Philippine E-Journals

Exploring the Directives and Politeness in Tausug Parang Sabil

Sajed S Ingilan

 

Abstract:

In the discourse of Filipino Muslim history, the Tausugs of Sulu are known to be brave warriors as evident in their jihad (holy war) against the American and Spanish colonizers. This act, which is negatively viewed by the non-Tausugs, is seen specifically in the folk narrative song called parang sabil. The parang sabil deals with the story of a Tausug hero who seeks guiltless death in the hands of kafir (infidel) and foreign invaders. To shed light on the identity of the Tausugs, this paper explored the directives and politeness in the Tausug parang sabil using the discourse analysis. After a close examination of the parang sabil titled Kissa Kan Panglima Hassan (The Story of Panglima Hassan), the Tausugs used the directives such as commands, questions, requests, warnings, recommendations, and advice under the ideology of martabbat (honor), dar ‘al Islam (space), and tawheed (oneness). With the Tausug’s cultural values, namely pag-addat ha tawmaas (respect for the leaders) and pamawgbug ha agama (defending the religion), positive politeness was manifested when the Tausug leaders constructed directives. Clearly, the Tausugs performed jihad not as a suicide but as way of waging war to protect the Lupah Sug (homeland) and agama (religion). This paper did not only shed light on the Tausug perspective of holy war and the present militancy in Mindanao but also, it contributes to the development of positive discourse relating to the Tausug culture in the Philippines.