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Tribe
History
Art
Religion
"Tausug's History"
The history of Sulu begins
with Makdum, a Mus-lim missionary, who arrived in Sulu
in 1380. He intro-duced the Islamic faith and settled in
Sibutu until his death. The mosque at Tubig-Indangan
which he built still stands, albeit in ruins. In 1390
Raja Baguinda land-ed at Buansa and extended the
missionary work of Makdum. The Muslim Arabian scholar
Abu Bakr ar-rived in 1450, married Baguinda's daughter,
and after Baguinda's death, became sultan, thereby
introducing the sultanate as a political system.
Political districts were created in Parang, Pansul, Lati,
Gitung, and Lu-uk, each -headed by a panglima or
district leader. After Abu Bakr's death, the sultanate
system had already become well established in Sulu.
Before the coming of the Spaniards, the ethnic groups in
Sulu-the Tausug, Samal, Yakan, and Badjao-were in
varying degrees united under the Sulu sultanate,
considered the most centralized -political system in the
Philippines (Orosa 1970:20-21).
With the arrival of the
Spaniards came successive expeditions to conquer the
Muslim groups in the south. Called the "Moro Wars,"
these battles were waged intermittently from 1578 till
1898 between the Spanish colonial government and the
Muslims of Mindanao. In 1578 an expedition sent by Gov
Francisco de Sande and headed by Capt Rodriguez de
Figueroa began the 300-year warfare between the Tausug
and the Spanish authorities. In 1579 the Spanish
government gave de Figueroa the sole right to colonize
Mindanao. He was killed in an ambush, and his troops
retreated to an anchorage near Zamboanga. In
retaliation, the Muslims raided Visayan towns in Panay,
Negros, and Cebu. These were repulsed by Spanish and
Visayan forces (Angeles 1974:27-28; Saber 1976:13; Orosa
1970:21). In the early 17th century, the largest
alliance composed of the Maranao, Maguindanao, Tausug,
other Muslim groups was formed by Sultan Kudarat or
Cachil Corralat of Maguindanao, whose domain extended
from the Davao Gulf to Dapitan on the Zamboanga
peninsula. Several expeditions sent by the Spanish
authorities suffered defeat. In 1635 Capt Juan de Chaves
occupied Zamboanga and erected a fort. This led to the
defeat of Kudarat's feared admiral, Datu Tagal, who had
raided pueblos in the Visayas. In 1637, Gov Gen Hurtado
de Corcuera personally led an expedition against Kudarat,
and triumphed over his forces at Lamitan and Ilian. On 1
Jan 1638, de Corcuera with 80 vessels and 2000 soldiers,
defeated the Tausug and occupied Jolo. A peace treaty
was forged. The victory did not establish Spanish
sovereignty over Sulu, as the Tausug abrogated the
treaty as soon Spaniards left in 1646 (Miravite 1976:40;
Angeles 1974:28; Saber 1975:23; Orosa 1970:22).
In 1737 Sultan Alimud Din
I entered into a "perma-nent" peace treaty with Gov Gen
F. Valdes y Tamon; and in 1746, befriended the Jesuits
sent to Jolo by King Philip V. In 1748 he was forcibly
removed by the forces of Bantilan, son of an earlier
sultan. Alimud Din was charged as being "too friendly"
with the Christians, whereupon he left for Manila in
1749. He was received well by Gov Gen Arrechderra and
was baptized on 29 Apr 1750. He was humiliated in 1753,
when after being reinstated as sultan, he was arrested
on his way back to Sulu, under the orders of Gov Gen
Zacarias. The Tausug retaliated by raiding northern
coasts. In 1763 he was released by the British forces
which had occupied Manila. He returned to Sulu as
sultan, and in 1769, ordered the invasion of Manila Bay
(Orosa 1970:22-25).
The Sulu sultanate
declined after 1848 when the colonial authorities began
the use of steamboats. Pira-cy was effectively halted,
and in 1851, Gen Urbiztondo led an expedition that
defeated the Tausug. But Sulu was only occupied and made
into a protectorate in 1876 when Gov Gen Malcampo, using
naval artillery, succeeded in destroying the kota (fort)
of Jolo, and prevented the smuggle of ammunition to the
besieged forces. A garrison was set up in Jolo commanded
by Capt P. Cervera. Tausug attempts to recover the city
were not successful. In 1893, amid succession con-troversies,
Amirnul Kiram became Sultan Jamalul Kiram II, the title
being officially recognized by the Spanish authorities.
In 1899, after the defeat of Spain in the
Spanish-American War, Col Luis Huerta, the last governor
of Sulu, relinquished his garrison to the Americans (Orosa
1970:25-30).
During the
Philippine-American War, the Amer-icans adopted a policy
of noninterference in the Mus-lim areas, as spelled out
in the Bates Agreement of 1899 signed by Brig Gen John
Bates and Sultan Jamalul Kiram II of Jolo. The agreement
was a mutual nonag-gression pact which obligated the
Americans to recog-nize the authority of the sultan and
other chiefs, who, in turn, agreed to fight piracy and
crimes against non-Christians. However, the Muslims did
not know that the Treaty of Paris, which had ceded the
Philippine archipelago to the Americans, included their
land as well. The idea that they were part of the
Philippines had never occurred to them until then.
Although the Bates Agreement had "pacified," to a
certain extent, the Sulu sultanate, resistance
continued. In 1901, panglima (district chief) Hassan and
his followers fought the Americans, believing that
acceptance of American sovereignty would affect his own
authority (Che Man l990:46-47)
After the
Philippine-American War, the Americans established
direct rule over the newly formed "Moro province," which
consisted of five districts-Zamboanga, Lanao, Cotabato,
Davao, and Sulu. Political, social, and economic changes
were introduced. These included the creation of
provincial and district institutions; the introduction
of the public school system and American-inspired
judicial system the imposition of the cedula or head
tax; the migration of Christians to Muslim lands
encouraged by the colonial government; and the abolition
of slavery. These and other factors contributed to
Muslim resistance that took 10 years "to pacify" (Che
Man 1990: 23, 47-48). The Department of Mindanao and
Sulu replaced the Moro province on 15 Dec 1913. A
"policy of attraction" was introduced, ushering in
reforms to encourage Muslim integration into Philippine
society. In 1916, after the passage of the Jones Law,
which transferred legislative power to a Philippine
Senate and House of Representatives, polygyny was made
illegal. Provisions were made, however, to allow Muslims
time to comply with the new restrictions. "Proxy
colonialism" was legalized by the Public Land Act of
1919, invalidating Muslim pusaka (inherited property)
laws. The act also granted the state the right to confer
land ownership. It was thought that the Muslims would
"learn" from the "more advanced" Christianized
Filipinos, and would integrate more easily into
mainstream Philippine society (Che Man 1990: 20-24,
51-52; Isidro 1976:64-65). In February 1920 the
Philippine Senate and House of Representatives passed
Act No 2878, which abolished the Department of Mindanao
and Sulu and transferred its responsibilities to the
Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes under the Department of
the Interior. Muslim dissatisfaction grew as power
shifted to the Christianized Filipinos. Petitions were
sent by Muslim leaders between 1921 and 1924 requesting
that Mindanao and Sulu be administered directly by the
United States. These petitions were not granted (Che Man
1990:52-53). Realizing the futility of armed resistance,
some Muslims sought to make the best of the situation.
In 1934, Arolas Tulawi of Sulu, Datu Manandang Piang and
Datu Blah Sinsuat of Cotabato, and Sultan Alaoya Alonto
of Lanao were elected to the 1935 Constitutional
Convention. In 1935 two Muslims were elected to the
National Assembly.
The Commonwealth years
sought to end the privileges the Muslims had been
enjoying under the earlier American administration.
Muslim exemptions from some national laws, as expressed
in the administrative code for Mindanao, and the Muslim
right to use their traditional Islamic courts, as
expressed in the Moro Board, were ended. The Bureau of
Non-Christian Tribes was replaced by the Office of
Commissioner for Minda-nao and Sulu, whose main
objective was to tap the full economic potentials of
Mindanao not for the Muslims but the Commonwealth. These
"development" efforts resulted in discontent (Che Man
1990:55-56).
The Muslims are generally
adverse to anything that threatens Islam and their way
of life. Che Man (1990: 56) believes that they were
neither anti-American nor anti-Filipino, but simply
against any form of foreign encroachment into their
traditional way of life. During WWII, the Muslims in
general supported the fight against the Japanese, who
were less tolerant and harsher to them. After
independence, efforts to integrate the Musl-ims into the
new political order met with stiff resistance. It was
unlikely that the Muslims, who have had a cultural
history as Muslims than the Filipinos as Christians,
would surrender their identity. In 1951, Kamlun, a
devout and wealthy native of Tandu Pa-nuan, took up arms
against the government for a num-ber of reasons. For
one, he was not on good with other local leaders, some
of whom he killed. There were also problems with land
titling which Kamlun refused to undertake since to him
ownership of land is not evident by means of piece of
paper. Fearing government -persecution, he went to the
hills. In July 1952, the first negotiation for surrender
was held between Alibon, Kamlun's brother, and Secretary
of Defense Ramon Magsaysay. However, a week later,
Kamlun resumed his fight, accusing the government of bad
faith. "Operation Durian" was launched to capture him.
He surrendered on 10 Nov 1952, but on 2 December, was
granted parole. In 1953 he went back to the hills until
his surrender on 24 Sept 1955. On "death row," he was
finally pardoned by Pres Marcos on 11 Sept 1968 (Che Man
1990:56-62; Tan 1977:114-417).
The conflict between
Muslims and Christian Filipi-nos was exacerbated in 1965
with the "Jabidah Mas-sacre," in which Muslim soldiers
were allegedly elim-inated because they refused to
invade Sabah. This incident contributed to the rise of
various separatist movements-the Muslim Independence
Movement (MIM), Ansar El-Islam, and Union of Islamic
Forces and Organizations (Che Man 1990:74-75).
In 1969 the Moro National
Liberation Front (MNLF) was founded on the concept of a
Bangsa Moro Republic by a group of educated young
Muslims. The leader of this group, Nur Misuari, regarded
the earlier movements as feudal and oppressive, and
employed a Marxist framework to analyze the Muslim
condition and the general Philippine situation. Except
for a brief show of unity during the pre-Martial Law
years, the new movement suffered internal disunity (Tan
1977:118-122; Che Man 1990:77-78).
In 1976, negotiations between the Philippine gov-ernment
and the MNLF in Tripoli resulted in the Tri-poli
Agreement, which provided for an autonomous region in
Mindanao. Negotiations resumed in 1977, and the
following points were agreed upon: the proclamation of a
Presidential Decree creating autonomy in 13 provinces;
the creation of a provisional government; and the
holding of a referendum in the autonomous areas to
determine the administration of the govern-ment. Nur
Misuari was invited to chair the provisional government
but he refused. The referendum was boycotted by the
Muslims themselves. The talks col-lapsed, and fighting
continued (Che Man 1990:146-147). When Corazon C. Aquino
became president, a new constitution, which provided for
the creation of autonomous regions in Mindanao and the
Cordilleras, was ratified. On 1 Aug 1989, Republic Act
673 or the Organic Act for Mindanao created the
Autonomous Region of Mindanao, which encompasses
Maguinda-nao, Lanao del Sur, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi
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