Bajau

The bajau people are an ethnic group here in the southern Philippines. For most of their history, the bajau have been known as sea gypsies living on houses on stilts by the sea. This is a picture of a Bajau lady signing her birth certificate. Since they don't know how to write, nor do they have a signature and sometimes a name, they sign with their thumb print. The signature above is my supervisors and then her thumb print is below. It is difficult to fill out the birth certificate because they do not know their age, address, occupation, or anything. They are very nice, however they speak a language that not even the Filipinos can understand. They do not have money at all. Rarely have they ever paid their bill which is between 7-12$. We don't mind, we are just really happy to help them with their delivery. They are considered the poor of the poor. One time we had a lady leave us 50 pesos (about $1.25). Then she told us to give her 50 pesos to get home. Hehe