Diary of a Colonized Native: (Years of Hidden Colonial Slavery)

By Ibrahim S. Omar and Yolanda O. Stern

INSPIRATIONAL SOLIDARITY MESSAGE FROM A FULL-BLOODED NATIVE BROTHER

Go on dear brother, forward with your traverse! While in partnership I will awaken the learned, the unlearned, devoted readers of books, the untiring users of shovels and axes and the alien bearers of silver, golden and diamond stars. And if and when, you succumb to the natural realm of eternal blissful life, rest assured, great brother, your historic journey shall continue still, to the farthest land our echoes can reverberate and dwell. Still to victory or martyrdom! Sambas S Omar

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing Singapore
• Release date: Jul 10, 2018
• ISBN: 9781543743272

Ibrahim S. Omar

The Author, Ibrahim S. Omar, is a Muslim by faith, Tausug by birth and Bangsamoro by destiny. He is a Tausug native born in Maimbung, Lupah Sug (Sulu), Muslim Mindanao. He is married with three sons, one adopted daughter, three granddaughters and three daughters-in-law. He finished collegiate degree in Philippine Muslim College (PMC) and postgraduate studies at the Institute of Islamic Studies (IIS), University of the Philippines, Diliman (UPD) in 2007. He is a freedom-conscious strong supporter of Mindanao and world peace. As a firm believer that there is no substitute to peace, he is positively grounded on the belief that peace for all and all for peace has a far-reaching greater chance to create global peace. He has considered the search for Mindanao peace a lifetime sacred task and the active involvement in calling for global peace a golden opportunity in human life. He is truly inspired by the heart-warming comforting words of Pope John Paul II who said: Do not be afraid to take a chance on peace, to teach peace, to live peacePeace will be the last word of history. Thus after writing three peace-related books, Bangsamoro Question: Autonomy, Federalism or Independence?, The Bangsamoro Perspective: Search for a Peaceful Mindanao, and Peace for Mindanao War (Post-Truth on Philippines-Bangsamoro War), the author has always been guided by the Quranic commandment: Therefore, do not be fainthearted crying for peace, for you will surely gain the upper hand. Allah is on your side and will never let your deeds be wasted. (47:35)

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Copyright © 2018 Ibrahim S. Omar. All rights reserved.

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978-1-5437-4326-5 (sc)

978-1-5437-4327-2 (e)

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07/09/2018

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Contents

The Book Rationale

FOREWORD BY YOLANDA O. STERN

A FOLKTALE ON ‘HALAL BIMBANG’ (NOSTALGIC LEGITIMACY)

PART I: UNWRITTEN DAYS OF BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD REMINISCENCES

THE BEGINNING IN MAIMBUNG

REMINISCING THE HISTORICAL GRANDEUR OF TAUSUG NATIVES

COMING OF CHINESE PUN TAU KUNG TO JOLO

PART II: HISTORICAL NOSTALGIA

MINDANAO/SULU - CHINA DIPLOMATIC AND COMMERCIAL LIAISON

CHINA VISIT AND BURIAL: SULU KING WAS A BROTHER OF THE EMPIRE.

THE ROYAL TOMB OF KING OF SULU

EARLY PERIOD OF SULU-TONDO (MANILA) CONTACT

ISLAMIZATION OF SULU AND MINDANAO

POLITICAL PARADIGM SHIFT FROM MONARCHY TO ISLAMIC SULTANATE

ESTABLISHING THE FIRST SULTANATE GOVERNMENT IN LUPAH SUG

SHIFTING TO ‘SULTANATE OF SULU AND NORTH BORNEO’ IN 1704

SULTAN SHARIF UL-HASHIM SAYYID ABUBAKAR: POST PERIOD

ROYAL COUNCIL OF THE SULTANATE OF SULU AND NORTH BORNEO

TRANSFERRING TO MAIMBUNG OF SULU SULTANATE RULERSHIP IN 1878

SHORT HISTORICAL NOTES ON SPANISH-MORO WAR IN MINSUPALA

IMPACT OF AMERICAN COLONIZATION IN MOROLAND

SHORT NOTES ON AMERICAN-MORO WAR IN SULU

BATTLE OF BUD DAHO IN SULU, MARCH 10, 1906

REFLECTION ON THE ‘BATTLE OF BUD DAJO,’ JOLO, SULU, MARCH 1906

BATTLE OF BUD BAGSAK IN 1913

AMERICAN-MORO WAR IN MAINLAND MINDANAO

BATTLE OF BAYAN IN LANAO

AMERICAN-FILIPINO CONSPIRACY TO COLONIZE MINSUPALA

PART III: BYGONE MEMORIES, FAMILY ROOTS AND TALL TALES ON WWII

CHILDHOOD MEMORY OF MAIMBUNG

DRIFTING FAMILY ROOTS UNDER STRONG CURRENTS OF SULU SEA

BINDING FRATERNAL BLOOD COMPACT

YEARS OF ROMANTIC PASSIONATE LOVE AMIDST WORLD WAR II

ROMANTIC ABDUCTION IN MAIMBUNG WHARF

PRACTICE OF ‘PAG-GUYUD’ AND ART OF ‘PAGPABA’ AND ‘PAGKAWIN’

1941 JAPANESE BLITZKRIEG ON PEARL HARBOR AND OTHER ASIAN NATIONS

DECLARING MINDANAO AND SULU AS ‘SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION’

SHORT PERIOD OF PEACEFUL LIFE IN MAIMBUNG

PART IV: YEARS OF GROWING-UP AS A CHILD AND NATIVE REFUGEE

DANCING WITH THE BLACK EELS IN MAIMBUNG RIVER

FIRST CHILD ADVENTURE BEYOND HIS COMMUNITY

FAMILY MIGRATION FROM MAIMBUNG TO JOLO

BEGINNING YEARS OF FORMAL ENLIGHTENMENT

IN THE MIDST OF THE KAMLON REVOLT

CONTINUITY OF SCHOOL LIFE IN JOLO TOWN

PART V: YEARS OF UNCERTAINTY AND REAWAKENING

BEGINNING OF THE MORO REVOLT AGAINST THE MANILA GOVERNMENT

FIRST CULTURE SHOCK OF A TAUSUG NATIVE OUTSIDE HIS HOMELAND

WALKING THE WALK OF HUMAN WEAKNESS AND TEMPTATIONS

AMONG THE INTELLECTUAL NATIVE ICONS OF SULU AND TAWI-TAWI

PUBLIC DEBATE IN PLAZA TULAY BETWEEN NDJC AND PMC INTELLECTUALS

DAWNING OF THE DARK CLOUDS OF MINDANAO WAR

TAKING THE MARITAL PLUNGE AND YOUNG FATHERHOOD IMAGE

EXCITING LIFE OF A TEACHER, FATHER AND AGAIN KNOWLEDGE-SEEKER

ON FIRST QUARTER STORM, CONSCIOUSNESS AND RITUAL DAYS IN UPD

PART VI: DARKENING CLOUDS OF MINDANAO WAR

TURNING POINT ON BANGSAMORO FREEDOM STRUGGLE

ON THE ROAD OF MOBILIZATION AND ORIENTATION FOR ‘PARKAI’

EFFECT OF THE 1971 SUSPENSION OF WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS

CHAOTIC DAYS UNDER MARCOS MARTIAL LAW REGIME

FROM TEACHING TO BARTER TRADING

PART VII: IN THE EYE OF STORM OF MINDANAO WAR

PRELUDE AND AFTERMATH ON THE 2/7-8/74 BATTLE AND BURNING OF JOLO

TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCE OF A LOST AND FOUND SON IN ACTUAL WAR EVENT

SAD FATE OF BEING A NATIVE REFUGEE IN HIS HOMELAND

DIARY OF THE FEBRUARY 7-8, 1974 BATTLE AND BURNING OF JOLO

MNLF STRATEGY OF BATTLE

THE FINAL HOURS

SUDDEN CHANGE OF BATTLE STRATEGY

JOLO IS BURNING! THE TOWN IS ‘PULVERIZED TO THE GROUND’!

AFTERMATH OF THE JOLO INFERNO

SOLDIERS BURNED JOLO, NOT MNLF!

PART VIII: DIASPORA OF THE TAUSUG NATIVES

IN THE MIDST OF DIASPORA

EXTENDED REFUGEE LIFE OUTSIDE MOROLAND

BACK TO WAR-TORN MINDANAO

BIRTH OF A THIRD SON NOT IN THE NATIVE LAND

CALL TO ACTIVE ‘JIHAD FI-SABILILLAH’

PART IX: LIFE OF A NATIVE IN THE CENTER OF FREEDOM STRUGGLE

MEETING THE MNLF LEADERS IN ISLAMABAD

DAYS OF FULFILLING REVOLUTIONARY TASKS IN PAKISTAN

MEETING THE ‘MOTHER OF THE BANGSAMORO JIHAD FI-SABILIllAH’ IN TRIPOLI

EDITING THE MNLF NEWSLETTER ‘MAHARDIKA’

SWIMMING THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA

VISITING THE RUINS OF LEPTIS MAGNA AND OTHER HISTORICAL HERITAGE

BEGINNING OF THE ‘BAPTISM OF FIRE’

ONE MOMENT STRUGGLE AMIDST A STRONG CURRENT RIVER

BOMBING OF LIBYA BY AMERICA

FULL REPORT OF THE BOMBING OF LIBYA

CONDEMNING THE UNITED STATES ATTACK ON LIBYA

PART X: GIVING MINDANAO PEACE ANOTHER CHANCE

PRELUDE TO THE 1987 JEDDAH PEACE ACCORD

ON THE WINGS OF HOPE AND DESPAIR ON NINOY AQUINO’S PROMISE

SPREADING THE MESSAGE OF PEACE FROM DAVAO TO TAWI-TAWI

HOLDING THE 2ND BANGSAMORO NATIONAL CONGRESS IN MAIMBUNG

IN THE EDGE OF DREAMING THE DREAM OF MARTYRDOM

UNEXPECTED VISIT OF A ‘VIP’ LADY IN YELLOW-DRESS

FINALLY, DREAMING THE DREAM OF MARTYRDOM

PRESIDENT ZIA UL-HAQUE REQUESTED MARTYRDOM BURIAL IN ISLAMABAD

BACK TO CONTINUE SWIMMING THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA

BACK IN PAKISTAN PROPAGATING FREEDOM STRUGGLE

PERFORMING INITIAL HAJJ TO MAKKAH FROM PAKISTAN

ROMANCING THE ‘MOST BEAUTIFUL GARDEN CITY IN THE WORLD’

PART XI: MINDANAO PEACE BETRAYED THRICE

AMONG THE REVOLUTIONARY MINDS IN THE WORLD

FROM 2ND MAKKAH HAJJ TO 1ST OIC CAIRO INFORMATION MINISTERS MEETING

MEETING THE FIRST EGYPTIAN MISSIONARY TO SULU IN CAIRO

SHOCKING EVENT OF 1990 19TH ICFM CAIRO OIC CONFERENCE

THE WONDERS BEHIND THE 1991 TURKEY 20TH ICFM CONFERENCE

MEMORABLE JOURNEY TO ASIAN TURKEY – ANKARA

ONE MOMENTOUS TIME IN TURKEY’S CITY OF ‘WHIRLING DERVISHES’

FAMILIARIZING KONYA AND VISITING THE MUSEUM OF JALALUDDIN RUMI

FROM TRIPOLI EXPLORATORY NEGOTIATIONS TO JAKARTA FINAL PEACE TALKS

MONITORING THE DIVIDENDS OF PEACE

MONITORING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PEACE AGREEMENT

ATTENDING THE ANNUAL OIC ICFM MEETINGS IN KARACHI, CASABLANCA, CONAKRY, JAKARTA, DOHA, BURKINA FASO AND KUALA LUMPUR

MEETING THE ‘DAUGHTER OF MINDANAO’ IN THE UNITED STATES

FROM COLOMBO WIPL MEETING TO UNFORGETTABLE CHAD EXPERIENCE

THRICE BETRAYAL OF MINDANAO PEACE

ABANDONING ARMM TO CONTINUE FREEDOM STRUGGLE

PHILIPPINE POLICY OF ‘PATRONAGE POLITICS’ AND ‘UNILATERALISM’

ONE PRACTICAL SOLUTION BASED ON MORAL ‘DOCTRINE OF NECESSITY’

PART XII: YEARS OF SELF-EXILE AND SELF-CRITICISM

PRELUDE TO SELF-EXILE: WALKING THE WALK OF UNCHARTED ROAD

ON COMMITTING THE ‘CRIME OF GENOCIDE’

CHRISTIAN FILIPINOS ARE NOT YET READY TO HANDLE THE MOROS ALONE

THE BEGINNING OF SELF-EXILE

ALONG THE ROUGH ROAD TO SELF-EXILE

TOO LATE FILING OF THE WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS

CONTINUING THE SAGA AND RECRUITMENT FOR ‘GHQ-RAM’

THE OTHER UNSEEN VALUE OF SELF-EXILE

THE BEGINNING JOURNEY TO SPIRITUAL ENLIGHTENMENT

SHORT TALE ON AUSTRALIA

PART XIII: SEARCH FOR MINDANAO PEACE USING POWER KNOWLEDGE

BLOSSOMING FRUITFUL KNOWLEDGE POWER IN SELF-EXILE

PRELUDE TO THE JAKARTA PATH SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE

SELF-STUDY OF OTHER ICONIC ISLAMIC SCHOLARS AND PREACHERS

EMBRACING THE FELLOWSHIP OF SILENCE

PART XIV: AMIDST SELF-CRITICISM AND SEARCH FOR JUST PEACE

PERIOD OF SELF-CRITICISM AND POST EXILE YEARS IN IIS-UPD

IN PURSUIT OF PEACEFUL FREEDOM STRUGGLE INSIDE THE LION’S DEN

2006 OIC FACT-FINDING MISSION TO MINDANAO

OIC MISSION APPEALS FOR RELEASE OF CHAIRMAN NUR MISUARI

OIC MISSION IN MINDANAO

PLAYING THE ROLE OF OBSERVER AND RESEARCHER

OIC FACT-FINDING MISSION REPORT TO THE 33RD AZERBAIJAN ICFM

MONITORING THE SCHEDULED TRIPARTITE MINISTERIAL COMMITTEE MEETING

OIC CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE

PART XV: DISCUSSION OF POSSIBLE ANSWERS TO BANGSAMORO QUESTION

ON BANGSAMORO QUESTION: AUTONOMY, FEDERALISM OR INDEPENDENCE?

DISCUSSING THE BANGSAMORO QUESTION OPTIONS ON SELF-GOVERNMENT

A. AUTONOMY OPTION

B. FEDERALISM ALTERNATIVE

C. NATIONAL SELF-DETERMINATION – FINAL CHOICE

D. SURVEY 2006 – OPTIONS ON SELF-GOVERNMENT

TWO-NATION FORMULA FOR PEACE

CONCLUSION OF THE STUDY

RECOMMENDATION OF THE STUDY

PART XVI: THE SEARCH FOR THE ELUSIVE MINDANAO PEACE

BACK TO TEACHING IN JOLO

THE MARRIAGE OF A SON IN KUALA LUMPUR

WRITING THE BOOK VERSION OF THE ‘BANGSAMORO QUESTION’

WRITING THE BOOK SEQUEL – ‘THE BANGSAMORO PERSPECTIVE’

PART XVII - UPDATES AND AFTERMATH: SEARCH FOR MINDANAO PEACE

FIRST UPDATE ON MINDANAO ELUSIVE PEACE

USING THE ‘SWORD OF DAMOCLES’ THAT IS ‘DIVIDE.RULE.DESTROY’

IN THE DAYS OF MUHARRAM 1432 H (DECEMBER 2010)

TRIBUTE TO A MOTHER: MEMORIALIZING PERFECT MOTHERHOOD

MINISTERIAL COMMITTEE MEETING UNDER AQUINO GOVERNMENT

OIC ACTIVE PARTICIPATION ROLE IN MINDANAO PEACE PROCESS

CONTINUING UPDATE ON THE ELUSIVE MINDANAO PEACE

2011 UPDATE: ‘APPEAL TO SPAIN AND AMERICA TO EXAMINE CONSCIENCE’

UPDATE ON MNLF-OIC-GRP MINISTERIAL TRIPARTITE COMMITTEE REVIEW

ROLE OF MALAYSIA IN MINDANAO PEACE

MILF VISION OF MINDANAO PEACE, PAST AND POST PERIOD

ALTERNATIVE ROAD TAKEN BY BIFM

THERE WILL BE TROUBLE BETWEEN US AND THE CHRISTIAN FILIPINOS

FOR FILIPINOS, HISTORY IS AN ENEMY, NOT AN ALLY

MORE UPDATES ON ELUSIVE MINDANAO PEACE

AGAIN, THE LOUD CALL FOR MINDANAO PEACE

ANSWERING THIRD CALL FOR MINDANAO PEACE

UNESCO ‘FELIX HOUPHOUT-BOIGNY PEACE PRIZE’ AWARD IN SENEGAL

BANGSAMORO UN PETITION FOR SELF-DETERMINATION AND INDEPENDENCE

WHY SACRIFICE PEACE FOR WAR?

CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY AND CRIME OF GENOCIDE

OVERCOMING THE THORNY ROAD TO MINDANAO PEACE

THERE HAS TO BE A BANGSAMORO NATION

MNLF COMMITMENT TO MINDANAO PEACE

OIC LATEST INITIATIVE TOWARDS MINDANAO PEACE

MINDANAO YOUTH VISION OF PEACE

LOUD CALL OF CATHOLIC CHURCH FOR MINDANAO PEACE

INJUSTICE: THE ROOT OF CONFLICT IN MINDANAO

ADDRESSING THE ROOT OF MINDANAO CONFLICT

DISCUSSION ON TODAY’S PROSPECT FOR PEACE

ON THE THIRD SEQUEL BOOK, PEACE FOR MINDANAO WAR

APRIL 2015 WEDDING OF ANOTHER SON IN MALAYSIA

FINAL PART: WHY DO INDIGENOUS PEOPLES CRAVE FOR PEACE?

PAYING TRIBUTE TO THE MEMORY OF ALFRED NOBEL - THE GLOBAL PEACE ICON

WHY THE FAILURE TO ACHIEVE MINDANAO PEACE?

GIVE PEACE MAXIMUM CHANCE

IMMORTALIZING THE LEGACY OF PEACE

INTRODUCTION OF UN ‘BUILDING BLOCKS OF PEACE’ IN SEPTEMBER 21, 2016

CRIMINALIZE WAR, ENERGIZE PEACE

FINALLY, THE GOLDEN LEGACY ON IMMORTALIZING PEACE

A. BOOKS

OTHER SELECTED SOURCES

RELATED SOURCES:

PERIODICAL:

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THE BOOK

Rationale

Why write the book?

The book is written to awaken the Spanish, American, Japanese, Filipino and other global leaders to the fact that in the colonized domain, there is no substitute for peace. The Indigenous Peoples and native inhabitants of the world need not forever experience misery, despair and mass suffering generated by imposed war to perpetuate occupation and colonialism.

Living in colonial bondage, deprived and marginalized, the colonized victims just hunger for just and lasting peace because they only crave for their children and their children’s generations to live a peaceful life. They only fervently wish to breathe the atmosphere of freedom to chart their own destiny and posterity.

Thus the book is written to inform the global leaders, the colonizers and the colonized, and the whole of humanity that the wisdom of achieving peace by any practical means possible is greater than conducting and declaring war that only lead to chaos, destruction and losses of human lives and properties.

Why read the book?

By reading the book, it will surely help people to understand that peace, not war, is the golden key to full development and prosperity. In the past, self-centered global leaders attempted to use war to buy peace and developmental success, but only failed to achieve both. The human folly has only resulted to the First and Second World War, creating massive havoc and mass deaths for humanity.

The present global leaders must therefore be conscious of embracing the majesty of peace rather than patronizing the ugliness of war. They should develop now a consensus to help end the war in Asia, Central Asia, Middle East and Africa. They should be rightly guided by divine conscience that war could only aggravate the environmental hazards mankind is facing today. It is only peace that can stabilize and normalize human mind to work and strive for the greater good and welfare of the whole humanity. It is only in peace that there is divine grace.

Foreword

By Dr. Yolanda O. Stern, Ph.D., President of the One World Institute (OWI), and peace laureate of the Gusi Peace Prize International in 2011. She is the known ‘Daughter of Mindanao’ whose humanitarian role in social services is legendary.

This is a story of Mindanao, Philippines, as told by a faithful Freedom Fighter of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) under Chairman Nur Misuari. This book recalls a firsthand account of what it was like to live by a revolutionary commitment and to raise a family under the stifling atmosphere of recurring conflict.

This modern chronicle needed to be told, for a quite a few centuries, and Filipinos themselves have had a direct or indirect responsibility in this long and bitter struggle which resulted in loss of identity, territory, lives – all a heritage of its colonial past and the religious prejudice it nurtured.

The missing truths that sit between the paradoxes of faith and politics, of passion and intent, of war and peace, ignores the fact that the men and women like "Brah", obliged to fight to the bitter end, are by themselves so well educated, so well-travelled, so worldly wise, so passionate about freedom.

A chronicle in these pages, the struggles of Lupah Sug and Mindanao will not come to an end until the people have regained their identities and their self-esteem, and ultimately, if peace is not possible, their territories.

It is the struggle for their ultimate prize: Identity.

Diary of a colonized native

(YEARS OF HIDDEN COLONIAL SLAVERY)

In the name of God, the Compassionate and the Merciful

A FOLKTALE ON ‘HALAL BIMBANG’ (NOSTALGIC LEGITIMACY)

Lifted from the treasured chest of ‘Halal Bimbang’ (nostalgic legitimacy), this native folk tale is relentlessly related from one generation to another by the ‘unconquered Tausug natives’ of the ancient Kingdom of Lupah Sug and later Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo (SSNB). The SSNB was the first Sultanate sovereignty established in Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan (MINSUPALA) in 1450 initially as Sultanate of Sulu. This was after the formation of the three separate kingdoms in 1200s ruled by Tausug native strongmen bearing the title of ‘Rajah’ (from ‘SriPaduka’ or ‘SriPada’). The SSNB was followed in mainland Mindanao by the establishment of the Sultanate of Maguindanao and Buayan in Kutawatu (Cotabato) as well as the apat-na-pangampung Sultanate district rulership in Ranao (Lanao) in 1500s.

In the days of yore, the Spanish marauders strategically eyed the Muslim natives of the sovereign Sultanate of Sulu (‘Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo’ later in 1704) for colonial and Christianization conquest. The Spaniards were inspired with the thought of sharing with the Tausug Muslim natives the divine blessings generated by Spain from the Catholic theology and ‘triumvirate savior of humanity."

The Spanish colonizers lightly considered the Muslims (‘Moros’ they called) of Mindanao akin to the Manila-based Muslim and ‘Indio’ settlers. They overpowered the Manila-based Muslims. The non-Muslim settlers (‘Indios’ called by Spaniards) were abruptly colonized and Christianized by the Spanish conquistadors in 1560s. Later in 1872 the Christianized Indios adopted to be called ‘Filipinos.’ This was the identity reserved for the offspring of the Christian Catholic soldiers and friars in Luzon and Visayas. Imbued with the highest hope for success to colonize and subjugate the Muslim natives of Mindanao, the Manila- based Spanish invaders sailed from the conquered Filipino Catholic nation toward Sulu Sea. Indeed the Spanish missionaries onboard the ship were possessed with the positive prospect of ‘blessing’ the ‘poor lost soul’ natives of Lupah Sug (Sulu archipelago).

However, when the Hispanic armada ship loaded by devoted Spanish friars reached the shallow part of the blue ocean near Buansa and Bauang (Jolo), the Spanish Crusaders onboard were dumbfounded. They were just surprised in witnessing an exciting phenomenal sight. They could not believe in beholding throng of Muslim natives from the white sand seashore of Jolo Island walking the shining sea floor towards them. In jubilant mood, the Tausug natives were also waving high their hands of warm welcome.

Consciously gazing with unblinking eyes the strange miraculous sight, the Spanish friar superior suddenly ordered the bewildered ship captain to set sail immediately travelling back to Manila.

Could it be that the Spanish deacons then realized that they themselves were the unblessed compared to the blessed natives?

As inspired by Jainal R. Rasul’s commentary…History dictates that for almost 400 years, the Moros had their own separate system of government – the illustrious oriental Sultanate of yore…Reflecting on their history, the Moros proudly declare: We were never conquered. (Excerpts from his book, Philippine Muslims: Struggle for Identity).

PART I: UNWRITTEN DAYS OF BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD REMINISCENCES

"The two most important days in your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why," said Mark Twain, the famous American writer who has a sharp eye for the truth and justice. He became nothing less than a national treasure in his homeland.

Thus the unwritten and partly written diary of a colonized Tausug native is now

just revealed for the first time.

He is a Muslim by faith, Tausug by birth and Bangsamoro by destiny. But it is only after many years that this distinct reality was discovered by the colonized native born in the historic civilizational realm of Maimbung on the year 1947.

In early childhood years, the child native is endearingly called Daim by his parents, brothers and sisters. In teen years, he was also fondly known Ibbang and Ibz to his kindred, classmates and schoolmates. Finally, in adulthood years he is simply Brah to all closed acquaintances, friends and revolutionary colleagues who have somehow touched his life one way or the other.

This is then the story of his simple life touching on childhood reminiscences and being just from the beginning a native refugee in his own ancestral homeland.

This is the memoir of his personal odyssey from a naïve child growing up into a curious juvenile teenager until reaching conscious adulthood as a younger husband, father, teacher and barter trading merchant.

Furthermore, this is the narrative journal of his later life actively involved in an uphill revolutionary struggle that may serve as a pathway to freedom from colonial slavery. And simply could mean the liberation of his native land from illegal and immoral occupation by another Asian colonizer after Japan.

Indeed it is a generation of legacy struggle bequeathed by the Moro forebears whose passion for freedom has transcended the Spanish, American and Japanese colonial conquests for centuries. But only tragic that today the Bangsamoro natives have still to cope with the dark side of human bondage with the hope that one day the decades of man-made tragic colonial slavery will come to pass with the awakening of the oppressors to the gross injustice done against the colonized victims.

Moreover, this is the tall tale of his spiritual transformation from a passionate Mujahid (freedom fighter) into a devoted seeker of the path of truth to attain contentment and felicity throughout his mundane lifetime. His only wish now is to remain a conscientious peacemaker until his final return to the Divine Creator. Allah willing!

THE BEGINNING IN MAIMBUNG

In retrospect, he has always considered himself a proud native born in the earliest known civilization settlement of Maimbung. The ancient premier capital of the Kingdom of Lupah Sug (Sulu) during the pre-Sulu Sultanate period. The principality was initially inhabited by group of people called Buranun or Budanun (‘highland-dwellers’ or ‘mountaineers’). The Buranun domain was once ruled by the older and younger Paduka Batara Rajah Sipad in the ancient period. Paduka Batara (meaning ‘His Highness’ and ‘Lord’) was used a formal title by the Tausug king. The other title Rajah (or ‘SriPada’) originated from the Hindu SriPaduka symbolizing complete authority.

Lupah Sug monarchy was instituted and governed from the beginning using the Rajah system patterned after the Hindu-inspired Sarawak-based Majapahit Empire (modern Indonesia). The Hindu Majapahit rose up from the ashes of India-Buddhist Srivijaya Empire which started to decline by the end of the 12th century. The Srivijaya Empire, historical maritime and commercial kingdom in Indonesia, flourished between the 7th and the 13th centuries. But it ceased to exist in 1372 in Indonesia after being gradually defeated by Majapahit troops of the rising Javanese kingdom in 1397. The Majapahit Empire came to dominate the socio-economic political scene in Indonesia. The elder Maimbung-based Paduka Batara Rajah Sipad was succeeded by the younger Rajah Sipad whose descendants also belong to the known Tausug warrior Abu Sammah Alfad generation family members. They are today scattered all over Mindanao, particularly Lupah Sug, Basilan and Dar-ul-Jambangan (‘city of flowers’) known now as Samboangan to the Tausug and Sama and also ‘Zamboanga’ as called by the Spanish, American, Japanese and present Filipino colonialists. Some generational descendants have also migrated and settled in Manila and other Asian and western cosmopolitan centers.

Maimbung derived its name from a pious old native Imam Maim who was tasked by the ancient monarch sovereignty to serve as custodian of the first community bamboo- built langgal (mosque) during the past kingdom years. He had a large brassware gong attached to the house of worship to pound occasionally the loud sound – bung! This was to arrest the attention of the community residents prior to the performance of azan (call to prayer) and to signal iftar (break-Fast) during the month of Ramadan.

He also used the gong to alert the inhabitants of any forthcoming natural and human calamity in warning or cautioning the populace. On this turn of event, it came to pass that the startling sound of the brass instrument – bung – was clearly attributed and attached to his name to identify ‘Maimbung’ domain. The eastern kingdom dominion was then the central capital of Lupah Sug monarchy in the 13th up to 14th century.

In the 16th century at the height of the conquest invasion of the Manila-based Spanish conquistadors to Mindanao and Sulu, the Buansa-Bauang (Jolo)-based Sulu Sultanate rulership chose Maimbung as an alternative capital of the Sultanate throne. The Sultanate government was conveniently transferred to Maimbung during the exigency period with the tacit approval of the prominent Tausug warrior ruler Rajah Abu Sammah Alfad. He was the direct generational descendant of the younger Paduka Batara Rajah Sipad, the powerful king of the ‘eastern kingdom’ of Sulu during the pre-Sultanate period.

The astanah (palace) of the Sultan of Sulu and North Borneo (SSNB) was built in Darul Jambangan village in the realm of Maimbung.

REMINISCING THE HISTORICAL GRANDEUR OF TAUSUG NATIVES

It was during the reign of the elder Paduka Batara Rajah (‘SriPada’ or ‘Saripada’) Sipad that a Muslim mystic named Tuan Mashaikha arrived in Lupah Sug in the late 1200s. He arrived after the coming of the Muslim preacher Tuan Timhar Maqbalu who was credited to have introduced Islam to the early Tausug natives of Buansa and Bauang (Jolo). He came from a foreign land in the company of Muslim traders from China and Malaya (‘Malaysia’ starting in 1963), according to Tausug genealogy.

Tuan Mashaikha introduced Islam to the Maimbung populace who then only worshipped tombs and stones of any kind. After preaching Islam in the area, he married the daughter of Paduka Batara Rajah Sipad (or ‘Patuka Pahala’ meaning majesty and lord master) who was the ruling SriPada (person with absolute authority) or monarch in Lupah Sug. She was named Idda Indira Suga who gave birth to three children, Tuan Hakim, Tuan Pun and Indah Ayesha. Aside from his first wife, Tuan Mashaikha also married another native woman who begot Tuan Moumin. The direct descendants of Tuan Moumin spread to some different areas of Sulu, including Patikul and Tongkil.

Following the genealogy of Tuan Mashaikha, another titular system of benevolent piousness called ‘tuanship’ blossomed in Sulu archipelago. Furthermore, it was also noted that during the time of another descendant of Tuan Mashaikha named Tuan May, the latter begot a son known as Datu Tika whose descendants did not use ‘Tuan’ but instead ‘Datu’. It was the first time that ‘Datu’ was used as a political institution in Lupah Sug.

During the coming of Tuan Mashaikha, the Tagimaha natives from Basilan and mainland Mindanao also arrived and settled in Buansa. After Tagimaha came the Baklaya or Sama group (‘seashore dwellers’) from Sulawesi (Indonesia) and settled near Jolo, Patikul, Tongkil (Bangingi islet) and Tawi-Tawi islands. After them came the nomadic Badjau (‘Palahu’ or ‘Samal’) sea-gypsies from Johore. Consequently, after years of harmonious peaceful co-existence in Sulu, the populace community or settlement of the Buranun, Tagimaha and Baklaya created three political entities with distinct system of government and constituency. The Badjau settlers evenly lived among them in the ocean seashore and also in sea-floating ocean vessels.

The Chinese annals also recorded that in 1405 there were established three monarchy in Lupah Sug ruled by three iron-fisted kings. The most powerful ‘eastern kingdom’ was ruled by Paduka Batara Rajah Sipad and the ‘western kingdom’ was governed by Maharajah Kamal ud-Din (or Mahalachi). The Sulu interior monarchy near Bud Dahu (Mount Dajo) dormant volcanic crater was under the jurisdiction of the known ‘cave king’ Paduka Patulapok who was closely related to Rajah Sipad.

COMING OF CHINESE PUN TAU KUNG TO JOLO

Chinese annals further chronicled that China fostered trade relations between many Southeast Asian port principalities. The Chinese Empire acknowledged the rule of many Muslim princes of such principalities and even invited them to pay tribute to the ‘celestial court’ to further legitimize their rule at home. The policy in turn strengthened the strategic position of the Muslim leaders in Sulu, Sumatra, Java and Borneo (Brunei). This eventually enable Muslim rulers of port principalities of Java to join forces to dismantle the Majapahit Hindu Empire. This also motivated Melaka (or Malacca) to become both a flourishing trade and theological center. Under the rule of the pious Manshur Shah (1458-1477), Muslim preachers spread out to neighboring islands.

In the late 16th century, Brunei grew to become a naval power and the presence of Bruneian preachers was strongly felt and seen in Mai (Mindoro), Manila and Mindanao. All these far-reaching results were credited to the Muslim Chinese naval commander Cheng Ho (or Zheng He) whose massive fleet reestablished contacts with the descendants of the Sino-Muslim troops stationed in Java in 1292. While the main fleet was in some other place, some of the military sailors of Admiral Cheng Ho would visit nearby ports, including Sulu. This clearly explained the coming of Pun Tau Kung, named Pei Pei Hsein, to Jolo where he died due to Malaria. The Pun Ta Kung temple was built in his name by the Chinese residents of Jolo’s Chinese Pier community in the town center.

PART II: HISTORICAL NOSTALGIA

MINDANAO/SULU - CHINA DIPLOMATIC AND COMMERCIAL LIAISON

The Indigenous Peoples of Mindanao and Sulu since time immemorial had been engaged in diplomatic relationship and economic trade with China tacitly known as ‘Middle Kingdom’ or the ‘center of the world’ in ancient history. China Song dynasty annals chronicled the first trade mission from Mindanao to Guangzhou way back in 982 and the earliest tribute mission of the ‘Kingdom of Butuan’ in northern Mindanao to China in 1003. The Sulu monarchy and China were both actively trading and sending envoys from each other similar to other Asian countries just like in the case of Brunei, Champa (Vietnam) and the early Majapahit Empire of present Indonesia. The most evident of this diplomatic liaison, trading partnership and treasured friendship with the Chinese Empire is the ‘royal tomb’ of the Tausug ruler of the Kingdom of Sulu in Dezhou, Shandong Province, China.

CHINA VISIT AND BURIAL: SULU KING WAS A BROTHER OF THE EMPIRE.

The Chinese annals recorded that in 1417 the younger Lupah Sug king Paduka Batara Rajah Sipad travelled to China with around 345 royal family members and entourage of noble descendants and loyal followers. He was accompanied by Maharajah Kolamanting, the ‘western king’ of Sulu and Paduka Prabhu, king of interior Lupah Sug.

China’s Ming annals documented how the Sulu king and his retinue paid tribute to Ming Emperor Yong Le (or Zhu Di) in Beijing, China. They sailed from Sulu Sea across South China Sea toward the empire capital Peking (Beijing) and presented to Ming Emperor Yong Le a memorial inscribed in gold coupled with such tributes as pearls, precious stones and tortoise shells. They registered with the Chinese Minister of Rites on September 12, 1417 as Paduka Batara Rajah Sipad, king of ‘east country’, Maharajah Kolamanting of ‘west country’ and Paduka Prabhu.

The Sulu monarchs were warmly welcomed by the Chinese Emperor upon arrival in Beijing. Once presented to the Emperor they received royal seals and investment as princes of the realm.

After 27 days of a very cordial visit, the Sulu kings and royal entourage prepared to go back home to Lupah Sug. In October 8, 1417, they left Beijing with richly gifts from the Chinese Emperor, composing of Chinaware, court costumes, pendants or ceremonial insignia (symbol of Emperor’s protection and acknowledgment), sturdy tamed horses, 200 bolts of fine silk, hundreds of thousands of copper coins and enough of gold and silver to cover easily the journey’s expenses. They passed through China’s Grand Canal with military escorts befitting royal visitors of the vast celestial Chinese Empire.

However, on the journey back home to Sulu, Rajah Sipad was taken ill and met his death in a government ‘hostel’ in Dezhou, a town in Shandong province of China. He was weakened by the long voyage and rigors of the imperial visit and could not easily acclimatize to the sudden climate change that he eventually succumbed to the northern China ‘autumn fever’.

Upon knowledge of the tragic event, the grief-stricken Emperor Zhu Di immediately decreed a funeral befitting for a king. He commissioned artisans and sculptures to build a tomb with memorial arch and gateways, including a memorial tablet which named the deceased Sulu monarch "reverent and steadfast." Having considered the Sulu king "a brother of the Empire", the Tausug monarch was given an elaborate imperial burial in China. He was buried on October 23, 1417 and he was given a memorial by the Ming Emperor himself. Through public proclamation, Emperor Yong Le befittingly memorialized:

"Now then, the King, brilliant and sagacious, gentle and honest especially outstanding and naturally talented, as a sincere act of true respect for the Way of Heaven, did not shrink from a voyage of many tens of thousands miles to lead his familial household in person, together with his tribute officers and fellow countrymen, to cross the sea routes in a spirit of loyal obedience."

The Chinese Ming Emperor also gave his blessings to the Sulu king’s eldest son Rajah Dumahan to succeed his father’s kingdom. Following the traditional dictum of ancestor worship and filial piety, the wife Dayang Kamulin of the deceased Tausug king, second son Rajah Andulu, third son Rajah Wenhalla and ten loyal followers stayed behind to tend the tomb. They were provided adequate accommodation and enough pension in observing the mourning rites good for three years.

Emperor Yong Le further ordered that while in Dezhou, Shandong, the Tausug king’s family be given farmlands (238 mu) without taxes or tribute requirements and ample monthly supply of food and clothing materials. The three Muslim families in Shandong, namely Xia, Ma and Chen, were ordered to move to Dezhou to serve the remnants of the Tausug king’s family and to till the gifted plantation land for them.

Thus on this historical note, the family members of the deceased Tausug supreme monarch never returned to Lupah Sug because they also comfortably lived like royalty in China. The descendants of the Sulu king preferred to remain in China and subsequently they were classified as members of the Chinese Muslim Hui nationality. They conveniently intermingled with the local populace and twenty one descendant generations of the Sulu king, numbering about 3,700 and scattered all over China, are still given respectable recognition as such.

THE ROYAL TOMB OF KING OF SULU

The tomb of Sulu King Rajah Sipad still stands up to this day in Shandong province of China. The burial area was expanded in 2002 and a tall arch, with the emboldened words, "The Royal Tomb of King of Sulu," was erected as an entrance to the heritage park as proclaimed by the Chinese government.

Chinese annals has vividly emphasized that the transformed heritage park is the only foreigner’s tomb in China where descendants of Paduka Batara Rajah Sipad of the Kingdom of Sulu stayed as keepers of the royal shrine.

In 2005, the Chinese-integrated descendants of Rajah Sipad paid a return visit to their homeland in Lupah Sug for the first time after 588 years. The Chinese descendants were represented by the oldest 17th generation An Jin Tian and his son An Yan Chun who descended from the second son Rajah Andulu of the Sulu king. They were accompanied by Wen Hai Jun who descended from the third son Rajah Wenhalla. Both family descendants belong to the 18th generation family members of the deceased Sulu king in China.

Since the saga of the earliest Sulu Kingdom and the Chinese Empire is a story of enduring friendship, beyond borders and beyond time, the contemporary Chinese government under President Xi Jinping in 2017 observed the commemoration of the 600th anniversary of the historic monumental visit of Sulu King Paduka Batara Rajah Sipad with a series of activities.As destined by divine fate, the grandest anniversary celebration was attended by one of the generation-long descendants of the ancient Sulu King from Rajah Abu Sammah Alfad. She is the Maimbung-born ‘Pangyan’ Hajja Nawal Alfad-Tan, who is married to Sultan Phugdalun Kiram of Sulu and North Borneo.

Thus the current Sulu Sultan, ‘Pangyan’ consort and other Sultanate family members and civilian escorts were able to attend the historic event upon the invitation of the Chinese government. They also visited the Tausug king’s memorial tomb in Shandong Province to meet the long-generation familial descendants of the ancient King of Lupah Sug in China.

As further narrated by Chinese annals, after the death and burial of Sulu King Rajah Sipad in 1417, Chinese Ming Emperor Yong Le sent ‘High Commissioner Chang Chi’en’ to Lupah Sug kingdom on December 15, 1417. The main mission was to bring back to China Rajah Dumahan, the eldest son and successor of Rajah Sipad. The mission was also to contract direct and diplomatic linkage with the Zamboanga peninsula-based ‘Kingdom of Kumalalang’ under Rajah Kanlai Ipentun.

On November 16, 1420, following the example shown by Sulu King Rajah Sipad, the Kumalalang King visited China with a large royal entourage. Similar to the tragic fate of the Sulu King, the Kumalalang monarch Rajah Kanlai Ipentun died in China on May 27, 1421. He was succeeded by his only son Rajah La Pi.

In 1421, Paduka Batara Rajah Suli, the brother of Rajah Sipad, embarked on a tribute mission to China on May 14. He captured the fancy of the Chinese Emperor by bringing a huge 7-ounce Sulu pearl and with this unique precious gift he was granted a gold seal.

The new Kumalalang king Rajah La Pi sent his chief envoy Batikisan and entourage to China in 1424 to present a memorial engraved in gold.

Years later when Rajah Baginda, the Sumatran prince from the Majapahit Empire rose to power in interior Sulu and consolidated his government rule in Buansa and Jolo, he sent a tribute delegation to China under chief missionary Sheng-ya-li-pa-yu (‘Sangilaya’).

EARLY PERIOD OF SULU-TONDO (MANILA) CONTACT

It is narrated in the second page Sulu tarsila (genealogy) that after the establishment sometime of the three kingdoms in Lupah Sug, a certain Tausug chieftain Timway Orangkaya Su’il received four strong and healthy Bisayah (‘Indio’ slaves). The token human gift by the ‘Confederation of Madja-as’ (Tondo dynasty) from Manila was a symbolic sign of amity and friendship between the two early Islamic nations in Southeast Asia.

It is recorded in history that then Manila situated two earliest group settlements. The Muslim and Animist native settlers. The Muslim natives were ruled by noted leaders, like Rajah Sulayman Mahmud, Rajah Matanda and Rajah Lakandula of Tondo (Tondal) and the other group of indigenous natives were governed by their own Animist chieftains. This was years before the arrival of the Spaniards to Visayas in 1521 and finally to Luzon in 1565.

It is believed that the earliest Muslim settlers in Luzon were influenced by Brunei then a power force Islamic Sultanate sovereignty in South East Asia.

The famous Philippine lady writer Carmen Guerrero Nakpil in 1977 vividly described the socio-economic political and cultural existence of the earliest Muslim settlers in Manila . She wrote:

"It is hard to believe that Manila was once firmly under Muslim heel, Muslims controlled the seat government, the wealth and trade and down the Pasig and around Boi Lake Batangas as well as the sea lanes to Mindanao and Borneo. The Muslims were the ruling class in Luzon; the rich traders, cultural leaders and missionaries, the ones with the know-how and the right connections, the literacy and what’s more, the right religion."

The fourth page of Sulu genealogy further narrated the pre-Islamic period evolving in the native realm before the advent of Islam. It illustrated the coming of the Buranun (‘mountaineers’) to Maimbung, Tagimaya, Baklaya and the drifted Badjau immigrants from Johor. The pre-Islamic aborigines of Lupah Sug practiced several cultures under the aegis of the three earliest independent kingdoms ruled by the Buranun, Tagimaya and Baklaya monarchy rulers. Likewise, the socio-political systems of these kingdoms were characterized by different distinct institutions, such as ‘Rajah-ship’, ‘Datu-ship’ ‘Tuan-ship’ and ‘Timawa-ship’.

The arrival eventually afterwards of Tuan Timhar Maqbalu (or Maqbul) and later on by Tuan Mashaika established a core Islamic community in some areas in Lupah Sug. But this did not mean the Islamization of entire Sulu rather it would only imply that Muslims already inhabited the island kingdom.

ISLAMIZATION OF SULU AND MINDANAO

Islam gained initial foothold in Lupah Sug before it spread to the other parts of Mindanao and Palawan, according to Sulu genealogy and supplemented by oral traditions. The introduction of Islam into Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan (MINSUPALA) and extended, although short-lived, into the islands of Visayas and Luzon started from the Arab peninsula through China, Brunei and Malaya around 1200s. Islam was first introduced in Jolo Island when the first Muslim missionary named Tuan Timhar Maqbalu taught Islam to the community inhabitants of Buansa and nearby vicinity. The principality was considered capital of Lupah Sug under Rajah Baginda. The Muslim missionary also settled in the area and his grave in Jolo (present capital of Sulu) records a death date of 710 AH (after Hejira) equivalent to 1310 AD.

Tuan Maqbalu was followed by other Muslim preachers from the heartland of Arabia, passing through India, China and Malaya (presently Malaysia), notably Tuan Mashaikha and Sharif Makhdum al-Karim. Sulu genealogy cited that Tuan Mashaikha brought Islam to the shores of Maimbung and settled permanently in the flourishing capital domain of the Lupah Sug kingdom. He also married the daughter of the Sulu king, the younger Paduka Batara Rajah Sipad II, a descendant of the elder Rajah Sipad.

His descendants were later on found near Patikul and Mount Sinumaan in the Lati district on the other side of Sulu.

The widespread introduction of Islam in the Sulu archipelago was attributed to the coming of Sharif Makhdum al-Karim, a notable honest Arab merchant, jurist and religious scholar. Travelling from Makkah, he arrived in the Melaka (‘Malacca’) Sultanate and preached Islam to the people. His comprehensive and eloquent teaching of Islam convinced and converted the Malay natives, including the Sultan of Malacca.

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SULU’S SYMBOLIC PRIDE BUD TUMANTANGIS (‘CRYING MOUNTAIN’): Bud (Mount) Tumantangis is forever remembered in history as the permanent earthly resting place of Sultan Sayyid Abubakar, the first sovereign ruler of the Islamic Sultanate of Sulu. Proclaimed and recognized in 1450 the first Sultanate supreme ruler, the Arabian descent Sultan Sayyid Abubakar Zainal Abirin was buried in the slope of the breath-taking Mount Tumantangis. (Source: Sulu Genealogy, Provincial Museum).

In 1380 AD, he came to Buansa and settled temporarily among the Tagimaha nobles. He built the first large community mosque in the area whereupon people from all directions flocked and started to embrace the Islamic faith. He was later on called Tuan Sharif Aulia, suggesting unmistakably that he was a learned missionary, eloquent preacher and a Sufi (‘mystic Islamic faithful’).

Although other respectable and learned makhdumin came after him, the likes of Tuan Aminullah and Tuan Sayiddun Nikab, Sharif Karim al-Makhdum was the one who came to Buansa then travelled on to Tapul and Lugus islands, and finally reached Simunul in Taw-Tawi Island. In Tubig Indangan, he built a mosque which became the first Islamic house of worship to be constructed in Tawi-Tawi. The Masjid years later became known as ‘Sheikh Karim al-Makhdum Mosque.’ He passed away revered by all Muslims of Sulu archipelago and all satellite islands. His exact burial place could either be in Tandu Banak, Sibutu or in Tubig-Indangan, Simunul, near the mosque he built in the tiny island.

Of particular interest, he was widely known in Buansa as ‘Tuan Sharif Aulia,’ ‘Tuan Abdurahman’ in Tapul and Lugus, and in Simunul and Sibutu by his own hallowed name Shaikh Karim al-Makhdum.

Islam was introduced in mainland Mindanao by another known ‘Sharif Aulia’ named Ibrahim Zein ud-Din al-Akbar ibn Jamal ud-Din al-Husayni, who arrived in Maguindanao around 1460.

Nonetheless, the famous Asian historian, Dr. Cesar Adib Majul, further explained that it was Sharif Muhammad Kabungsuwan who arrived on the shores of Maguindanao sometime 1515 that caused the widespread conversion to Islam of the Indigenous Peoples of Maguindanao, Matampay, Slangan, Simway and Katitwan in Cotabato. This also led eventually to the Islamization of the whole region, including Lanao area.

It was interestingly noted that once Islam took firm foothold in Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan, the Muslim (Moro) natives gained a high sense of religious community, new laws, a more developed political organization and a new system of writing. It gave them a new ethical outlook in life to begin considering themselves as a historical people after having adopted values that enhanced their particular race, culture and civilizational heritage. It was also noted from the beginning that the Muslims were closely and cordially associated with the indigenous Animist Lumad natives (or ‘Highlanders’) of mainland Mindanao. The Lumad natives (‘people of the soil) have always considered the Moros their blood brothers.

POLITICAL PARADIGM SHIFT FROM MONARCHY TO ISLAMIC SULTANATE

Sulu Genealogy documented that Rajah Baginda, a Muslim prince from Sumatra, Indonesia, came to Lupah Sug ten years after the arrival of Sharif Karim al-Makhdum. He journeyed from Menangkabaw, Sumatra, after stopping in Sambuhangan (Zamboanga) and Basilan and finally to Sulu. But in Buansa, he initially met resistance from the Tausug Muslims who upon learning that he was also of Islamic faith eventually welcomed him. He peacefully lived among the people and married a native woman, giving birth to Dayang Faramisuli. He succeeded in becoming the strongman leader in later years. He also strengthened the Islamic consciousness of the people thereby consolidating his political and moral status in Buansa principality and throughout other areas in Lupah Sug.

ESTABLISHING THE FIRST SULTANATE GOVERNMENT IN LUPAH SUG

The Sultanate of Sulu was proclaimed around 1450 by a learned Arabian Muslim named Syed Abubakar (or ‘Sayyid Abu Bakr’) who married Dayang-Dayang Paramisuli. She was the only known daughter of the Tausug monarch, Rajah Baginda. While the Buansa chieftain was known to be a Muslim Sumatran prince who arrived and settled in Buansa in 1390 AH, Sayyid Abubakar Zainal Abidin was believed to have come from Hadramauth, Arabia. He was originally from the Hashim Ibn Abdi Manaf ancestry of Makkah belonging to the Quraysh clan of Prophet Muhammad (saw) ibn Abdullah ibn Abdul Muttalib ibn Hashim ibn Abdi Manaf ibn Qusayy bin Kilab.

According to traditional history, the Quraysh tribe was scattered throughout Hijaz until the time of Qusayy bin Kilab, the ancestor patriarch of Prophet Muhammad ibn Abdullah (saw). Originally, he gathered his tribal grouping in the Arabia part Hijaz and the tribe was able to gain and exert authority over the Ka’bah (holy black shrine) built by Prophet Ibrahim (ais). He was called ‘Mujammi’ (uniter or assembler) by his people and founded the city state of Makkah. He made excellent arrangements for the comfort and welfare of the pilgrims coming from all over Arabia visiting the Ka’bah. As a result, the Quraysh were able to gain tremendous influence among the Arabian tribes. After the death of Qusayy bin Kilab, the state of Makkah was divided between his two sons, Abdi Manaf and Abd ad-Dar. Of the two sons, Abdi Manaf gained greater fame and influence and was held in high esteem throughout Arabia. Hashim, one of his four sons, was the father of Abdul Muttalib whose son Abdullah was the father of Prophet Muhammad (saw).

The status of the Quraysh being ‘Keepers of the Ka’aba’ was respected by all Arabian pilgrims to the holy black shrine in Makkah. Furthermore, the Quraysh tribe also boasted of so many literate people that the last Prophet of Islam Muhammad ibn Abdullah (saw) said: "The Quraish are the leaders of men."

The Ka’bah (‘black cube’) has had always been from the beginning the pilgrimage center for the Arabs in the Middle East and later on for the global Islamic Ummah (community of Muslim nations). Commonly known now Masjid al-Haram by all Muslims, it is the biggest mosque in the world and the center of both hajj and umrah pilgrimage visited annually and oftenly by million-strong Islamic faithfuls from all over the four continents of Africa, Europe, America and Asia-Pacific, including Australia and New Zealand.

Sayyid Abubakar travelled from Arabia through Baghdad, Palembang, Brunei and Johore to Basilan where the local tribes invited him to visit Buansa. As revealed by the Basilan tarsila, he landed in Buansa in 1401 AD. Upon his arrival and inquiring the whereabouts of the mosque, he decided in settling in Buansa and later married the daughter of the supreme leader Rajah Baginda. Although both the Sulu and Basilan Genealogy recognized that his proper name is Abubakar yet some oral traditions maintain that his other proper name is Zain al-Abidin.

In 1450, upon the death of his father-in-law, Sayyid Abubakar was installed and proclaimed as the first Sultan of the Islamic Sultanate of Sulu. He assumed the regal title of Sultan Sharif al-Hashim or more formally ‘Paduka Mahassari Maulana al-Sultan Sharif al-Hashim.’

The Sulu Sultanate under Sultan Sharif al-Hashim was patterned after the Islamic Caliphate system of Arabia in establishing law and order. During his Sultanate reign, he was credited to have established Islam as a form of state religion with its attendant political and social institutions. He organized the formal teaching of the Qur’an and Sunan/Ahadith of Prophet Muhammad ibn Abdullah (saw) in the schoolroom of the established madrasah (Islamic institution). He introduced the first system of madrasah learning knowledge, speeding the growth of Islam and strengthening the unity of the Tausug people. He converted and consolidated the coastal natives of Jolo Island through the consciousness of the deen of Islam (Islamic way of life) and the concept of al-Islam deen wa’dawla (Islam is both religion and state). He recognized and united the existing banua monarchy constituencies and also consolidated the existing settlements of Luuk, Latih, Pansul and Parang.

He also appointed panglimah (deputies) loyal to him in the different islands comprising the domain of the Sultanate of Sulu. The sovereignty of the Sultanate of Sulu under his helm established in 1450 lasted up to 1480, a span of thirty years prosperous and peaceful reign.