THE RAIDERS OF SULU SEA

: Content and Contextual Analysis of selected primary source which focus on the topic: • THE
RAIDERS OF SULU SEA
 It is a product of a co-production agreement between Media Authority of
Singapore and Korean Broadcasting Commision
 First released on 2007 for Q channel Korea
 Directed by: Idzwan Othman

Idzwan Othman
 Singaporean based Director.
 Prominent director
 Won best documentary Award at the 1st
 Singaporean Short Film Award held at Singapore

Key informants:
Dr. Samuel Tan Icella Gloria Strada
-Historian - Art Historian
-National historical Institue - Zamboanga Del Norte
 Barbara Watson Andaya Dr. Julius Bautista
- Historian -Historian
-National University of Singapore -Aia Research Institue
- National University of Singapore
Halmar Abubakar Dr. Margarita Cojuanco
- Taosug Descendant - Author
- Jolo Sulu - Kris Valor

Summary of the Raiders of Sulu:

They were known in history as brutal savages, fearless slave raiders and above all -
pirates. Hailing from the Sulu Sea region in the Southern regions of the Philippines, the
Ilanun, Balangingi Samal & Taosug tribes raided and plundered settlements in the
Philippines, Borneo, Java, the Straits of Malacca and all-over Southeast Asia in the
search for human cargo to feed the growing demands of the slave trade in the 16th to
19th century. They wielded deadly weapons, were well organized and built formidable
fast warships that ran circles around the bigger and heavier Western ships. These men,
either sanctioned by their respective Sultanates or their own tribal leaders, defied
colonial occupation and rule, instigating a wave of terror throughout the archipelago for
more than 300 years. But there is evidence that they were not merely the savages they
were made out to be. Some historians have argued that these were indigenous people
merely defending their way of life from the conquering colonial forces to keep their
Muslim culture. Others have said that we need to put this violence and slave raids into
the proper perspective. This is a story of men who clung fiercely to their faith, eluding a
technologically superior foe. It is also a story of how these men who lived by the sword,
eventually died by it.

CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS
It is the 18th Century, and life from some of the coastal inhabitants of the Philippines
was anything but idyllic. For without warning, they could be attacked by the merciless
Illanuns –the raiders of the Sulu Sea. These raiders were fearless and fiercer in battle
even against better armed, technologically superior colonial forces. To the western
colonists, these raiders are nothing but barbaric pirates; and they were hunted down
and such. But there is speculation that these raiders are not the savages they were
made out to be, but nearly indigenous people defending their way of life against the
foreign oppressor. There is little doubt that these raiders were skilled fighters and
deadly swordsmen, but they are also expert sailors and builders of formidable vessels
of war. These raiders are not just bandits but a well-organized force that could attack
with the precision of strategy, giving these western colonial forces a run for their lives.
On December 8th, 1720, the Southern regions of Mindanao were occupied by Spanish
soldiers that were then identified as Zamboanga City. It sits at the tip of the Southwest
peninsula of the Philippines that is protected by the city’s Fort Pilar –a ten-meter-high
wall that acted as a defense fortress. The Fort served as the base of operations to
check on slave-raiding going on the north and back. King Dalasi was the King of Bulig in
Maguindanao who led in attacking the Fort Pillar together with the forces of the Sulu
Sultanate; burned the town around the Fort, cut down the line of provisions for the
Spaniards, and began a war against the soldiers inside the Fort. Dalasi’s raiders fight
with a vengeance and desire to rip Zamboanga City off the Spanish Forces. They really
had to suppress the Spanish presence here in the peninsula because the Fort was their
base of operations. According to some historians, slave raiding happened in the
Philippines long before the Western Powers arrived, but it was never widespread
productivity. The arrival of the Spanish and the desire to dominate trade in the region
triggers slavery. The Spanish refer to the slave raiders as Moros. If they weren’t from
different tribes, they would challenge the Spanish authority for occupancy. The pirates
that were described by the Colonial Powers involved activities of different tribes in the
Mindanao Area as well as the Sulu Archipelago. These 3 Muslim Groups were the
Balangingi-Samal Tribe, the Illanuns, and the Taosugs. The Illanuns and Balangingi-
Samal group were both long-standing seafaring communities and would often join
forces with the Taosugs that is known for its fierce warriors. All of the piratical attacks
and retaliatory attacks conducted from Sulu and Maguindanao always carried these
contingents.

CONTENT ANALYSIS
The documentary film addressed the resistance of the People in the South, the Moros,
from the Spanish-American Colonial forces in the Southern region of the Philippines.
1. The Moro People are not really pirates or rebels but indigenous people who
demonstrated resistance from the Spanish forces.
2. The most celebrated attack was the December 8th, 1970 attack by King Dalasi.
3. The Moro act was an act of retaliation against the foreign occupier and was
sanctioned by the sultanates in the name of a higher course: Islam.
4. Spaniards were concerned about the commercial interests of the region and to
propagate Christianity.
5. Slave-raiding was part of the bigger regional trade in the Islands of Southeast Asia.
6. Artifacts originating from China that was found in Butuan City are proof of the great
distances travelled by the Sea farers of Sulu and the trading activities they were
involved in.
7. The Western Colonial Ruling sand open-armed conflicts in the Southern region of the
Philippines cause the impoverishment of Muslim Areas economically and religiously.

THE THREE RAIDER TRIBES:

Balangingi-Samal Tribe
- The Balangingi, also known Northern Sama or Northern Sinama, is an
ethnolinguistic group living on the Greater Sulu Archipelago and the southern and
western coastal regions of the Zamboanga peninsula in Mindanao. n the early
nineteenth century, an entire ethnic group, the Samal Balangingi of the Sulu-Mindanao
region, specialized in state-sanctioned maritime raiding, attacking Southeast Asian
coastal settlements and trading vessels.

The Illanun Tribe

- The Illanun, called Iranun and Ilianon as well, are closely related culturally and
linguistically to the Maranao and Maguindanaon. The Illanun language is part of the
Austronesian family that is most closely related to Maranao. When the Spaniards left,
however, contact between the Maranao and Illanun decreased. The majority of Illanun
live along the coastline in the of the towns of Nulingi, Parang, Matanog, and Barira in
Maguindanao Province, Mindanao; along the Iliana Bay coast, north of the mouth of the
Pulangi River; and all the way to Sibugay Bay in Zamboanga del Sur and even the
western coastal plain of Borneo. Illanun, a Malay term meaning “pirate,” is appropriate
for the people of this ethnic group, who were once regarded as the fiercest pirates in the
Malay area.
The Taosug Tribe
This native tribe, the first group in the archipelago to be converted to Islam, possess a
courage that is beyond doubt, their bravery is supposed to be unquestionable, therefore
the Tausug are often named Tau Maisug or brave people. They are proud Muslims
renowned for their fierce resistance in the face of Spanish Conquerors, for 300 years
the Tausug and the Spanish were engaged in almost continuous warfare, which ended
when the Spaniards left the Philippines. The Tausug regards themselves superior to
other Philippine Muslims and still live a combative way of life, running away from a fight
is considered shameful. One old Tausug proverb says: Hanggang maybuhay, may pag
asa, meaning; Never admit defeat as long as you live
The Ancient Maritime Vessels of the Moro People
- The Moro People used compasses, browsed telescopes, and the stars to navigate
the seas. They are also knowledgeable about the monsoon of the region and use them
to travel extensively during the month of August and October in a period called “The
Pirate Season.”
1. Lanong

- Lanong is a large outrigger warship used by the Iranun and the Banguingui people of
the Philippines. It could reach up to 30 m (98 ft) in length with 6 meters wide hounds,
each at cannons mounted at the bar and had two biped shear masts which doubled as
boarding ladders. It has 24 oars at each side rowed by captures slaves that served as
their flagships.

2. Garay

- Garay is a traditional native warship of the Banguingui people in the Philippines.

These are the fast-attack boats of the Samalian Tribes. They were made of Bamboo
wood and Nipa Palm and could carry more than 100 sailors. The ship was 25 meters
long and 6 meters across and hounds the power magazine and cannon at the barrel.
With 30 to 60 oars in each side, the Garay was faster than any other sea-going vessel
of its time. In the 18th and 19th centuries, they were commonly used for piracy by the
Banguingui and Iranun people against unarmed trading ships and raids on coastal
settlements in the regions surrounding the Sulu Sea. They are smaller, faster and more
maneuverable speeding boats replaced from the juangas. The name means "scattered"
or "wanderer" in the Sama language of the Banguingui.

Salisipan

- Kakap (also known as salisipan) is a canoe-shaped boat which sometimes have

outriggers. They are often used by the Iranun and Banguingui people of the Philippines
for piracy and for raids on coastal areas. They are usually part of fleets with larger
motherships like pangajava, garay, or lanong warships. Among Malays, this type of boat
is used as a boat of war or passenger boat. Raiding fleets are used as auxiliary vessels.
These boats were used to collect manpower and ships from friendly raiding bases along
the way; eventually, building a fearsome, organized sea force.
Fort Pillar

-
- In 1718–1719, it was rebuilt by the Spaniard engineer Juan Sicarra upon the
orders of Spanish Governor General Fernando Manuel de Bustillo Bustamante y
Rueda and was renamed as Real Fuerte de Nuestra Señora del Pilar de
Zaragoza (Royal Fort of Our Lady of the Pillar of Zaragoza) in honor of the
 patron virgin of Spain, Our Lady of the Pillar. A year later Dalasi, king of Bulig,
and 3,000 Moro pirates attacked the fort; the defenders repulsed the attack.

Ancient Weapons of the Moro People

1. Kalis / Kris

- It is a type of double-edged Filipino sword, often with a "wavy" section The kalis's
double-edged blade can be used for both cutting and thrusting. The sword is more than
300 years old, and it was used during the time of the Spanish colonization. It is a
weapon for warfare and servility. It is 2 meters in length and was carried not only by
slave raiders into battle but also nobles and high-ranking officials of southern
Sultanates. It’s double-edge blade is used for easier slashing and penetration to the
bone that would stick so it’s very hard to pull.

2.Barong

-Barong or Barung is the one Taosug warriors use to cut off an M-14 and a carabiner
because its blade is thick. It is a deadly weapon and a sword with a single-edge leaf-
shape blade made of thick type of steel. It is also a 1-meter-long weapon that was used
to enclose hand to hand battle to cut Spanish firearms down to size. This weapon is
used by Muslim Filipino ethnolinguistic groups like the Tausug, Sinama or Yakan in the
Southern Philippines.

3.Kampilan

-Kampilan is the longest sword that was used by the Illanuns. It is a heavy, single-edge
sword that has two horns projecting from the blunt side of the tip which was used to pick
up the head of the decapitated body. The Kampilan has a distinct profile, with the
tapered blade being much broader and thinner at the point than at its base, sometimes
with a protruding spikelet along the flat side of the tip and a bifurcated hilt which is
believed to represent a mythical creature's open mouth. At about 36 to 40 inches (90 to
100 cm) long, it is much larger than other Filipino swords.

4. Armor
-The armor was made from carabao horn. Its steel plate was molded to fit the body and
held together by chain mail. It could also deflect the blows from a sword but useless
against firearms. The Ancient Weapons of the Spanish Forces.

5. Musket

-The musket could fire 90 meters. It was inaccurate and took several stages steps to
reload.

6. Cannons

-
- It is a type of gun classified as artillery that launches a projectile using
propellant. In the past, gunpowder was the primary propellant before the
invention of smokeless powder in the 19th century. Cannons vary in caliber,
 range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower. Different forms of cannon
combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees, depending on their
intended use on the battlefield.

Evidence
A Historiography documentary film “ Raiders Of Sulu” depicting the Southeast Asia
flourishing free trading in the area.  Adverse effects/ retaliation when Spaniards
wanted to control the economy as well as to colonize and Christianize Depicting how
the Spaniards defended the city with the Fort Pilar Showed what was claimed then as
pirates of the Sulu Sea from Mindanao, Philippines, how these raiders were actually
plying their trade before and during the Spanish colonization of the Philippines.

Conclusion
- The raiders of Sulu were known as slave traders, pirates, and thieves, targeting
any Foreign cargo ship they can capture for slave and goods, even Spain who
was colonizing the Philippines the name of their tribe was still kept intact, their
identities, and religion. These tribes became one to fight for their dignity as
Muslims, and defended the land with all might.