The Tausūg or Suluk people are an ethnic group of Sulu and Malaysia. The term Tausūg was derived from two words tau and sūg (or suluk) meaning "people of the current", referring to their homelands in the Sulu Archipelago. Sūg and suluk both mean the same thing, with the former being the phonetic evolution in Sulu of the latter (the L being dropped and thus the two short U's merging into one long U). The Tausūg people in Sabah refer to themselves as Tausūg but refers to their race as Suluk as documented in official documents such as birth certificates in Sabah, Malaysia. The Tausūg are part of the wider political identity of Muslim of Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan known as Moro ethnic group, who constitute the third largest Ethnic groups of Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan. They originally had an independent state known as the Sulu Sultanate, which once exercised sovereignty over the present day provinces of Basilan, Palawan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, and the eastern part of the Malaysian state of Sabah (formerly North Borneo).

The Tausūg presently populate the Filipino province of Sulu as a majority, and the provinces of Zamboanga del Sur, Basilan, Tawi-Tawi, Palawan, Cebu and Manila as minorities. There is a large population of Tausūgs in all parts of Sabah, Malaysia, who mainly work as construction laborers with a substantial number as skilled workers. The Tausūg workers tend to be confused with the more numerous Bajau workers in Sabah that are less skilled.

In Sabah, there are groups of Tausūg that had settled in the areas to the east of Sabah, from Kudat town to the north, to Sempurna, to the south east, since the Sulu Sultanate rule over the eastern part of Sabah. However most had interbred with other races in Sabah, especially the Bajaus, that what remained is only their Suluk race as documented in birth certificates.

The etymology of the conjugated word "Tausug" comes from the word "Tau" which means man and "Sug" which means current. Basically, they are the people of the current. Suluq-is a name of one place in Libya, suluq means a spiritual pathway in Libyan Arabic

The Tausūg currently number about 953,000 in the Philippines. The Tausug language is called "Sinug" with "Bahasa" to mean Language. The Tausug language is related to Bicol, Tagalog and Visayan languages, being especially closely related to the Butuanon language of northeastern Mindanao, sharing many common words. The Tausūg however do not consider themselves as Visayan, using the term only to refer to Christian Bisaya-language speakers, given that the vast majority of Tausūgs are Muslims. In Malaysia, they number around 300,000. The recent migrants also speak Chavacano or another Visayan language - Cebuano - , and Tagalog in the Philippines; Malay in the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia; and English in both Malaysia and Philippines as second languages. Tausug is also related to Waray Waray.

Malaysian Tausūg, descendants of those resident when the Sulu Sultanate ruled the eastern part of Sabah, speak or understand the Sabahan dialect of Suluk, Bahasa Malaysia, and some English or Simunul, and those who are in contact with Bajau, those Bajau dialects. By the year 2000, most of the Tausūg children in Sabah, especially in towns of the west side of Sabah, were no longer speaking Tausūg; instead they speak the Sabahan dialect of Malay and English.

Tausūgs are experienced sailors and are known for their colorful boats or vintas. They are also superb warriors and craftsmen. They are also famous for the Pangalay dance (also known as Daling-Daling in Sabah), in which female dancers wear artificial elongated fingernails made from brass or silver known as janggay, and perform motions based on the Vidhyadhari (Bahasa Sūg: Bidadali) of pre-Islamic Buddhist

legend.

Prior to modern times, the Sultanate of Sulu for Tausūg was the head of the Tausūg people. The system is a patrilineal system, consisting of the title of Sultan as the sole sovereign of the Sultinate, (In Tausūg language: Lupah Sug, literally: "Land of the Current"), followed by various Maharajah and Rajah titled subdivisional princes. Further down the line are the numerous Panglima or local chiefs, similar in function to the Philippine political post of Baranggay Kapitan in the Baranggay system.

Of significance are the Sarip(Shariff) and their wives, Sharifah, who are descendents of Arabic royalty, well revered as religious leaders but many took up administrative posts as leaders of Society.

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 Tausūg 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, Tausūg, 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 Tausūg and occupied Jolo. A peace treaty was forged. The victory did not establish Spanish sovereignty over Sulu, as the Tausūg 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 in 1748. If he did not fought his brother Sultan Azimuddin-I Sultan Azimuddin-I who allowed the Christian Jesuits to entor Jolo and to spread the "Christians Doctrine" among the Muslims in Sulu, it might have bcome a Christian area today.

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).

A "policy of attraction" was introduced, ushering in reforms to encourage Muslim integration into Philippine society. "Proxy colonialism" was legalized by the Public Land Act of 1919, invalidating Tausūg pusaka (inherited property) laws based on the Islamic Shariah. The act also granted the state the right to confer land ownership. It was thought that the Muslims would "learn" from the "more advanced" Christian Filipinos, and would integrate more easily into mainstream Philippine society.

In February 1920, the Philippine Senate and House of Representatives passed Act No 2878, which abolished the Department of Mindanao and Sulu and transferred its responsibilities to the Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes under the Department of the Interior. Muslim dissatisfaction grew as power shifted to the Christian Filipinos. Petitions were sent by Muslim leaders between 1921 and 1924 requesting that Mindanao and Sulu be administered directly by the United States. These petitions were not granted. Realizing the futility of armed resistance, some Muslims sought to make the best of the situation. In 1934, Arolas Tulawi of Sulu, Datu Manandang Piang and Datu Blah Sinsuat of Cotabato, and Sultan Alaoya Alonto of Lanao were elected to the 1935 Constitutional Convention. In 1935, two Muslims were elected to the National Assembly.

The Commonwealth years sought to end the privileges the Muslims had been enjoying under the earlier American administration. Muslim exemptions from some national laws, as expressed in the administrative code for Mindanao, and the Muslim right to use their traditional Islamic courts, as expressed in the Moro Board, were ended. It was unlikely that the Muslims, who have had a longer cultural history as Muslims than the Filipinos as Christians, would surrender their identity. Fearing government persecution, he went to the hills. On "death row," he was finally pardoned by Pres Marcos on 11 September 1968. This incident contributed to the rise of various separatist movements-the Muslim Independence Movement (MIM), Ansar El-Islam, and Union of Islamic Forces and Organizations (Che Man 1990:74-75). In 1969, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) was founded on the concept of a Bangsa Moro Republic by a group of educated young Muslims. In 1976, negotiations between the Philippine government and the MNLF in Tripoli resulted in the Tripoli Agreement, which provided for an autonomous region in Mindanao. Nur Misuari was invited to chair the provisional government but he refused. The referendum was boycotted by the Muslims themselves. The talks collapsed, and fighting continued. On 1 August 1989, Republic Act 673 or the Organic Act for Mindanao created the Autonomous Region of Mindanao, which encompasses Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi. Many leaders of the Abu Sayyaf, a terrorist group operating in Mindanao, are of Tausūg descent.