Tausug filmmaker’s documentary recalls how China once revered a sultanate in the Philippines
By Angelo Lorenzo
There is a documentary to watch out for in 2020, and it’s about a once-powerful sultanate in pre-colonial Philippines that had been revered by other Asian civilizations.
“In Paglayag” is a 26-minute documentary by Mindanaoan filmmaker Rhadem Camlian Morados. Featuring prominent figures among the Tausug, an indigenous community of Muslim heritage in southern Philippines, the documentary recalls the Sultanate of Sulu’s influence among neighboring islands and nations. One of them was China in the 1400s.
The documentary unravels history that has not yet been explored much in Philippine schools. The title, which originally translates from Tausug as the voyage, relates to the historical voyage of one Sultan Paduka Batara who sailed the maritime silk road bound for China for trade relations. The documentary considers this venture as a “rarity during that time” because the sultan was one of the few rulers who personally went to a neighboring nation instead of sending envoys for good will.
With that visitation and the diplomatic relations that followed, the Sultanate of Sulu gained reverence from China. Soon, its fame rippled throughout the Asia Pacific region, with the Sultanate earning recognition for the humility of their ruler and the pride of their people. This was a marvel during the Sultanate’s height of power and influence with their expansion in Mindanao, one of the Philippines’ major islands, over a period that lasted for 600 years.
The film draws history through the lens and memory of the Moro (Muslims in the Philippines). Among the prominent figures Morados has interviewed, statements by PhilSilat President Princess Jacel Kiram of the Royal House of Kiram and Moro National Liberation Front co-founder and Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulbaki Abubakar stand out.
“If the Sultanate of Sulu was so powerful and influential in the Philippine south, why doesn’t it have a place in Philippine history?” the documentary challenges. “What is there to hide in our Philippine history?”
The documentary then transitions to the current issues being faced and encountered by Muslims in present-day, particularly the exclusion of their history from official records in the advent of the Western colonization of the Philippines.
Issues discussed also include the massive resettlement of Filipino migrants into the regions in Mindanao which eventually led to the displacement of indigenous communities, as well as a contributing factor to their dwindling population.
But the documentary unravels the attempt of Muslims in Mindanao for self-determination by recalling their history. This is what the film attempts to achieve.
“In Paglayag” was an official entry to the Fringe Manila Art Festival 2020, where it premiered back in February. It was made possible as a production of the International Center for Peace, Reconciliation and Development (ICPRD) in partnership with the Philippine Returnees in Shishi (PRS) and the UN Letron Culture and Technology Ltd.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic that affected theaters this year, prestigious film festivals in Ukraine, Italy, and Iran have selected the documentary for screening. As they wait for announcement of the film festivals’ official dates, Morados and his crew wish for this documentary to break stereotypes imposed on Muslims in the Philippines and a film that rekindles the pride of their heritage.
