|
Tribe
History
Art
Religion
"Islam is Our Religion"
The
Tausug follow standard Islamic beliefs and practices.
The Quran is considered by all Muslims as the words of
Allah (God), revealed to the prophet Muhammad through
archangel Gabriel, and as the source of all Islamic Law,
principles and values. Aside from the Quran and the
Sunnah and Haddith (literally, "a way, rule, or manner
of acting"), other Islamic sources of law include
Ijtihad (independent judgment) and Qiyas (analogy). The
Five Pillars of Islam are dec-laration of beheb in the
oneness of God and the prophethood of Muhammad and the
four obligations of praying, almsgiving, fasting, and
pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in one's lifetime.
Classical Muslim Jurists divided the world into
Dar-al-Islam (Land of Islam) or those territories where
the Law of Islam prevails; Dar-al-Harb (Land of War)
which includes those countries where Muslim Law is not
in force; Dar-al-Ahd (Land of the Covenant) consi-dered
as a temporary and often intermediate territory between
Dar-al-Islam and Dar-al-Harb; and Dar-al-Sulk (House of
Truce), territories not conquered by -Muslim troops,
where peace is attained by the payment of tribute which
guarantees a truce or armistice. A concept often
misunderstood is parang sabil or holy war, which later
developed into "ritual suicide." The term derives from
the Malay words perang meaning "war" and sabil, from the
Arabic "fi sabil Allah meaning "in the path of God." It
refers to a jihad (holy war) against those who threaten
the sanctity of Islam. It is resorted to when all forms
of organized resistance fail. Those who die in the
struggle are pronounced shahid (martyrs) and
automatically gain a place sulga (heaven). Failing to
understand this religious dimension, the Spaniards and
the Americans have reduced the concept into a
psychological disorder, have referred to the shahid as
juramentados and amock, respectively. Indigenous beliefs
persist. Aside from Allah or Tuhan, the Tausug are also
concerned with spirits inhabit nature, especially rocks
and trees, and who are believed to be the cause of human
suffering. Among these are the saytan (evil spirits) and
jinn (unseen creatures). Some saytan have names, like
the balbalan (manananggal), a flying creature which
enjoys the liver of corpses. The Christian devil finds
its counterpart in iblis, who tempts people into evil.
The Tausug also believe in the four composites of the
human soul: the transcendental soul, the life-soul
associated with the blood, the breath or life essence,
and the spirit-soul who travels during dreams and who
causes the -shadow. The Tausug concept of religious
merit also differs from that of the orthodox Muslims.
Unjustified killing transfers the merits of the offender
to the victim, and the demerits of the victim to the
offender. The terms sulga (heaven) and narka (hell) do
not denote places but states-of-being, and are
interchangeable with the concepts of karayawan (state of
goodness) and kasiksaan (state of suffering),
respectively (Kiefer 1972a:112-114, 128-130). Indigenous
healing practices are assumed by the mangugubat (curer)
who have direct access to the spirit world. They are not
considered religious officials, as in the case of the
agama (religious) priests, although their services are
utilized when certain spirits need to be appeased.
However, an illness that has been suc-cessfully
diagnosed is not attributed to supernatural causes.
Native medicine include raw squash mixed with coconut
milk for meningitis, egg white applied topically on and
for burns, lagundi leaves for malaria, and others.
Traditional practices which were "medi-cal" in intent
included the sacrifice of a hen near a balete tree.
Incantations were said and a rooster was set free near
the same tree. The object was to soothe the anger of the
saytan believed to be the cause of the illness (Kiefer
1972a:114-115; Orosa 1970:106-107).
|
