Tawi Tawi : 100% Filipino
The Philippines is divided into 3 areas: Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao. When I moved here, I was only vaguely familiar with Luzon, the main island where my parents hail from. But I have since traveled and in doing so, my geographical awareness of the country has increased.
Tawi Tawi when translated means ‘a far place.’ It is a remote stretch of islands West of the region of Mindanao, where it technically belongs. But it is nowhere near it. There are no direct flights. One must first travel to another island an hour away called Zamboanga before connecting to Tawi Tawi. Its distance away from the main Philippine areas makes it enigmatic.
Which is why I jumped at the first opportunity to go. In hopes of discovering and learning about a culture and history of a people I was entirely unfamiliar with. And to travel the furthest distance I have so far in the Philippines.
Tawi Tawi is one of three provinces in the Sulu Archipelago, in addition to Basilan, and Jolo.
Friends who know about Tawi Tawi ask “Are you crazy?” or “What are you doing down there?!”
Most people who have an opinion about Tawi Tawi and it potentially stems from the fact that it is a Muslim province. There is an invisible wall separating the Spanish-colonized, Roman-Catholic mainland of Luzon against the Islamized provinces of Mindanao. This association with Islam, has also furthered an association with current terrorist groups endemic to that area.
Despite the overarching opinions of concern, my motivation to explore Tawi Tawi was because it represents a mysterious area of the Philippines that is so geographically estranged that ignoring it is akin to ignoring an aspect of our culture. Driven by unexplored food, traditions, nature, and people, I wanted to discover for myself what Tawi Tawi is about.
The People
The predominant people in Tawi Tawi are the Sama, but there are different subgroups depending on the particular island they are from. Most remarkable are the Sama-Badjao, sea gypsies that reside on stilted houses overlooking picturesque emerald waters. The other dominant group are the Tausug, translated as people of the current. At some point in history Islam came into their culture resulted in the creation of an independent state called the Sulu Sultanate. Over the years the cultures of each individual group — Tausug and Sama-Badjao and Muslim — have mixed together while retaining their individual characteristics.
Tawi Tawi (and Mindanao) is a Muslim province with roots all the way back to the 1300s. This long and enduring history is one that is older than that in Luzon and the Visayas and pre-dates Spanish colonization. The culture of Mindanao as a whole was so strong and unified that the Spanish never succeeded in colonizing them, only keeping them at bay. As a result, Mindanao retains the most distinct culture outside of a nationalized Filipino identity. This makes this region’s culture totally different from Luzon and the Visayas, which are predominantly Roman Catholic.
Jolo, which used to be center of government for the Sulu Sultanate, is another province in the Sulu archipelago. With problems such as violent clan disputes and piracy, Jolo rose to international fame as a hotbed of terrorist activity from the Islamic group Abu Sayyaf. Because of this intense political climate, normal life in Jolo is devastated resulting in many people migrating to Tawi Tawi to find peace.
After spending three days immersed in the vast culture of Tawi Tawi, I am hit with the realization that the portrayal from media is wrong. From my experience I can say that Tawi Tawi is a safe place. I did not find the stereotypes of violence, potential for abduction, and Muslim radicals. Instead I found peace-loving people — people that were as Filipino as me. And everyone from all walks of life said the same. Coming in blind to learn more about this part of the Philippines — I did not share the same preconceptions as my parents, nor anyone that may view it in a negative light.
The Food
Tawi Tawi’s proximity to the sea provides it with a variety of local seafood. Speaking with the governor’s grandson, he jokingly says that they are so used to seafood that they prefer chicken or beef when dining out. With improved national infrastructure, the pork saturated farms in Luzon (Pampanga/Bulacan) could be exchanged for the local seafood delicacies found in the waters of Tawi Tawi.
Visiting the market, the seafood is cheap with a variety of unfamiliar native specialties like curacha, sea mantis, and sea cucumber. Tawi Tawi is also known as the seaweed capital of the Philippines. Driving along the coast of Bongao, the capital of Tawi-Tawi, seaweed cultivators were bountiful, and could be seen hanging their harvests to dry. One thing I’ve noticed with my travels across the Philippines is that each province has its own special products. From live and fresh products to commercial ones, these goods have the potential to be brought to a larger market and expand the known dishes of Filipino cuisine. Having knowledge in regional products is important in helping define and create more local food industries that will help the country as a whole.
Pamapa is a spice blend often found in Mindanao, although it is a recipe that changes depending on the family and tribe. No two pamapas are the same. In Tawi Tawi they are often used in traditional Tausug dishes — chicken piyanggang and tiyula itum — made for special occasions. In chicken piyanggang, the chicken is marinated in the blackened coconut overnight giving it a unique smokey and sweet depth of flavor unheard of in normal Tagalog cuisine.
Unlike the Tagalog staple of rice, cassava is the carbohydrate of choice. This could be due to the fact that the land mass of Tawi Tawi is small, making it difficult to cultivate rice, or the abundance of cassava found in Tawi Tawi. Cassava is grated finely and made into shanglag or piyuto.
On the other hand piyuto is unlike the Tagalog puto made from rice flour. Grated cassava is packed into a putohan, a steamer with a coconut husk as the shaper where it is steamed until the cassava cooks through completely. The texture is dense and filling, but when done well chewy and soft — these are best eaten fresh. Sometimes these piyuto are filled transforming it into piyuto girilia, a mobile snack that was contextualized as something soldiers ate. The filling we had was made from rehydrated dried octopus mixed with spices. Because the grated cassava is sometimes left out, it unintentionally ferments giving the piyuto a slightly sour tang.
Because Tawi Tawi is closer to Malaysia than it is to the Philippines, it was a common story to hear of people who went to Malaysia for work. Eventually due to different situations, they end up returning bringing back their newfound skills and cultural knowledge back with them. One consequence of this is people bringing back delicious Malay dishes such as roti, satii (satay), and bakso (meatball soup).
While roti is a direct adaptation, satii takes on a different form. When I think of satay, an image of grilled yellow-tinged meat skewers comes up. However, the satii in Tawi Tawi comes with a viscous sabaw (soup) that is spicy, coconutty, and slightly sweet. Another interesting difference is that this is a common breakfast. When we visited the restaurant at 8AM it was packed with people. Inside the bowl is puso, rice packed tight into a sack of woven coconut leaves and is boiled in water until the rice expands and pressurizes itself into a slightly chewy clump that I mistakenly took for cassava. Because of how difficult and time consuming it is to weave each individual pocket, it is a dying art in Malaysia and Singapore, whereas in the Philippines it is still being made.
I knew theoretically that food from the South was going to be different, but I did not anticipate to what extent. The hyper-local abundance of seafood, the harvests of seaweed, the preference of cassava over rice, and the use of burnt coconut were all entirely new to me. And for many people unfamiliar with Tawi Tawi or scared of it, it will be new to them too.
The Culture
Another observation from my time in Tawi Tawi is that the Tausug people are very self-aware of their culture and are making conscious effort to preserve their identity. This was cemented in my attendance in the preparation of a Tausug wedding. Unlike the American and Filipino weddings I’m accustomed to, I noticed an incredible amount of symbolism and meaning in what and how the food is prepared, the traditional clothes worn and their patterns and colors, and the box of presents to the bride. All the detail and symbolism shook me with the awareness of their Tausug tradition — traditions that to my knowledge, are more elaborate then the Philippine ones I’m used to.
The day before the wedding of one of our guide’s friends, we witnessed the preparation of the food — traditional and labor-intensive dishes like chicken piyyanggang,tiyula itum, and agar-agar. All the spices, including the burnt coconut powder (siyunog lahing) were hand pounded.The uncle of the groom tells us that the Tausug take pride in their cooking and it is the responsibility of the groom’s family to provide a delicious feast.
On the wedding day, all the food was meticulously assembled on what were explained as ‘Dulangs.’ I watched as four of these platters were created, each with a different intent. Two of them were luxuriously assembled, meant for the ancestors of the family, and the couple to be married. Meanwhile, the remaining two were meant for the wedding celebration. The number of foil-wrapped eggs had a meaning — ending with an odd number to wish for a fruitful and enduring marriage. And thick pancakes shaped like shields called panyam symbolize protection.
For formal or special occasions I was astounded at the intricacy of the garments. The colors are vivid, high contrast, with luxurious materials such as velvet or silk adorned with brass buttons. Each tribe has their own style, and that the Tausugs prefer the high contrast colorfulness while another tribe favors more uniform colors.
Just as Filipino
On this archipelago closer to Malaysia than the Philippines I found a beautiful meld of the indigenous Tausug, and Malay cultures. The Philippines is an aggregation of many different ethnolinguistic groups, each with their own identity and traditions. By traveling to Tawi Tawi I was able to witness firsthand a place where the identity of this group is intact — where traditions are remembered, preserved, and shared.
Importantly I traveled to Tawi Tawi and I saw their food. I saw their culture. I saw their culture with food as the medium. Every experience I had showcased the beauty of Tawi Tawi not just as its own province, but as one more voice to Philippine culture as a whole. With each interaction, each snippet of information, and each dish I encountered, Tawi Tawi became a province I could become proud of as a Filipino.
This article is published by Pluma Manila, a Creative Platform for Everything Filipino. If you’re Filipino or Pinoy at heart, Be part of our team and share your craft with us. Maraming Salamat!
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