knowing our ancestral domaint

8/4/2019 Knowing Our Ancestral Domaint

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SULU: KNOWING OUR ANCESTRAL

DOMAINBy: MAJ SAMUEL T MONGCAL PN(M)

n the recent past, the Philippine Marine Corpshas been clamoring to be deployed in Sulu,Basilan, Tawi-tawi provinces and Zamboangapeninsula ( or commonly known as SULBATZ) for

two important reasons: to apply the Fleet-MarineDoctrine and to be at our ancestral domain. The firstreason connotes development in the organization whilethe latter is based on historical perspective or theold saying of “home sweet home”.

For more than three decades, the marines never leftthe SULBATZ area. But the question is how much do weknow about our ancestral sphere of influence? OldHands relate stories of the events of seventiesonwards, thus limiting our perspective in the erawherein conflict was a daily undertaking. Seldom canyou hear stories about its royal past and how it cameto existence. For instance, it is officially known tous today that Jolo is the capital of Sulu but the worJolo is a misrepresentation of the Spaniards sincethey earlier wrote it as Xolo or Sooloo. InMaguindanao, they rendered it as Sulug which is thecomplete form. However, the Sulus pronounce and writeit as Sug which means sea-current.

As part of personal quest for historical information,I came across with an old book that painstakinglydetailed the origins of Sulu Sultanate from mid- 1300to late 1800. The History of Sulu by Dr. Najeeb M.

Saleeby , published in January 1907, is a companionvolume of his Studies in Moro History, Law andReligion which was published two years earlier.. Heexerted great efforts to produce two importantdocuments that have been the centerpieces of hisresearch: the Genealogy of Sulu and the Tarsila ofMaguindanao.

On 22 August , 1963 The History of Sulu wasacknowledged by Dean Cesar Adib Majul of theUniversity of Philippines as ,” the first and so far,the only attempt to present in a historical narrative

of the Sulu Sultanate, its days of glory andvicissitudes up to the eve of its decline during theSpanish regime…”.



Dean Majul pointed in his introduction of the bookthat Dr. Saleeby’s second work was intended forAmerican civil and military authorities thatcommissioned him in order to have a clearunderstanding of the Sultanate wherein Americansovereignty has been declared. Thus it can be deduced

that American authorities were in the right path onhow to deal and govern their new territory. Ourcolonial past would tell us if they were reallysuccessful or not.

Nonetheless, this is an attempt to supplement theknowledge and understanding about our “ancestraldomain” which the Philippine Marines Corps earned mosof its history of gallantry and legacy. As a generalacknowledgement, most of its content was lifted fromthe above-mentioned book.

SULU’S FIRST DWELLERS

The first dwellers of Sulu are the people of Maymbung(presently known and spelled as Maimbung). These werethe descendants of Tuan Masha’ika, whom they believedas a prophet and born out of a bamboo. Then came theTagimaha ( Sanskrit word for country) followed by theBaklaya. After these came the Bajaw ( Samals) thenKarimul Makdum ( Arabian judge or scholar ) and hesettled in Bwansa where the Tagimaha nobles lived. Teyears later came Raja Baginda from Menangkabaw ( arich, high region in central Sumatra).

But according to the book written by Sultan Jamalul-Kiram I and was in possession of Hadji Butu (his primminister), the first persons who lived in Sulu wasJamiyun Kulisa with his wife, Indira Suga. Both weresent to Sulu by Alexander the Great, and TuanMashs’ika was their son.

Dr. Saleeby believed that the Genealogy of Sulu is thmost reliable record when he analyzed the tribes and



Maymbung was the original capital and residential areof the early rulers. Then it was Bwansa wherein thefirst three sultans ruled and lived. Later it wastransferred to Sug until 1876 when Sultan JamalulA’lam transferred to its ancient capital of Maymbungdue to Spanish occupation.

RELIGIONS IN SULU

Dr. Saleeby claimed that the former religion in Suluwas of Hindu origin. The Genealogy of Sulu stated thaTuan Mash’ika was born out of bamboo stalk whiletraditions claimed that he was the son of JamiyunKulisa and Indira Suga which were mythological namesand Sanskrit origin. He mentioned that the earlydwellers deified various phenomena of nature. As partof traditions, Tausugs fired their weapons duringstrong winds, bad smell due to lutaw (ghost),eclipses, etc. These practices would probably explainthe glaring influence of Hindu religion despite theirbeing Mohammedans.

The introduction of Islam and the rise of Mohammedandynasty in Sulu came in 1380 to 1450. This era wasinfluenced by two important characters namely; Makdumand Raja Baginda. The former was a noted Arabianscholar or judge who introduced Islam in Malacca inthe middle of 14th century and continued his travel tthe east and reached Mindanao and Sulu passing thruSambuwangan ( Zamboanga)and Basilan by late of saidcentury (or about 1380). It was ten years later thatRaja Baginda arrived in Sulu. He was a prince fromcentral Sumatra who invaded Sulu and became thesupreme ruler of Bwansa. Dr Saleeby found the account

of his arrival as absurd and that the Genealogy ofSulu as well as Tarsila of Magindanao accounts wereexceedingly brief thus offered ambiguity, andmisleading.

Nevertheless, it was established that the Sulusembraced new religion which was Islam and that theywere Mohammedans for more than a century beforeSpanish expeditions and rediscovery of the PhilippineIslands.

POLITICS, GOVERNMENT AND ITS ECONOMY

art of Mohammedization of Sulu was the establishmentof its laws and government or the sultanate itself. Iwas noted by Dr Saleeby that the narrative of eventscontained through out the manuscript ( tarsila) was amere synopsis of headlines. He furthered that theestablishment of Islam and its sultanate was no morethan one paragraph thus lacking the much desireddetails. Due to the “brevity” of Moro writings, DrSaleeby turned to country traditions which he claimed

had added further but less reliable information in hi



works to shed light on the establishment of Islam inSulu and its sultanate, as follows:

“ It is the common belief that Abu Bakr was born inMecca and that he lived some time in Juhur ( orMallaca). Others state that it was his father, ZaynulAbidin, who came from Mecca and that Abu baker wasborn of the daughter of the Sultan of Juhur atMallaca. He came to Pangutaran first, the narrativecontinues, then to Zamboanga and Basilan. His younger

brother, who had accompanied him, continued eastwardto Mindanao, while he remained at Basilan for a shortwhile. Having heard of Abu Bakr, the people of Sulusent Orangkaya Su’il to Basilan to invite him toBwansa to rule over them. This invitation was accepteand Abu Bakr was inaugurated sultan over Sulu soonafter his arrival. “

He beckoned on the annals of Malacca ( Malaysia) whicdescribed the success of Sayid Abu Bakr in thepromulgation of doctrines of Abu Ishaq contained in“Darul-Mazlum” or The House of the Oppressed orIgnorant in Malacca and pushed his travel farther eas

reaching Sulu by 1450. He was well received by Sulusand lived with the ruler of Bwansa, Raja Baginda Asfruit of his success in Bwansa that he marriedPrincess Paramisuli, the daughter of Raja Baginda. AbBakr was appointed chief judge and priest by RajaBaginda and became his successor because the raja hasno male heir.

In my further research, I noticed some interesting“similarities on the circumstances” of the ascensionsto powers of Caliph Abu Bakr of the powerful Qurayshtribe and Sultan Sayid Abu Bakr of Sulu. The formerwas the successor, close friend and adviser of Prophe

Muhammad which was chosen by the elders instead ofAli, cousin of Muhammad, because he did not seek thecaliphate for the good of Islam. Caliph Abu Bakr alsomarried one of Muhammad’s daughters and unified theArabia. Whether the detail of Sultan Abu Bakr’sascension to power wass accurate or not, it is safe tsay that both were successors and very close to theirpredecessors.

Sultan Sayid Abu Bakr began the political organizatioof his government which was framed on the sameprinciples just like of an Arabian sultanate. Withthis form of government, Abu Bakr bestowed himself

powers and authorities of a Caliph (Successor). Thushe divided the island of Sulu into five administrativdistricts, namely: Parang, Pansul, Lati, Gi’tung (orTalipao) and Luuk. Interestingly, the sultan owned althe shore(lines) and all the land that which the royagong could be heard. This could be an agreement (or acompromise) between the sultan and perhaps the datusin lieu of the former’s claim of absolute sovereigntyover the island. It was written that these districts

were being managed by panglima (an officer lower than



were administered by maharaja, orangkaya, laksamana,parukka, etc. All of these were subordinate officersor chiefs. The panglima is under the supervision andauthority of the Sultan.

The Sultan ruled over Sulu archipelago includingPalawan and extended up to northern and eastern Borneuntil it was ceded by Sultan Jamalul A’lam to theSabah or British North Borneo Company through itsauthorized representative, Baron von Overbeck, for amoney consideration of $5,000 ( Mexican currency) perannum. Although, it was Sultan Alimud Din (betterknown to Sulus as Amirul Mu’minin – The Prince of theFaithful) or who first ceded part of North Borneolying between Cape Inarstang and the River Frimanisand the Islands of Balambangan and Tulayan to EnglishThese two cessions were the results of the continuingstruggle of the Sultanate against Spanish governmentin the Philippines.

Jolo was of commercial importance in the early daysbecause the whole trade of archipelago passed through

it. Sulus trading relationships spanned to Bruney(Brunei), Sandakan, Celebes, Java, Singapore, China,Luzon and the various islands of the Philippinearchipelago. The important exported commodities werethe Mother-of- pearl (shells), copra, fish and hemp areflected in the trading/customs records of 1905 and1906. The trade of Sulu continuously declined with thdevelopment of Manila, Cebu and Iloilo and later on oZamboanga, Cotabato and Davao.

It was told that trade then was controlled by Morosand Chinese but because of the prolonged war withSpain, the Sulu traders became fewer while the Chines

were unmolested and eventually controlled all aspectsof commerce. Dr Saleeby pointed out that a newpolitical revival will no doubt change their attitudeand may bring about a surprising development in artsand trades as well as of commerce. Thus it was notsurprising that the Ramos administration andgovernments of ASEAN had established BIMP-EAGA to sputhe growth in the region and revived as well thetrading routes of the past.

THEHISTORICAL SUPPLEMENT

As a conclusion to this “historical supplement” for

soldiers to be assigned in Sulu archipelago, thefollowing are nice to know as they pursue theirmilitary career:

1. The old name of Isabela, Basilan is Pasangan whichis the name of the stream that runs through it.

2. Ihe Island of Sulu is smaller than Basilan and ofvolcanic origin and that the last record of volcanic



activity was in 1840.

3. The Island of Tulayan, in front of the presentTandu batuh, Luuk was ceded by Sultan Alimud Din I toEnglish in return of some favors but it was neveroccupied or used.

4. The name Busbus means “chop up” or “dress wood”.During the Sultanate reign, this is the place whereinconvicted persons of capital crimes were tied to atree and chopped to pieces.

5. For more than three hundred years of conflictbetween Spain and Sulu, the only established method owarfare for the Sulus at that time was by raiding itsopponent. It has no standing army but all able-bodiedmales were their defenders and thousands could besummoned in short notice. That it was only theintroduction of steamship in Spanish navy thatsuppressed the Moro raids of settlements in Luzon andVisayas including Manila.

6. Longbefore

thearrivalofSpaniardin Suluislandsthe Sulwereusingguns andbrass

cannons( lantaka) which was probably introduced by thpeople of Malacca which could have been introduced bythe Arabs

7. For 425 years, Sulu Sultanate had been independentThe Spanish never took serious consideration ofoccupying Jolo until 1876. A large expeditionary forcunder an admiral was assembled with an estimatedstrength of 9,000 troops and more than 30 ships invarious sizes.

8. The Sulus are basically of the Malay race and somehistorians pointed out that piracy is not only a habi



for them but an instinct. But we all know also thatpiracy exists all over the world and Sulu is noexception to this daring yet highly profitableendeavor.

9. The Spanish government and the Sultanate havesigned three treaties; the Treaty of 1836 with theSultan of Sulu which was ratified by Queen Regent ofSpain, Queen Isabela II, the Treaty of April 30, 1851and the Treaty of July,1878. In May, 1899 the

Spaniards evacuated Sulu and was occupied byAmericans. General J.C. Bates concluded a treaty withSultan Jamalul Kiram II which was generally known asthe “Bates Agreement”.

10. RajaBagindareceivedtwoelephantsaspreciousgift from

raja ofJava.This wasreportedbyearlier Spanish expeditions and some historical notesof different nationalities that visited the island. Athe story said, the elephants were let loose in MountTumatangis and they multiplied. That there was a placin Tumatangis called as lubluban-gaja. The lastelephant which was mentioned on stories was killed bychief and earned the right to marry the daughter ofthe sultan.

11. The original title of the rulers of Sulu wasTimway or Tumuway which means chief or leader and thiwas replaced by Datu.

“Being wise is better than being strong. Yes,knowledge is more important than strength. After all,you must make careful plans before you fight a battleand the more good advice you get, the more likely youare to win.”Proverbs 23:5-6 TEV

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