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 Sabah Bisaya traditional costume | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| c. 140,000 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Brunei: 45,000[1] Malaysia Sarawak: 7,000 (1984)[2] Sabah: 74,000[3] United States: 14,000[4] | |
| Languages | |
| Sabah Bisaya,Brunei Bisaya,Sabah Malay,Sarawak Malay,Brunei Malay,Standard Malay,English | |
| Religion | |
| MajorityIslam (Sabah andBrunei) and significant minorities ofChristianity andAnimism (Sarawak) | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Lotud,Dusuns,Murut,Lun Bawang/Lundayeh,Kadazan-Dusun,Dayaks, OtherIndigenous peoples of Brunei |
TheBisaya are a group of indigenous people from the northwest coast ofEast Malaysia andBrunei, on the island of Borneo. Their populations are concentrated around the towns ofBeaufort andKuala Penyu in southern Sabah (where they are included under theKadazan-Dusun group of peoples),Labuan Federal Territory, and inLimbang District of Sarawak (in which they are grouped under theOrang Ulu designation). The Bisaya tribe bears many similarities to theTatana Dusun tribe, especially in terms of language, as there is a high degree of mutual intelligibility between the two groups. Nowadays, most Bisaya in Sabah areMuslim, while those living in Sarawak are mostlyChristians. InBrunei, they are referred to asDusun,Jati Dusun, andBisaya.[5]
Several theories have been put forward by various researchers regarding the origins of the name of the Bisaya people.H. Otley Beyer in 1926, Hester E.D. in 1954, and Harrison in 1956 suggested that the name may have come from the Sumatran empire ofSrivijaya (Sonza, 1972). However, in 1960, Eugene Vestraelen (professor of linguistics at theUniversity of San Carlos, Cebu City, Philippines) cautioned that the linguistic derivation ofVijaya would not beBisaya butBidaya, orBiraya.[6]
Another theory was suggested by John Carroll:[7]
According to John Carroll (1961:499–541), the term Visaya might be the Sanskrit Vaisya, denoting the 3rd caste of the Hindu caste system. The Philippines Bisaya were first referred to by the general term Pintados ("the painted ones") by the Spanish, in reference to the prominent practice of full-body tattooing (batok). The word Bisaya, on the other hand, was first documented in Spanish sources in reference to the non-Ati inhabitants of the island of Panay.
— John Carroll, The word Bisaya in the Philippines and Borneo, Sarawak Museum Journal, 1960
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The Bisaya people are skilled in agriculture, particularly in the areas ofpaddy planting,ginger,sago,ginger,tapioca, banana,yam,pepper, andcoconut. They also hunt animals and breed others, such as chicken, ducks, geese, goats,buffalo, and cows. They also catch fish, either from theriver or thesea.
The Bisaya language of Sabah shares 90% intelligibility with Tatana, aDusun dialect. It also has 58% lexical similarity to Sarawak dialects of Bisaya and 57%–59% with the Brunei dialect.[8]
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Traditional Bisaya musical instruments include thekulintang as well as variousgongs.
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Bisayas weapons include thesumpit,parang, andkeris.
The majority of Bisaya in Sabah areMuslims, while those in Sarawak are mostlyChristians.[9]
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Babulang
The annualBabulang festival includes music, dance, the wearing of traditional costumes, and water buffalo races.
