The Bajo People of Wakatobi, Indonesia

Wakatobi Traveling,Have you ever imagined being part of a nomadic society? Of being part of a tribe that goes across the Ocean fishing and telling stories under the starry sky each night? The Bajo People are that and much more my wonder friends.

Would you like to know more about this unique culture of Indonesia? I hope you enjoy this article my friends in which you’ll also be witness to the beauty of the Wakatobi Islands of Indonesia, one of the most beautiful places in the Earth for scuba diving.

Enjoy!!!

The shallow waters of Wakatobi, Indonesia

The man-made difference between Civilized and non-Civilized Cultures

Before we proceed, ask yourself for a second: “what is human civilization?”. More importantly: “when did human civilization started?”.

Sure, the last question might seem quite simple for those who have learned what they know from school without questioning the subjective teaching of their professors.

“It started with the invention of writing” some might say. “It started when men began to built settlements and abandoned their nomadic style thanks to agriculture” others might reply.

It is thanks to those canned answers that the world’s societies were divided eons ago into two groups: civilized and non-civilized (primitive for those who aren’t as politically correct) societies…

The takers and the leavers if we want to follow the terminology of author Daniel Quinn (have you read the book Ishamael? It’s one of those life-changing books my friends!!!).

In today’s post-colonial world, the takers are the ones that are part of the mainstream global society, the ones that see humans are the evolutionary pinnacle and owners of Earth’s resources, while the leavers are those who live in separate tribes at the fringes of the mainstream society and are focused on surviving without damaging their environment.

The Bajo people perfectly fit the definition of a leaver society in the sense that they live in tribes that harmonically co-exists with nature. They are mostly fishermen who live off from Mother Earth’s gifts.

This is the story of my first encounter with the Bajo People as well as how naive I was thinking they could learn from me when in fact, I was the one that learned the most from them.

The Bajo People: all you need to know about the Nomads of the Ocean

Nomadic societies have fascinated me ever since I saw Lawrence of Arabia as a teenager and the Bajo People of Wakatobi, Indonesia hold a special place in my heart since, unlike the nomads of the deserts, the Bajo are a nomadic tribe of the Ocean.

Yes, you heard that right. They live in wooden houses that float with the help of stilts near shore and they are always ready to move from one place to another whenever they wish to.

The boat ride to reach their settlement was probably not one of the smoothest ones I’ve ever experienced, however, the rewards of being part of this meeting of cultures made it totally worth it.

In broad economical terms, the Bajo People rank amongst the poorest of the entire country in terms of wealth so I decided to bring some cookies to the kids at the school since I assumed that they probably didn’t have easy access to them (the main town of Wakatobi is at least 90 minutes away by motorboat).

However, the Bajo People have access to all of Mother Earth’s resources to live a full happy life and it really shows on the smiles of the kids and adults that welcomed us with more than open arms inviting us to play ball with them.

The Bajo People are different. They understand that what matters the most is the people themselves and not the people’s material possessions.

And no, they’re not communists even though those who have the most fish will share them willingly with those who didn’t catch anything that day out of their own free will.

How would you call that economic system? I would call it just being a good human being and leave it at that. The world would be a better place with less divisions and more good human beings in it, don’t you think?
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