Toto, Judy Ann V.

HUM 3 (12:30-1-30)

TAUSUG
Tausug or Suluk is the name of an Islamized tribal group in the Sulu archipelago, and is taken from the words tau
meaning man and sug meaning current.

Traditionally the Tausug are sailors, pearl divers and traders, their ancestral homelands in the Sulu Archipelago have
vigorous tidal currents that flow from the Sulu and China Seas to the Celebes Sea. This translates literally into the name
people of the current.

Family Structure and Tradition

The Tausug household consists of either a nuclear family or a stem family, the latter being comprised of parents,
unmarried children, plus a married child, spouse, and grandchildren. Fully extended families are rare.

Inheritance. Land is usually divided between sons, with some preference given to the eldest. Other property is generally
inherited bilaterally.

Socialization. Children are looked after by both parents and older siblings. A newborn infant's hold on life is thought to be
precarious; therefore, children are commonly protected with amulets ( hampan ) and temporarily secluded immediately
after birth. At around 1 or 2 years of age, both boys and girls undergo a ritual haircutting and immediately afterward are
named. Most preadolescent children attend Quranic school or study the Quran with a private tutor, and when proficient
they demonstrate their skills at recitation in a public ceremony called pagtammat. This is typically a festive occasion, its
scale reflecting the family's status and economic means. Boys are circumcised ( pagislam ) in their early teens; girls
undergo a similar rite ( pagsunnat ), but without ceremony and attended only by females, when they reach the age of 5 or
6. Socialization emphasizes sensitivity to shame, respect for authority, and family honor. Today children attend public
schools, but few attain more than a primary education. Only one in five who begin school complete grade six.

Marriage Transactions
Marriage is ideally arranged by parents. Contacts between the sexes are restricted and marriageable women are kept in
relative seclusion to protect their value to their family as political and economic assets. First and second cousins are
favored spouses (with the exception of the children of brothers). A series of negotiations precedes marriage, concluding
with an agreement on the amount of bride-wealth and other expenses to be paid by the boy's family. In addition to
arranged marriages, wives may be obtained by elopement or abduction, both common alternatives. Weddings are held in
the groom's parents' house immediately upon payment of bride-wealth and are officiated by an imam. Newly married
couples generally reside uxorilocally for the first year, or until the birth of a child, after which they are free to join the
husband's family, remain with the wife's family, or, preferably, build a new house of their own, typically close to the
husband's natal community. Independent residence is the eventual ideal. Relations between husband and wife are
characteristically close and enduring. Divorce is permitted but is infrequent, occurring in less than 10 percent of all
marriages and, although polygyny is allowed, few men take more than one wife.

The Pangalay, a traditional Tausug wedding dance and popularly known as the fingernail dance is one of the most well
known dances, accompanied by a kulintang ensemble. This dance is distinctive because dancers use metal or golden nail
extenders or janggay, which make the fingers stiff and set them apart from the thumbs. The Pangalay imitates the
mythical Sarimanok bird, a reincarnation of a goddess who loved a mortal man, after the dance, she removes her nails
and drops them to the ground, hoping that a man will gather them and will claim her for his bride.

Religious Beliefs
The strong-willed Tausug follow the Sunni Islamic beliefs and practices, Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam, the
word Sunni comes from the word Sunnah meaning tradition. But indigenous beliefs endure, apart from Allah or Tuhan, the
Tausug also believe in spirits that inhabit nature, especially rocks and trees, like the evil spirits named saytan and unseen
creatures called jinn. According to the Tausug the human soul has four souls which leave the body when he dies, the life-
soul related with blood, the spirit-soul connected with dreams, the soul of breath, associated with life and the
transcendental soul. The body of the deceased will go to hell, to receive punishment for the sins committed while he was
living. Various charms and belief in spirits, in order to gain success and good fortune, are still a great part of their daily life.
The elder Tausug, on the other hand, are those who continue to do daily prayers. Even if they believe that illnesses,
diseases and other misfortunes are part of their god’s will, they still also hang on to the belief of having spirits in the
environment that are capable of administering good andbad fortunes. Due to this, they continue to have a mangungubat
or folk curers thatsupposedly treat the ill. They get their powers through dreams or from the instructions of the elder
mangungubats. They cure the sick using herbal medicine and prayer.

Burial Practices
Certain burial customs are observed among these people. For example, when someone in the family dies, religious
officials are called upon to perform the rituals. The dead man's body is washed to prepare it for the ceremony. The sacred
text of the Koran is read over the body. ft is believed that the chants from the Koran will lighten the dead man's spirit from
its physical pain. The reading of the Koran Is continued, this time over the grave, for several days. Tausugs means
treacherous waters They are given this name because their land floats atop the treacherous waters.

The Tausug Language

Tausūg is spoken by about 1 million people in parts of the Philippines, in Malaysia, and in Indonesia, particularly on the
Sulu Archipelago, the Zamboanga Peninsula, Southern Palawan in the Philippines, in Sabah in Malaysia, and in
Kalimantan in Indonesia. Tausūg a member of the Visayan branch of Central Philippine languages, which is part of
Malayo-Polynesian language family. Tausūg is closely related to the Butuanon language of northeastern Mindanao.

The name of the language in Tausūg is Bahasa Sūg, which means language of the Sūg where Sūg is taken to mean the
area in which it is spoken (ie. Sulu). The word Tausūg is the name used colloquially where Tau means 'person' and hence
Tausūg means 'person of Sūg' (Sulu). These days Tausūg is written with the Latin alphabet, but used to be written with a
version of the Arabic alphabet based on the Malaysian Jawi script.

Economic Activities
This homogeneous tribe is a blend of Malay and Indonesian races; they are widespread in the Philippines and can be
found mainly in coastal area communities. They are distinctive from the Badjao Tribe by the aspects of their own culture
and because they speak their own language. In the past the Tausug were boisterous pirates who infested the waters from
the Sulu seas but nowadays make a living from agriculture, raising water buffaloes and fishing. Aside from being known
as the best, gallant and ferocious freedom fighters of the world the Tausug are famous for being the best pearl divers in
the world. Fishing is done in off-shore waters from motorized boats using bamboo traps, hook and line and fishing nets.

The Tausug tribe is one of the Muslim minorities in the Southern Philippines; they still retain many of the ancient practices
and strong, dynamic traditions of their particular tribal heritages but are experiencing a great deal of change. The
traditional Tausug culture is diminishing because of the influences of the modern Philippine society. Many of the Tausug
are living below poverty level and have been displaced from their homes and livelihoods by the wars and armed conflicts
between rebel groups and the Philippine government.

The Tausug, a rough tribe that roamed the Southern Seas and resisted foreign intruders at land is at present caught, in
the middle of nowhere.

Arts, Literature, and Music

The Tausug mats show exemplary work done by their weavers. They have great weaving skills that can be seen in their
silk sashes, shoulder cloth or in their male head dresses called pis siyabit. Their designs are mostly linear and geometric.

Tausug art also include the embroidery that they do. Since they are known for their prized silk threads, the embroidery
found in their pillow cases, table cloths etc. are of value. Due to the Tausug’s religion which is mostly Islamic, they aren’t
allowed to create art works that show human or animal forms which is why they go for more abstract motifs. This decision
didn’t come out as bad at all because they have been creating abstract and different motifs that aren’t commonly seen.
Another form of art that they have are their weapons. Weapons have become more of value to them. Weapons that had
intricate or elaborate patterns in their blades have either afloral or geometric incision
Just like any other group in the Philippines, the Tausug are rich in their literary works that are passed on from generation
to generation through word of mouth (oral tradition.) The Tausug call their tales: katakata. The most common subject of
their tales are tales that revolve around the lives of their sultan. But due to their different geographic locations, the Tausug
have variations to their tales. An example would be their folktale entitled: Manuk-manuk Bulawan. It is called by that name
by the Tausugs living in Indanan while it is called Agta, Datu or Dakula in other places. Another example of the Tausugs
folktale are trickster tales called Posong/Pusung. Tales like these are meant to entertain its audience. For theTausugs, the
story of Posong is on how he tricks the sultan and how he gets away with it.However, for certain local analysts, this type
of folktale is a way of society to get back totheir leader by showing how a commoner can outwit their head. The Tausug
call their legends as usulan. Usulan’s are usually taken from or sourced from the different landmarks in their area like the
mountain’s highest peaks, lakes and their own provinces. One of their known and favorite legends is called the Kawwn of
Bud Tumatangis which is Mount Tumatangis, the highest peak in their province. Bud means mountain and tangis means
to cry. It is believed that sailors cry when they lose sight of the peak or when they see it upon arriving.

A well-known Tausug dance is the dalling–dalling, where handkerchiefs or fans are used. A sing-er usually accompanies
the dance by describing the various movements of the dancer. The song is known as the sangbay and the singing.
pagsangbay. Some of the songs used are “Lingisan/kinjung-kinjung,” “Dalling-dalling.” The development of the dalling–
dalling is attributed to a native Tausug by the name of Albani who became a famous proponent of the dance (Amilbangsa
1983:42).

Tausug martial-art dances are performed by men and include the langka-silat and the langka-kuntaw. The langka-silat
simulates a fight and is usually per-formed with two or three other dancers. The langka–kuntaw is a dance of self-defense,
resembling the mar-tial arts of China, Japan, and Burma (Amilbangsa 1983:32-35).

A Tausug occupational dance is the linggisan which depicts a bird in flight; the taute, which shows a fisher diving for the
prickly catfish; and the suwa–suwa, which shows dancers imitating the swaying of lemon trees (Amilbangsa 1983:28).

Kalangan or Tausug vocal music can be divided into narrative and lyric songs, and further into the lugu and the
paggabang traditions. The luguh traditio-n denotes unaccompanied religious songs, while the paggabang tradition applies
to “more mundane” songs that are accompanied by the gabbang and biyula (Trimillos 1972).

Narrative songs tell a story and include all the sung kissa like the parang sabil. Lyric songs express ideas and feelings
and consist of the langan batabata (children’s songs), the baat (occupational songs), the baat caallaw and pangantin
(funeral and bridal songs, respectively), the tarasul (sung poems), the sindil (sung verbal jousts), the liangkit (from langkit
or “chained”), and the sangbay or song to accompany the dalling-dalling dance.