility hub that allows for the Bajau to build and maintain the boat instruments (The Boat hub centre).

Finally, the third series of instrument are the Biofuel facility instruments, which proposes to improve the sewerage and pollution issues within the settlement without changing the current Kg Bangau Bangau lifestyle.

Together, these instruments aims to celebrate the Sama-Bajau’s Seafaring Nomadic

lifestyle and improve the facilities of the Sama-Bajau without losing their liminal heritage.

Enquiries, contact me via email aifamraman@outlook.com
aifa.rmn@gmail.com