Cris Paolo S.
Cornelia GE 2 | C | TTh 11:30am -1:00pm
Raiders of the Sulu Sea Activity
Identify five (5) examples of material culture of Moros as presented in the documentary and
explain their significance to the Moro population.
1. One of the Moro material cultures is the sword. The most frequently employed
weapon in many battles is the sword. The sword has special meaning to the Moro
people because they use it to protect their territory from intruders and to defend
themselves. Moro swords come in a variety of styles, such as the Barong, which has a
thick, single-edged blade curved like a leaf. In the southern Philippines, Muslim
Filipino ethnolinguistic groups including the Tausug, Sama-Bajau, and Yakan utilize
it. Additionally, it is utilized to reduce the bulk of Spanish weapons. Kalis is a wavy or
curved sword, and its curve makes it simple to slash with. Last but not least is the
Kampilan, a large single-edged sword that was frequently covered in hair to make it
appear more fearsome. The blunt side of the blade has two horns that are used to lift up
the head of a capitated body.
2. One of the main civilizations of the Moro is the vessel. The Moro people employed a
variety of pirate ships, including the Paraw, Pangayaw, Garay, and Lanong. The
majority were twenty-foot-wide, ninety-foot-long timber sailing galleys. They have
between fifty and one hundred crew members. Additionally, it is used to transport
people and goods, and the ships have cannons.
3. Another one of the Moro's material cultures is armor. Their armors, which were
fashioned from carabao horn or steel plates and sculpted to fit the body, could block
sword attacks when worn with chainmail, but it was ineffective against Spanish
firearms. Armors are worn by people to protect themselves and to diminish the force of
bullets and sword slashes.
4. If the Moro are cannons, there are other material cultures. Even though the adversary
was far away, cannons were utilized to kill them and damage other battleships. A
cannon is a sort of gun that belongs to the artillery category and uses propellant to fire
a projectile. Before smokeless powder was developed in the 19th century, the main
propellant in use was gunpowder.
5. Clothes are one of the material cultures of the Moro. Their clothes were very
important because they use clothes not just to cover their body but all clothes have its
own meaning. Slaves can wear simple clothes and for men they are topless and high-
rank people, they use to wear decent clothes and jewelries.
Give (3) three reasons why the documentary, Raiders of the Sulu Sea, is important to the
grand narrative of Philippine history.
1. The Raiders of the Sulu Sea awakens the nation's dormant national awareness in its
citizens. This is because the documentary opens our eyes to the situation of our people
at that time, when they were tenacious and insistent in their fight for their freedom in
their nation and their identity against the influence of the west. And they succeeded in
getting what they had long battled for. This might have served as motivation for
Filipino rebels in the past. Furthermore, if they take action, their example will
encourage others who want to be free from oppression to follow suit.
2. Additionally, this documentary provides evidence that the conquerors' belief that the
inhabitants of the Philippines at the time were primitive and uncivilized is false. The
film explicitly states contrary, highlighting the fact that humans back then already had
a system of government, a rich culture, and a long history, as well as international
trade, sophisticated marine, and other things. This suggests that a civilization
previously existed and that its inhabitants are capable of advancing it on their own,
independent of colonists.
3. Finally, but equally important, this documentary dispels the myth that the Sulu raiders
were engaging in piracy, a notion that originated with the western imperialist. The
conquerors merely labeled their actions as violent, viewing them as immoral acts. The
perspective of the Sulu raiders was revealed with the release of the documentary; this
revealed their motivation, which was to defend and safeguard their ancestral territories
and strive for independence. As a result, the Sulu raiders' actions were legitimate since
they were taken in self-defense, whereas the colonizers' actions were unjustified
because they restricted the Muslim community's freedom.
