Settlements

Except for towns and coastal fishing villages, Tausug communities are typically dispersed, with
individual houses located close to family fields. The household, or cluster of two or three
adjacent households, comprises the smallest territorial grouping. The next larger unit is the
hamlet ( lungan ). Still larger is the community ( kauman ), having a common name and
headman. The unity of a kauman depends on intermarriage, the existence of a core kin group
among its members, their attendance at a common mosque, recent history of conflict, and the
political skills of the community's headman. Boundaries between kauman tend to be ill-defined,
varying according to the dynamics of alliance and feuding and the relative power of successive
headmen. The Tausug house typically consists of a single rectangular room, bamboo- or timberwalled, with a thatched roof, raised on posts about 2 to 3 meters above the ground. The structure
is generally surrounded by a series of elevated porches leading to a separate kitchen at the rear
and is often enclosed within a protective stockade encircling the house compound.
Economy
Subsistence and Commercial Activities. Subsistence is based primarily on agriculture, fishing,
and trade, with some livestock raising (cattle, chickens, ducks). The Tausug practice plow
agriculture, growing dry rice on permanently diked, nonirrigated fields, using cattle or water
buffalo as draft animals. Rice is intercropped with corn, cassava, and a small amount of millet,
sorghum, and sesame. There are three annual harvests: first, corn and other cereals; second, rice;
and third, cassava. The harvesting of cassava continues until the following dry season. Farms are
typically fallowed every third year. Other crops, generally planted in separate gardens, include
peanuts, yams, eggplants, beans, tomatoes, and onions. The principal cash crops are coconuts
(for copra), coffee, abaca, and fruit. Fruit, some of it wild, is an important source of seasonal
cash income and includes mangoes, mangosteens, bananas, jackfruits, durians, lanzones, and
oranges. Today many coastal Tausug are landless and make their living from fishing or petty
trade. Fishing, as either a full- or a part-time occupation, is carried out in coastal waters, mainly
using nets, hook-and-line, or traps.
Industrial Arts. Most farm and household items are made of bamboo. Iron implements are
forged locally and the manufacture of bladed weapons has historically been an important local
craft. Women produce pandanus mats and woven headcloths for both home use and sale.
Trade. From the founding of the Sulu sultanate until the mid-nineteenth century, the Tausug
conducted an extensive trade with China in pearls, birds' nests, trepang, camphor, and
sandalwood. Historically, considerable interisland trade has also existed within the archipelago.
Today copra and abaca are sold primarily through Chinese wholesalers, while most locally
consumed products are handled by Tausug or Samal traders. Smuggling between Sulu and
nearby Malaysian ports is an important economic activity to many with capital and commercial
connections and is a major source of local differences in wealth and power.

Division of Labor. Both sexes share in farm work, men doing much of the heavier work such as
clearing, plowing, and fencing fields; planting, weeding, and harvesting are done jointly. Women
tend the smaller vegetable gardens and gather fruit. Both sexes engage in trade. Fishing,
metalwork, interisland trade, and smuggling are largely male occupations, although, in the latter
case, women often manage the financial side.
Land Tenure. Landholdings typically are dispersed, with a man having rights of usufruct or
tenancy in farms in several different locations. These rights are individually held. In contrast
water holes, pasturelands, and beaches are by tradition unowned and available for common use.
In the past, titular rights were held by the sultan over all land within the state and secondarily by
local or regional leaders acting as his representatives.
Kinship
Kin Groups and Descent. The bilateral kindred ( usbawaris ) extending to second cousins is the
major kinship category. Lineal descent has no special functional or ideological significance, and
a hallmark of Tausug society is the absence of enduring corporate groups of any kind. According
to the Tausug interpretation of the Shafi marriage law, children are filiated with the father and his
kindred ( usbaq ), but in other contexts, aside from marriage and divorce, ties are acknowledged
bilaterally without distinction. Relations with kin are markedly dyadic; relatives act as a group
only during life crises, in times of sickness or special need, or when family honor is at stake.
Sibling solidarity is especially intense. Bonds between brothers and first cousins are particularly
important in forging political allegiances and in garnering support in times of armed conflict. In
addition to kinship, a variety of ritual-friendship relations is recognized. These include sworn
alliances between allies and ritual friendships between rivals, or potential rivals, entered into
often at the instigation of regional leadersto forestall open enmity or bring it to an end. Having
many friends is essential for success in armed feuds and litigation and for safety in traveling
outside one's home region.
Kinship Terminology. Terminology emphasizes generation, relative age, and lineality; cousin
terms are of the Eskimo type.
Marriage and Family
Marriage. Marriage is ideally arranged by parents. Contacts between the sexes are restricted and
marriageable women are kept in relative seclusion to protect their value to their family as
political and economic assets. First and second cousins are favored spouses (with the exception
of the children of brothers). A series of negotiations precedes marriage, concluding with an
agreement on the amount of bride-wealth and other expenses to be p