MUSLIM/MORO Tribal Groups

1. REGINE C. VELANO

3.  The name "Maranao" means "people of the lake".
 The Maranao were the last of the Muslims of the
Southern Philippines and one of the larger groups in
the country professing Islam.
 They are a tribe of Malay.

5.  The people are basically inland agriculturalist, with
some dry rice cultivations in the hilly areas and
intensive wet rice in the flood plains.
 Fishing in the lake is also important although this has
declined.
 Communities usually cluster about a mosque and
a torogan.

7.  The Maranao, however, are best known for the
sophistication of their weaving and wood and metal
craft.
 "Baur" or wooden chests are among the best pieces
produced in Tugaya. A ground zero of Maranao arts
and crafts.
 The "gadur" or brass jars, “tabak” or brass serving trays
& the "kampilan" or swords are also among their
masterpieces.

8.  Maranao arts and crafts are
unrecognizable without mentioning
the "malong", an important part of
their traditional clothing. Malong is
a wrap-around garment worn by
everyone. It can be used as a cape,
coat, blanket or umbrella. There's
one for everyday wear.

9.  Sarimanok, Papanoka "Mra" or "Mara patik" is a
legendary bird of the Maranao that is a ubiquitous
symbol of their art. It is depicted as a Hoodhud
(Arabic) with colorful wings and feathered tail, holding
a fish on its beak or talons.
 The head of Sarimanok is like the head of a Hoopoe
(Balalatoc in maranaw) and is profusely decorated with
scroll, leaf and spiral motifs.

11.  The "okir" is the design element that brings together
all of its folk art into one cohesive visual extravaganza.
Okir is a set of leaf, fern or vine motif expressed in
most of its art. Whether in woodworks or metalcrafts,
okir is a prominent design.

13.  The awang, the
dugout boat they
use in Lake Lanao, is
probably the most
unique of dugouts in
the country, if not
the most ornate.

14. • The design and color of the maranao’s textile reflects
the status of the owner.
• The Maranaos are superstitious. They believe in the
hidden powers of the ANTING-ANTING amulets.
These Items which they wear on their necks, arms or
legs believed to bring them good luck.
FACTS

16.  Maguindanao ethnolinguistic group living primarily in
south-central Mindanao, the largest island in the
southern Philippines. With a name meaning “people
of the flood plain,”. The Maguindanao are most
heavily concentrated along the shores and in the
flood lands of the Pulangi-Mindanao River basin,
although many now live in the surrounding areas.

17.  As a people, they practice Islam which significantly
influences their way of life and social structure.
 The Maguindanaon are divided into two principal
groups, each with its own dialect and traditional
location: The Tau-sa Ilud (people of the lower valley)
and the Tau-sa Laya (people of the upper valley).

18.  The Maguindanao are also distinguished in the realm
of visual art.
 The Maguindanaos produce fine handicrafts such as
brass ware, hand woven malongs, mats and baskets.

21.  Kambabalegkasan na
maguindanaon, a
maguindanaon
traditional women
dress.

22.  Inaul is the famous Maguindanao handwoven fabric. It
is a treasured cultural tradition as it captures the
Maguindanao symbol of distinction and royalty and a
source of pride and a testament to the rich cultural
heritage of the people of Cotabato City.

23. Color Symbolism
 Colors of yellow and orange represent royalty while
red means bravery. Green signified peace and
tranquility. White, the color of purity spoke of sadness
sadness and mourning. Black means dignity.

24. Weaving Design
 The intricate art of weaving introduced various
designs. The most popular is the plain weave such as
"binaludto" (rainbow), "makabimban" (stripes) or
"panigabi" (taro).
 A weft weave included sinodengan, matampuhay-
seko, kawang and sinukipan designs. The practice of
tie-dying is another rare method locally called
"binaludan" (ikat).

25. FACT
 Largest of the Philippine Muslim groups collectively
identified as Moro.

28.  The society appears to be very homogenous. The
name is supposed to mean “people of the current”
although some say this interpretations came from the
terms “Tau,” person, and Suug which is the old name
of the island of Jolo. The religion is Islam and the
society is structured around a sultanate.

30.  Subsistence is based primarily on agriculture, fishing,
and trade, with some livestock raising (cattle, chickens,
ducks).
 The Tausug practice plow agriculture, growing dry rice
on permanently diked, non irrigated fields, using cattle
or water buffalo as draft animals.

32.  There are three annual harvests: first, corn and other
cereals; second, rice; and third, cassava. The harvesting
of cassava continues until the following dry season.

33.  The principal cash crop are coconut (forcopra), coffee,
abaca and fruit.
 Today many coastal Tausug are landless and make
their living from fishing or petty trade.

35.  Most farm and household items are made of
bamboo.
 Women produce pandanus mats and woven
headcloths for both home use and sale.

38.  Tausug visual arts are represented by carvings,
metalworks, woodworks, tapestry and embroidery,
mat making and basketry, textile and fashion, pottery,
and other minor arts.

39.  Tausug carving is best exemplified by the sunduk or
grave marker. Although not as stylized as those of the
Samal, the Tausug sunduk are wood or stone
carvings of geometric or floral forms. Women's grave
markers are flatter with carved geometric designs,
those of the men are more floral.

40.  Tausug mananasal or blacksmiths produce bolo, kalis,
and barong (bladed weapons).
 For the barong, the handle is wrapped in cord and
metal at the far end, and carved and polished at the
upper part. At the end of the grip is a protrusion
carved with ukkil designs.
 Fishing implements are also made, such as the
sangkil (single-pointed spear) and the sapang (three-
pronged spear).

41.  The Tausug male hat is
made by weaving nito
with bamboo strips
over nipa leaves. Thus
it is three-layered and
woven in a sawali
pattern.

42.  Hablun or textile weaving is another well-known art
form among the Tausug. The most popular woven
material is the pis siabit or male headgear, which is
about 1 sqm in size and distinct for its geometric
designs.

43. FACTS
 Known as the best, gallant and ferocious freedom
fighters of the world.
 Best pearl divers in the world.

45.  The Yakan are one of the Muslim peoples of the
southern Philippines. They live on the island of
Basilan, just off the southwestern point of Mindanao.
 The typical physical characteristics of these tribal
folks, tall, a brown skin, slanting eyes, black hair and
high-bridged noses, distinct them from other ethnic
Filipino groups.

46.  The Yakan have no compact villages; the houses are
scattered among the fields, and there are vegetables
and fruit trees around the house.

47.  The Yakan are agriculturalists who practice dry
farming with water buffalo-drawn plows. The main
crop is upland rice, harvested once a year, but
camote and cassava are also important.

48.  Barter was practiced in the past, but now money is in
universal use. The Yakan bring their products (aside
from copra, some vegetables, and weavings) to the
markets.

49.  The only important craft is weaving: Yakan women
weave beautiful cloths of various kinds on backstrap
looms. Some of these are of the same kind they use
for their own clothing, others are tourist wares made
in the old weaving style.
 Traditionally, they have used plants like pineapple
and abaca converted into fibers as basic material for
weaving.

50.  •Inabel is particularly used to refer to textile. The
traditional process of weaving abel cloth begins with
preparing the cotton, from picking cotton balls,
removing seeds, pounding or beating, twisting using
a spindle, and winding the cotton yarn into the
skeiner. The skeined yarn is then brushed to make it
glossy and durable before it is wound to a bamboo
spool.

51. FACTS
 The last Tribes of Mindanao, the Yakan; Mountain
Dwellers.
 Each woven product is made by hand.

53.  Their widely scattered settlements are found from the
central Philippines, with small enclaves in Zambales
and northern Mindanao, through the Sulu
Archipelago of the Philippines to the eastern coast of
Borneo and from Palawan and western Sabah
(Malaysia) to coastal Sulawesi, southward through the
Moluccas to Aru, Roti, and western Timor.

54.  Individuals used to be named after the living things
around them, and each name was complemented
with the term Samal, which served as their family
name. For this reason, it was easy to identify the
members of the tribe among the other indigenous
groups in neighboring islands.

55.  The Samal are well known
among Muslims of the
Philippines for their developed
dance and song traditions,
percussion and xylophone
music, dyed pandanus mats and
food covers, and decorative
wood carving (ukil ).

56.  The Samal mat uses the leaves of pandanus plant
which grows abundantly in the area. It has four
general patterns: 1) stripes; 2) multicolored squares;
3) a checkered pattern of white and other colors; and
4) a zigzag pattern.

57.  The dyes used are chemical dyes. The colors used are
greens, orange, red, violet, blue, yellow. After dyeing
they are placed in shade to dry and again gently
beaten to further soften the material. These
preparation usually takes about a week, while the
weaving can take from two to five weeks.

58.  The Samal mats are muted in colors and are softer to
the touch. This is achieve by the repeated beating
during the preparatory phase. The slightly glossy
effect on the surface is achieved by diluting the dye
with some coconut oil.

59.  After finishing the weaving of the mat, another
undyed plain mat is woven and is used to line the
back of the main mat. The lining usually extends
some two or three inches beyond the border of the
main mat which is sewn securely to the backing. This
gives it a framed look, and insures durability for the
mat.

60.  Sama adaptation is varied, typically combining, with
differing local emphasis, fishing, farming, seafaring,
and trade.
 For island and strand communities, fishing is
generally a major economic activity.

61.  Before fishing or hunting excursions, a ritual called
dugsoon is conducted, presided over by the balyan,
using materials such as buyo (betel nut), apog
(pounded limestone), and tabako. Freshly caught fish
would be spread on a big rock and prayed over by
the balyan. The liver of an animal caught by the
hunters would be placed over a fallen tree trunk and
the balyan would ask the permission of Magbabaya
before the animal is brought home for food.

62.  The Sama use various hunting
methods and tools. A biyawo
fruit is peeled, sliced into small
pieces, and placed inside a
chunk of camote for fish bait.
When eaten by a fish, the bait
explodes, paralyzing the fish.

64.  This people group is only found in Philippines. Their
primary language is Sangil. The primary religion
practiced by the Sangil is Sunni Islam, the largest
branch of Islam.

65.  Concentrations of Sangil inhabit the islands of Balut
and Sarangani, as well as, parts of the coastal region
of South Cotabato and Davao del Sur provinces.
Sangil descended from Sangihe, an archipelago in
Eastern Indonesia, from where they hailed.

66.  The culture is associated with lowland and coastal
adaptations with a mixture of intensive cultivation
and horticulture. The traditional crop include rice in
upland fields, sweet potato, corn, and banana. Boat-
making is a prime activity and the people also
engage in cash-cropping with coconut.

67.  Sangil also have their own original traditional textile
that is called kofo fabric. The fabric was made of
abaca.
 Kofo fabric is hard and stiff. This fabric has its
essential meaning on the ornament and the color.

68.  Sangil people frequently use yellow (maririhe), purple
(kamumu), red (mahamu), white (ledo), and green
(ido) because they are locals favorites.

70.  The Iranun are a small Filipino Muslim group of sea-
based people who are very closely related, culturally
and linguistically, to the Maranao and especially to
the Maguindanao.
 The society of the Iranun was a muslim. Its social
class was classified into: Uripin (slave), Kadaklan
(Dumato) and Pendatu (Ruling class).

71.  At present, the culture is generally similar to the
Maranao of Lanao del Sur province with a
subsistence pattern based on intensive wet
cultivation of rice, long distance marine trade, and
fishing.

72.  The ancient Iranun were good farmers and fishermen.
They were living in the fertile vast land and sea. They
supplement farming and fishing by hunting deers
and other wild animals for their daily needs and
consumption.

73.  Other source of livelihood was black and gold smith
industry. Ancient Iranun were good blacksmither and
gold smither. For women, Iranun were good waver of
mats and malong.
 Their medium of exchange in the absence of money
was bartering in order to acquire a property or
anything for them to survive.

74.  The ancient Iranun has its own arts. The most
popular one until the present time is the ukir (
engraving naga). The ukir is used almost furnitures
and fixtures of the Iranun including houses. The
bawor (cabenit or apparador now a days) has an ukir
differrent forms and patterned.

76.  "Kalibuga" (Kolibugan) means "mixed breed" and
refers to the Subanun of the Philippines who have
intermarried with the Tausug and Samal. Kalibugan,
who number about 15,000, live in villages on the
coast in western Mindanao.
 Most have converted to Islam.

77.  Kolibugans practice swidden agriculture (slash and
burn) on the mountain slopes, cultivating upland rice,
corn, root crops, and the like. They have a
subsistence economy and are in need of technical
skills, capital and market access.

78. Their livelihood is no different with other tribe. In terms
of:
 Art: weaving, basketry, metalwork, basketry
 Music: kulintang ensemble (gandingan, dabakan,
 Farming and fishing are the main economic activities
of the region.

79.  It also has rice and corn mills, oil processing, coffee
berry processing and processing of latex from rubber.
 Its home industries include rattan and furniture craft,
basket making, weaving and brass work.

81.  The Kalagan live on the island of Mindanao in the
southern Philippines. They are located in an area
between the interior uplands and the western coast
of the Davao Gulf.
 The Kalagan are thought to be one of various groups
of lowland Filipinos who came to the islands from
Asia's southwestern mainland several thousand years
ago.

82.  While some Kalagan receive wages for labor, others
are "slash and burn" farmers. Maize is the major crop
grown and is harvested two or three times a year. The
coastal Kalagan are also fishermen, and some are
plantation workers.

83.  Many household items are hand crafted from wood,
bamboo, rattan, thatch, and fiber. Most of these are for
personal use, but some woven items, mats, and
baskets are made for commercial sale.

84.  Kalagan art is limited mostly to weaving, making
baskets, and crafting certain ornaments. Personal
adornment in the form of bright clothing, beaded
jewelry, and other accessories is distinctive and
colorful.