The History of Sulu Part 5

who came into Sulu from the west, and the dynasty established by Masha'ika must have exercised due influence on the Buranun. Whatever religion or customs these Malay conquerors had in their original land, they no doubt continued to practise in their new home. It does not appear that the Samals produced any change in this respect, and the same wors.h.i.+p and social organization which the Sulus had remained unchanged until the Mohammedans reached the Archipelago.

The two prominent characters who mark this era are Makdum and Raja Baginda. Makdum was a noted Arabian judge or scholar who arrived at Malacca about the middle of the fourteenth century, converted Sultan Mohammed Shah, the ruler, to Islam and established this religion throughout the state of Malacca. He evidently practised magic and medicine and exerted an unusually strong influence on the people of Malacca. Continuing farther east, he reached Sulu and Mindanao about the year 1380. [140] In Sulu, it is said, he visited almost every island of the Archipelago and made converts to Islam in many places. The Island of Sibutu claims his grave, but the places at which he was most successful are Bwansa, the old capital of Sulu, and the Island of Tapul. It is said that the people of Bwansa built a mosque for him, and some of the chiefs of the town accepted his teachings and faith. The Tapul people claim descent from him, and some of them still regard him as a prophet.

Makdum's success in preaching a new faith to people as independent in their individual views and as pertinacious in their religious practices, beliefs, and customs as the Sulus must have been in his time, is certainly remarkable and creditable to a high degree. The results of his mission to Malacca and Sulu throw a new light on the history of Islam in the Philippine Islands and modify the opinion formerly held relative to its introduction by the sword. How much of a lasting effect the teachings of Makdum could have had on Sulu is very difficult of estimation, but in all probability the new sapling planted in the soil of Sulu would have withered before long had it not been for the future current of events which watered it and reared it to maturity.

Some time after Makdum (the Genealogy of Sulu says ten years) there came into Sulu a prince from Menangkabaw called Raja Baginda. Menangkabaw [141] is a rich, high region in central Sumatra, from which many Malayan dynasties seem to have come. Raja was the usual t.i.tle applied to all Malayan kings. Baginda is said to have touched at Sambuw.a.n.gan (Zamboanga) and Basilan before reaching Sulu. The nature of such a move can not be explained unless he followed the northern route leading from Borneo to Kagayan Sulu, Pangutaran, and Zamboanga, which route seems to have been taken by all Mohammedan missionaries and invaders mentioned in the tarsila.

The written records of Baginda's arrival and his later history are exceedingly brief. When he arrived at Bwansa, the Sulus came out to engage him in battle, as we would naturally expect; but, the tarsila continues, on learning that he was a Mohammedan, they desisted from fighting, invited him to stay with them, and seem to have entertained him very hospitably. Such an account is absurd on the face of it. Raja Baginda was not a trader nor a traveler touring the Archipelago. He was accompanied by ministers and no doubt came to Bwansa to stay and rule. His coming was an ordinary kind of invasion, which proved successful. When Abu Bakr reached Bwansa, as we will learn later, he was directed to Raja Baginda, who must have been the supreme ruler of Bwansa. Accordingly we find all the chiefs of Sulu enumerated in the tarsila at the day of Baginda's arrival subordinate in rank, having no "rajas" among them.

The Genealogy of Sulu is as misleading as the tarsila of Magindanao in that it pictures the arrival of Baginda as peaceful as that of Kabungsuwan. Some of the chiefs who were Mohammedans possibly intrigued against their former overlords, and, joining Baginda's forces, defeated their opponents; but the dearth of information relative to this early Philippine history renders it impracticable to secure any more light on the subject. It may not, however, be out of place to remind the reader that the fourteenth century was marked by unusual activity in methods of warfare. Gunpowder, which was known and used as an explosive long before that date, had not been made use of in throwing projectiles in battle. The Arabs, we know, used firearms early in the fourteenth century, and we may conjecture that they introduced such weapons into Malacca and other parts of Malaysia as they moved east. It is not improbable then that a prince coming from Sumatra was provided with firearms which overawed the ignorant inhabitants of Bwansa and subdued the valor and courage of the Sulu and Samal pirates of those days. The statement made in the tarsila of Magindanao that, after the people of Slangan came down the river to where Kabungsuwan was anch.o.r.ed, "He beckoned (or pointed his finger) to them, but one of them died on that account, and they were frightened and returned,"

is the only kind of evidence found which can possibly be interpreted to indicate that a firearm was used. Lacking confirmation as this may be, yet we positively know that when the Spaniards reached these Islands, these people had an abundance of firearms, muskets, lantaka [142]

and other cannon, and we may be justified in saying that probably firearms existed in the land in the century preceding the arrival of the Spaniards. This brings us approximately down to Baginda's days.

In considering the etymology of the t.i.tles of the Sulu chiefs mentioned in the time of Baginda, we observe that they are of three cla.s.ses. The first cla.s.s were the datus. These had mantiri or ministers and probably represented the descendants of Raja Sipad and Tuan Masha'ika. The second cla.s.s were the sayk. "Sayk" is probably derived from the Arabic "Sheikh" meaning "chief." These were the Tagimaha chiefs, and their rank was evidently subordinate to that of datu. The third cla.s.s were the orangkaya, the Baklaya chiefs. These are also subordinate in grade and could not have been higher than the sayk. The words datu and orangkaya it must be remembered are of Malay origin, while raja and baginda are Sanskrit, baginda being the highest and being often used as equivalent to emperor, while raja means only king.

Jawa is the Malay term for Java. The incident related in the tarsila relative to the gift of two elephants sent by the raja of Java to the raja of Sulu is interesting, in that it explains the existence in Jolo of the elephants found there during the earlier Spanish invasions. It further indicates that Raja Baginda was not an insignificant chief and that he kept up some kind of communication with the rajas of western Malaysia.

The elephants received by Baginda were let loose, the story says, and they lived and multiplied on Mount Tumangtangis. On the declivity of this mountain there is a place still called lubluban-gaja, which means the "habitat or lying-place of the elephant." The people relate several stories which make mention of the elephant, one of which declares that the chief who killed the last wild elephant was given the hand of the sultan's daughter in marriage, in admiration of his strength and bravery.

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE MOHAMMEDAN CHURCH IN SULU AND THE REIGN OF ABU BAKR, 1450-1480

Brevity is without exception a marked characteristic of all Moro writings. Their letters, unlike those of the Malays and Arabs, are brief and devoid of compliment or detail.

It is very difficult to pick out a superfluous word or phrase from the text of the Sulu tarsila. In fact, the narrative of events throughout the ma.n.u.script is so curtailed as to be reduced to a mere synopsis of headlines. It gives a very dim view of the general subject and leaves out much that is desired. Thus, the whole question of establis.h.i.+ng 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 traditions of the country, notwithstanding their brevity, add some further but less reliable information. It is the common belief that Abu Bakr was born in Mecca and that he lived some time at Juhur (or Malacca). Others state that it was his father, Zaynul Abidin, who came from Mecca and that Abu Bakr was born of the daughter of the Sultan of Juhur at Malacca. He came to Pangutaran first, the narrative continues, then to Zamboanga and Basilan. His younger brother, who had accompanied him, continued eastward to Mindanao, while he remained at Basilan for a short while. Having heard of Abu Bakr, the people of Sulu sent Orangkaya Su'il to Basilan to invite him to Bwansa to rule over them. This invitation was accepted and Abu Bakr was inaugurated sultan over Sulu soon after his arrival there.

From the annals of Malacca we know that Abu Bakr was a famous authority on law and religion and that his mission to Malaysia was prompted by enthusiasm for the promulgation of the doctrines of Abu Ishaq, which were embodied in a book ent.i.tled "Darul-Mazlum, or The House of the Oppressed or Ignorant." After preaching these doctrines in Malacca with success, he evidently proceeded farther east, stopping at Palembang and Bruney and reaching Sulu about 1450. The hospitality with which he was received at Bwansa points to success in his mission to a degree that enabled him later to marry the Princess Paramisuli, the daughter of Raja Baginda. He established mosques there and taught religion and law; and the people and chiefs actually abandoned their former G.o.ds and practiced the new religion and observed its commandments. This process of reformation and conversion was no doubt slow and gradual, but it was real and sure.

There is no evidence to show that Abu Bakr had any military forces by virtue of which he could a.s.sume military authority and rule after Baginda's death. But it is perfectly credible that Raja Baginda, being without a male heir, appointed Abu Bakr, his son-in-law and chief judge and priest, as his heir, and delegated to him all the authority he exercised over Bwansa and the Island of Sulu. This it appears was acquiesced in by the native chiefs who accepted Abu Bakr as their temporal overlord, as well as their spiritual master. Claiming descent from Mohammed, he a.s.sumed the powers of a caliph and ent.i.tled himself sultan. The Sulus as a rule refer to him as As-Sultan ash-Sharif al-Has.h.i.+mi, meaning the Sultan, the Has.h.i.+mite Sharif or n.o.ble. The words Mohammed and Abu Bakr are generally left out when he is mentioned in prayer or in ordinary discourse.

Having established the church, his next aim, after ascending the throne of Sulu, was the political reorganization of the government. This he undertook to frame on the same principles as those of an Arabian sultanate, giving himself all the power and prerogatives of a caliph. In enforcing such claims of absolute sovereignty, Abu Bakr declared to the people and their local chiefs that the widows, the orphans, and the land were his by right. This the people hesitated to submit to, and another measure was adopted which reconciled the interests of all parties. They agreed that all the sh.o.r.es of the island and all that territory within which the royal gong or drum could be heard should be the sultan's personal property, and that the rest of the island should be divided among the subordinate chiefs and their people. The island was accordingly divided into five administrative districts, over each one of which one panglima exercised power subject to the supervision and superior authority of the sultan. These districts were again divided into smaller divisions, which were administered by subordinate officers or chiefs called maharaja, orangkaya, laksamana, parukka, etc. The districts were called Parang, Pansul, Lati, Gi'tung, and Lu'uk. The boundaries which it seemed necessary at that time to define were marked by large trees, none of which is living at present. Thus a sangay [143] tree separated Parang from Pansul. The location of this tree was at a point near Bud Agad and the stream Agahun, which runs down from Tumangtangis toward Maymbung. A bawnu [143] tree separated Pansul from Lati. This tree was located at a place called Indung, intermediate between Asturias and the walled town of Jolo. A mampalam [143] tree called Tarak separated Lati from Lu'uk. It was in the vicinity of the settlement of Su'. A variety of durian tree named Siggal-saggal formed the boundary of Lati and Gi'tung.

According to later usage, these districts are defined as follows: Parang is the western district lying west of a line pa.s.sing through a point east of the summit of Tumangtangis and a point on the southern coast 3 miles west of Maymbung. A line pa.s.sing through Mount Pula and a point a little east of Maymbung marks the boundary between Pansul on the west and Lati and Gi'tung on the east. The watershed is generally considered as the dividing line between Lati and Gi'tung. A line joining Su' on the north and Lubuk on the south separates Lati and Gi'tung from Lu'uk. A sixth district has lately been carved out and termed Tandu, forming the easternmost part of the island. A line joining Sukuban on the south and Limawa on the north divides Tandu and Lu'uk.

The government thus organized was conducted in conformity with local customs and laws modified to such an extent as not to be repugnant and contrary to Mohammedan laws and the precepts of the Quran. To preserve this consistency, a code of laws was made and promulgated by Abu Bakr. This, once established, became the guide of all the subordinate officers of the state, who, as a rule, observed it and carried out its instructions. The general lines on which Abu Bakr conducted his government seem to have been followed very closely by all his successors. Such an adventurous and aggressive man as he was could not have stopped within the limits of the island. In all probability he pushed out in various directions, but no records have so far been found which give any account of the conquests he made or the limits of his empire. Abu Bakr lived thirty years in Sulu and died about 1480.

EARLY DAYS OF THE SULTANATE, 1480-1635

SUCCESSORS OF ABU BAKR

The dynasty founded by Abu Bakr ruled with a firmer hand and attained considerable power and fame. The new organization establis.h.i.+ng law and order, consolidated the forces of the state and increased its influence on the outside world. Islam added a new element of strength 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 j.a.pan, at the one extreme, to Malacca, Sumatra, and Java at the other.

Abu Bakr was succeeded by his second son, Kamalud-Din. Alawad-Din, the elder son, was weak-minded and was evidently not supported by the ministers of the state. The next three sultans who followed were Diraja, Upu, and Digunung. Their full names are, the Sultan Amirul Umara [144] Maharaja Diraja, the Sultan Mu'izzul Mutawadi'in [145] Maharaja Upu, the Sultan Nasirud-Din Awal [146] Digunung [147]

(or Habud [148]).

The sixth sultan was Mohammedul Halim [149] Pangiran Buddiman. During his reign Governor Sande equipped and directed large expeditions to Borneo and Sulu. The armada sent to Sulu was commanded by Capt. Esteban Rodriguez de Figueroa and reached the town of Jolo in June, 1578. It is a.s.serted that Rodriguez defeated Pangiran and exacted tribute from the Sulus. Rodriguez, however, did not occupy Jolo, and no permanent advantage was derived from his victory.

FIGUEROA'S EXPEDITION AGAINST SULU

This invasion marked the beginning of a state of war between Sulu and Spain, which covered a period of three hundred years and caused considerable devastation and loss of life. It cost Spain an immense loss of men and money and finally brought on the decline of Sulu and its end as an independent state. The magnitude of this strife, its far-reaching effects, and its bearing on the Spanish and American occupation of Sulu, invites special attention to the causes of the war and the Sulu character which it depicts.

The expedition to Jolo formed part of and immediately followed the expedition which was directed by Governor Sande against Borneo. There is no doubt that, besides the reasons Sande gave for the expedition to Borneo, he was really actuated by jealousy of the Portuguese, whose influence had reached Bruney and the Moluccas, and by a strong desire to conquer Borneo, Sulu, Mindanao, and the Moluccas. His reasons for sending the expedition against Sulu are best given in his letter of instructions to Capt. Rodriguez de Figueroa, which is extremely interesting and is herein quoted in full: [150]

That which you, Capt. Esteban Rodriguez de Figueroa, shall observe on the expedition which you are about to make, G.o.d our Lord helping, is as follows:

From this city and Island of Borneo, G.o.d 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; therefore, in case they receive you peaceably, you shall treat them well. And, in addition to the above, you must order that, besides the tribute that they are to pay in pearls, they shall obtain as many of them as possible, so that we, the Spaniards or Castilians, may buy them; that they must trade with us from now on; that every year Castilians will go to their lands with cloths and merchandise from China, of whatever they shall declare that they may need. You shall inform yourself of their needs; and if they wish to come to our settlements you shall give them permission to go freely to Manila and to come to Borneo, although not to steal.

Item: You shall find out from them the whereabouts of the artillery and anchors of a s.h.i.+p lost there some three years ago; and you shall seek it and see that it be brought you with all haste. You shall keep close watch over the artillery, ammunition, vessels, sails, and other like things pertaining to the armed fleet; and you shall deprive them of those supplies, for it is notorious that those people are common marauders.

And because of my information that the chief who calls himself lord of Sulu is a Bornean, and owns houses in this city of Bruney; that he fought against us in the naval battle, and that he fled to Sulu, where he is now; and since I am told that he took two galleys and three small vessels, artillery and ammunition, you shall exercise the utmost despatch to obtain the said galleys, vessels, artillery, and ammunition. If he acquiesce, you shall give him a pa.s.sport. You shall see whether he has any children; and if so, you shall take one, and tell him that he must come to see me in Bruney in February.

And, as I have said, this must be done if possible gently, in order that no people may be killed. You shall tell him that it will be to their advantage to be va.s.sals of his Majesty and our allies. If they do not act respectfully, and it shall be necessary to punish them in another manner, you shall do so. And inasmuch as the Sulus, as is well known, are open pirates, whose only ambition is to steal, and to a.s.sault men in order to sell them elsewhere--especially as they go annually for plunder among all the Pintados [151] Islands, which are under his Majesty's dominion--you shall try to ascertain the Pintados slaves among them, in order to return such to their homes, especially those who are Christians. And, as I have said, you shall deprive them of such vessels as seem to be used for raids, leaving them their fis.h.i.+ng vessels, so that if the said lord of Sulu so desire, he can come to confer reasonably with me. Thus you shall ascertain who has vessels, and who can inflict injuries; and you shall command them expressly to settle down on their land, to cultivate, sow, and harvest, develop the pearl industry, and cease to be pirates. You shall order them to raise fowls and cattle. You shall try to ascertain their number, and bring it to me in writing, in order that I may see it, together with the distance from these islands to the Sulu Islands, information regarding the food, water, and healthfulness of that land, and other things that may occur to you. And you shall tell the people in my name that they shall tame for me a couple of elephants, and that I shall send for those animals and pay for them.

After having finished affairs in Sulu, if time permits, you shall, G.o.d willing, go to the Island of Mindanao. There you shall try, by the most convenient methods and with friendliness, to reduce the chief of the river of Mindanao, and the other chiefs of that island, and of those near by, to the obedience of his Majesty, giving him to understand what they will gain in becoming his Majesty's va.s.sals and our allies, and in having trade with us.

And, in order that the tribute may not prevent them from making peace with us, you shall not ask them for any tribute; but you shall take what they give freely, and nothing more, and in such form as they are willing to give. Thus you shall suit their convenience in everything pertaining to them, and cause them to understand the great expenses of his Majesty in this land. You shall also tell them that the gain therefrom affects them chiefly, since we come to teach them our civilization, and most of all the service of G.o.d, our Lord, who created and redeemed them, and of whom they are ignorant; and how to live in accord with natural law, as is their obligation. For this purpose you shall tell them that you are going to their land for two princ.i.p.al reasons:

The first is that they should cease to be pirates, who rob and harry the weak, and enslave wherever and whomsoever they can, selling their captives outside of their own island, and separating them from their wives and children; and that they must cease to commit other like cruelties and thefts, and must become good and virtuous men, who shall grow to merit the second and princ.i.p.al reason for going to their lands. You shall give them to understand that they are ignorant of G.o.d, our Lord, who created and redeemed them, so that when they know him they may serve him and become good. It is quite evident that they will gain very much in these things, and therefore it is right that they aid us and give us something. This shall be at their own will, as above said.

Item: You shall order them not to admit any more preachers of the doctrine of Mohammed, since it is evil and false, and that of the Christians alone is good. And because we have been in these regions so short a time, the lord of Mindanao has been deceived by the preachers of Bruney, and the people have become Moros. You shall tell them that our object is that he be converted to Christianity; and that he must allow us freely to preach the law of the Christians, and the natives must be allowed to go to hear the preaching and to be converted, without receiving any harm from the chiefs.

And you shall try to ascertain who are the preachers of the sect of Mohammed, and shall seize and bring them before me and you shall burn or destroy the house where that accursed doctrine has been preached, and you shall order that it be not rebuilt.

Item: You shall order that the Indians [152] shall not go outside of their island to trade; and you shall seize those vessels used for plundering excursions, leaving them those which, in your judgment, are used for trade and fis.h.i.+ng. You shall take also what artillery and ammunition they have.

You shall ascertain the harvest seasons and products of the land; the gold mines and the places where they wash gold; the number of inhabitants and their settlements; and their customs. You must especially secure information regarding cinnamon, in order to ascertain if it is found along the river, or if one must go to Cavite for it, and why it is not as good as that which the Portuguese take to Castilla. You shall ascertain how they cut and strip it from the tree, and if it be of importance that it dry on the tree, or in what other manner it should be treated, for I have been told that that obtained from these districts in the past has not been good and has not a good sale in Spain.

And, since it might happen that the people will not make peace, and may offer fight, and show disrespect, then you shall punish them as you deem best, taking special care not to trust them; for it is evident that before all else they will, if possible, commit some treachery. You must not await such an occasion, for we know already their treachery against his Majesty's fleet commanded by Villalobos, certain of whose men they killed under a.s.surances of safety; and they seized a boat. In that treachery all the inhabitants of the islands were partic.i.p.ants; for four or five thousand of the said natives attacked one small boat, which contained four or five Spaniards. Likewise many people took part in the killing of the said Villalobos's master-of-camp, and other soldiers, in that same year. You shall remind them of these things, and warn them; for, from now on, we shall destroy them and their generation.

And, since it might happen that, without any occasion of war or peace, the said natives flee to the mountains, you shall order that certain of the said natives summon them; and, when they have come, you shall discuss the matter with them. If they refuse to come, you shall, in conformity with your orders, remain there a given time. And if they continue to refuse to come down, you shall leave them, and shall return, without permitting their houses to be burned or their palm trees to be cut down. Neither shall anything be stolen from them; but you shall take only what is absolutely necessary for food and the food and other things necessary to provision your vessels for the return trip.

You shall try to secure information of the Island of Linboton, as well as of Batachina and Celebes, so as to advise me thereof; and you shall do this in accord with the time limit I have set for you to make this exploration, and you shall observe the same rule as in that of Mindanao.

In order that we may allot in encomiendas [153] whatever people are found in these districts, you shall bring me a signed notarial writ. Thus, as those lands have no other owner, the natives thereof may be reduced to the obedience of his Majesty, according to his will--and by war, if the natives begin it, so that war on our part may be just, and that the same justice may continue, so that we can compel them to obey, and impose tributes upon them. You shall exercise much diligence in this and see to it that these orders be carried out carefully and intelligently.

G.o.d willing, I shall be in Bruney by the end of the month of January next--or, at the latest, by the eighth of February--with the fleet and all the necessaries that must be brought from Manila, and that which is here. And at that time your grace shall come to Bruney with the fleet that you have, and with all the people that you have or shall have in the Pintados, so that we may do here whatever is proper for the service of his Majesty, to which we are bound. These instructions must not be disregarded in any point, unless I advise you to the contrary by letter. And to this end you shall see that all who live and dwell there be commissioned for the above, in addition to their own duties. Given at Bruney, May twenty-three, one thousand five hundred and seventy-eight.

If the natives of Mindanao or of any other place shall give tribute according to the above, you shall act according to the usual custom in these islands--namely, you shall take one-half and place it to the account of his Majesty, while the other half shall be distributed among the soldiers. Given ut supra.