Local & Oral History

What is Oral History?

 involves interviews with individuals who either tell their life stories or focus on a certain
aspect of their history
 often one person’s point of view, unless someone gathers a series of interviews on the
same issue together in a volume
 Memories of living people about events or social conditions
 Spoken memories, stories, song as a way of communicating and discovering information
about the past

Examples are: legends, folklore, family stories passed down through the generations

What is Local History?

 generally written from the third person, adopting a scholarly voice and an analytical
approach
 Written history on particular town, district or limited area
 Study of history in geographically local context and concentrates on local community

Examples are: oral interviews, government reports, newspaper articles, letters, diaries and
personal papers

The importance of Local History in Philippine History

 Tagalog- considered to be history of the Filipino people

 It reflects won identity, experience and aspirations
 Interpretative recreation of past of their locality, embracing political, social economic and
cultural life
 In order to understand and appreciate Philippine history, one should know the history of
its own locality and its contribution to regional development and nation building

The History of the Muslim in the Philippines

 2 lines of historical development

1. older- came to develop Mindanao and Sulu; refer to Muslim line of historical
development
 2. Hispanized Filipino- product of great historical experience of the Filipino under
western rule

Roots

 Mindanao and Sulu- original homeland of Philippine Muslim; land area of 102,000
 sq.km
 Sulu sea- source of 59% of tuna and sardines
 Mindanao- land of promise because of huge resources
 Mindanao- dominant in Lanao and Maguindanao
 Sulu archipelago- Muslim are dominant in Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-tawi

Muslim Ethnic Groups

1. Maranao
2. Maguindanao
3. Iranun
4. Tausug
5. Yakan
6. Sama
7. Sangil
8. Kaagan
9. Kolibugan
10. Palawan
11. Molbog

Muslim Ethnic Group

 Ethnic- Italian term for nation

 Tribal group which has its own language, has common set of tradition different from
others, has own territory

The Maranao
 Means people of the lake
 Lanao – their homeland ; means lake
 largest of the Muslim cultural-linguistic groups of the Philippines
 Concentrated in Lanao area
 1960 – division of Lanao into den Norte and Del Sur because of settlers
 Darangan – one rich literature of Mindanao

(Dagdag/background info abt Maranao)

In the late 20th century, they live around Lake Lanao on the southern island of Mindanao. Rice
farming is their main livelihood, along with metalworking and woodworking handicrafts. Like
the other Filipino Muslims, the Maranao differ markedly from the Christians, who make up the
overwhelming majority of the country’s population. Land is owned by the clan and controlled by
local leaders known as datus. The customs of marriage and the family are Islāmic. 

The Maguindanao

 Name of family or dynasty that rule in whole island of Mindanao particularly in former
Cotabato
 Later refers to the Muslim people who live in Pulangi valley in Southwestern Mindanao
 Called people of the plain
 Sharif Kabungsuan - a prince from Johore who came in Mindanao after fall of Malacca
in 1511 ; total Islamization of Pulangi area happen when he came ; founded the first
sultanate in Mindanao
 Sultanate of Maguindanao and Buayan - greatest contribution of Maguindanao in
Southeast asia civilization
 Cotabato- seat of Maguindanao sultanate; ancestral land of Maguindanao including
ethnic group like Tiruray, Tasaday, Subanun; rice granary of the country; made capital by
the Spaniards

The Iranun
 People bordering between Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao
 The mother language
 Lamitan and Malabang- stronghold of Iranun society
  both closely related, along with the Maguindanao people 

The Tausug
 Slang word originated in two words: tau (people) and ma-isug (brave)
 Means brave people
 one of the largest of the Muslim (sometimes called Moro) ethnic groups of the
southwestern Philippines
 economy is based largely on agriculture, with rice as the principal food crop,
supplemented by cassava (manioc), yams, corn (maize), and various grains

The Yakan
 also spelled Yacan
 Mispronunciation of word yakal by the Spaniards
 Basilan- from two words basi (iron) and balani ( magnate); thickly cover by yakal trees
 Spaniards- branded inhabitants of Basilan as Yakan
 they wear colorful, handwoven clothes
 they are among the Muslim peoples collectively identified as Moro

The Sama
 Derived from term sama-sama means togetherness or collective effort
 Highly scattered in Sulu archipelago
 Sub-cluster of Sama people:
a. Badjaos- known as sea-gypsies of Sulu Archipelago and Celebes sea
  Sama Laut- Badjao people call themselves; boat people
b. Sama Balimbing, Sama Simunul or Sama Sibutu- inhabited Tawi-tawi; claim to
be origin of all Sama sub-group in Sulu Archipelago
c. Sama Bangingi- considered major groups in Sama ethnic group, have well-
develop social Organization comparable to Tausug.
 Jama Mapun- call their dialect as pullun mapun; mapun stands for west; situated at
distant west of Sulu; found in Turtle Island, Cagayan de Tawi-tawi, southern Palawan

The Sangil
 Came from Sangihe, an archipelago in Celebes Sea just south of Mindanao Sea
 Migrate to Sarangani, Davao del Sur, South Cotabato
 Speak language similar to Bahasa
  most of its population is concentrated in Balut and Sarangani islands. ( some can also be
found living in some coastal region of South Cotabato and Davao del Sur provinces.)

The Kaagan
 Inhibited in Davao areas
 Tausug- help organized Kaagan society
 Kagan came from the word kaag which means to inform, to secure or secrecy

The Kolibugan
 Sama word means half-breed
 Part of Subanun ethnic group-indigenous people inhabiting Zamboanga Peninsula
 Culture altered by Muslim neighbor, intermarriage with other groups that produce new
generation
 Still speak Subanun language, retain Subanun social organization
The Kolibugan resulted from the intermingling of the indigenous Subanon populations with the
Muslim populations in the coastal areas of Zamboanga.

The Palawan
 Panimusan- early Muslim inhabited mainland Palawan
 Muslim concentration is mostly in southern part like Batarasa, Rizal, Quezon, Brook’s
Point, Espanola

The Molbog
 Mainly in Balabac island in southern Palawan
 Also known as Malebugan or Malebuganon
 Receive Islam from Brunei Muslim missionaries
 described as migrants from the northern part of Borneo whose population is estimated to
be more than twenty thousand
 The name Molbog is derived from the word malubog, meaning “murky or turbid
water.”

Muslim Legacy
 Islam- shaped their identity
 Moro- identity put by aggressors after Moors of Spain; Islamic ideology and culture
similar to Moors who conquered Spain for 785 years; term also mean Muslim
 Bangsamoro people- muslim as identified in Southeast Asia and Muslim world;
recognized by Organization of Islamic countries
 Muslim Organic Act of 1989- official designation of Muslim in the country
 Bangsamoro people- ranked as first line of historical development of the Philippines