Bajau consciousness in social change : the transformation of a Malaysian minority community

Abstract

The object of this study is to map out the compl ex processes of contemporary social change in a single community of Baj au laut on the northeast coast of Malaysian Borneo (Sabah) and in particular to explore the role of consciousness in transformation. The Bajau case is a most interesting one because of the rapid and radical nature of change and because of the extraordinary flexibility of preexisting social structure·. The most dramatic changes discussed in this thesis took place in the space of less than one generation, effectively between 1960 and 1975. From a semi-nomadic, materially simple and virtually isolated existence prior to this period, Bajau of Bangau -Bangau village have settled, oriented themselves to a money economy and adopted an achievement ethic in lieu of the egalitarian values and shared subsistence of former times. Show more