Sulu – Home of the Tausugs (People of the Current)

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SULU

By Eugene Alvin Villar (seav) – English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=770269

The Sulu Archipelago is a chain of islands in the Pacific Ocean, in the southwestern Philippines. The archipelago forms the northern limit of the Celebes Sea and southern limit of the Sulu Sea. The Sulu Archipelago islands are within the Mindanao island group, consisting of the provinces of Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi.

Photo from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulu

The archipelago is not, as is often supposed, the remains of a land bridge between Borneo and the Philippines. Rather, it is the exposed edge of small submarine ridges produced by tectonic tilting of the sea bottom Basilan, Jolo, and other islands in the group are extinct volcanic cones rising from the southernmost ridge. Tawi-Tawi, the southernmost island of the group, has a serpentine basement-complex core with a limestone covering. This island chain is an important migration route for birds.

Photo from: https://www.britannica.com/place/Sulu-Archipelago

The largest municipalities in the area are on Maimbung and Jolo. The larger island of Palawan to its north, the coastal regions of the westward-extending Zamboanga Peninsula of Mindanao, and the north-eastern part of the island of Borneo were formerly parts of the thalassocratic of the Sultanate of Sulu.

The archipelago is the home of the indigenous Tausug people; various group of Samal (or Sama) people including the semi-nomadic Badjaw; the land-based Sama; the related Yakan people; and the Jama Mapun people. Tausug derives from the words tau meaning “man” and sug meaning “current”, which translates to “ people of the current”, because they were known to be seafarers with military and merchant skills.

Photo from: http://cnnphilippines.com/regional/2016/02/17/vinta-festival-sulu-province.html

The Tausug language is spoken widely in the Sulu Archipelago as both first and second languages throughout these islands. The Yakan language is spoken mainly in Basilan Island. Numerous dialects of Sinama are spoken throughout the archipelago, from the Tawi-Tawi Island group, to the Mapun island group (Mapun), to the coast of Mindanao and beyond.

The archipelago is geographically subdivided into several groups, most significantly those around the main islands Basilan, Jolo and Tawi-Tawi. – Read More: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulu_Archipelago

Photo from: http://www.rappler.com/life-and-style/travel/ph-travel/76548-sulu-province-travel-philippines

A fisherman told me to snorkel past the village jetty to admire an extensive growth of coral that he said looked like “big plates.” The table coral was more impressive than described, descending towards the drop-off like the undersea counterpart of Balinese rice terraces.

Without a doubt, Sulu should be an overwhelming source of pride not only for its inhabitants but also for all Filipinos. As an eco-cultural treasure waiting to be discovered when peace and order prevails, these southern isles are truly the country’s best-kept secret, if not its most fiercely guarded. – Read More: http://www.rappler.com/life-and-style/travel/ph-travel/76548-sulu-province-travel-philippines