13 Moro ethno-linguistic groups

Iranun, Jama Mapun, Palawani, Molbog, Kalagan, Kalibugan, Maguindanao,

MERANAO

The Meranao inhabit Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur in Mindanao. The name Maranao translates to mean
“People of the Lake”, after their traditional territory in the area surrounding Lake Lanao in the Bukidnon-Lanao
Plateau.

According to the early written genealogical documents salsila, this term generally referred to the native people living
around Lake Lanao. The lake area is the home-range of the Meranao which is located in North Central Mindanao,
approximately 135 sq. miles in area and is situated 2,300 feet above sea level. They are one of the largest Islamic
groups in the Philippines, with the core areas being Marawi City, Lumba-a-bayabao, and Bayang. The Meranao are a
splinter group of the Maguindanao who took up Islam; families tracing their religious origins to Sharif Kabunsuan,
who introduced the religion to the region. Communities are clustered around a mosque and a torogan, a royal house
belonging to the preeminent economic household in the area. Aside from exotic textiles, metalwork, and woodcraft,
the torogan structure is the most significant and spectacular example of Filipino secular architecture. As a people,
the Meranao are widely distributed and contribute significantly to the market and trade industry. For instance, the
awang (dugout boat) used principally in Lake Lanao is both unique and extremely ornate. Textiles, on the other
hand, symbolize the socio-economic rank of the wearer through the intricacies of the design motifs woven into the
fabric, as well as, the richness of the colors used.

Meranao villages are composed of several families living in homes sans walls for partition. They are allowed to be
members of different villages simultaneously, without fear of recrimination as outcasts due largely in part to the
accepted bilateral relationships. As transients, they’re found in other parts of the Archipelago. Primary subsistence
consists of dry rice cultivation in hilly areas; intensive wet rice in flood plains; and some corn, sweet potato, coffee,
cassava and peanuts. To supplement their agricultural harvests, they also incorporate fishing.
MAGUINDANAON

The Maguindanaon, or Maguindanaw for some, inhabit North Cotobato, South Cotobato, Sultan Kudurat,
Zamboanga del Sur, and Maguindanao; the latter having the largest concentration. Maguindanaon means “people of
the flood plain” for they primarily inhabit the broad Pulangi River valley and delta which occasionally flood.

The Maguindanaon are divided into two principal groups, each with its own dialect and traditional location: The
Tau-saIlud (people of the lower valley) and the Tau-saLaya (people of the upper valley). The Tau-saIlud are
concentrated in the areas around Cotabato City and extend to South Dinaig. Traditionally, they constituted the
Sultanate of Maguindanao based near present day Cotabato City. Their dialect is characterized by more rapid,
“harder” consonant intonations, with preference for using “d” rather than “r” and variations on the use of “l” and “r”.
They’re renowned as sedentary wet-rice agriculturalists.

The Tau-saLaya, on the other hand, are concentrated in the areas of DatuPiang and extend south to areas which
include Buluan. As a group, they constituted the Rajahship of Buayan based near present-day town of DatuPiang.
Their dialect is distinguished by a slower cadence, a drawl, with frequent omission of the consonants between
vowels and a preference for using “l” rather than “r”, periodic variations of “r” for “d” and some differentiated
vocabulary. Their primary means of livelihood is a semi-sedentary agriculture and grow corn and upland rice.

IRANUN
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.

YAKAN
The Yakans are concentrated in Tipo-tipo ,Lamitan, Sumisip, and Tuburan in the Basilan Island of ARMM. There
are also scattered populations on the islands of Sakol, Malanipa, and Tumalutad east of the Zamboanga Peninsula.
The word Yakan means “Dayak Origin,” as they are believed to be descendants of the Orang Dyaks or Tagihamas of
eastern Indonesia. They speak a dialect of Sama language and are culturally influenced in some respect by the
Tausug.

The Yakans’ chief means of livelihood is farming, and they usually cultivate upland rice. They do not normally live
in compact villages, building their houses just out of sight of their nearest neighbors, on their plots of farmland. The
prominent person in each community of Yakan is the iman, who combines both religious and sociopolitical
leadership. The Yakans are famous for their beautiful weaving and their colorful traditional clothes and customs.

TAUSUG

The dominant ethnic group in the Sulu archipelago because of their political and religious institutions, the Tausug
occupy Jolo, Indanan, Siasi, and Patikul in Sulu (ARMM). There are also scattered settlements in Zamboanga del
Sur and Cotabato, and all the way to Malaysia, which has an estimated Tausug population of more than 110,000.

Tausug is a combination of tau (person) and suug (the old name of Jolo Island). The present generation of Tausugs
are believed to be descended from the different ethnic groups that had migrated to the Sulu archipelago.

The Tausug language is adopted from the vocabulary of Tagimaha, in whose locality the Sultan of Sulu lived and
established Buansa, the capital of the Sultunate. They have two dialects: parianum and gimbahanun. Parianum is
spoken by the people living along the coasts of Jolo and gimbahanun, by those living in the interior part

SAMA-BAJAU
The Sama-Bajau refers to several Austronesian ethnic groups of Maritime Southeast Asia with their origins from the
southern Philippines. The name collectively refers to related people who usually call themselves the Sama or Samah
(formally A’a Sama, “Sama people”); or are known by the exonym Bajau (/ˈbɑːdʒaʊ, ˈbæ-/, also spelled Badjao,
Bajaw, Badjau, Badjaw, Bajo or Bayao). They usually live a seaborne lifestyle, and use small wooden sailing vessels
such as the perahu (layag in Meranau), djenging, balutu, lepa, pilang, and vinta (or lepa-lepa).[6] Some Sama-Bajau
groups native to Sabah are also known for their traditional horse culture.

The Sama-Bajau are the dominant ethnic group of the islands of Tawi-Tawi in the Philippines. They are also found
in other islands of the Sulu Archipelago, coastal areas of Mindanao, northern and eastern Borneo, Sulawesi, and
throughout eastern Indonesian islands. In the Philippines, they are grouped together with the religiously-similar
Moro people. Within the last fifty years, many of the Filipino Sama-Bajau have migrated to neighbouring Malaysia
and the northern islands of the Philippines, due to the conflict in Mindanao. As of 2010, they were the second-largest
ethnic group in the Malaysian state of Sabah.

Sama-Bajau have sometimes been called the “Sea Gypsies” or “Sea Nomads”, terms that have also been used for
non-related ethnic groups with similar traditional lifestyles, such as the Moken of the Burmese-Thai Mergui
Archipelago and the Orang laut of southeastern Sumatra and the Riau Islands of Indonesia. The modern outward
spread of the Sama-Bajau from older inhabited areas seems to have been associated with the development of sea
trade in sea cucumber (trepang).
BADJAO

Badjao or Bajau means man of the seas, this tribal group is known as the Sea Gypsies because they move with the
wind and the tide on their small houseboats called vintas, they can be found in many coastal settlements and inhabit
the waters and shores of the Sulu archipelago.

A legend tells that these boat dwellers came from the shores of Johore in Indonesia, Princess Ayesha of Johore was
betrothed to a Sulu Sultan but she really wanted to marry the Sultan from Brunei. One day, a large fleet of war boats
escorted the Princess to Sulu, the fleet was intercepted by the man she really loved, the Sultan from Brunei, who
kidnapped her and set sail back to Brunei. The escorting fleet could not return without the Princess and kept on
sailing the seas, only mooring at uninhabited islands; some of them turned to piracy and roamed the seas to search
for fortune and glory. Others only searched for food and became fishermen, the Sulu Sea had an abundance of fish
that helped to sustain their livelihood, most of the daily catch was bartered with other tribes that lived along the
shores and beaches. The Badjao still live in houseboats, clustered near the coastline of Southern Mindanao. But they
also built stilt houses near fertile fishing grounds; these houses are a temporary refuge during times that these
boathouses needed repairs. These wanderers of the Southern seas are born on the water, live on their boats and say
they will only set foot on land only to die.

Although that their ancestors were once feared by many in the Mindanao region, the Badjao are primitive and
friendly, they are believed to be world’s most peace-loving people and consider themselves as a non-aggressive
tribal community. Conflict with other tribes is often dealt with by fleeing to other places like the sea. Other tribes
looked down on these fisher folk and did refer to them as palao or lumaan (God forsaken), the Badjao were
influenced by Islam, but the continuous pressure put on by other Muslim tribes forced them to move to the sea,
which gave them greater chances of escape in the case of an attack by hostile tribes. Eventually the sea molded the
attitude and appearance of the Badjao, this rough environment and way of living shaped their typical physical
features, the bronze coloured hair and dark brown skin clearly distinct them from other tribes.

The native religion from these water people is a form of ancestor worship, spirits, deceased ancestors and other
relatives are asked for favours during frequent cemetery visits. They offer cigarettes and food and sweet smelling
tonic is used for sprinkling the corners of the graves. These spirits are still part of the family; the seafarers of the
Philippine South want these sprits to be as happy as the living and will therefore comfort them as much as they can.
Some of the traditional pre-Islamic beliefs are offerings made to the God of the Sea, the Omboh Dilaut, whenever a
large catch of fish is brought in and by setting a “spirit boat” adrift in the open sea, , mediums are also called upon to
remove illness causing spirits from this boat-dwellers community in times of epidemics.
By tradition, the hardworking and proud Badjao people are sea nomads, travelling by boat from one island to the
other in search of fishing harvest. This pagan tribe have sailed the seas for more than a thousand years, but because
of over fishing by other groups using everything from high-tech fishing trawlers and even dynamite fishing,
threatened by soaring costs for fuel and repairs, their life in the open waters is drying up. These Bedouin of the sea
no longer live on boats, they live in thatch-roofed houses on bamboo stilts on a small strip of land that nobody else
wanted, somewhere along the coastline of Sarangani. With small, family owned bancas they continue to roam the
waters, fighting the current to follow schools of fish, hunting for the bounty of the ocean, trying to make a living and
find refuge in the vastness of the deep blue sea.

Despite the romantic portrayals of the tribe, the Badjao never really had an easy live, when they were still living at
sea, they were at least free from the everyday rejection and hardship brought upon by other tribes that live on land.
These guardians of the sea have experienced themselves that times are tough on the water, but worse on land. At
present the Badjao are the most marginalized ethnic group and one of the poorest tribes in the Philippines, a Muslim
tribe that is shunned by almost everyone, still gypsies, but also named tramps and thieves. Their vibrant nomadic
lifestyle, the way of life bequeathed to them by their ancestors has vanished in most parts of Mindanao.

For centuries the Badjao have been a resilient tribal group, they firmly pushed away modernity with both hands, but
tossed by modern winds they will have to find ways to maintain their unique lifestyle and culture, otherwise they
will remain Godforsaken.

JAMA MAPUN

Jama Mapun is the native inhabitants of the Cagayan de Tawi-Tawi (Cagayan de Sulu) or Mapun and the Turtle
Island where it is closest to Sabah, Malaysia. They are also found in northern Palawan and other nearby islands.

Jama Mapun is from the word Jama meaning people, and Mapun which indicates the name of the Island
Municipality of Mapun, thus called the “People of Mapun” . They are one of the Bangsamoro Ethnic tribes in the
Philippines. They are the Sama-speaking people widely known for their creativity and traditions.Their spoken
language is called Pullun Mapun meaning Mapun Language.They speak a Sama-Bajau language of the Austronesian
language family, and most are adherents of Islam.

The Jama Mapun are socially independent, peaceful and creative people. Some of their principal economic activities
are dry-rice agriculture, copra production, and trading.
KAGAN KALAGAN

The Kagan Kalagan are concentrated in Sirawan, Davao City; Tagum, Davao del Norte; Mati, Davao Oriental; and
some areas of Davao del Sur. They speak a mixture of the Tagakaolo, Tausug, and Maguindanaon languages.

KALIBUGAN

“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. Their culture shares elements with those of Subanun, Tausug, and Samal.
SANGIL

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; the tribe was already Muslim long before they came to the Philippines and, ahead of the
introduction of Islam to Mindanao. Sangil, an Austronesian language, appears to have an affinity to Sama, with
regards to the pronounciation of words, manner of speaking, and vocabulary.

MOLBOG

The Molbog is one of the Muslim Cultural minorities, a people group believed to have been migrants from North
Borneo. This group is also known as Malebugan or Molebuganon.

The Molbog’s location, Balabac Island, is the usual place for stop over by Tausug traders travelling between Brunie,
Palawan, and Sulu for replenishment of their food and water supplies. It is through this that the Molbog have
constant contact with the Tausug. Intermarriages between Tausug and the Molbog people is allowed and offspring of
these marriages are known as “Kolibugan” or half-breed. It is also through this process that the Molbog are Islam-
anized very rapidly
Linguistically, the Molbog language has some lexical similarity with Sama, Tausog and Palawano

The livelihood includes subsistence farming, fishing and occasional barter trading with the Sulu and nearby Sabah
market centers.

In the past, the Molbog were ruled by Sulu datus under the Sulu Sultanate. Within the Molbog villages, they are led
by religious leaders.

PALAWANON

While the formerly Muslim majority population in Mindanao was reduced to 40% as a result of the influx of
Christian Filipino settlers in the 20th century, as of 2015 Muslims were reported by the Routledge Handbook of
Southeast Asian Democratization as forming an “overwhelming majority” in Palawan, as well as the Sulu
Archipelago. However, other sources had earlier reported a 50-50 split between Muslims and Christians—with
Muslims concentrated mostly in the south of Palawan.

Not only is Palawan Island considered one of the most captivating tourist attractions in the Philippines, but it is rich
in languages and culture as well. Palawan is one of the best-known archaeological sites that carry solid evidence of
the country’s ancient past.

Most Palawanos choose to live along upland rivers, while a few opt for the coast. Their primary source of food is
agriculture, using the slash-and-burn method. Hunting with blowguns, fishing, and food gathering are also relied on
for sustenance. In traditional societies, most of the agricultural tasks are assigned to the women.