海の民サマ人の生活と空間認識 : サンゴ礁空間t'bbaの位置づけを中心にして

Abstract

This paper aims at exploring the perception of "space" in a marine environment among the Sama people of Sitangkai, Sulu archipelago, the Philippines. Sitangkai is a tiny island situated at the southwestern tip of the Sulu chain and surrounded by a massive complex of coral reefs. In the past the Sama boat-dwellers moved around from one coral reef to another, fishing in a limited zone, usually stretching from Sitangkai to Semporna, Sabah; hence, they have often been referred to as "sea nomads" or "sea gypsies" in the literature. Since the 1950s, however, the Sama of Sitangkai have abandoned their boat-dwelling lifestyle and become sedentary strand-dwellers, although their fishing activities are still predominantly associated with the coral reef ecosystem, within which they fish, culture seaweed, and often spend from several days up to a few months in small fishing boats, together with spouses, siblings and/or parents. Procurement method, gear, and crew organization of their fishing activities are closely associated with topographical features of the coral reef. The Sama's specialized fishing activities are epitomized by their exploitation of the coral reef. Considering the close and complex relationship between the coral reef and the Sama fishers' way of life, I focus on the coral reef, called t'bba in Sama, as a key to understanding their notions of living space. I examine two notions regarding the Sama's understanding of ecological space. The first point deals with the Sama's classification of marine/terrestrial space. They classify space in three inclusive ecological categories : land, deep sea, and coral reef, which are termed deyaq, s'llang, and t'bba, respectively. The latter, t'bba, is classified in much greater detail in terms of topographical characteristics of both the reef surface and the seabed. Secondly, I discuss the Sama fishers' notions of "land, " and "sea." The Sama's basic notion of ecological-directional orientation is designated by the terms kaleyaq, or "landward, " and kawt, or "seaward." Their expressions of direction and/or orientation using these terms reveal that "sea" and "land" are defined not in absolute terms but rather in relation to the context. When the ecological context is concerned with an actual land and a shallow beach beside the land, the latter is referred to as "sea." When a shallow beach and a coral reef are the focus of concern the shallow beach area is referred to as "land." When a coral reef and a deep sea are the focus, the former is referred to as "land." In the Sama's ecological perception, coral reef is liminal, or ambiguous, space. This space is at the same time both "land" and "sea." Being liminal, however, does not mean it is unusual. For the Sama boat-dwellers, their daily lifeways and fishing activities were not separated but conducted in one single space : i. e. coral reef space. And, as an inevitable consequence, those who work together in that space also live together. In Sitangkai, this continuity of space and cultural-ecological adaptation is still partly present. In the Sama's understanding of "space, " t'bba, or coral reef, remains central.