The Sulu Sultanate Dynasty
Sultanate Era
The history of Sulu begins with Makdum, a Muslim missionary, who arrived in Sulu in 1380. He introduced the Islamic faith and settled in Tubig Indangan, Simunul until his death. The Mosque's pillars at Tubig-Indangan which he built still stand.
In 1390, Raja Baguinda landed at Buansa and extended the missionary work of Makdum. The Arabian scholar Abu Bakr arrived in 1450, married Baguinda's daughter, and after Baguinda's death, became Sultan, thereby introducing the sultanate as a political system. Political districts were created in Parang, Pansul, Lati, Gitung, and Luuk, each headed by a panglima or district leader.
After Abu Bakr's death, the sultanate system had already become well established in Sulu. Before the coming of the Spaniards, the ethnic groups in Sulu--the Tausug, Samal, Yakan, and Bajau--were in varying degrees united under the Sulu sultanate, considered the most centralized -political system in the Philippines. Called the "Moro Wars," these battles were waged intermittently from 1578 till 1898 between the Spanish colonial government and the Muslims of Mindanao.
In 1578, an expedition sent by Gov Francisco de Sande and headed by Capt Rodriguez de Figueroa began the 300-year warfare between the Tausûg and the Spanish authorities. In 1579, the Spanish government gave de Figueroa the sole right to colonize Mindanao. In retaliation, the Muslims raided Visayan towns in Panay, Negros, and Cebu. These were repulsed by Spanish and Visayan forces. In the early 17th century, the largest alliance composed of the Maranao, Maguindanao, Tausûg, other Muslim groups was formed by Sultan Kudarat or Cachil Corralat of Maguindanao, whose domain extended from the Davao Gulf to Dapitan on the Zamboanga peninsula. Several expeditions sent by the Spanish authorities suffered defeat. In 1635, Capt Juan de Chaves occupied Zamboanga and erected a fort. In 1637, Gov Gen Hurtado de Corcuera personally led an expedition against Kudarat, and triumphed over his forces at Lamitan and Ilian. On 1 January 1638, de Corcuera with 80 vessels and 2000 soldiers, defeated the Tausûg and occupied Jolo. A peace treaty was forged. The victory did not establish Spanish sovereignty over Sulu, as the Tausûg abrogated the treaty as soon Spaniards left in 1646.
In 1737, Sultan Alimud Din I entered into a "permanent" peace treaty with Gov Gen F. Valdes y Tamon; and in 1746, befriended the Jesuits sent to Jolo by King Philip. The "permission" of Sultan Azimuddin-I (*the first heir-apparent) allowed the Christians Jesuit enter Jolo was against by his young brother's Raja Muda Maharajah Adinda Datu Bantilan (*the second heir-apparent). Datu Bantilan did not want the Christian Jesuits disturbed or dishonored the Muslims faith in the Sulu Sultanate kingdom. The fought of these two brother, made Sultan Azimuddin-I leave Jolo to Zamboanga, then to Manila in 1948. Then Raja Muda Maharajah Adinda Datu Bantilan was proclaimed as sultan, taken the name as Sultan Bantilan Muizzuddin.
Sultan Bantilan Muizzuddin was a "Saviour" to the Sulu Sultanate kingdom. If he did not fought his brother Sultan Azimuddin-I (*Sultan Azimuddin-I was allowed the Christian Jesuits to entor Jolo and allowed them to spread the "Christians Doctrine" among the Muslims in Sulu), maybe since that time (1748), the Sulu Sultanate kingdom was already became "Christians Country" as what happened to Manila. Nowadays, the generation of Sultan Bantilan Muizzuddin (*the Maharajah Adinda Families) will try again to save the Sulu Sultanate for the second times. Which the Sulu Sultanate seems was demolished under the first heir-apparents management.
In 1893, amid succession controversies, Amirnul Kiram became Sultan Jamalul Kiram II, the title being officially recognized by the Spanish authorities. In 1899, after the defeat of Spain in the Spanish-American War, Col Luis Huerta, the last governor of Sulu, relinquished his garrison to the Americans (Orosa 1970:25-30).
Fall of the Sultanate
During the Philippine-American War, the Americans adopted a policy of noninterference in the Muslim areas, as spelled out in the Bates Agreement of 1899 signed by Brig Gen John Bates and Sultan Jamalul Kiram II of Jolo. Although the Bates Agreement had "pacified," to a certain extent, the Sulu sultanate, resistance continued. In 1901, panglima (district chief) Hassan and his followers fought the Americans, believing that acceptance of American sovereignty would affect his own authority (Che Man l990:46-47).
After the Philippine-American War, the Americans established direct rule over the newly formed "Moro province," which consisted of five districts-Zamboanga, Lanao, Cotabato, Davao, and Sulu. Political, social, and economic changes were introduced. These included the creation of provincial and district institutions; the introduction of the public school system and American-inspired judicial system the imposition of the cedula or head tax; the migration of Christians to Muslim lands encouraged by the colonial government; and the abolition of slavery. These and other factors contributed to Muslim resistance that took 10 years "to pacify”. The Department of Mindanao and Sulu replaced the Moro province on 15 December 1913.
With the ratification of the Carpenter Agreement in 1915 and the death of Sultan Jamalul-Kiram-II in 1936 without heir, the Sultanate of Sulu has been abolished. Furthermore, the non-recognition to "any" successor of the sultanate was implemented by President Manuel L.Quezon in Memorandum 20 September, 1937.
The British administrator in Sabah did not formally adopt a policy of non-recognition of the rights of the Sultan of Sulu and his descendents in Sabah. Attempts by some Datuks in Sabah to take up their succession case with the Sultan of Brunei had failed. To this day the Malaysian government secretly pays the lease to the heirs of the Sultan as decided by a U.S. judge but claimants from Sabah had never been considered.
Some historians claim that the title should have shifted to the second heir apparent.
• The Carpenter Agreement in 1915 only reduces the authority of the Sultan, but does not abolish the Sultanate.
• Following the Sulu Sultanate protocol system or "Tartib", upon the death of a Sultan with no heir to the throne, the title should shift to the second heir-apparent since that time.
• The non-recognition to any "Successors" of Sultan Jamalul-Kiram II by President Manuel L.Quezon in "Memorandum 20 September, 1937", refers only to "The primary heir" of the Sulu Sultanate and does not mean abolishment of the Sulu Sultanate.
It is claimed that the Maharajah Adinda families are the rightful "heirs and successors" to the Sulu Sultanate kingdom as documented on "The 1878 North-Borneo Padjak Agreement". That agreement never refer to the whole of Sabah, only to the eastern part of Sabah. This is reinforced by the fact that the Tausûgs only settle in the regions from Kudat to Semporna. The claims of the Philippines government over Sabah appears to ignore the descendents of the Sulu Sultan in Sabah who were administrating the region on behalf of the true Sultan and the democratic rights of the current inhabitants. What is worse, the claim is over areas that are clearly not part of the mortgage(pajak/Sanda) agreement.
Tartib And Protocol
The Linear Pattern Of Succession was not in accord with the spirit of Succession to the sulu sultanate. If this, however, took place in the nine-teenh century it was either on account of strong sultans who would have only their sons succeed them or the sheer weakness of the other contenders. When the pattern of linear succession was disregarded, the sultan’s position tended to pass on the either a brother or nephew. A variation of this was to have a cousin succeed another. In any case, it was desirable to have as sultan one who was the son of a previous sultan although the succession was not to be direct or immediate one.A general rule would be as follows. If A1 is succeeded by his brother B1 would be A2 (the oldest living son of A1). Here a nephew directly succeeded by his brother B1, and B1 is succeeded by another C1, then the successor of C1 can be either a son of A1 or B1. Here again, a nephew succeeds his uncle. Closely similar to this is the following variation. If A1 is succeeded by his brother B1 and, for some reason or another B2 (a son of B1) became sultan, then A2(a son of A1) is given a chance to succeed B2. In this case, the son of a previous sultan succeeds his cousin. Should A1 leave no son qualified to succeed B2 for the post, then there is the possibility that C1 (a brother of A1 and B1) might succeed B2, This is the case of an uncle succeeding his nephew
The Sulu Sultanate Protocol (Tartib)
The Linear pattern of succession was not in accord with the spirit of succession to the sulu sultanate
The Sulu Royal Families :
(The First Heir-Apparent) – Descendent of Sultan Azimuddin@Alimuddin-I 1. Kiram families (symbolized as Kris on the sulu sultanate flags.) 2. Shakiraullah Families (Symbolised with barung on the sulu sultanate flag’s)
( The Second Heir Apparent)- Descendant of Sultan Bantilan Muezuddin-I 3. The Maharaja Adinda Aranan Families (Symbolised as Spear On The sulu sultanate flag’s) Even though in the sulu sultanate protocol (Tartib) just stated as “A,B,C” as instead to the sulu sultanate heirs, we could understand that its pointed to Kiram (A), Shakiraullah (B), and The Maharaja Adinda Aranan Families (C) A general rule would be as follows
Kiram Family
Upon the death of the allegedly poisoned Sultan, the son of the second wife became Sultan. His name was Sultan Muhammad Jamalul Kiram II, who enjoyed a long reign from 1884‐1936.
It was during his reign that America took control of the Philippines. American forces battle‐hardened by annihilating the American Indians eventually conquered Sulu, declaring that the Sultan no longer held sovereign power but did retain spiritual authority.
Sultan Muhammad Jamalul Kiram II married at least ten wives in an effort to sire an heir. However, no wife became pregnant. When his youngest wife had a love affair with Hadjirul, one of the Sultan’s bodyguard, Instead of killing her and the bodyguard, the Sultan took mercy on them and merely sent them into exile to Pangutaran, instead of executing them. In exile, this young wife became pregnant by Hadjirul. The exiled wife and the bodyguard claimed their love child should be Sultan; but no one believed their claims that Julaspi should be crowned. Julaspi died in Maharlika Village, Taguig, in 1998, and had two sons who claim to be Sultan… Rodinhod and Kudar, who obviously have no claim to the throne.
Childless, Jamalul Kiram II died in 1936, during the American occupation. His full brother, the Rajah Muda Mawallil Wasit, the second son of wife Pangiyan Jamila, ascended to the throne.
Four days, after the death of the elder brother, he was crowned by the Ruma Bechara, (Royal Council). Shocking everyone, this new Sultan was believed poisoned six months later, died, and was buried in Maimbung. By the time of his poisoning, Mawallil Wasit was already an old man, since her elder brother had ruled for 52 years. Mawallil Wasit did have three wives. His first wife, named Albiya, bore one child, a daughter named Sitti mariam. His second wife, Ambuh Inang, bore one child, Esmail Kiram I. his third wife, Napsa, gave birth to three children, but only one son, named Punjungan. The daughters were Sitti Radda, the eldest child, and Putli Jahara.
Entranced by her beauty, Mawallil Wasit had abducted Napsa from Simunul Island in Tawi‐Tawi. Some claim that she was already pregnant by a man to whom she had been married for only one week at the time of her abduction, and use this to argue against the legitimacy of Punjungan. Upon the death of Mawallil Wasit, the Sultanate entered a period of competition to see who would become Sultan. Also, shortly after his death, World War II began, with a Japanese occupation of Sulu. With the invaders, the Sultanate began to lose firm control over its destiny.
THE STRUGGLE TO THE THRONE
After the death of Sultan Mawallil Wasit, Dayang Dayang Piandao, a niece of Sultan Jamalul Kiram II and daughter of Sultan Badaruddin II, seated as temporary ruler “sandah”. She asked her subjects to proclaim her husband Datu Ombra Amilbangsa as Sultan Amirul Umara II in January 1937 knowing the issue of proclamationthat obviously displayed a sort of self‐interest on the part of Dayang Dayang Piandao, the Datus of Patikul, whose mothers were descendants of Sultan Shakirullah build their own “Temporal Branch” and selected Princess Andrada, daughter of Datu Tambuyung as their “sandah. She thereby too asked her subjects to select her father Datu Tambuyung and named Sultan Muhammad Jainal Abirin II. His lineage was from Sultan Sakirullah,the brother of Sultan Alimudin III, and the father of Sultan Jamalul Kiram I. His lineage was traced same as Sultans Badaruddin II, Jamalul Kiram II, and Mawallil Wasit, all belonging to the fifth generation. Furthermore, the succession issue in the house of Shakirullah is more acceptable since Sultan Muhammad Jaimal Abirin has the rightful connection as far as leadership is concerned, which is a clear ground prioritation, as compared to Sultan Ombra Amilbangsa who came from Tawi‐Tawi. With this kind of scenario, the struggle to the throne existed, Even though no shedding of blood occur, the issue remain a threat to both sides.
During the Japanese time, Sultan Ombra Amilbangsa becomes an ally of the Japanese troops. This has become a strong driving force that later on proclaimed him as a recognized Sultan of Sulu. Aside from this, he was also proclaimed as governor of Sulu. And upon the success of American liberation in the Philippines against the Japanese troops, Ombra Amilbangasa ran for the office as a Congressman and won. He died due to old age. On the other hand, Sultan Jainal Abirin remained an anti‐colonizer. In opposite to Sultan Ombra Amilbangsa, he deliberately fought with the American troops of Gen. Pershing at the Battle of Bud Bagsak, again with the Japanese troops thus gaining the misinterpreted connotation of being a “rebel” instead of being a “Time Freedom Fighter” until his death due to old age in 1950.
DAYANG DAYANG HADJI PIANDAO ‐is the Daughter of Sultan Badaruddin and his wife Amina. She grew up to be a powerful lady with a very strong influence in governmental affairs and was the power behind the throne during the reigned of Sultan Jamalul Kiram II.
In 1939 Dayang Dayang Hadji Piandao filed a civil case at the Court of First Instance in Jolo, Sulu, for and in behalf of the heirs in the “Deed of Partitions” and recorded in the court the rightful heirs/claimants. Same suit followed in the High Court of the State of North Borneo with Judge Macaskie presiding. The Court ruled in favor of the heirs and they are entitled payment under the 1876 Lease Agreement. Shares as agreed were as follows:
Dayang Dayang Hadji Piandao Kiram 3/8
Princess Tarhata Kiram 3/16
Princess Sakinur in 3/16
Mora Napsa 1/24
Ismail Kiram 1/24
Punjungan Kiram 1/24
Sitti Mariam Kiram 1/24
Sitti Radda Kiram 1/24
Sitti Jahara Kiram 1/24
When Sultan Muhammad Jainal Abirin died in 1950, the Rajah Muda was Esmail Kiram. Thus the Sultanate passes on to the Rajah Muda, the first son of the second wife, Ambuh Inang. This son Esmail was proclaimed, as Sultan Esmail Kiram I in Jolo in 1950.
It was this Sultan who in 1962 ceded the territory of North Borneo to the Republic of the Philippines during the time of President Diosdado Macapagal. During his long reign, the Rajah Muda or Crown Prince, was Datu Punjungan, who was the son of the third wife, Napsa.
In 1974, Sultan Esmail Kiram I died in Jolo. By this time, blazing warfare between Moro and Filipino soldiers was raging in Sulu. In addition, the secret plan of the Philippines to invade North Borneo had ended in the Jabidah Massacre of 1968, and there was suspicion and uncertainty everywhere in the region. Because President Ferdinand Marcos had declared Martial Law I 1972, Crown Prince Datu Punjungan had already fled to North Borneo and dared not return to claim the Sultanate.
Thus, emissaries from President Marcos traveled to Jolo to identify and select a new Sultan. They ask Abraham Rasul, the husband of Santanina Rasul, who should be the next Sultan, in as much as they could not find Datu Punjungan. At the order of President Marcos, a selection committee was formed. This group chose Muhammad Mahakutta Kiram as sultan in 1974. They chose him because he was the first so of the second wife; and since they were unable to find Datu Punjungan, Datu Mahakuttah became Sultan, though not in accordance to standard rules. It was well known that the Crown Prince was alive, thus no new Sultan should have been crowned. This intervention by Manila has had exactly the effect which the Government of the Republic of the Philippines sought, which was to divide and control the people of Sulu. To this day, the competing claims to being Sultan stem from the interference by Manila.
Sultan Mahakuttah was brought to Manila, where he was well financed by President Marcos, lived in the Aurelio Hotel in Mabini, and received a large allowance. He played a large role in recommending to President Marcos who could bring in barter trade goods, with approval by the Southern command officer in charge. While living in Manila, Sultan Mahakuttah fell prey to all vices. Finally, he married Mercy, a Christian woman in Pampanga. In 1976, Sultan Mahakuttah began to lose favor with President Marcos because the “Magic Eight” commanders of the Moro National Liberation front had surrendered to Marcos. They began to get funding, not Sultan Mahakuttah.
When martial law ended in 1980, Crown Prince Punjungan returned to North Borneo to Jolo. The Ruma Bechara, along with all the Datus and the leaders of the different municipalities of Jolo, gathered in Jolo to proclaim Datu Punjungan as the rightful Sultan. At that time, they also proclaimed Datu Jamalul Kiram III as Rajah Mudah. Sultan Mahakuttah was present at the gathering in Jolo and willingly renounced the Sultancy in favor of his uncle, Sultan Punjungan.
Sultan Punjungan reigned from 1980‐1983, and died a natural death in Zamboanga City. Buried in Maimbung, Sulu, the ancestral capital of the Royal Sultanate. Before he died, he wrote a Will of Testament, that all rights of administrative over all his interests shares and participation in all the properties of the Sultanate of Sulu, including its proprietary rights and interests over Sabah, formerly known as British North Borneo, are conferred to his son Datu Esmail Dalus Kiram.
Upon Sultan Punjungan’s death, Crown Prince Datu Jamalul Kiram III was proclaimed Sultan by the council of Datus Simultaneously, Datu Esmail Kiram was proclaimed Rajah Muda, or Crown Prince.
Even before becoming Crown Prince or Sultan, Jamalul Kiram III had taken up residence in Manila and married a Christian woman named Celia, as his second wife. Under the doctrine of “Astanah ha Lupah Sug,” which requires the Sultan to reside in Jolo, the people expected Sultan Jamalul Kiram III to move back to Jolo. However, he never did. After leaving Jolo in the late 1970s, Sultan Jamalul Kiram III never re‐established a residence in Jolo. In fact, when his own son from his first wife, Caroline Tulawie, died in Jolo, he returned briefly but stayed with his brother, Rajah Muda Datu Esmail Kiram. Over a period of twenty years, Sultan Jamalul Kiram III returned to Jolo only once or twice per year for brief visits.
During his visit to Jolo when his son died, the Ruma Bechara advised Sultan Jamalul Kiram III to step down in favor of Rajah Muda Datu Esmail Kiram. It was subsequently agreed that Sultan Jamalul kiram III could retain the title of Sultan, but that Rajah Muda Esmail Kiram would be Sultan in fact in Sulu and North Borneo. It was agreed that if Sultan Jamalul Kiram III decided to return to Jolo, he would be reinstated as Sultan, a process familiar to the Sultanate because of events surrounding the Sultana Azim ud‐Din I or Sultan Aliuddin I, in the 1750s. This Sultan was kept in Manila by the Spanish for many years, and during his absence aother man became Sultan. But when Alimuddin I was able to return to Jolo, he was reinstated as Sultan.
Esmail Kiram II was crowned in Jolo in 2001 after he was found to be in compliance with all the rules of succession. His younger brother, Agbimuddin, became Crown Prince
In 2005, Fuad Kiram was proclaimed in Maharlika Village as Sultan of Sulu. Though a fine man, he does not meet the traditional requirements. First, he was never proclaimed as Rajah Muda. When Fuad’s elder brother, Mahakuttah, became Sultan the person who was named Rajah Muda was Muedzul‐Lail Kiram. Second, Fuad is not a resident of Sulu, but lives in Angono, Rizal. Third, his mother is not of royal blood lines. Fourth, the coronation of Mahakuttah was proclaimed not by the Ruma Bechara but by the government of Ferdinand Marcos.
Recently on 2004, Rajamuda Datu Muedzul‐Lail Kiram has made claims to be rightful Sultan. He is ascended his father's throne Sultan Muhammad Mahakuttah Kiram on 1974. during that time, he has proclaimed as the Rajamuda/Crown Prince of Sulu by his father but his age factor has deficiencies in his claim. nowadays, he attempt to made claimants as the rightful heirs to be a sultan of sulu.
On the last 2009, he has made a unification and agreement known as Kiram-Aranan with HRH Datu Muhammidul Ali Aranan, the Head of the royal house of Maharaja Adinda Aranan at his official Astanah in Sanraymundo, Jolo. with the agreement they signed has made his claims more powerful but on 2011, the agreement had problems which the head of the royal house, HRH Datu Muhammidul Ali Aranan urgently pulled out with the reason that the royal family of Aranan withdrew the unification between Kiram-Aranan to respect the other legitimate royal family of kiram and need to avoid the worst dispute between kiram family.
The Treaty Involving Kiram Family Known As Kiram-Bates Treaty
A relatively unknown but significant detail in Philippine history is the Bates Treaty, signed between the U.S. and the Sultanate of Sulu on August 20, 1899. This article looks into the background of that treaty and its consequences.The Filipinos had been waging their War of Independence from Spain when the U.S. "won" the Spanish-American War in the battle of Manila Bay.
Despite the opposition of anti-imperialist forces, the U.S. took possession of the Philippines. Disappointed by and bitter about this unexpected and unforeseen move by the country he had considered an ally, Filipino General Emilio Aguinaldo then turned the war into the Philippine American War. Now labeling the ongoing independence war an "insurrection," the U.S. proceeded to establish control of the Philippine Islands through force. Filipino forces were increasing in the north and becoming a growing concern of the U.S. military. In order to concentrate its limited forces in the north, and to hold at bay the Moro resistance to its colonization in the Sulu Archipelago, the United States resorted to the device of a treaty. Known as the Bates Treaty, it was the first step towards the dissolution of Moro (Muslim population of the southern Philippines) sovereignty and the dismantling of the Sulu Sultanate. The Bates Treaty had promised to uphold mutual respect between the U.S. and the Sultanate of Sulu, to respect Moro autonomy, and to not give or sell Sulu or any part of it to any other nation.
In addition, under this treaty the Sultan and his Datus (tribal chiefs) were to receive monthly payments in return for flying the American flag and for allowing the U.S. the right to occupy lands on the islands. A year prior, in December 1898, and with the Tausug (people of Jolo and neighboring islands) unaware that they were among the pawn peoples whose fates were being decided at a table thousands of miles away, the Treaty of Paris was signed, which included their beloved string of islands. In the Treaty of Paris, Spain ceded Cuba, Puerto Rico and Guam to the U.S.; and for $20 million the entire Philippines.
Included in this cession were the territories of Mindanao and Sulu, which actually had not been in full Spanish control. About two years later, on November 7, 1900, the U.S. paid an additional $100,000 to Spain to include in the 1898 cession the Sulu islands stretching as far west as Sibutu and Cagayan de Sulu.After their defeat by the U.S., the Spaniards turned over a garrison on the island of Siasi, southwest of Jolo, to the Sultan, who personally went from his seat in Maimbung on the island of Jolo to Siasi to oversee the transfer. It was not until May 1899 that the U.S. sent troops to take over the Spanish fort in Jolo.
The Americans had not been able to get troops to Jolo sooner because, as General. E.S. Otis wrote to Admiral Dewey on May 14, 1899, they could not afford to send any troops outside the Luzon area.The fighting in Luzon was peaking at this time. In the south, the Filipino revolutionary forces had already taken over from the Spaniards a fort in Zamboanga at the southern tip of the island of Mindanao. General Otis estimated it would require 2,000 men to retake the Zamboanga fort. The Spanish fort in the town of Jolo was much smaller and, he surmised, would require only 600 men for its defense after the Spaniards left. "[It] would be a good scheme to send the garries to Jolo immediately, or the Moros would destroy the fortifications and guns and turn them upon us when we appear." So, U.S. troops were immediately sent to Jolo. It was a timely move. The Moros, as he feared, could easily have taken over the fort from the Spaniards. The Sultan had a standing army of 26,000 men.
When the Americans arrived in Jolo, they told Jamalul Kiram II, the sultan of Sulu, that the U.S. had taken over the affairs of Spain and asked the Sultan to recognize the U.S. in the place of Spain, and honor the 1878 provisions of the treaty, which the Sultan had signed with Spain. But the Sultan refused, stating that the U.S. was a different entity and that the U.S. should enter into a new treaty with the Sultanate.The Spanish Treaty of Peace, signed on July 22, 1878, was the last one signed by the Sultan during the Spanish occupation of the town of Jolo. The treaty had allowed Spain to set up a small garrison, covering about 15 acres, in the town of Jolo. Outside the wall, the Sultan still ruled. Scholars fluent in both Spanish and Arabic found the treaty to have translation flaws, which would have implications in the 1898 cession of the Philippine Islands to the U.S. The Spanish version states that Spain had sovereignty over Sulu, whereas the Tausug version describes a protectorate relationship rather than a dependency of Spain.
The treaty says that the customs, laws, and religion of the Moros would not be subjected to Spanish jurisdiction. It made Jolo a protectorate of Spain. This treaty also provided the sultan and his datus monthly payments of 250-1500 Mexican pesos. The sultan had the mistaken impression that the agreement with the Spaniards would be similar to the one he signed six months earlier with the British North Borneo Chartered Company, which paid him $5,000 annually for the use of his North Borneo territories (now Sabah). (The Philippines, under President Diosdado Macapagal in the 1960s, tried to reclaim Sabah in the world court. This continues to be a source of irritation between the Philippine and Malaysian governments.)In place of the Spanish treaty, the sultan presented Brig. General John Bates with a 16-point proposal.
The proposal allowed the U.S. to fly its flag side by side with the Sultanate's and required the U.S. to continue monthly payments to the sultan and his datus. The U.S. was not to occupy any of the land without the permission of the sultan. The sultan's proposal was rejected by Bates, because it did not acknowledge U.S. sovereignty. Bates then countered with his 15-point proposal, which included the recognition of U.S. sovereignty over Sulu and its dependencies, the guarantee of non-interference with Moro religion and customs and a pledge that the "U.S. will not sell the island of Jolo or any other island of the Sulu Archipelago to any foreign nation without the consent of the Sultan." The sultan resisted Bates's offer for several months, but he could not get unanimous support from his ruma bichara (ruling council) to press for his demands to the Americans. Because of this internal dissension, led by his own prime minister and adviser Hadji Butu and two of his top ranking Datus, Datu Jolkanairn and Datu Kalbi, the Sultan on August 20, 1899 conceded to the Americans.
The treaty terms were much more favorable to the U.S. than what the Spanish treaty provided. According to Sixto Orosa, "The people did not wish to come under American sovereignty; but Hadji Butu recognizing the folly of armed resistance, exerted all his influence to prevent another useless and bloody war." Hadji Butu and his son, Hadji Gulamu Rasul would later become favorites of northern Filipinos for opposing the Sultan’s agama court and for favoring integration of Moros into the Philippine republic. By this time, the Sultanate was financially drained and weakened. From1830 when Spain cut off the lucrative Manila-Jolo trade, because it felt threatened by the Sultan’s friendly relations with other European powers like Germany, France and Great Britain, it had to fight Spain’s unrelenting attacks to subjugate it. Class differences was also beginning to tear at the seams of the monarchy. The Sultan never gave up his scheming against the U.S. despite his Datus’ friendliness to the Americans. John Bass of Harper’s Weekly reported that the Sultan was importing a large cache of rifles and ammunition "evidently to maintain his sovereignty." This would later be borne out by a series of cotta (bunker or trench) wars against the Americans by the Sultan’s subjects.
This might not seem plausible as the Sultan had denied any knowledge of his subject’s doings when the U.S. accused him of promoting an insurrection against the U.S. But, in August 1999, I received an e-mail from a friend of Ben Han, a Jolo native, who informed me that Ben Han’s grandfather was an Afghan mercenary hired by the Sultan as an officer in the fight against the Americans between 1906-1913. Whether the Bates treaty made a difference in later years, it is worth mentioning that there was a very critical translation error from English to Tausug. The word sovereignty was not used anywhere in the Tausug version.
Article I of the Treaty in the Tausug version states "The support, aid, and protection of the Jolo Island and Archipelago are in the American nation," whereas the English version read "The sovereignty of the United States over the whole Archipelago of Jolo and its dependencies is declared and acknowledged." Najeeb Saleeby, an American of Lebanese descent who was assigned to Mindanao and Sulu, caught the translation flaws and charged Charlie Schuck, son of a German businessman, for deliberately mistranslating the treaty. Schuck was acquitted of all legal charges. Whether mistranslated, the wording of the treaty provided the justification for the U.S. decision to incorporate the Sulu Archipelago into the Philippine state in 1946.The Bates Treaty did not last very long.
After the U.S. had completed its goal of suppressing the resistance in northern Philippines, it unilaterally abrogated the Bates Treaty on March 2, 1904, claiming the Sultan had failed to quell Moro resistance and that the treaty was a hindrance to the effective colonial administration of the area. Payments to the Sultan and his datus were also stopped. But in reality, Bates never intended to ratify the treaty. As Bates would later confess, the agreement was merely a temporary expedient to buy time until the northern forces were defeated. "The Treaty was made at a time when nearly all the state volunteers had been sent home and other troops had not arrived to take their places. It was a critical time, as all the troops were needed in Luzon. The Government could not afford to stir up trouble with the Moros. The Treaty was made as a temporary expedient to avoid trouble. It has served its purpose for three years, and there is now no reason why the treaty which was but a temporary measure at a critical time, should not be changed in accordance with the conditions."
The sultan protested vehemently and payments were reinstated. He argued that he could not stop the Moro attacks against the Americans, because the U.S. had imposed poll and land taxes on the population, a practice which the Moros were not used to. In a letter to Governor General Luke Wright in April 1904, the sultan urged the Americans not to "put yokes on our necks that we cannot bear, and don't make us do what is against our religion, and don't ask us to pay poll tax forever and ever as long as there is sun and moon, and don't ask taxes for land which are our rights of the Moro people, including all that grows in Jolo and its islands."Now securely in a position of power and strength after the defeat of the northern Filipinos, the U.S. launched a determined campaign to suppress the ever-defiant Tausugs, who were as opposed to U.S. rule as they had been to the Spanish occupation. Known as the Moro Campaigns, this ferocious war between American soldiers and Moros continued in the south of the Philippines for the next thirteen years, making it the longest war in U.S. history. It was a bloody war; neither side took any quarter, nor gave any. During its course, two infamous massacres occurred on the island of Jolo: Bud Dajo in1906 and Bud Bagsak in 1913.The Battle of Bud Dajo on March 7, 1906 was a consequence of the U.S. "Policy of Disarmament" as implemented by General John "Black Jack" Pershing.
The Moro Wars taught the U.S., albeit costly, the inseparability of a Tausug and his weapon. In turn, what the Moros had to reckon with in the American soldier was the motivation that had fueled the Indian wars in America. The cry "A good Indian is a dead Indian!" became "A good Moro is a dead Moro!" Passions raged and collided, and blood flowed during that crimson period in Jolo. In the Dajo Massacre, some 900 men, women, and children were slaughtered atop an extinct volcano in the municipality of Danag on the island of Jolo. The Americans spared not a single life of the brave Tausugs who defended their mountain retreat -- not a man, woman or infant! Though the bloody campaigns against the Moros officially ended in 1915, U.S. troops continued to encounter sporadic Moro attacks for the next two decades.Recognizing a flaw in the wording of the Bates Treaty, Governor Frank Carpenter asked the sultan, his heirs, and his council to sign another agreement with the U.S. on March 22, 1915--this time, for the Sultan and his heirs to abdicate their claims to the throne. Article IX of the treaty refers to the "government of the sultan." More importantly, the new agreement was meant to put an end to the existing parallel government of the sultan; the Sultan continued to rule as before exercising his powers in all aspects of Moro life, collecting taxes, and trying civil and criminal cases. When the U.S. protested the Sultan’s practice, he simply demurred that his status as sovereign head was reinstated when the U.S. abrogated the treaty in 1904. Thus, Carpenter wrote in his 1916 report that it was "necessary and opportune definitely to extinguish all claims of the sultan to any degree of temporal sovereignty." Implementation of the 1915 Agreement was further delayed by negotiations over what the Sultan and his heirs would receive in exchange for their giving up their temporal powers. The negotiations which concluded in May 1919 gave the Sultan a life-time payment of P12,000 per annum and allowed him and his heirs the usufruct use of public lands. Carpenter was confident that with the settlement final, the Sultan would now cooperate with the U.S. by fully recognizing U.S. sovereignty over Sulu.
In his 1919 Report, Carpenter stated that "this satisfactory conclusion has resulted in the forward advance of the policy of amalgamation and in the complete triumph of the ideals of the Government and the Filipino people. "As the U.S. was preparing to give the Philippines commonwealth status in preparation for its independence in 1946, some Moro leaders favored integration into the republic but majority from both Sulu and Mindanao protested the plan to incorporate their homeland into the Philippine state. "Our public land must not be given to people other than the Moros," they urged. "[I]f we are deprived of our land, how can we then earn our own living? A statute should be enacted to forbid others from taking over our land, a safe and reliable way to forestall a tragedy." But their pleas fell on deaf ears. The U.S. went ahead and turned over the islands to Filipino hands.
In 1946, contrary to its promise under the Bates Treaty "not to give or sell Sulu or any part of it to any other nation," the U.S. incorporated Mindanao and Sulu against the will of the Moro people into the state now known as the Philippine Republic. There is a pressure group called the Friends of the Filipino People, which is an organization founded in 1973 to oppose U.S. support for the Ferdinand Edralin Marcos, megalomaniac, dictatorship.
SOURCES Frank Carpenter, "Report of the Governor of the Dept. of Mindanao and Sulu Frank Carpenter, January 1-December 31, 1914" in Report of the Philippine Commission, 1914, pp. 325-407 inclusive, Bureau of Consular Affairs, War Dept., Government Printing Office (Washington, D.C., 1916). Peter Gowing, Mandate in Moroland: The American Government of Muslim Filipinos 1899-1920, Philippine Center for Advanced Studies, (Quezon City, Philippines, 1977). Vic Hurley, Swish of the Kris, E.F. Dutton, (New York, NY, 1936). Lo Shih-Fu, "The Moro Rebellion: Its History and Background" in Issues and Studies, Volume X, October 1973. Cesar Adib Majul, Muslims in the Philippines, University of the Philippines Press, (Quezon City, Philippines, 1973). Hunter Miller, ed, Treaties and Other International Acts of the U.S.A., Volume 4, 1836-1846, U.S. Government Printing Office, (Washington, D.C., 1934). Lela Garner Noble, Philippine Policy Toward Sabah. A Claim to Independence, The University of Arizona Press (Tuczon, Arizona, 1977). Sixto Orosa, Sulu Archipelago and Its People, World Book Company, (New York, NY, 1931). Ralph Benjamin. Thomas, Muslims but Filipinos. The Integration of Phlippine Muslims, 1917-1946. unpublished doctoral dissertation, History Dept., UPenn, 1971. Najeeb Saleeby, History of Sulu, Manila Filipiniana Book Guild, Inc., (Makati, Philippines, 1963). Rad Silva, Two Hills of the Same Land, Mindanao-Sulu Critical Studies & Research Group (Philippines, 1979). Nicolas Tarling, Sulu and Sabah: A Study of British Policy Towards the Philippines and North Borneo from the Eighteenth Century, New Day Publishers (Quezon City, Philippines, 1985). U.S. Senate, "Bates Treaty", 136, 56th Congress, lst Session, U.S. Government Printing Office, (Washington, D.C. 1900). U.S. Congress, U. S. Treaties at Large, Volume 31, page 1942, 56th Congress, 1899-1901, U.S. Government Printing Office (Washington, D.C., ). Legal citation 31 Stat 1942. James Francis Warren, The Sulu Zone 1768-1898: The Dynamics of External Trade, Slavery, and Ethnicity in the Transformation of a SE Asian Maritime State, New Day Publishers (Quezon City, Philippines, 1985). Marion Wilcox, Harper’s History of the War in the Philippines, Harper & Bros., (New York, NY, 1900). Charles Wilkes, "Sooloo" in Volume V of Narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition, during the years 1838, 1839, 1841, 1842, C. Sherman, (Philadelphia, PA, 1844.).
The history of Sulu begins with Makdum, a Muslim missionary, who arrived in Sulu in 1380. He introduced the Islamic faith and settled in Tubig Indangan, Simunul until his death. The Mosque's pillars at Tubig-Indangan which he built still stand.
In 1390, Raja Baguinda landed at Buansa and extended the missionary work of Makdum. The Arabian scholar Abu Bakr arrived in 1450, married Baguinda's daughter, and after Baguinda's death, became Sultan, thereby introducing the sultanate as a political system. Political districts were created in Parang, Pansul, Lati, Gitung, and Luuk, each headed by a panglima or district leader.
After Abu Bakr's death, the sultanate system had already become well established in Sulu. Before the coming of the Spaniards, the ethnic groups in Sulu--the Tausug, Samal, Yakan, and Bajau--were in varying degrees united under the Sulu sultanate, considered the most centralized -political system in the Philippines. Called the "Moro Wars," these battles were waged intermittently from 1578 till 1898 between the Spanish colonial government and the Muslims of Mindanao.
In 1578, an expedition sent by Gov Francisco de Sande and headed by Capt Rodriguez de Figueroa began the 300-year warfare between the Tausûg and the Spanish authorities. In 1579, the Spanish government gave de Figueroa the sole right to colonize Mindanao. In retaliation, the Muslims raided Visayan towns in Panay, Negros, and Cebu. These were repulsed by Spanish and Visayan forces. In the early 17th century, the largest alliance composed of the Maranao, Maguindanao, Tausûg, other Muslim groups was formed by Sultan Kudarat or Cachil Corralat of Maguindanao, whose domain extended from the Davao Gulf to Dapitan on the Zamboanga peninsula. Several expeditions sent by the Spanish authorities suffered defeat. In 1635, Capt Juan de Chaves occupied Zamboanga and erected a fort. In 1637, Gov Gen Hurtado de Corcuera personally led an expedition against Kudarat, and triumphed over his forces at Lamitan and Ilian. On 1 January 1638, de Corcuera with 80 vessels and 2000 soldiers, defeated the Tausûg and occupied Jolo. A peace treaty was forged. The victory did not establish Spanish sovereignty over Sulu, as the Tausûg abrogated the treaty as soon Spaniards left in 1646.
In 1737, Sultan Alimud Din I entered into a "permanent" peace treaty with Gov Gen F. Valdes y Tamon; and in 1746, befriended the Jesuits sent to Jolo by King Philip. The "permission" of Sultan Azimuddin-I (*the first heir-apparent) allowed the Christians Jesuit enter Jolo was against by his young brother's Raja Muda Maharajah Adinda Datu Bantilan (*the second heir-apparent). Datu Bantilan did not want the Christian Jesuits disturbed or dishonored the Muslims faith in the Sulu Sultanate kingdom. The fought of these two brother, made Sultan Azimuddin-I leave Jolo to Zamboanga, then to Manila in 1948. Then Raja Muda Maharajah Adinda Datu Bantilan was proclaimed as sultan, taken the name as Sultan Bantilan Muizzuddin.
Sultan Bantilan Muizzuddin was a "Saviour" to the Sulu Sultanate kingdom. If he did not fought his brother Sultan Azimuddin-I (*Sultan Azimuddin-I was allowed the Christian Jesuits to entor Jolo and allowed them to spread the "Christians Doctrine" among the Muslims in Sulu), maybe since that time (1748), the Sulu Sultanate kingdom was already became "Christians Country" as what happened to Manila. Nowadays, the generation of Sultan Bantilan Muizzuddin (*the Maharajah Adinda Families) will try again to save the Sulu Sultanate for the second times. Which the Sulu Sultanate seems was demolished under the first heir-apparents management.
In 1893, amid succession controversies, Amirnul Kiram became Sultan Jamalul Kiram II, the title being officially recognized by the Spanish authorities. In 1899, after the defeat of Spain in the Spanish-American War, Col Luis Huerta, the last governor of Sulu, relinquished his garrison to the Americans (Orosa 1970:25-30).
Fall of the Sultanate
During the Philippine-American War, the Americans adopted a policy of noninterference in the Muslim areas, as spelled out in the Bates Agreement of 1899 signed by Brig Gen John Bates and Sultan Jamalul Kiram II of Jolo. Although the Bates Agreement had "pacified," to a certain extent, the Sulu sultanate, resistance continued. In 1901, panglima (district chief) Hassan and his followers fought the Americans, believing that acceptance of American sovereignty would affect his own authority (Che Man l990:46-47).
After the Philippine-American War, the Americans established direct rule over the newly formed "Moro province," which consisted of five districts-Zamboanga, Lanao, Cotabato, Davao, and Sulu. Political, social, and economic changes were introduced. These included the creation of provincial and district institutions; the introduction of the public school system and American-inspired judicial system the imposition of the cedula or head tax; the migration of Christians to Muslim lands encouraged by the colonial government; and the abolition of slavery. These and other factors contributed to Muslim resistance that took 10 years "to pacify”. The Department of Mindanao and Sulu replaced the Moro province on 15 December 1913.
With the ratification of the Carpenter Agreement in 1915 and the death of Sultan Jamalul-Kiram-II in 1936 without heir, the Sultanate of Sulu has been abolished. Furthermore, the non-recognition to "any" successor of the sultanate was implemented by President Manuel L.Quezon in Memorandum 20 September, 1937.
The British administrator in Sabah did not formally adopt a policy of non-recognition of the rights of the Sultan of Sulu and his descendents in Sabah. Attempts by some Datuks in Sabah to take up their succession case with the Sultan of Brunei had failed. To this day the Malaysian government secretly pays the lease to the heirs of the Sultan as decided by a U.S. judge but claimants from Sabah had never been considered.
Some historians claim that the title should have shifted to the second heir apparent.
• The Carpenter Agreement in 1915 only reduces the authority of the Sultan, but does not abolish the Sultanate.
• Following the Sulu Sultanate protocol system or "Tartib", upon the death of a Sultan with no heir to the throne, the title should shift to the second heir-apparent since that time.
• The non-recognition to any "Successors" of Sultan Jamalul-Kiram II by President Manuel L.Quezon in "Memorandum 20 September, 1937", refers only to "The primary heir" of the Sulu Sultanate and does not mean abolishment of the Sulu Sultanate.
It is claimed that the Maharajah Adinda families are the rightful "heirs and successors" to the Sulu Sultanate kingdom as documented on "The 1878 North-Borneo Padjak Agreement". That agreement never refer to the whole of Sabah, only to the eastern part of Sabah. This is reinforced by the fact that the Tausûgs only settle in the regions from Kudat to Semporna. The claims of the Philippines government over Sabah appears to ignore the descendents of the Sulu Sultan in Sabah who were administrating the region on behalf of the true Sultan and the democratic rights of the current inhabitants. What is worse, the claim is over areas that are clearly not part of the mortgage(pajak/Sanda) agreement.
Tartib And Protocol
The Linear Pattern Of Succession was not in accord with the spirit of Succession to the sulu sultanate. If this, however, took place in the nine-teenh century it was either on account of strong sultans who would have only their sons succeed them or the sheer weakness of the other contenders. When the pattern of linear succession was disregarded, the sultan’s position tended to pass on the either a brother or nephew. A variation of this was to have a cousin succeed another. In any case, it was desirable to have as sultan one who was the son of a previous sultan although the succession was not to be direct or immediate one.A general rule would be as follows. If A1 is succeeded by his brother B1 would be A2 (the oldest living son of A1). Here a nephew directly succeeded by his brother B1, and B1 is succeeded by another C1, then the successor of C1 can be either a son of A1 or B1. Here again, a nephew succeeds his uncle. Closely similar to this is the following variation. If A1 is succeeded by his brother B1 and, for some reason or another B2 (a son of B1) became sultan, then A2(a son of A1) is given a chance to succeed B2. In this case, the son of a previous sultan succeeds his cousin. Should A1 leave no son qualified to succeed B2 for the post, then there is the possibility that C1 (a brother of A1 and B1) might succeed B2, This is the case of an uncle succeeding his nephew
The Sulu Sultanate Protocol (Tartib)
The Linear pattern of succession was not in accord with the spirit of succession to the sulu sultanate
The Sulu Royal Families :
(The First Heir-Apparent) – Descendent of Sultan Azimuddin@Alimuddin-I 1. Kiram families (symbolized as Kris on the sulu sultanate flags.) 2. Shakiraullah Families (Symbolised with barung on the sulu sultanate flag’s)
( The Second Heir Apparent)- Descendant of Sultan Bantilan Muezuddin-I 3. The Maharaja Adinda Aranan Families (Symbolised as Spear On The sulu sultanate flag’s) Even though in the sulu sultanate protocol (Tartib) just stated as “A,B,C” as instead to the sulu sultanate heirs, we could understand that its pointed to Kiram (A), Shakiraullah (B), and The Maharaja Adinda Aranan Families (C) A general rule would be as follows
Kiram Family
Upon the death of the allegedly poisoned Sultan, the son of the second wife became Sultan. His name was Sultan Muhammad Jamalul Kiram II, who enjoyed a long reign from 1884‐1936.
It was during his reign that America took control of the Philippines. American forces battle‐hardened by annihilating the American Indians eventually conquered Sulu, declaring that the Sultan no longer held sovereign power but did retain spiritual authority.
Sultan Muhammad Jamalul Kiram II married at least ten wives in an effort to sire an heir. However, no wife became pregnant. When his youngest wife had a love affair with Hadjirul, one of the Sultan’s bodyguard, Instead of killing her and the bodyguard, the Sultan took mercy on them and merely sent them into exile to Pangutaran, instead of executing them. In exile, this young wife became pregnant by Hadjirul. The exiled wife and the bodyguard claimed their love child should be Sultan; but no one believed their claims that Julaspi should be crowned. Julaspi died in Maharlika Village, Taguig, in 1998, and had two sons who claim to be Sultan… Rodinhod and Kudar, who obviously have no claim to the throne.
Childless, Jamalul Kiram II died in 1936, during the American occupation. His full brother, the Rajah Muda Mawallil Wasit, the second son of wife Pangiyan Jamila, ascended to the throne.
Four days, after the death of the elder brother, he was crowned by the Ruma Bechara, (Royal Council). Shocking everyone, this new Sultan was believed poisoned six months later, died, and was buried in Maimbung. By the time of his poisoning, Mawallil Wasit was already an old man, since her elder brother had ruled for 52 years. Mawallil Wasit did have three wives. His first wife, named Albiya, bore one child, a daughter named Sitti mariam. His second wife, Ambuh Inang, bore one child, Esmail Kiram I. his third wife, Napsa, gave birth to three children, but only one son, named Punjungan. The daughters were Sitti Radda, the eldest child, and Putli Jahara.
Entranced by her beauty, Mawallil Wasit had abducted Napsa from Simunul Island in Tawi‐Tawi. Some claim that she was already pregnant by a man to whom she had been married for only one week at the time of her abduction, and use this to argue against the legitimacy of Punjungan. Upon the death of Mawallil Wasit, the Sultanate entered a period of competition to see who would become Sultan. Also, shortly after his death, World War II began, with a Japanese occupation of Sulu. With the invaders, the Sultanate began to lose firm control over its destiny.
THE STRUGGLE TO THE THRONE
After the death of Sultan Mawallil Wasit, Dayang Dayang Piandao, a niece of Sultan Jamalul Kiram II and daughter of Sultan Badaruddin II, seated as temporary ruler “sandah”. She asked her subjects to proclaim her husband Datu Ombra Amilbangsa as Sultan Amirul Umara II in January 1937 knowing the issue of proclamationthat obviously displayed a sort of self‐interest on the part of Dayang Dayang Piandao, the Datus of Patikul, whose mothers were descendants of Sultan Shakirullah build their own “Temporal Branch” and selected Princess Andrada, daughter of Datu Tambuyung as their “sandah. She thereby too asked her subjects to select her father Datu Tambuyung and named Sultan Muhammad Jainal Abirin II. His lineage was from Sultan Sakirullah,the brother of Sultan Alimudin III, and the father of Sultan Jamalul Kiram I. His lineage was traced same as Sultans Badaruddin II, Jamalul Kiram II, and Mawallil Wasit, all belonging to the fifth generation. Furthermore, the succession issue in the house of Shakirullah is more acceptable since Sultan Muhammad Jaimal Abirin has the rightful connection as far as leadership is concerned, which is a clear ground prioritation, as compared to Sultan Ombra Amilbangsa who came from Tawi‐Tawi. With this kind of scenario, the struggle to the throne existed, Even though no shedding of blood occur, the issue remain a threat to both sides.
During the Japanese time, Sultan Ombra Amilbangsa becomes an ally of the Japanese troops. This has become a strong driving force that later on proclaimed him as a recognized Sultan of Sulu. Aside from this, he was also proclaimed as governor of Sulu. And upon the success of American liberation in the Philippines against the Japanese troops, Ombra Amilbangasa ran for the office as a Congressman and won. He died due to old age. On the other hand, Sultan Jainal Abirin remained an anti‐colonizer. In opposite to Sultan Ombra Amilbangsa, he deliberately fought with the American troops of Gen. Pershing at the Battle of Bud Bagsak, again with the Japanese troops thus gaining the misinterpreted connotation of being a “rebel” instead of being a “Time Freedom Fighter” until his death due to old age in 1950.
DAYANG DAYANG HADJI PIANDAO ‐is the Daughter of Sultan Badaruddin and his wife Amina. She grew up to be a powerful lady with a very strong influence in governmental affairs and was the power behind the throne during the reigned of Sultan Jamalul Kiram II.
In 1939 Dayang Dayang Hadji Piandao filed a civil case at the Court of First Instance in Jolo, Sulu, for and in behalf of the heirs in the “Deed of Partitions” and recorded in the court the rightful heirs/claimants. Same suit followed in the High Court of the State of North Borneo with Judge Macaskie presiding. The Court ruled in favor of the heirs and they are entitled payment under the 1876 Lease Agreement. Shares as agreed were as follows:
Dayang Dayang Hadji Piandao Kiram 3/8
Princess Tarhata Kiram 3/16
Princess Sakinur in 3/16
Mora Napsa 1/24
Ismail Kiram 1/24
Punjungan Kiram 1/24
Sitti Mariam Kiram 1/24
Sitti Radda Kiram 1/24
Sitti Jahara Kiram 1/24
When Sultan Muhammad Jainal Abirin died in 1950, the Rajah Muda was Esmail Kiram. Thus the Sultanate passes on to the Rajah Muda, the first son of the second wife, Ambuh Inang. This son Esmail was proclaimed, as Sultan Esmail Kiram I in Jolo in 1950.
It was this Sultan who in 1962 ceded the territory of North Borneo to the Republic of the Philippines during the time of President Diosdado Macapagal. During his long reign, the Rajah Muda or Crown Prince, was Datu Punjungan, who was the son of the third wife, Napsa.
In 1974, Sultan Esmail Kiram I died in Jolo. By this time, blazing warfare between Moro and Filipino soldiers was raging in Sulu. In addition, the secret plan of the Philippines to invade North Borneo had ended in the Jabidah Massacre of 1968, and there was suspicion and uncertainty everywhere in the region. Because President Ferdinand Marcos had declared Martial Law I 1972, Crown Prince Datu Punjungan had already fled to North Borneo and dared not return to claim the Sultanate.
Thus, emissaries from President Marcos traveled to Jolo to identify and select a new Sultan. They ask Abraham Rasul, the husband of Santanina Rasul, who should be the next Sultan, in as much as they could not find Datu Punjungan. At the order of President Marcos, a selection committee was formed. This group chose Muhammad Mahakutta Kiram as sultan in 1974. They chose him because he was the first so of the second wife; and since they were unable to find Datu Punjungan, Datu Mahakuttah became Sultan, though not in accordance to standard rules. It was well known that the Crown Prince was alive, thus no new Sultan should have been crowned. This intervention by Manila has had exactly the effect which the Government of the Republic of the Philippines sought, which was to divide and control the people of Sulu. To this day, the competing claims to being Sultan stem from the interference by Manila.
Sultan Mahakuttah was brought to Manila, where he was well financed by President Marcos, lived in the Aurelio Hotel in Mabini, and received a large allowance. He played a large role in recommending to President Marcos who could bring in barter trade goods, with approval by the Southern command officer in charge. While living in Manila, Sultan Mahakuttah fell prey to all vices. Finally, he married Mercy, a Christian woman in Pampanga. In 1976, Sultan Mahakuttah began to lose favor with President Marcos because the “Magic Eight” commanders of the Moro National Liberation front had surrendered to Marcos. They began to get funding, not Sultan Mahakuttah.
When martial law ended in 1980, Crown Prince Punjungan returned to North Borneo to Jolo. The Ruma Bechara, along with all the Datus and the leaders of the different municipalities of Jolo, gathered in Jolo to proclaim Datu Punjungan as the rightful Sultan. At that time, they also proclaimed Datu Jamalul Kiram III as Rajah Mudah. Sultan Mahakuttah was present at the gathering in Jolo and willingly renounced the Sultancy in favor of his uncle, Sultan Punjungan.
Sultan Punjungan reigned from 1980‐1983, and died a natural death in Zamboanga City. Buried in Maimbung, Sulu, the ancestral capital of the Royal Sultanate. Before he died, he wrote a Will of Testament, that all rights of administrative over all his interests shares and participation in all the properties of the Sultanate of Sulu, including its proprietary rights and interests over Sabah, formerly known as British North Borneo, are conferred to his son Datu Esmail Dalus Kiram.
Upon Sultan Punjungan’s death, Crown Prince Datu Jamalul Kiram III was proclaimed Sultan by the council of Datus Simultaneously, Datu Esmail Kiram was proclaimed Rajah Muda, or Crown Prince.
Even before becoming Crown Prince or Sultan, Jamalul Kiram III had taken up residence in Manila and married a Christian woman named Celia, as his second wife. Under the doctrine of “Astanah ha Lupah Sug,” which requires the Sultan to reside in Jolo, the people expected Sultan Jamalul Kiram III to move back to Jolo. However, he never did. After leaving Jolo in the late 1970s, Sultan Jamalul Kiram III never re‐established a residence in Jolo. In fact, when his own son from his first wife, Caroline Tulawie, died in Jolo, he returned briefly but stayed with his brother, Rajah Muda Datu Esmail Kiram. Over a period of twenty years, Sultan Jamalul Kiram III returned to Jolo only once or twice per year for brief visits.
During his visit to Jolo when his son died, the Ruma Bechara advised Sultan Jamalul Kiram III to step down in favor of Rajah Muda Datu Esmail Kiram. It was subsequently agreed that Sultan Jamalul kiram III could retain the title of Sultan, but that Rajah Muda Esmail Kiram would be Sultan in fact in Sulu and North Borneo. It was agreed that if Sultan Jamalul Kiram III decided to return to Jolo, he would be reinstated as Sultan, a process familiar to the Sultanate because of events surrounding the Sultana Azim ud‐Din I or Sultan Aliuddin I, in the 1750s. This Sultan was kept in Manila by the Spanish for many years, and during his absence aother man became Sultan. But when Alimuddin I was able to return to Jolo, he was reinstated as Sultan.
Esmail Kiram II was crowned in Jolo in 2001 after he was found to be in compliance with all the rules of succession. His younger brother, Agbimuddin, became Crown Prince
In 2005, Fuad Kiram was proclaimed in Maharlika Village as Sultan of Sulu. Though a fine man, he does not meet the traditional requirements. First, he was never proclaimed as Rajah Muda. When Fuad’s elder brother, Mahakuttah, became Sultan the person who was named Rajah Muda was Muedzul‐Lail Kiram. Second, Fuad is not a resident of Sulu, but lives in Angono, Rizal. Third, his mother is not of royal blood lines. Fourth, the coronation of Mahakuttah was proclaimed not by the Ruma Bechara but by the government of Ferdinand Marcos.
Recently on 2004, Rajamuda Datu Muedzul‐Lail Kiram has made claims to be rightful Sultan. He is ascended his father's throne Sultan Muhammad Mahakuttah Kiram on 1974. during that time, he has proclaimed as the Rajamuda/Crown Prince of Sulu by his father but his age factor has deficiencies in his claim. nowadays, he attempt to made claimants as the rightful heirs to be a sultan of sulu.
On the last 2009, he has made a unification and agreement known as Kiram-Aranan with HRH Datu Muhammidul Ali Aranan, the Head of the royal house of Maharaja Adinda Aranan at his official Astanah in Sanraymundo, Jolo. with the agreement they signed has made his claims more powerful but on 2011, the agreement had problems which the head of the royal house, HRH Datu Muhammidul Ali Aranan urgently pulled out with the reason that the royal family of Aranan withdrew the unification between Kiram-Aranan to respect the other legitimate royal family of kiram and need to avoid the worst dispute between kiram family.
The Treaty Involving Kiram Family Known As Kiram-Bates Treaty
A relatively unknown but significant detail in Philippine history is the Bates Treaty, signed between the U.S. and the Sultanate of Sulu on August 20, 1899. This article looks into the background of that treaty and its consequences.The Filipinos had been waging their War of Independence from Spain when the U.S. "won" the Spanish-American War in the battle of Manila Bay.
Despite the opposition of anti-imperialist forces, the U.S. took possession of the Philippines. Disappointed by and bitter about this unexpected and unforeseen move by the country he had considered an ally, Filipino General Emilio Aguinaldo then turned the war into the Philippine American War. Now labeling the ongoing independence war an "insurrection," the U.S. proceeded to establish control of the Philippine Islands through force. Filipino forces were increasing in the north and becoming a growing concern of the U.S. military. In order to concentrate its limited forces in the north, and to hold at bay the Moro resistance to its colonization in the Sulu Archipelago, the United States resorted to the device of a treaty. Known as the Bates Treaty, it was the first step towards the dissolution of Moro (Muslim population of the southern Philippines) sovereignty and the dismantling of the Sulu Sultanate. The Bates Treaty had promised to uphold mutual respect between the U.S. and the Sultanate of Sulu, to respect Moro autonomy, and to not give or sell Sulu or any part of it to any other nation.
In addition, under this treaty the Sultan and his Datus (tribal chiefs) were to receive monthly payments in return for flying the American flag and for allowing the U.S. the right to occupy lands on the islands. A year prior, in December 1898, and with the Tausug (people of Jolo and neighboring islands) unaware that they were among the pawn peoples whose fates were being decided at a table thousands of miles away, the Treaty of Paris was signed, which included their beloved string of islands. In the Treaty of Paris, Spain ceded Cuba, Puerto Rico and Guam to the U.S.; and for $20 million the entire Philippines.
Included in this cession were the territories of Mindanao and Sulu, which actually had not been in full Spanish control. About two years later, on November 7, 1900, the U.S. paid an additional $100,000 to Spain to include in the 1898 cession the Sulu islands stretching as far west as Sibutu and Cagayan de Sulu.After their defeat by the U.S., the Spaniards turned over a garrison on the island of Siasi, southwest of Jolo, to the Sultan, who personally went from his seat in Maimbung on the island of Jolo to Siasi to oversee the transfer. It was not until May 1899 that the U.S. sent troops to take over the Spanish fort in Jolo.
The Americans had not been able to get troops to Jolo sooner because, as General. E.S. Otis wrote to Admiral Dewey on May 14, 1899, they could not afford to send any troops outside the Luzon area.The fighting in Luzon was peaking at this time. In the south, the Filipino revolutionary forces had already taken over from the Spaniards a fort in Zamboanga at the southern tip of the island of Mindanao. General Otis estimated it would require 2,000 men to retake the Zamboanga fort. The Spanish fort in the town of Jolo was much smaller and, he surmised, would require only 600 men for its defense after the Spaniards left. "[It] would be a good scheme to send the garries to Jolo immediately, or the Moros would destroy the fortifications and guns and turn them upon us when we appear." So, U.S. troops were immediately sent to Jolo. It was a timely move. The Moros, as he feared, could easily have taken over the fort from the Spaniards. The Sultan had a standing army of 26,000 men.
When the Americans arrived in Jolo, they told Jamalul Kiram II, the sultan of Sulu, that the U.S. had taken over the affairs of Spain and asked the Sultan to recognize the U.S. in the place of Spain, and honor the 1878 provisions of the treaty, which the Sultan had signed with Spain. But the Sultan refused, stating that the U.S. was a different entity and that the U.S. should enter into a new treaty with the Sultanate.The Spanish Treaty of Peace, signed on July 22, 1878, was the last one signed by the Sultan during the Spanish occupation of the town of Jolo. The treaty had allowed Spain to set up a small garrison, covering about 15 acres, in the town of Jolo. Outside the wall, the Sultan still ruled. Scholars fluent in both Spanish and Arabic found the treaty to have translation flaws, which would have implications in the 1898 cession of the Philippine Islands to the U.S. The Spanish version states that Spain had sovereignty over Sulu, whereas the Tausug version describes a protectorate relationship rather than a dependency of Spain.
The treaty says that the customs, laws, and religion of the Moros would not be subjected to Spanish jurisdiction. It made Jolo a protectorate of Spain. This treaty also provided the sultan and his datus monthly payments of 250-1500 Mexican pesos. The sultan had the mistaken impression that the agreement with the Spaniards would be similar to the one he signed six months earlier with the British North Borneo Chartered Company, which paid him $5,000 annually for the use of his North Borneo territories (now Sabah). (The Philippines, under President Diosdado Macapagal in the 1960s, tried to reclaim Sabah in the world court. This continues to be a source of irritation between the Philippine and Malaysian governments.)In place of the Spanish treaty, the sultan presented Brig. General John Bates with a 16-point proposal.
The proposal allowed the U.S. to fly its flag side by side with the Sultanate's and required the U.S. to continue monthly payments to the sultan and his datus. The U.S. was not to occupy any of the land without the permission of the sultan. The sultan's proposal was rejected by Bates, because it did not acknowledge U.S. sovereignty. Bates then countered with his 15-point proposal, which included the recognition of U.S. sovereignty over Sulu and its dependencies, the guarantee of non-interference with Moro religion and customs and a pledge that the "U.S. will not sell the island of Jolo or any other island of the Sulu Archipelago to any foreign nation without the consent of the Sultan." The sultan resisted Bates's offer for several months, but he could not get unanimous support from his ruma bichara (ruling council) to press for his demands to the Americans. Because of this internal dissension, led by his own prime minister and adviser Hadji Butu and two of his top ranking Datus, Datu Jolkanairn and Datu Kalbi, the Sultan on August 20, 1899 conceded to the Americans.
The treaty terms were much more favorable to the U.S. than what the Spanish treaty provided. According to Sixto Orosa, "The people did not wish to come under American sovereignty; but Hadji Butu recognizing the folly of armed resistance, exerted all his influence to prevent another useless and bloody war." Hadji Butu and his son, Hadji Gulamu Rasul would later become favorites of northern Filipinos for opposing the Sultan’s agama court and for favoring integration of Moros into the Philippine republic. By this time, the Sultanate was financially drained and weakened. From1830 when Spain cut off the lucrative Manila-Jolo trade, because it felt threatened by the Sultan’s friendly relations with other European powers like Germany, France and Great Britain, it had to fight Spain’s unrelenting attacks to subjugate it. Class differences was also beginning to tear at the seams of the monarchy. The Sultan never gave up his scheming against the U.S. despite his Datus’ friendliness to the Americans. John Bass of Harper’s Weekly reported that the Sultan was importing a large cache of rifles and ammunition "evidently to maintain his sovereignty." This would later be borne out by a series of cotta (bunker or trench) wars against the Americans by the Sultan’s subjects.
This might not seem plausible as the Sultan had denied any knowledge of his subject’s doings when the U.S. accused him of promoting an insurrection against the U.S. But, in August 1999, I received an e-mail from a friend of Ben Han, a Jolo native, who informed me that Ben Han’s grandfather was an Afghan mercenary hired by the Sultan as an officer in the fight against the Americans between 1906-1913. Whether the Bates treaty made a difference in later years, it is worth mentioning that there was a very critical translation error from English to Tausug. The word sovereignty was not used anywhere in the Tausug version.
Article I of the Treaty in the Tausug version states "The support, aid, and protection of the Jolo Island and Archipelago are in the American nation," whereas the English version read "The sovereignty of the United States over the whole Archipelago of Jolo and its dependencies is declared and acknowledged." Najeeb Saleeby, an American of Lebanese descent who was assigned to Mindanao and Sulu, caught the translation flaws and charged Charlie Schuck, son of a German businessman, for deliberately mistranslating the treaty. Schuck was acquitted of all legal charges. Whether mistranslated, the wording of the treaty provided the justification for the U.S. decision to incorporate the Sulu Archipelago into the Philippine state in 1946.The Bates Treaty did not last very long.
After the U.S. had completed its goal of suppressing the resistance in northern Philippines, it unilaterally abrogated the Bates Treaty on March 2, 1904, claiming the Sultan had failed to quell Moro resistance and that the treaty was a hindrance to the effective colonial administration of the area. Payments to the Sultan and his datus were also stopped. But in reality, Bates never intended to ratify the treaty. As Bates would later confess, the agreement was merely a temporary expedient to buy time until the northern forces were defeated. "The Treaty was made at a time when nearly all the state volunteers had been sent home and other troops had not arrived to take their places. It was a critical time, as all the troops were needed in Luzon. The Government could not afford to stir up trouble with the Moros. The Treaty was made as a temporary expedient to avoid trouble. It has served its purpose for three years, and there is now no reason why the treaty which was but a temporary measure at a critical time, should not be changed in accordance with the conditions."
The sultan protested vehemently and payments were reinstated. He argued that he could not stop the Moro attacks against the Americans, because the U.S. had imposed poll and land taxes on the population, a practice which the Moros were not used to. In a letter to Governor General Luke Wright in April 1904, the sultan urged the Americans not to "put yokes on our necks that we cannot bear, and don't make us do what is against our religion, and don't ask us to pay poll tax forever and ever as long as there is sun and moon, and don't ask taxes for land which are our rights of the Moro people, including all that grows in Jolo and its islands."Now securely in a position of power and strength after the defeat of the northern Filipinos, the U.S. launched a determined campaign to suppress the ever-defiant Tausugs, who were as opposed to U.S. rule as they had been to the Spanish occupation. Known as the Moro Campaigns, this ferocious war between American soldiers and Moros continued in the south of the Philippines for the next thirteen years, making it the longest war in U.S. history. It was a bloody war; neither side took any quarter, nor gave any. During its course, two infamous massacres occurred on the island of Jolo: Bud Dajo in1906 and Bud Bagsak in 1913.The Battle of Bud Dajo on March 7, 1906 was a consequence of the U.S. "Policy of Disarmament" as implemented by General John "Black Jack" Pershing.
The Moro Wars taught the U.S., albeit costly, the inseparability of a Tausug and his weapon. In turn, what the Moros had to reckon with in the American soldier was the motivation that had fueled the Indian wars in America. The cry "A good Indian is a dead Indian!" became "A good Moro is a dead Moro!" Passions raged and collided, and blood flowed during that crimson period in Jolo. In the Dajo Massacre, some 900 men, women, and children were slaughtered atop an extinct volcano in the municipality of Danag on the island of Jolo. The Americans spared not a single life of the brave Tausugs who defended their mountain retreat -- not a man, woman or infant! Though the bloody campaigns against the Moros officially ended in 1915, U.S. troops continued to encounter sporadic Moro attacks for the next two decades.Recognizing a flaw in the wording of the Bates Treaty, Governor Frank Carpenter asked the sultan, his heirs, and his council to sign another agreement with the U.S. on March 22, 1915--this time, for the Sultan and his heirs to abdicate their claims to the throne. Article IX of the treaty refers to the "government of the sultan." More importantly, the new agreement was meant to put an end to the existing parallel government of the sultan; the Sultan continued to rule as before exercising his powers in all aspects of Moro life, collecting taxes, and trying civil and criminal cases. When the U.S. protested the Sultan’s practice, he simply demurred that his status as sovereign head was reinstated when the U.S. abrogated the treaty in 1904. Thus, Carpenter wrote in his 1916 report that it was "necessary and opportune definitely to extinguish all claims of the sultan to any degree of temporal sovereignty." Implementation of the 1915 Agreement was further delayed by negotiations over what the Sultan and his heirs would receive in exchange for their giving up their temporal powers. The negotiations which concluded in May 1919 gave the Sultan a life-time payment of P12,000 per annum and allowed him and his heirs the usufruct use of public lands. Carpenter was confident that with the settlement final, the Sultan would now cooperate with the U.S. by fully recognizing U.S. sovereignty over Sulu.
In his 1919 Report, Carpenter stated that "this satisfactory conclusion has resulted in the forward advance of the policy of amalgamation and in the complete triumph of the ideals of the Government and the Filipino people. "As the U.S. was preparing to give the Philippines commonwealth status in preparation for its independence in 1946, some Moro leaders favored integration into the republic but majority from both Sulu and Mindanao protested the plan to incorporate their homeland into the Philippine state. "Our public land must not be given to people other than the Moros," they urged. "[I]f we are deprived of our land, how can we then earn our own living? A statute should be enacted to forbid others from taking over our land, a safe and reliable way to forestall a tragedy." But their pleas fell on deaf ears. The U.S. went ahead and turned over the islands to Filipino hands.
In 1946, contrary to its promise under the Bates Treaty "not to give or sell Sulu or any part of it to any other nation," the U.S. incorporated Mindanao and Sulu against the will of the Moro people into the state now known as the Philippine Republic. There is a pressure group called the Friends of the Filipino People, which is an organization founded in 1973 to oppose U.S. support for the Ferdinand Edralin Marcos, megalomaniac, dictatorship.
SOURCES Frank Carpenter, "Report of the Governor of the Dept. of Mindanao and Sulu Frank Carpenter, January 1-December 31, 1914" in Report of the Philippine Commission, 1914, pp. 325-407 inclusive, Bureau of Consular Affairs, War Dept., Government Printing Office (Washington, D.C., 1916). Peter Gowing, Mandate in Moroland: The American Government of Muslim Filipinos 1899-1920, Philippine Center for Advanced Studies, (Quezon City, Philippines, 1977). Vic Hurley, Swish of the Kris, E.F. Dutton, (New York, NY, 1936). Lo Shih-Fu, "The Moro Rebellion: Its History and Background" in Issues and Studies, Volume X, October 1973. Cesar Adib Majul, Muslims in the Philippines, University of the Philippines Press, (Quezon City, Philippines, 1973). Hunter Miller, ed, Treaties and Other International Acts of the U.S.A., Volume 4, 1836-1846, U.S. Government Printing Office, (Washington, D.C., 1934). Lela Garner Noble, Philippine Policy Toward Sabah. A Claim to Independence, The University of Arizona Press (Tuczon, Arizona, 1977). Sixto Orosa, Sulu Archipelago and Its People, World Book Company, (New York, NY, 1931). Ralph Benjamin. Thomas, Muslims but Filipinos. The Integration of Phlippine Muslims, 1917-1946. unpublished doctoral dissertation, History Dept., UPenn, 1971. Najeeb Saleeby, History of Sulu, Manila Filipiniana Book Guild, Inc., (Makati, Philippines, 1963). Rad Silva, Two Hills of the Same Land, Mindanao-Sulu Critical Studies & Research Group (Philippines, 1979). Nicolas Tarling, Sulu and Sabah: A Study of British Policy Towards the Philippines and North Borneo from the Eighteenth Century, New Day Publishers (Quezon City, Philippines, 1985). U.S. Senate, "Bates Treaty", 136, 56th Congress, lst Session, U.S. Government Printing Office, (Washington, D.C. 1900). U.S. Congress, U. S. Treaties at Large, Volume 31, page 1942, 56th Congress, 1899-1901, U.S. Government Printing Office (Washington, D.C., ). Legal citation 31 Stat 1942. James Francis Warren, The Sulu Zone 1768-1898: The Dynamics of External Trade, Slavery, and Ethnicity in the Transformation of a SE Asian Maritime State, New Day Publishers (Quezon City, Philippines, 1985). Marion Wilcox, Harper’s History of the War in the Philippines, Harper & Bros., (New York, NY, 1900). Charles Wilkes, "Sooloo" in Volume V of Narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition, during the years 1838, 1839, 1841, 1842, C. Sherman, (Philadelphia, PA, 1844.).