Lupah Sug Blog

 

PEARLS OF LUPAH SUG

by calliter

The homeland of the Tausugs is called Lupah Sug*. Today, it is widely known as Sulu. The history of Lupah Sug is very rich. It is the birthplace of Islam in the Philippines, the seat of the first organized state in this country, the land of the most powerful sultanate, the home of unconquered people and the graveyard of colonizers.

The title “ Pearl Of The Orient Seas” belongs to Lupah Sug literally and figuratively. The largest pearl on earth was found in her waters. Lupah Sug has been the center of the pearl trade since 1800s. Majority of uncultured pearls still come from Lupah Sug waters up to this day. And the pearls of Lupah Sug are still the most highly sought and highly priced product of this trade.

One of the seven seas was named after Lupah Sug (Sulu Sea). And it is the playground of her children who are rightly called Tausug which means“ People Of The Living Current,” while the other one is called Samalaut meaning “companion of the sea.” They both play with pearls as children play with marbles. Outsiders have since come and taken these marbles away.

Lupah Sug is a mystical place and her people are mystics. Her people were chosen by the friends of Allah to inherit the pearls of spiritual teachings before they went home to God. The graveyards of these spiritual masters still exist today in her mountains. The history of the Philippines began with the arrival of these masters to Lupah Sug, so it may not be farfetched to say that it might end in this land.

You may never find a place on earth where majority of the people seek God as much as the people of Lupah Sug do. Each of them strive to seek the truth of God, come close to Him and has had mystical experiences of this closeness. It is engrained in their innermost being that they wholly “belong to Allah and to Allah they return.” And this sense of belonging is the badge of honor of every Tausug, his own self-esteem and his precious pearl that even his fellow Tausug may never come to know.

He calls this pearl Ma’rifatullah ( knowledge of Allah). It is his greatest hidden treasure. It is strictly guarded like a secret from outsiders, and yet you can seldom find a group of Tausug that do not talk about this treasure among themselves.

Regardless of what is happening around them, “Ma’rifatullah” has bonded them together in war and in peace. The real reason why Tausugs have a glorious history is this knowledge. It is also the reason why they can never be annihilated. This is their true treasure which can never be destroyed nor taken away from them.

Outsiders may have taken all the pearls of Lupah Sug from her seas, but they can never take one spiritual pearl from any Tausug on earth.

Countless legends and stories abound in Lupah Sug. Some are often heard while the others are no longer told. Tausugs largely rely on oral tradition up to now. Even though they have the Jawi, there is practically no Jawi material to be found today unless in archives. Were these destroyed, burned or taken away by pirates and terrorists from other lands? Is this the reason why the history of Lupah Sug is generally written by her enemies? It is very possible.

In a way, oral tradition has protected her history from being corrupted completely. But Tausugs cannot afford to live alone on oral tradition in the midst of an information age. Tausugs should begin recording, preserving and protecting their history before other people steal it completely. The loss of Jawi should never happen again.

Today, the Tausugs are experiencing an awakening. After all, we are a people who never accepted defeat, who were never divided in hearts and spirit. We share the same hope, grievances and aspirations for our homeland. All the pains and anxieties that the Tausugs are experiencing now are merely birthpangs for the rise of a new nation.

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