Tau Sūg تَو سُوگْ | |
|---|---|
 A Tausūg woman wearing traditional attire and performing a pangalay dance | |
| Total population | |
| 1,583,000[1]–2,000,000[2] (est.) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Philippines | 1,226,601[3] |
 Malaysia | 500,000[4][5] |
 Indonesia | 22,000[6] |
 United Arab Emirates | up to 6,000[7] |
 Brunei | 1,384[8] |
 Qatar | 500[9]–800[10] |
| Languages | |
| Tausūg (native); Chavacano, Cebuano, Sinama, Filipino, Sabah Malay, English | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly Sunni Islam Minorities Folk Islam,[11] Christianity (chiefly Catholics)[12] and indigenous animist religions and belief systems[13][14] | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Sama-Bajau, Yakan; other Moros Butuanons, Surigaonons; other wider Austronesian peoples | |
The Tausūg (natively Tau Sūg, Jawi: تَو سُوگْ) are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the Sulu Archipelago and the eastern region of Sabah, which spans present-day Philippines and Malaysia. Large Tausūg populations are also found in mainland Mindanao (in particular the Zamboanga Peninsula, Cotabato City and Davao City) and Palawan.[15] Smaller Tausūg communities can be found in North Kalimantan in Indonesia and Brunei.[6][8]
Following the introduction of Islam to the Sulu Archipelago in the 14th century, the Tausūg established the Sultanate of Sulu, a thalassocratic state that exercised sovereignty over the islands that bordered the Zamboanga Peninsula in the east to Palawan in the north.[16] At its peak, it also covered mainland areas of northeastern Borneo and southwestern Mindanao.[17] During the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines, Tausūg soldiers resisted repeated Spanish invasions and the Sultanate of Sulu remained a de facto independent state until 1915, following the Moro Rebellion.
Today, the Tausūg form a part of the wider Muslim-majority Moro identity in the Philippines. In Malaysia, ethnic Tausūg people are known by the ethnonym Suluk and have more recently formed a distinct socio-political identity from Tausūg refugees arriving in Malaysia due to the ongoing Moro conflict.[18]
Etymology
The first half of the name Tausūg derives from the Tausūg word tau, meaning person.[19] The origin of the latter half of the name has been subject to debate. The term sūg is widely accepted to derive from the word meaning sea current, with the definition of the whole name supposedly meaning “people of the [sea] current”.[20] Some scholars have noted that sūg may also stem from the word kusug meaning strong, or Sūg, the historic name for the island of Jolo.