Task 10

The story of Bajau

When a person visits Kampong Solibog in Tambunan, he or she will hear about a man called Bajau. The say that Bajau was a very tall and powerful man who helped the villagers. His wife was called Pangkung and she too was tall as Bajau. No one really can tell how tall Bajau was or even how strong he was. From his achievements it can be said that Bajau must have been an unusually tall man indeed.

            There is a stone in Kampung Solibog. It is about 2.5 metres high and 0.6 metres wide. Its was said that Bajau once carried this huge stone under his arm. The stone is called Batu Bajau. From here, it seems that Bajau was a very strong man indeed.

            Bajau’s feet were so wide that when he walked in the river, the fish would die. They would have been trodden by him. The people would follow Bajau and collect the fish. One can imagine how easy it must have been for the people. Sometimes the people would say Bajau, “Could you please lie down in the Pegalan River? We need some fish” Bajau would lie down in the river and the fish would be washed to the banks of the river. The people would then collect the fish.

            Everyone loved Bajau very much. He was not only tall and strong, he was humble and friendly. He would often visit the people and ask them, do you need any help? If so please let me know.”
            The next day when the people went to the forest, they were shocked. They saw that the forest had already been cleared and was ready for planting. They knew that Bajau had uprooted all the trees and cleared the place. They were grateful.

           One day, Bajau went away. He went to see a friend who was living far awere killed.ay. During this time, a tiger came into the village and disturbed the people. The tiger was wounded and was looking for an easy way to find food to eat.

            The chief became anxious and sent  a messenger to Bajau. “There is a tiger attacking us and we are in great danger.” As soon as Bajau heard this, he rushed back to the village. He caught the tiger and threw it across the hills. The tiger was never seen again

            The village became peaceful and happy with the presence of Bajau. It was also prosperous as the neighboring villages had heard about Bajau and kept away from the place. There were no wild animals and everything was wonderful.

            Across the hills, there lived a tribe called Tasapang. These people were also prosperous. The attacked the neighboring villages and took everything away. Every day, the chief would send his followers to find out about villages which were rich and prosperous. They would then attack these places without any warning.

            A messenger came and told the chief. “There is a kampung across the hills called Kampong Salibog. It is a prosperous community.”

            The chief replied, “We should attack the place. Prepare for it. We will leave tomorrow.”

The following day, the chief took his best warriors and left for Kampung Salibog. He sent one of his spies ahead. “Go and check the place. See how they defend their place and report back.”
               The man went ahead. He pretended to be friendly with the villagers of Kampung Salibog. He came to know about Bajau and his great strength. He rushed back to his chief and said, “There is the story of the great man. He is said to be very tall and has the power of a hundred men.”