Tarhata Kiram on Stamps

-
Princess Tarhata Kiram, (1904-1979). Like the slender curves of a Moro kris, her name conjures the image of Oriental grace and fierceness. Princess Hadja Tarhata Kiram was a Tausug blue blood, born in 1904 in the Sulu archipelago, the oldest sultanate in the Philippines. Her father was the sultan of Sulu, Mohammed Esmali Kiram. She was, however, adopted by her uncle, Sultan Jamalul Kiram II.

Strong-willed and liberal-minded, she held feminist views that preceded those espoused by the modern women’s liberation movement in the Philippines by decades. Known for her beauty, she one graced the cover of the Philippine Free Press magazine. Her life style, too, was jaw-dropping. It seemed that wherever she went her retinue led by a governess trailed not far behind her. As a young woman brimming with intellect, she was sent to the United States in 1920 as the first woman pensionado. As expected, her entourage accompanied her. At a time when women were generally considered as home keepers, her choice must have created quite a stir in the Philippines.

She finished her studies at the University of Illinois. Her American education over, she returned to Sulu. Except for the noticeable accent, the Princess reverted to her native ways. She donned anew the sablay and sawwa, traditional Tausug dresses. Not stopping there, however, she shocked not only the American officers but her family as well when she married Datu Tahil, Tausug leader of the 1927 Moro revolt in Sulu. Because of this, she was forced to go on exile on an island where she remained for three years, resurfacing only in 1931 when she joined local politics.

Opposition to land taxes, the cedula, the imposition of penalties for tax delinquencies, and the prohibition against the carrying of weapons fueled Datu Tahil’s uprising in Sulu in 1927. A veteran of the 1913 battle of Bud Bagsak, where he lost his wife and child, Datu Tahil had reconciled to American authority. He had served as the third member of the provincial board of Sulu and was considered as a prospective governor. His disappointment at not being appointed to the post may have precipitated his personal break with the government. He constructed a fort in Patikul, not far from Jolo town, where a sizeable number of his followers rallied behind him. On January 31, 1927, government troops attacked his fort, killing 30 to 40 of his men. Datu Tahil managed to escape, but secretly surrendered on February 8, to the provincial governor. Princess Tarhata pleaded for clemency, and he was sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined P10, 000. His surrender enraged his surviving followers. His sisters, purportedly, wished him dead.

Princess Tarhata had two other marriages: to Datu Buyungan and to Salvador Francisco, a Christian lawyer, accountant and engineer. In politics, she found ways to plug the laws disadvantageous to the Muslims. She was consultant on Islamic affairs at the office of the commissioner, Region 9, under Rear Admiral Romulo Espaldon. She became noted for her contributions to the government’s development activities in Mindanao.

She was one of the heirs of the island of Sabah, which the Sultan of Sulu had leased to the British but which the British never returned. The Princess led the other royal heirs in renouncing their proprietary rights over the island in July 1977, in line with President Marcos’ efforts to foster closer relations with Malaysia.

The Princess proved herself not only in politics, but also in music, writing Tausug songs. “Jolo Farewell” was among her most popular compositions. One of her memorable political battles was her denunciation in 1927 together with Senator Hadji Butu Rasul of the Bacon Bill, which sought to exclude the Sulu archipelago from Mindanao.

Princess Tarhata died of heart failure on May 23, 1979 at the Veterans Memorial hospital in Quezon City. She was 75. She had two children: Puti Denchurain and Datu Agham Kiram. As a tribute to her courage in fighting for the rights of her fellow Muslims, the National Historical Institute honored her by placing a marker in her name in Jolo, Sulu in 1984.

Date of Issue: January 16, 1984

Popular posts from this blog

Rodolfo S. Cornejo on Stamp

-
Image
Rodolfo S. Cornejo is the first Filipino composer who received an honory degree from a government recognized music school in the United States . He is also remarkable for his pianistic and compositional know-how by improvising a piano composition at the spur of the moment.   He was born on 15 May 1909 in Singalong , Manila . At the age of six, he had his formal piano lessons. After 2 years, he played fourteen pieces and six encores for his recital. In that same year, he became the organist of the Pasay Catholic Church when they moved in. When he was ten, he composed a piano piece entitled, " Glissando Waltz ". He became so keen and inspired about music by his mother's genuine support.    At 13, he composed the "Salute", a military march that was also published. He also composed the Philippine Suite: Paalam sa Pagakadalaga , Okaka Variations , Paalam na Sinta , Oriental Fantasy , Nocturne in G, Piano Concerto no. 1 , and the Moro Wedding Dance . At 14, tw...
Read more

Kulintang- Philippine Bossed Gong and Subing- Philippine Jaw Harp

-
Image
Instruments that produce sound from the substance of the instrument itself (wood or metal) are classified as idiophones . They are further divided into those that are struck, scraped, plucked, shaken, or rubbed. In the Philippines, there are metal and wooden (principally bamboo) idiophones. Metal idiophones are of two categories: flat gongs and bossed gongs,. Flat gongs made of bronze, brass, or iron are found principally in the north among the Isneg , Tingguian , Kalinga , Bontok , Ibaloi , Gaddang , Ifugao , and Ilonggot . They are commonly referred to as gangsa . The gongs vary in size, the average are struck with wooden sticks, padded wooden sticks, or slapped with the palm of the hand. Gong playing among the Cordillera highlanders is an integral part of peace pact gatherings, marriages, prestige ceremonies, feasts or rituals. In Southern Philippines, gongs have a central profusion or knot, hence the term bossed gongs . They are of three types: 1) sets of graduated gongs ...
Read more

The Great Filipino Series- Antonio J. Molina on Stamp

-
Image
Antonio J. Molina was called the "Dean of Filipino Composers". He was a prominent violoncellist, conductor and teacher. He wrote 500 compositions in his lifetime.   He was the last of the musical triumvirate, two of whom were Nicanor Abelardo and Francisco Santiago , who elevated music beyond the realm of folk music. At an early age, he took to playing the violoncello and played it so well it did not take long before he was playing as orchestra soloist for the Manila Grand Opera House . Molina is credited for introducing such innovations as the whole tone scale, pentatonic scale, exuberance of dominant ninths and eleventh cords, and linear counterpoints. As a member of the faculty of the UP Conservatory, he had taught many of the country's leading musical personalities and educators like Lucresia Kasilag and Felipe de Leon .   Born into a musically inclined family, he raised his own family as music lovers as well, as three of his children pursued careers in music, ...
Read more

The Kudyapi- The Philippine Two-Stringed Lute

-
Image
The kutiyapi or kudyapi, is a Philippine two-stringed, fretted boat-lute. It is the only stringed instrument among the Maguindanao people, and one of several among other groups such as the Maranao and Manobo . It is four to six feet long with nine frets made of hardened beeswax . The instrument is carved out of solid soft wood such as from the jackfruit tree.   Common to all kutiyapi instruments, a constant drone is played with one string while the other, an octave above the drone, plays the melody with a kebit or rattan pluck (commonly made from plastic nowadays). This feature, which is also common to other related Southeast Asian "boat lutes", which were influenced by varying degrees by Indian concepts of melody and scale via the Malay archipelago .   Among the T'Boli , Manobo and other Lumad groups, the instrument (known as Hegelung, Kudyapi or Fedlung) is tuned to a major pentatonic scale . Among groups like the Bagobo , the Kutiyapi (Kudlung) is also used as...
Read more

Vicente Fabella on Stamps

-
Image
Vicente F. Fabell a (1891-1959). Educator, economist, civic leader and the first Filipino certified public accountant . He was the founder of Jose Rizal College .  He was born on May 7, 1891 in Pagsanjan , Laguna , the third of six children of Juan Fabella, who served as mayor of Pagsanjan during the Spanish and American regimes, and Damiana Fernandez.    He obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of the Philippines in 1912 and then continued his studies in the United States, obtaining concurrent degrees of bachelor of philosophy from the University of Chicago and diploma in commerce from Northwestern University in 1915. That same year, he became a certified public accountant in the state of Wisconsin .   In 1916, upon his return to the Philippines, he became a professional lecturer in accounting and auditing at the University of the Philippines . At the same time, he opened the accounting firm, Vicente Fabella and Company.   He was inst...
Read more

Kulintang on Stamps

-
Image
Kulintang is a modern term for an ancient instrumental form of music composed on a row of small, horizontally-laid gongs that function melodically, accompanied by larger, suspended gongs and drums. As part of the larger gong-chime culture of Southeast Asia , kulintang music ensembles have been playing for many centuries in regions of the Eastern Malay Archipelago — the Southern Philippines, Eastern Indonesia, Eastern Malaysia, Brunei and Timor, although this article has a focus on the Philippine Kulintang traditions of the Maranao and Maguindanao peoples in particular. Kulintang evolved from a simple native signaling tradition, and developed into its present form with the incorporation of knobbed gongs from Sunda . Its importance stems from its association with the indigenous cultures that inhabited these islands prior to the influences of Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity or the West, making Kulintang the most developed tradition of Southeast Asian archaic gong-chime ensemble...
Read more

Cebuano Artists Painting Collection- Jose "Kimsoy" Yap Jr.

-
Image
Bliss (BooNana) , 15" x 20", Pencil Sketch, 2009 Jose "Kimsoy" Yap Jr . was born on March 7, 1944 in Bindoy , Negros Oriental , Philippines. Graduated from the Cebu Institute of Technology with a degree in Bachelor of Science in Architecture , he then continued and studied painting at the National Academy of Design School of Fine Arts in New York. He also taught at the University of San Carlos and Cebu Academy of Arts.    His art journey started with hardships together with renowned sculptor, painter, novelist and architect Arsenio "Arsing" Abella . In 2017, both had a reunion exhibit, Art Biography at Manila Art Frames - the first gallery they exhibited in 1969. Later, with ease together with eminent Samboan artist  Benji Goyha , whom he bonded owing to a shared vision for art promotion , tourism and mentoring of young Cebuano artists. Both organized art workshops and excursions in Cebu province especially in Goyha's hometown Samboan .   ...
Read more