EDUCATION

Bongao is home to the Mindanao State University - Tawi-Tawi College of Technology and Oceanography
(MSU-TCTO), Tawi-Tawi Regional Agricultural College (TRAC), Mahardika Institute of Technology (MIT),
Abubakar Learning Center Foundation College (ALC), Tawi-Tawi School of Midwifery (TTSM). The first two
are government owned state colleges, while the last three are privately owned. There are several
secondary high schools in Tawi-Tawi such as the MSU TCTO - Science High School, MSU TCTO
Preparatory High School, Tawi-Tawi School of Arts and Trade, Notre Dame of Bongao, and Tawi-Tawi
School of Fisheries (TTSF).
Colleges Tawi-Tawi List of institutions of higher learning offering undergraduate programs to students who
have successfully completed high school education. Colleges are required by law to offer at least one
undergraduate program. Each undergraduate program offered in these colleges takes between two to four
years and all programs have minimum admission requirements that students have to meet before
registration.

The Tawi-Tawi Regional Agricultural College is a public college in the Philippines. It is

mandated to provide professional, technical, and special training and promote research, extension
services, and progressive leadership in the field of agriculture and home technology.[1] Its main campus is
located in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi
High Schools Tawi-Tawi List of Secondary Schools which admits students who have successfully
completed the six-year elementary school stage (primary school). In the Philippines, high school students
are predominantly aged between twelve to eighteen years. The high school curriculum was previously
meant to be covered in four years but it was recently extended to six years. During the first four years of
high school, students complete junior high school and during the final two years, they complete senior high
school. During the high school years, students who wish to pursue technical vocational training after high
school can start specializing in relevant core subjects which are relevant to the technical course they plan
to study. Students are issued with a high school certificate after they complete this six-year stage. The high
school curriculum is monitored by the Philippines Department of Education(DepEd).
Tawi-Tawi Culture, Customs And Traditions
THE SAMA OF TAWI-TAWI CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS

The Sama are the original inhabitants of the Tawi-Tawi archipelago. The term sama is derived from the
word sama-sama meaning togetherness. They are a cohesive and peace-loving people. Little do, they
resort to physical violence, rather they discuss problems among themselves.
SUBCULTURE COMMUNITIES
there are five Sama sub cultural communities with the Tawi-Tawi province. These are the Sama Simunul,
Sama Balimbing, Sama Tawi-Tawi, Sama Sibutu and Sama Ubian. They all vary in ancestry7, outlook in
life, economic life ways and social upbringing.
The Sama have this suspicious nature towards strangers. However, they can be easily befriended once the
outsiders have established report with them. These people are basically cogenial and hospitable. They are
Go-fearing and they submit themselves to Allah alone.The Sama of Tawi-Tawi originally come form Johore.
Their forefathers are believed to have
supernatural powers to invite spirits called Jin to do things for them. Good fortune comes to believers who
appease their ancestral with offerings.
The Sama Sibutu belong to the Datu class. They also possess the ilmuh (knowleged) of Jinim or spiritism.
The Sama Ubian originate from Sea Dayak. They are fierce fighters, contradictory to the basic trait of the
Sama people. They are said to have served as underwater commandoes in an encounter with the other
groups.
Sama settlements are usually found along the coast. This is so for two reasons: sanitation, because tidal
movement washes away their waste materials; and security from enemies, for escape is easy through
constantly ready vintas.

ABOUT MANNER OF DRESSING

A woman wears sambra (short-sleeved summer blouse), sawwal (long, loose pants), and badju kuput
(tight-fitting blouse). Sablay (long loose-sleeved blouse) with tadjung (wraparound) is also a part of their
wardrobe. They also apply makeup like atal (lipstick) and madda powder).
These people own gold jewelry such as sing-sing (ring), gallang (bracelet), kut-kullung (neclace) and aritis
9earing). They are used for special occasions like wedding, religious holidays and can also be apart of the
ungsud (bridal gift).

ABOUT THE MUSIC

Gong and kulinang are valued musical instruments of the Sama. The sound of gongs alert able-bodied
Sama to prepare for war. In peaceful times, the sound of musical instruments companies the performance
of a pangalay dance.
ABOUT THE LIVELIHOOD
Basically, the Sama are fishermen and farmers. They also log and hunt for their livelihood. Few of them are
engaged in gainful jobs and industrial works.
Each of the Sama subgroups is famous for a particular skill. For instance, a BURAS making and pottery are
the pride of the Sama Simunul; Kumpit building and wood carving are the skills where Sama Sibutu excel;
dying and preserving marine products are the pride of Sama Balimbing; PIS (shawl) weaving is what
Kabinga-an are famous for, the Sama Tapul are agriculturist; fishing is what the Sama Manubul are noted
for; and mat weaving and handbag making are the expertise of the Sama Lamunisa.
Unity prevails among the Sama subgrounds despite the differences in ancestry and culture. They are a
united people surviving; in a marine environment. And Islam is the faith that binds them together.
Reliving the past was the highlight of the recent Agal-Agal Festival in the province of Tawi-Tawi in
Mindanao.
Dubbed as the “Seaweeds Capital of the Philippines” and “Carrageenan Capital of the World”, the province
celebrates the Agal-Agal (Seaweed) Festival every 25th of September.
It was the main event in this year’s 44th Kamahardikaan sin Tawi-Tawi or the southern province’s founding
anniversary, held in the town Languyan, some 55 kilometers from the capital Bongao.
The celebration honors the bounties of the sea, especially seaweed, the top source of livelihood in the
province.
The festival features a street dance, igal ma lan, competition, that include performances portraying a
fisherman’s process of catching catfish, locally known as tawti, and seaweed farming.
The event also showcases traditional dances like the tawti, kuntaw, silat, and more—putting the spotlight
on the cultural practices and traditions of the people of Tawi-Tawi -- the Sama, Sama Dilaut, Jama Mapun,
and Tausug.
More than the extravagant display of costumes and props and spectacular choreography, the festival is a
time to reflect on the history and struggles of their ancestors, who trusted in nothing but the wisdom of the
sea to guide them.