Sulu

“ Let the Sulu be idolatrous or a fire worshiper and he will “go juramentado” on the strength of his faith in wooden or fire gods before he yields to a master or serves as a slave. He will die before he surrenders. Such metal is what makes the Sulus brave, independent, and unyielding. [251]
The Sulus watched the progress of Legaspi at Cebu, Panay, and Luzon, saw how the pagan chiefs were subjugated, and witnessed the expulsion of their brother Mohammedans from Manila. ”

“ The dominion of the Sultan of Sulu was complete and his power was well respected throughout the Archipelago. Between Mindanao and Borneo 150,000 people—Yakans, Samals, and Sulus—lived and obeyed one man. True, the Sulus had no standing army or navy, but they had innumerable boats, forts, and firearms, and every able-bodied man was a soldier and a sailor, always armed, and always ready for a call to arms. ”

“ These sea nomads came in such large numbers and in such quick succession as to people the whole Tawi-tawi Group, the Pangutaran and Siasi Groups, all available space on the coast of Sulu proper, the Balangingi Group, and the coasts of Basilan and Zamboanga, before the close of the century and before the arrival of the first Mohammedan pioneers. ”

“ Sulu has spotted deer, abundance of goats, and black cattle.
The pearl fishery * * * proves also to the Sulus the cause of their consequence amongst their neighbors, as being a nursery for seamen, ready to man a fleet of praus upon an emergency * * *. The praus [boats] of the Sulus are very neatly built, from 6 to 40 tons burden, sail well, and are all fitted with the tripod mast.69 * * *
The arts are in greater forwardness here than at Mindanao. * * * In the common market is also a copper currency, a convenience much wanted at Mindanao, where, as has been said, the market currency is rice. ”

“ The harbor is deep and free from currents. The bay is well protected on the north by the Islands of Pangasinan and Marongas and is safe from all storms except those from the northwest.
Sulu occupies the most nearly central position of any island in eastern Malaysia. It lies between Mindanao on the east and Borneo on the west, and separates the Sulu Sea from the Celebes Sea. The commercial advantages of this position are unique. To the north lie the Bisayas, Palawan, Luzon, Formosa, China, and Japan; to the east Mindanao and Basilan; to the south, the Moluccas, Celebes, and Java ”

“ Yet some men’s hearts are made of stone and one or two experiences do not teach them enough; so we see the same scene repeated time and time again, until an opportune moment arrived and a new chapter was opened in which we find the rich sovereign richer and mightier. This time nature takes sides with might and turns the scales against the weak and petty king of the south and leaves him wrecked and stranded on his coral reefs.
The Sulu is a Malayan of prominent type, reared in his infancy by a Brahman priest and brought up to maturity under the care of a Mohammedan instructor. ”

“ Jamiyun Kulisa, Indira Suga, and Masha’ika are the names of the ancient gods of Sulu. Prior to Islam the Sulus worshiped the Vedic gods and evidently believed them to be the forefathers or creators of men. The Sulu author was ignorant of this fact and used the names of the gods as names of real men. ”

“ From the shores of the Bay of Jolo the land rises gradually and presents a beautiful green appearance. The northern aspect of this whole range and its beauty were appropriately described by Mr. Hunt, as follows:
There are few landscapes in the world that exhibit a more delightful appearance than the seacoasts of Sulu; the luxuriant variety of the enchanting hills exhibits a scenery hardly ever equaled and certainly never surpassed by the pencil of the artist. Some with majestic woods that wave their lofty heads to the very summits ”

“ The island of Sulu and its dependencies having been declared an integral part of the Philippine Archipelago, which belongs to Spain, commerce under the Spanish flag in all the ports of the Sultanate shall be free and unmolested, as it is in all the ports belonging to the Nation. ”

“ The history is written without prejudice or bias, and events are related as they appear in the light of facts, and by one capable of seeing things from the standpoint of a Sulu as well as of a Spaniard.
Nothing reveals the true character of a nation, its capabilities, tendencies, and resources, better than its history. There is no time when such general intimate knowledge of a people is more interesting and more needed than during the period of their regeneration, and there can be no time when the history of the Sulus will be more interesting than at present. ”

“ From this city and Island of Borneo, God willing, you shall go to the Islands of Sulu, where you shall endeavor to reduce that chief and his people to the obedience of his Majesty. You shall bargain with them as to what tribute they shall pay, which shall be in pearls, as they are wont to give to the King of Bruney. You shall exercise great care and, if possible, much mildness; for it is of importance that those islands should not become depopulated ”

“ Sūg means a sea current. The flow of the tide through the innumerable narrow channels separating the numerous islands of the Archipelago gives rise to unusually strong currents which figure prominently in the seafaring life of the people. Therefore the term is an appropriate designation for the Archipelago as a whole.
The rulers of the island state have changed their capital four times. The most ancient capital was Maymbung, the second was Bwansa, which lies on the north coast of the island about 3 miles west of Jolo. Here ruled Raja Baginda and the first three sultans of Sulu. ”

“ The Spanish Government of Sulu was entirely under martial law, and the Europeans (mostly military men) were constantly on the alert for the ever-recurring attacks of the natives.
The general aspect of Sulu (Joló) is cheerful and attractive. The day scene, enlivened by the Moro, passing to and fro with his lithe gait, in gay attire, with the bárong in a huge sash, and every white man, soldier or civilian, carrying arms in self-defence, may well inflame the imaginative and romantic mind. One can hardly believe one is still in the Philippines. ”

“ Many are put to death for trifling offenses, and their bodies left above the ground. An attempt of elopement is here seldom pardoned, or indeed at Magindanao. Yet, the distance being so small from either Sulu or Slangan,70 to the Spanish settlement, I have wondered how any stay, as they are not closely confined.
The Bisayan slaves play often on the violin, and the Sulus are fond of European music.71 I have seen the Sultan Israel, who was educated in Manila, and his niece, * * * dance a tolerable minuet. ”

“ Furthermore, Sulu and the small adjacent islands produce nothing; even the rice and fish which the people use for their food come from our neighboring possessions: what business reasons are there therefore, capable of calling our attention, or whose profits would pay the expenses of a fleet placed in observation there? All the produce of the islands consists of bêche-de-mer and shell which are gathered by the slaves;59 the clothing and foodstuffs are furnished them, on credit, by our own ships; gold, wax and edible nests come from Mindanao. ”

“ The Sulus have in their families many Bisayan, some Spanish slaves, whom they purchase from the Ilanun and Magindanao cruisers. Sometimes they purchase whole cargoes, which they carry to Passir, on Borneo, where, if the females are handsome, they are bought up for the Batavia market. The masters [189] sometimes use their slaves cruelly, assuming the power of life and death over them. ”

“ The capital town is called Bawang,67 situated by the seacoast, on the northwest part of the island, and containing about 6,000 inhabitants. Many of them were Ilanun * * *.
This island * * * is well cultivated, affording a fine prospect from the sea, on every side far superior to that of Malay countries in general * * *.
Here are wild elephants, the offspring, doubtless, of those sent in former days, from the continent of India68 as presents to the kings of Sulu. Those animals avoid meeting with horned cattle, though they are not shy of horses. ”

“ A line joining Limawa on the north and Sukuban or Tandu Panu’an on the south, divides Lu’uk from Tandu, thus forming the fifth and sixth districts respectively. A line joining Mount Tayungan and Bud Tandu divides both Lu’uk and Tandu into a northern and a southern part. In both cases the southern parts are more fertile and better cultivated and probably more thickly populated than the northern.
The Sulus are principally agriculturists. The greater part of the people are farmers and a considerable portion of the interior of the island is under cultivation. ”

“ The new organization establishing law and order, consolidated the forces of the state and increased its influence on the outside world. Islam added a new element of strength [164] and another stimulus to campaign and conquest. The Sulus never exceeded 60,000 in number, yet we learn that, prior to the arrival of Magellan, their power was felt all over Luzon and the Bisayan Islands, the Celebes Sea, Palawan, North Borneo, and the China Sea, and their trade extended from China and Japan, at the one extreme, to Malacca, Sumatra, and Java at the other. ”

“ The Sulu datus and chiefs are very courteous and polite and are unusually keen to notice personal discourtesy. Impulsive and unconciliatory methods are bitterly resented, and an abrupt manner may in itself be sufficient to defeat any measure. The people in general have no patience with an impetuous officer and hate to be discourteously treated even by their datus. ”

“ This island, though formerly a dependency of Sulu, is now independent, and is governed by some of those half-bred Arabs who corrupt and weigh heavily on these countries. It is finely situated in the Sulu seas, and it is both healthy and fertile. The inhabitants appear much the same as those I had seen about Maludu Bay, and, with the exception of some strangers, were civil. The latter were traders who had visited Samboañgan, Manilla, and other Spanish ports, and were there corrupted, by intercourse with the low Europeans and dissipated classes who usually frequent such places ”

“ The watershed line joining [132] the summits of Mounts Dahu, Tambang, and Sinuma’an and falling on the east to the vicinity of Su’, divides Lati on the north from Gi’tŭng on the south. For all practical purposes the district of Lati may be said to lie between Jolo and Su’, and the district of Gi’tŭng or Talipao between Maymbung and Tu’tu’. The land joining Si’it and Tu’tu’ is low. Sulu traditions say that when the Samals arrived in the island this neck of land was submerged and the island was divided by a channel of water. ”

“ The leading idea in said treaties is one of distrust towards the people of Sulu, on account of their treacherous, cruel and perfidious nature. As this is the only idea which prevails in all our relations with the island, as well as in the Royal order of August 28, 1751, and the documents attached thereto, without referring to older time, I can not be persuaded that the policy of peace and alliance adopted with the Sultan of Sulu can give our shipping and commerce any substantial and permanent advantage. ”

“ At the time the Spaniards came to the Philippines, Sulu seems to have been rich in her own natural and industrial products, and richer still through the large commerce which their exchange enabled her to carry on with the Chinese vessels which in large numbers frequented her coasts. Situated almost midway between the Philippines and the Moluccas, close to two rich islands so fertile and densely populated as Mindanao and Borneo, it seemed destined by nature to be the emporium of the commerce of the south. ”

“ The Bugis appear to have lost their identity, but the Ilanun are still recognizable in many localities, and some of the principal datus of Sulu still trace their origin to Mindanao.
The numerous and extensive piratical expeditions undertaken by the Sulus from time immemorial must have been a great source of further influx of foreign blood. The earliest traditions say that, in the days of the Timway,5 Orangkaya Su’il, slaves or hostages were sent by the raja of Manila to secure the friendship of the Sulus. ”

“ Many Spaniards seemed to regard Sulu as a very desirable country for colonization and offered many suggestions as to the most favorable sites for factories, the best industries that could be developed, and the best methods and means of exploitation. Several farms were started in the vicinity of Jolo, but they were abandoned even before the evacuation of the islands, and no effective step can be said to have been taken by Spain to colonize Sulu except the building up of the town of Jolo itself. ”

“ It gives a very dim view of the general subject and leaves out much that is desired. Thus, the whole question of establishing Islam in Sulu and organizing its sultanate is dispensed with in one short paragraph briefly enumerating the following facts: That Sayid Abu Bakr came to Bwansa from Palembang by the way of Bruney; that he lived with Raja Baginda and taught and established a new religion for Sulu; that he was greatly respected by the people; and that he married Paramisuli, the daughter of Baginda, and became sultan. ”

“ The intentions of the East India Company in fortifying Balambangan were regarded with suspicion by the Spaniards, who employed every method possible to incite hostilities between the Sulus and the English. The English agents at Jolo won the sympathy of a party headed by the strong datus in chief command of the Sulu forces. The Spaniards had the sultan and his party on their side. This question of national policy was a matter of serious and important concern to the people. It stirred up the whole Sulu community, and party issues were ardently and publicly discussed. ”