TAUSUG IS KAHAWARISTA!

Neldy Jolo

In the cosmopolitan Jolo, people raised with the culture of coffee break. Many coffee shops in Jolo serve coffee even in a half glass. It is for a person who doesn’t want to drink much or having no enough budgets. To order just say “tunga basu kahawa hadja in kaku’” (mine just a half-glass of coffee).

Kahawa is believed to from Arabic Qahwah and English for Coffee. Kahawa is known to be of good for its energizing effect. Coffee is often consumed alongside breakfast at the Tausug home and workplace and even in the farm. It is often served at the end of a meal, normally with a dessert and at times with an after dinner.

What the people can see in the town of Jolo that of many are only two types of establishments: the coffee shops and pawnshops. Does it mean that Tausug pawns their gold just to buy and to drink coffee? Interesting indeed!  

Ryszard Kapuscinski even writes about the coffee vendor that drinking coffee in the morning is an age-old ritual in Zanzibar:

“The drinking of morning coffee is an age-old ritual here, with which -- along with prayers -- Muslims begin their day. The bell of the coffee seller, who each day at dawn walks up and down the streets of his district, is their traditional alarm clock. They jump up and wait in front of their houses, until the man bearing the fresh, strong, aromatic brew appears. The morning's first cup is an occasion of greetings and salutations, of mutual assurances that the night passed happily, and expressions of faith that this promises to be - Allah willing - a good day.”

In the medical study says coffee drinking will cause “nervousness” but in the Tausug society, the people feel “nervous” if they cannot drink coffee in a day.  Tausug love to drink and serve coffee every day, indeed Tausug is Kahawarista!  

TIBAW PA TAM-AWAN VILLAGE

Neldy Jolo

Reminiscing the time when I was roaming to visit beautiful places in the north of Sulu Archipelago. I went to Baguio City on 11^th November 2006 and posted in the blog on the 13^th- the first blog I ever made – the y-i-lead-diwa. This was my first visit.  It is maybe hard for me to visit the place again. Read my short story about the Tam-Awan Village. Here I reposted for us:

I was enchanted with the artistry of Tam-Awan Village. Tam-Awan (Tandawan in Tausug – Bahasa Sug) Village can be located at north-western part of Baguio City - the summer capital of the Philippines. Ride taxi for easy access to reach the village. Found in there are the Igorot huts that challenged me to have my own in my province (country) - Sulu.

I was guided by someone visiting the village. She brought me to the village where I found an abode of peace that could relax my bad emotions for the long day of work in the office.

Trip to the village is just like making new home in my life. I happened to lodge into one of the huts - the Dukligan or fertility hut. Tam-Awan Village is the home for artists. I was rewarded with the panoramic view seen from the village. It was a wonderful experience.

The huts were brought from the different villages of Ifugao and reconstructed for preservation and lodging by not using nails and hardware. The simplicity of the huts is where its beauty found. If you happen to visit the village, you can consider yourself as one of the wonderful persons in the world.

The art works are exotic and beautiful. The work of one artist I really like is the painting, which you think is just a simple drawing of the rice terraces. If you are not keen you cannot discover what are being drawn and sketched inside the painting, it is actually a sleeping woman.

While enjoying the breeze of the wind, the artists are offering a portrait sketch as a souvenir but you have to donate some amount you want. Unfortunately, I did not able to ask them to sketch me. So sad baby!

Please visit it with yourself to discover one of the wonderful things in the Philippines that you cannot forget in your life. You won’t regret baby! Promise!

Don’t forget to bring thick jacket and hiking shoes and of course extra MONEY because the artistic thing might seduce you there. See you when you get there!

PAPAR: AN OPEN LAND

Neldy Jolo

We arrived at Papar old town around 10am with our relatives to meet our cousin here on Saturday (29 Jan) and slept for a night.  I was enchanted with the serenading views of this urbanized old town. 

Papar was named after the Bruneian word for flat or open land. It was written in the map for Sulu as Papal District. Flat or open area is known as “Papad” in Bahasa Sug.

Papar was said to be administered by certain Sulu Chief, Datu Amirbahar until 1877. It was during the leased to Dent-Overbeck represented by the Sulu Sultan.

We started the journey from Sandakan at 9:30Am on the second trip of the bus bound for Kota Kinabalu. It was 27 January, not a very significant date for the day but very important date for me to arrived Kota Kinabalu because I was excited to see my cousin for about 18 years not meeting him.

Upon our arrival from Sandakan to KK terminal, I heard a young Tausug working there to campaign inbound and outbound passengers within Sabah and as far as Labuan and Brunei speaking his “understandable English” to Caucasian tourists. He said, “You want bus, for two ringgit only?”

These tourists are still meandering heads around to look for anyone to talk with. I tried to talk to them and told them the direction to take the mini bus to the KK city center. They left with face smiling for a cheap bus mini that is found across the road in Inanam Bus Terminal.  This young Tausug said here, “Everything for everyone”.

On the 28^th I went to the city center of KK. I was in Wisma Merdeka looking for a book store that had been transferred to the other side of the mall. I bought books, the “Three Came Home” by Agnes N. Keith and “Datu Paduka Mat Salleh, Hero of Sabah” by Sabah National Archive.

While talking with the kind sales people here I was choosing other books to buy.  I got “Sabah: Under the Rising Sun Government” by Stephen R. Evans and "Kinabalu Guerillas" by Maxwell Hall. I chatted with Nizam, Joan and Aza for a long while. We talked about the relationship between ethnics in Sabah as having their harmony to each other. No distance sets them apart.  

They are all having Sulus or Tausug blood. I related to them how we call ourselves and how foreigners called ourselves. I left them to sale the book in the store. If I will stay longer their sales might get disturbed and no commission earned – if there is any.  

Many had changed in the city center of Kota Kinabalu. I almost forgot where the Wisma Merdeka was located. I found first the KK Mall while looking for it.

I took city bus to get back to vicinity of 1 Borneo and along Alamesra Village where I lodged. I decided to join to Papar. Before riding the van we drop for a while in the fruits stand. There are many different fruits here, such as Mangga, Wanni, Watermelon and many others.  Along the way to Papar, there a town called Petagas where the Petagas Cemetery found. Here are buried many personalities, including one of the Pangirans of Brunei and one Sultan?

Putatan is also along the way. While infrastructural development being alive, the ancient-looking view of the town are still intact that helps me to internalise the essence of the written stories about how Sulus administered this land before under Sultanate of Sulu.

History will repeat itself but people here can never wanted and desire to repeat the history experienced in this land – be it negative or positive influence gained by the Sulus here before, while and after the leased in 22 Jan 1878. Despite of that people here are living in harmony. There is a maximum tolerance to any believers of their faith.

Only there are some who doesn’t understand history that sometimes ignited the conflict between ethnics – separated case and unusual anyway.  I have been going back in fort in this highway to Papar to go to Menumbok for a trip to Brunei drop by Labaun few years later. The international airport stunning here is quite busy for flights arrival and departures.

Papar is a best place to visit. The Papar Old Masjid is still standing here. There are many food stall that served halal. There are many Sulus here. I was thinking that I cannot found one except my cousin here but I was wrong.  There are also Tausug Citizens here. The Tausug vendors are also present.

I was touched with this Tausug who was detained for lack of legal document staying in Sabah. He was caned two years ago. Trace of the rattan still intact in his butt. He related the story of his hardship in working to help his mother to continue living:

“I was born in Semporna but I never got any legal document. When our father died I was the one helping my mother to support my siblings. I was caned for having no Malaysian legal document. I was deported to Zamboanga City, the place I am very foreign to, though our ancestors were here before.  As far as I could remember, I never step off this land since my birth in Semporna. If I just know that life could be like this hard in this land of harmonious people, I would have just ask God to let me stay in the womb of my mother and never born. But as long as I still firmly believed with “Qada’ and Qadar” I will stay calm and live life to continue living. I have to accept I am not welcome here, though I was born in Semporna. Whenever in the future our land of origin, the Sulu Archipelago will get back to its stability, I will be there to continue my life. I need to rest the interesting life of ours as oppressed people living in the develop state. Life must go on as saying goes.”  

“We have to follow the law, just hold on to the pain. Keep the faith and think Allah” the man that whispered him while going to be hit by caned.    

I will leave this “story chapter” as I could not hold on to my emotion to overflow. This gave me the idea that people should strive hard to get up and work for their own – most of all get legal document and legal country as well as nationality.

I got back to KK after a night in Papar and will get back to Sandakan soon. Strong flood and landslides hit Sandakan right now. I am writing overlooking 1 Borneo Mall (noon time).  

A TRIP TO TAWAU!

Neldy Jolo

Excitement awake me when Khalifah Suluk and Bendahara Suluk informed us there is a certain seminar about Sulu people, Sulug or Suluk; the Tausug in Tawau.

The seminar is entitled as “Seminar Memartabatkan Kebudayaan, Kesenian dan Warisan Suluk”

Derivation of the name Tawau is not clear. This is one of the excitements that hit my senses. Datu Yusuf Bin Datu Ibrahim said that the time British arrived to Tawau; it has been called as such. Bendahara Suluk said it is from the Tidung word meaning a “place of meeting”.

There is also an idea that Tawau was derived from the Bugis tongue that could mean “that is mine”. But according to Khalifah Suluk, it was from the Arabic Character “Ta” and “Wau” that resembles Tawau.  From the Tausug word it is “Tau” and “Auh” or “Auh Tau” means “Oh People” – Tawau.

The travel took us around 4 and half hours from Sandakan. We travelled along Lahad Datu and Semporna upon reaching Tawau old town.

We roamed around the town of Tawau to look for Tawau Hotel that is said to be existed since 1980’s. I was enchanted with the beauty of the old building found in Tawau.  

We saw the importance of the solidarity among people here in Tawau. Sulu people lives here are united to move forward to put the honor of the Suluk in a right place.

I would tell many things later. The session is starting now. The sound of Kulintang is already serenading the hall. See you later!