Preface
Aquino's assasination has stung to the quick even the Western world which has been insensate to the ruthless tyranny of Marcos in Bangsamoro Homeland. The Manila tyrant, who started his career with the murder of his father's political rival Nalundasan, is today trying to liquidate a whole nation living in Mindanao and Sulu. Western reports, as usual, have been spreading the smoke of conclusion to cloud the inhuman atocities of this murderous lawyer during his seemingly endless days of Presidency. Instead, they have painted the freedom-fighters black, imputing to them motives that might be repugnant to their readers. Jubair explains in the following pages how the struggle of these oppressed people for national liberation is motivated by an enlightening faith and moderated by an earnest desire for honourable peace. The story of this wronged nation is told herein for the first time by one who is in the thick of the resistance movement.
Foreword
This write-up on the Bangsamoro people of Mindanao and Sulu is not presumed to be an exhaustive and scholarly treaties. In the strictest sense, it is not history either. The following pages constitute an attempt to explain how and why our people became strangers to the land which they had nurtured with their sweat, and which they are now trying to liberate with their blood.
Much has been written about the Bangsamoro people but these writings almost invariably display a lack of the vision that could grasp the totality of the situation obtaining in the country. It is my firm conviction that only someone involved by body and spirit in the present sacred stuggle in Mindanao and Sulu could portray its realistic picture. Outsiders can indulge in endless speculation from their respective postures but will perforce fail to have a complete perspective of the revolution taking place in this region. Paradoxically enough, the extent and intensity of a revolution can be felt and described by none save those who are in the thick of it or are inspired by it.
This capsulized history of the Bangsamoro people and their historic struggle has been written to inform the unprejudiced reader about the crisis which has overtaken our people and our homeland. Without sustained efforts to expose the crimes of the Manila regime against our people the world might only consive at its tyranny, emboldening it in its inhuman policies and perpetuating it brutality.
This work would not have been made possible without the assistance of certain persons whose identity cannot be disclosed at this stage for serious implications to their safety and security. For them I reserve my words of gratitude, hopeful of discharging the obligation in not-too-distant a future.
Chapter 1 1
Panorama of the past
Crossing the Bridge
History says that many centuries ago the first man reached Mindanao and Sulu by way of the land bridge that connected this region with Mainland Asia. Historians speak of this period as the Great Ice Age. During this era the waters of the Ocean stood 165 feet below the present level therby causing many necks of land to protrude from the surface. These land formations or land bridges were crossed by the first man to reach Mindanao and Sulu.
Sustantiating the "land-bridge theory", historians point to the fossilized remains of elephants rhinoceros dug up by archeologist in the caves of Mindanao and Palawan to prove the coming of the first man by land with his animals. No recorded stage in the annals of Mindanao and Sulu, recent or past, speaks of the habitat of these animals in any part of the region. Thus, theses fossils, were believed to be those of the elephants and rhinoceros brought along by the first man from Mainland Asia where they were are still found.
When the Ice Age receded centuries later and the thaw replenished the ocean, the waters rose to the present level. Subsequently, many land masses submerged beneath the sea and the land-bridge disappeared. Succeding migrations,
therefore, were no longer possible by land routes but by sea-worthy boats.
There were three waves of the migratory movement towards Mindanao and Sulu, each comprising several or scattered minor phases. With the exception of the first wave, the succeding ones basically belonged to the Indo-Malayan racial Matrix. The first wave, however, brought short-statured people with dark skin and kinky hair, whose life-style remained primitive to this day.
The Moro people belongs to the third wave, They arrived about a couple of centuries before the birth of Propher Jesus Christ (peace be upon him). They were at a higher stage of development and were quite advanced in the art of warfare.
They inhabited the plains, valleys, coastal lands and riverain areas, and formed communities and political organizations along family or blood lines.
Societal structure basically revloved around the chief called "datu" (this title is still retained) whose realm was more or less equal to a village and the spanish barrio of today. This political unit was called the "banua". At times two or more banuas confederated to forge unity and constitute a more formidable group against rival datus or banuas. The confederation was sometimes used for commercial purposes. Generally, datus were of equal footing or status. However, one could emerge superior to another by force of arms, bravery in war.
and physical prowess. In the beginning, the prevalent method of settling the conflicts was the use of the force, but later a code of laws evolved to provide a more practical way of resolving the disputes since warfare was costly and a losing enterprise especially for the vanquished.
The economy was based on agriculture and some fishing too was practised. Better system was followed in commerce which took place on a minor scale.
Lands were fertile and vast. Cultivation, however, was concentrated in areas lying along rivers and lakes, in coasal areas and in plains and valleys. In upland areas, agriculture was not so extensive as in the lowlands; here the "slash-and burn" system was prevalent. As such, the land produce was seasonal, chiefly confined to sunny months.
Advent of Islam
In 1310 A.C. Islam found its way into Mindanao and Sulu as its farthest eastward expansion in Asia. The introduction of Islam was the result of the missionary activity of Arab traders, teachers or 'sufis' who came along the trade routes. In this enterprise, the participation of some Muslims from the Indo-Pakistan sub-continent is also admitted by many historians.
As in the Malayan peninsula and in the Indonesia and Borneo, the first to become Muslims in Mindanao and Sulu were those people living in or near the trading ports or along the trade routes.
This is why most historians believed that the early missionaries or Islam were traders. The truth of the matter, however, is that the introduction of the Islamic faith in Mindanao and Sulu resulted from the combined efforts of traders, teachers and 'sufis' although the appearance of a conscious common plan in carrying out the task was evidently lacking.
In Sulu, an Arab known locally as Tuan Mashaika is accredited with the founding of the first Muslim community.
He married a maiden of the island and raised his children as Muslims. Later, another Arab, Karimul Makhdum, recently called Tuan Sharif Auliya, arrived and converted a large number of inhabitants to Islam. Makhdum was responsible for founding the first mosque in the Sulu archipelago and during his life-time Islam had already become the faith of numerous people in these islands.
At the end of the 14th century A.c., a flourishing Muslim community in Sulu evolved and the by middle of the following century the Sulu Sultanate was established. Sayed Abubakar, an Arab from South Arabia who, it was started, was the direct descendant of the holy Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) , became the first Sultan. Upon ascension to the throne, Abubakar used the reginal name Sharif Hashim.
In Mindanao proper, Sharif Muhammad Kabungsuan, also claiming to be of Hashimite, was mostly instrumental in propagation of the new faith in the first quarter of the 16th century A.C. He landed first in Malabang (now in Lanao del Sur), but after a while he proceeded to the mouth of the River Pulangi in Cotabato where he firmly planted the seeds of the new creed. Out of his marital union with some local maidens, the Sultanate of Maguindanao came into existence.
As in the Sulu Sultanate, the right to rule in Maguindanao (the rule applied also to the Buayan and Kabuntalan Sultanates) owed its sanction and legitimacy to direct blood affinity with these reserved descendants of the Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him). According to the Sulu, Maguindanao or Buayan genealogies, both Sayed Abubakar and Sharif Kabungsuan inherited the blood of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) thtough his grandson, Zainal Abidin.
Before the advent of Islam, the people of Mindanao and Sulu were animists. They worshiped stones, moon, stars, and other inanimate objects. In spite of this, conversion was generally regarded as easy anf unconstrained except for some, isolated clashes preceding it. But because of the superior knowledge and weapon of the newcomers, these clashes were usually brief. Rendering the task much easier was the Arabian blood running in the newcomers veins which hastened rather than hindered their acceptance not onlu by the masses of the people but also by the old ruling classes.
With Islam came a new world outlook and power structure. The new faith exercised a strong influence in weeding out pagan rituals and ceremonies, and a universal principle founded on the uncompromising belief in one single Supreme Being became the focal point of the converts. It permeated every aspect of their life, political, social, economic and spiritual. What is more noteworthy is the fact that Islam gained new adherents who proved to be one of of the ablest and bravest defenders of the faith. The truth of it was amply proved during the 320 years of the Moro-Spanish War.
Sultanate System
From the point of view of history and development, only very few of the various Sultanate that sprang up subsequently in Mindanao and Sulu could be properly referred to as such. Many came into existence as the direct result of the decline in the power and prestige of the Sultanate of Sulu, Maguindanao and Buayan or as a consequence of dynastic dissension; a few sprang up from intermarriage among the existing royal house.
The Sultanate of Kabuntalan was relatively young, It was only established on or about the first decade of the 18 century A.C. out of an intermarriage between Maguindanao and Buayan, the male issue of this matrimonial link becoming the founder of this Sultanate. Hence the dynastic line of Kabuntalan could claim descent from both the Maguindanao and Buayan Sultanates.
The oldest was the Sulu Sultanate. It was founded in the middle of the 15th century A.C. The Sultanate of Maguindanao was set up in the second decade of the next century, The later Buayan Sultanate was established much later.
In Lanao provinces, the most influential political entities were the "Four Settlements" or what the Lanao Moros called "Pat a pangangpong ko Ranao" The rulers of these settlements claimed descent from Sharif Kabungsuan through one of his great grandsons.
The Sulu Sultanate at the zenith of his glory and fame held sway over the entire Sulu Archepelago, Basilan, Mindoro, Palawan and Sabah the latter being one of the states in the Federation of Malaysia and is a subject of contention with the Philippines. This Sulatanate had a well-defined state structure and a better political set-up than any other Sultanate, including Brunie.
Similarly, the Maguindanao Sultanate, at the apex of its power and grandeur, had effective control over the whole of Cotabato (now comprising foru provinces), Lanao, Davao, Misamis, Bukidnon and a portion of Zamboanga, and had the most extensive dominion ever ruled by a Moros Sultan. That was true during the reign of Sultan Muhammad Qudarat known in history as the greatest Moro Sultan of all time.
The institution of the Sultanate followed the exact pattern of the Caliphate and represented a high level in the political development of the Moro people. At the top of the political pyramid stood the Sultan. He had five administrative officers at lower tiers of the official hierarchy. There was the jugde or 'Qadi" who headed the judiciary or "agama court". The decisions of this court were based on a special code of law derived from the Holy Qur'an and the existing customs and traditions of the people. Within the ambit of the Sultanate fiat is the power to reverse or affirm decision of the " agama court". There was also a council of elders which was mostly occupied by the upper strata of society, a state flag and a system of collecting the revenues known as "triute". It sent or recieved envoys and embassies to and from other states in accordance with an established protocol. The political set-up in Sulu, Maguindanao and Buayan. to name just a few of the Sultanates, was a fine example of this pattern. Essentially, these advance stages of political and diplomatic practises of the sultanates portray in vivid contrast the way of life between a Muslim and a non-Muslim community during the period.