Thousand
The Tausug , also Suluk , are an ethnic group in the Philippines and Malaysia . The name Tausūg is derived from the two words tau and sūg (or suluk ), which translates as “people of the current” and refers to their home, the Sulu archipelago . The two terms Sūg and Suluk mean the same thing, whereby the latter has taken a phonetic development in which the sound / l / was omitted and the two short / u / were combined into a long / uː /.
The Tausug people on Sabah , a part of Malaysia, call themselves Tausug, but give the name Suluk as an ethnic group in official documents such as birth certificates . The Tausug are part of the widespread ethnic group of the Moros , who make up the sixth largest ethnic group in the Philippines. Originally they owned a sovereign empire, the Sultanate of Sulu , which extended over the present-day provinces of Basilan , Palawan , Sulu , Tawi-Tawi as well as over the eastern part of the Malay state of Sabah (formerly North Borneo ).
expansion
Today, the Tausug mainly populate the province of Sulu and the provinces of Zamboanga del Sur , Basilan and Tawi-Tawi, but can also be found as minorities in the metropolitan regions of Cebu and Manila . There are also large populations in all parts of Sabah, Malaysia, where the majority of them are employed as construction workers, with a significant percentage employed as skilled workers. The Tausug workers are often confused with the Bajau , who are more numerous in this region, but generally less skilled.
The Tausug have been populating the areas in the east of this Malay state since the time when the Sultanate of Sulu ruled over the eastern part of Sabah, from the village of Kudat in the north to Sempurna in the southeast. Most of them have now mixed with other ethnic groups living on Sabah, especially with the Bajau, so that their membership of the Suluk ethnic group can only be seen from their birth certificates.
Demographics and language
In the Philippines the ethnic group belong to about 953,000 people, while in Malaysia there are an estimated 300,000 members of the Tausug. They are related to the Visayan , just as the Tausug language belongs to the Visayan languages. Nevertheless, the Tausug do not see themselves as Visayan . They only use this term for the Christian speakers of these languages, while the vast majority of Tausug are Muslim. The Tausug who recently immigrated to Malaysia also speak the languages Chavacano or other Visayan languages such as Cebuano . In the Philippines, in addition to the languages mentioned, the Tagalog and Malay languages are mostly heard, although the latter is much more common in Indonesia and Malaysia. In addition, English is used as a second language in both the Philippines and Malaysia .
The Malay Tausug, the descendants of the population of the former Sultanate of Sulu and populating the eastern part of Sabah, speak and understand the Sabah dialects Suluk and Simunul as well as Bahasa Malaysia . Those with ties to the Bajau also speak their specific dialects. However, one's own dialect threatens to disappear more and more. In 2000 most of the Tausug children in Sabah, and especially in the villages on the western side of the Malay state, could no longer understand Tausug . Instead, they only communicate using local Malay dialects or the English language.
Culture
The Tausūg are experienced sailors and are valued for their colorful boats or vintas . They were also respected as warriors and are good craftsmen. They are known for the Pangalay dance (also known as Daling-Daling in Sabah ) in which the dancers wear artificial elongated fingernails made of bronze or silver and known as janggay . Their performances are based on the movements of Vidhyadhari (in Bahasa Sūg: Bidadali ), a being from pre-Islamic Buddhist mythology .
Traditional form of leadership
In earlier times, the Tausug considered the Sultan of Sulu to be their leader. The system of rule was a patrilineal system, in which the title Sultan named the sole sovereign of the Sultanate (in the Tausug language: Lupah Sug , literally: "Land of the Current"). In the hierarchy, various maharajas and rajas follow , who can be understood as subordinate princes. Among these, in turn, there is a line of numerous Panglima or local princes, who in their function resemble the Barangay Kapitan , who are widespread in the Philippines , the head of a Barangay (district).
In Sabah, the Sultan of Sulu also determined the events and sent his representative with the title of Datuk , who ruled over the local population there and whose power was also transferred to some Bajau tribes, whose chiefs were given the title Panglima for this purpose . Many of the Datuks were close relatives of the Sultan who were more likely to succeed him than the corresponding candidates in the Philippines. Their wives received the Dayang title . The Sarip (Shariff) and their wives, the Sharifah , who descended from Arab royalty and enjoyed a high status as religious leaders, are of particular importance . Many of them held administrative posts and worked side-by-side with the Datuks as community leaders.
history
Era of the sultanates
→ See Sultanate of Sulu
The story of Sulu begins with Makdum, a Muslim missionary who reached the islands of Sulu in 1380. After his arrival he introduced Islam and settled in Tubig Indangan, on the island of Simunul, until his death. The pillars of the mosque that he had built during his lifetime still stand here today.
In 1390 Raja Baguinda landed in Buansa (on the island of Jolo) and expanded the missionary work of Makdum here. The Arab scholar Abu Bakr came to the Sulu area around 1450, married Baguinda's daughter and, after his death, was appointed sultan. In this position he introduced the sultanate as a political system. This included the formation of political districts in Parang, Pansul, Lati, Gitung and Luuk, which were now led by a Panglima as district leader.
After the death of Abu Bakr, the system of the sultanate was extended to the entire area of Sulu. Even before the arrival of the Spaniards, the various ethnic groups in Sulu, the Tausug, the Samal, the Yakan and the Bajau, were represented in different degrees in the Sultanate of Sulu. This made this sultanate the most centralized political system in the Philippines at the time. In 1578, the Spanish attempts to conquer the southern Filipino territories, particularly the island of Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago, began. Until 1898 there were various battles between troops of the Spanish colonial government and the Muslims on Mindanao.
The first attempt was made by an expedition set up in 1578 by Governor Francisco de Sande under the leadership of Capt. Rodriguez de Figueroa was posted. A year later, the Spanish government gave de Figueroa the sole right to colonize Mindanao. In response, the Muslims raided villages in the Visayas islands of Panay , Negros and Cebu , which were already controlled by Spain, and were repulsed by Spanish and local troops. In the early 17th century, under Sultan Kudarat, a large alliance of the Maranao, Maguindanao, Tausūg and other Muslim groups was formed, which dominated the area from the Gulf of Davao to Dapitan on the Zamboanga peninsula . Various expeditions were subsequently sent by the Spaniards, but all of them failed. 1635 occupied Capt. Juan de Chaves visited Zamboanga and built a fort there . In 1637, Governor General Hurtado de Corcuera personally led an expedition against Kudarat and triumphed over his troops at Lamitan and Ilian. On January 1, 1638, de Corcuera defeated the Tausūg with 80 small ships and 2,000 soldiers and conquered the island of Jolo. The resulting peace treaty could not establish Spanish sovereignty over Sulu, as the Tausug repealed the treaty as soon as the Spaniards had left the area in 1646.
In 1737 Sultan Alimud Din I entered into a "permanent" peace treaty with Governor-General Valdes y Tamon, whereupon in 1746 Jesuits were sent to Jolo by King Philip of Spain. The "permission" of Sultan Azimuddin-I. (the rightful heir) to allow the Christian Jesuits to be present on Jolo, however, angered his brother Raja Muda Maharajah Adinda Datu Bantilan (next in line to the throne). Datu Bantilan was strictly against the disruption or dishonoring of the Islamic faith in the Sultanate of Sulu, which he feared by the Christian Jesuits. There was then a fight between the two brothers, which led to Sultan Azimuddin-I leaving Jolo, going to Zamboanga and in 1748 fled to Manila. After the flight of Azimuddin-I, Raja Muda Maharajah Adinda Datu Bantilan was proclaimed the new sultan and ruled from then on under the name of Sultan Bantilan Muizzuddin. In the years that followed, the Christian missionaries were driven out and Islamic supremacy consolidated.
In 1893, Amirnul Kiram was enthroned as Sultan Jamalul Kiram II with the official recognition of the Spanish leadership. In 1899, after Spain's defeat in the Spanish-American War , Col. Luis Huerta, the last Spanish governor of Sulu, surrendered his garrison to the American armed forces.
The fall of the sultanates
During the Filipino-American War , the Americans adopted a policy of non-interference in the affairs of the Muslim territories enshrined in the Bates Agreement of 1899, which was signed by Brigadier General John C. Bates and Sultan Jamalul Kiram II of Jolo wears. Although the Bates Agreement was "appeased" to some extent, the Sulu Sultanate's resistance continued. For example, in 1901, District Leader (Panglima) Hassan and his entourage fought the Americans, believing that acceptance of American sovereignty would undermine their own authority. (Che Man 1990: 46-47).
After the Philippine-American War, the Americans established direct rule over the newly formed Moro Province , which was made up of the five districts of Zamboanga, Lanao, Cotabato, Davao and Sulu. This brought about political, social and economic changes, which were expressed in the establishment of provincial and district political institutions, the introduction of a public school system and a judicial system inspired by the Americans. Furthermore, the imposition of the cedula (residence permit) or poll taxes was introduced and the abolition of slavery was enforced. The migration of Christians to the Muslim areas was also intensified by the colonial government. These and other factors contributed to the resistance of the Muslim population not waning for another 10 years. On December 15, 1913, Moro Province was finally replaced by the Department of Mindanao and Sulu.
With the ratification of the Carpenter Agreement in 1915 and the death of Sultan Jamalul-Kiram-II in 1936, who remained without a descendant, the Sultanate of Sulu fell. In a memorandum dated September 20, 1937, President Manuel Quezon declared in this context the non-recognition of "any" heir to the Sultanate on the part of the Commonwealth government , which was regular at the time , of which he was President.
The British administrator in Sabah, however, did not adopt the policy of non-recognition, which did not rule out the confirmation of the rights of the Sultanate of Sulu and his successors in Sabah. The attempts of some Datuks in Sabah to clarify the question of succession with the Sultan of Brunei failed, however.
Current time
In order to promote the integration of the Muslim ethnic groups into the Filipino community, a "policy of détente" was introduced. In addition, with the Public Land Act of 1919, the “proxy colonialism” (“representative colonialism”) was legalized, which invalidated the pusaka , the Tausug laws (property inherited from the ancestors), which are based on Islamic Sharia . Among other things, this regulation guaranteed the state the right to transfer land ownership. It was thought that the Muslims would “learn” from the “further developed” Christian Filipinos and thus could be more easily integrated into the broad mass of Filipino society.
In February 1920, Ordinance No. 2878 passed through the Philippine Senate and the House of Representatives , which repealed the previous Ministry of Mindanao and Sulu and transferred its responsibility to the Office for Non-Christian Ethnic Groups under the Ministry of the Interior. The discontent among the Muslims grew the more power was transferred to the Christian Filipinos. Subsequently, between 1921 and 1924, the leaders of the Muslim groups submitted petitions to the United States requesting that the areas of Mindanao and Sulu be placed under the direct administration of the United States. However, none of these petitions were approved. Since an armed resistance did not promise realistic results, some Muslims tried to make the best of the situation. In 1934, four representatives of the Muslims, Arolas Tulawi from Sulu, Datu Manandang Piang and Datu Blah Sinsuat from Cotabato and Sultan Alaoya Alonto from Lanao, were chosen to work on the Philippine Constitution of 1935 within the Constituent Assembly . In the same year, two more Muslims were elected to represent the National Assembly.
In the years of the Commonwealth , the privileges that Muslims still enjoyed under the American administration were slowly diminished. The Muslim population was even exempted from some national laws, as evidenced by the Mindanao Administrative Code. Likewise, the Muslims were deprived of their rights to carry out their own traditional Islamic jurisdiction, as was still granted to the Moro Authority (the Moro Board). However, it was unlikely that the Muslims, who had a longer cultural tradition than the Christian Filipinos, would actually have been willing to give up their identity. Thus, various separatist movements were formed that soon gained power within the Muslim population, such as the Muslim Independence Movement (MIM), the Ansar El-Islam and the Union of Islamic Forces and Organizations (union of Islamic forces and organizations).
In 1969, a young group of educated Muslims finally founded the Moros National Liberation Front (MNLF), the aim of which was to establish a Bangsamoro Republic. After years of bloody conflict in the south of the Philippines, negotiations began in 1976 between the Philippine government and the MNLF in Tripoli, which resulted in the Tripoli Treaty, which provided for an autonomous district in Mindanao. Only Misuari , the leader of the MNLF, was invited to preside over the Provisional Government, but he refused. A scheduled referendum was eventually boycotted by the Muslims themselves, which brought talks to a standstill and the fighting flared up again.
As a result, Republic Act 673, also known as the Organic Act for Mindanao, was passed on August 1, 1989, creating a new Muslim autonomous district, the Autonomous Region of Mindanao (ARMM). The inhabitants of the Muslim areas were allowed to decide in a referendum whether their province or their independent city should belong to this district. As a result of this referendum, the provinces of Maguindanao , Lanao del Sur , Sulu and Tawi-Tawi joined the ARMM district.
Even today, many leaders of the radical groups, for example the Abu Sajaf , a terrorist group that operates in Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago, are members of the Tausug ethnic group.
literature
- Institute of Bangsamoro Studies 2005
Individual evidence
- ↑ Orosa 1970: pp. 25-30.
- ↑ litera1no4.tripod Info about the Tausug ( Memento of the original from February 15, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
