Aug 4, 2025
West Coast Bajau horsemen, Sabah, Malaysia, circa 2014. Photographs by Shuttercrazy on Flickr.
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West Coast Bajau horsemen, Sabah, Malaysia, circa 2014. Photographs by Shuttercrazy on Flickr.
Welcome to the Mermaid Tournament!
Got any favourite fishy friends? Nominate them here!
Mermaids do not have to have a fish tail! Any humanoid who lives mostly or partially underwater, or has the ability to do so, counts. They can have an octopus tail like Ursula or legs and lungs like the Ocean Na'vi, as long as they are humanoid and live a significant proportion of their life in the water!
Guidelines:
-Characters can be of any Gender
-The number of nominations has no effect on if they get in, you must convince me
-Oc's are allowed
-Real people are allowed if you can convince me why I should consider them a mermaid
-Dolphins, Whales and Manatees are not humanoid in shape enough to be considered mermaids in this tournament, but I acknowledge their potential.
I am planning on having Submissions up until April 10, but I want to do a mega bracket im talking like 600+ mermaids, so if I don't get enough then I might extend it.
Good Luck!
BAJAU Sticker Art by Gerilya 2020
JOHN SHERWIN FELIX: Saw these wooden figures on boats in a Sama Dilaut cemetery. Even in death, they remain connected to the sea.
Poverty has become our comedy. It means someone else's survival is our entertainment. It means human suffering has been turned into content. And no one who truly sees the Badjao as equals would dare laugh.
[…] A 2024 study in the International Journal of Current Science Research and Review documented how Badjao teens are bullied and excluded in schools. One student shared:
"I'm often bullied at school because I'm a Badjao... They always tease me, saying I smell bad, even though I always take a bath. There was a time when my classmates took pictures of me and sent them to the group chat just to make fun of me" (Ederio, 2024).
This is a child humiliated, scarred, made to feel less than human.
[…] We mock the Badjao for begging, but never ask why they must beg. We sneer at their appearance, but never ask why a seafaring tribe was driven from the seas to the streets. We romanticize them only when it is convenient—when a "Badjao Girl" goes viral, or when their dance makes it to TV. But respect in real life? We fail. Again and again.
Words by Hayley Conejar in “Mocking the Badjao: The Outfit Trend That Betrays Our Laws, Values, and Humanity” for The Mindanao Tech
(This was written in response to the TikTok trend of mocking poor Badjao mothers begging on the streets with their children strapped to their backs.)
Sama-Bajau dwellings in Suwang Pukul, somewhere near the border of Sabah, Malaysia. Photograph by Amirhassan Nimor, date unknown.
Suku Bajau, Penjelajah Air Terakhir di Indonesia yang Mulai Hadapi Kepunahan
Suku Bajau, Penjelajah Air Terakhir di Indonesia yang Mulai Hadapi Kepunahan
Bajau atau Sama-Bajau adalah sebuah suku atau etnik yang tidak pernah menetap pada suatu daerah tertentu. Mereka berpindah, dan selalu menjelajah menggunakan perahu pada jangka waktu tertentu. Di Indonesia, Suku Bajau banyak sekali mendiami bagian utara Kalimantan, bagian utara Sulawesi hingga perairan Maluku dan Raja Ampat.
Suku Bajau lebih banyak melakukan aktivitasnya di atas perahu entah…
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