10 Tribes of Davao City - Tausug part (2-10)

This is the second part of the list of 10 tribes in Davao.

Tausug

The present-day Tausig descended from the different ethnic groups that migrated to the Sulu Archipelago. Sulu sa/si/a (genealogy) and tradition speaks of Buranon, Tagimaha, Baklaya, Orang Dampuan, and Orang Banjar as the earlier migrants to the archipelago.

The word Tausug is in recognition of the geographic character of the Sulu Archipelago that lies in the path of vigorous tidal currents flowing from the Sulu and China Seas to the Celebes Sea. Practically all the groups in the Sultanate are sea-oriented: sailors, traders, fishermen, pearl divers, sea seed collectors, etc. Thus, Tausugs are "People of the Current". Also, they possess an unquestionable courage and bravery, therefore Tausug are Tau Maisug or "brave people".

Men and women cut their hair and bound them with a black turban with a small piece of chintz tied around it. They were ruled by their chief and earned a livelihood from weaving cloth. Moreover, they were traders whose merchandise mostly consisted of products from the sea.

They were famous for their pearls which were white and round and had a luster that never faded. The large pearls measured about an inch in diameter. The Tausug had a pond where they kept large pearls and at night their luster lighted the surface of the water. The pearls were sold to the Chinese who came to trade regularly.

The language spoken by the Tausug is primarily adopted from the vocabulary of the Tagimaha in whose locality the Sultan of Sulu lived and established the capital of the Sultanate-Buansa.

The Tausugs are in the districts of Poblacion, Talomo, Agdao, Buhangin, Bunawan, Toril, Tugbok, Calinan and Baguio.

Click here to see the rest of the Davao tribes.