Sulu Archipelago

The Sulu Archipelago (Tausug: Kapū'-pūan sin Sūg; Sulat Sūg: كَفُوْءْفُوْأَنْ سِنْ سُوْݢْ; Filipino: Kapuluan ng Sulu) is a chain of islands in the Pacific Ocean in the southwestern Philippines. The archipelago forms the northern limit of the Celebes Sea and southern limit of the Sulu Sea. The Sulu Archipelago islands are within the Mindanao island group, consisting of the Philippines provinces of Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi; hence, the archipelago is sometimes referred to as Basulta, derived from the first syllables of the three provinces. The archipelago is not, as is often supposed, the remains of a land bridge between Borneo and the Philippines. Rather, it is the exposed edge of small submarine ridges produced by tectonic tilting of the sea bottom. Basilan, Jolo, Tawi-Tawi and other islands in the group are extinct volcanic cones rising from the southernmost ridge. Tawi-Tawi, the southernmost island of the group, has a serpentine basement-complex core with a limestone covering. This island chain is an important migration route for birds. The largest municipalities in the area are on the island of Jolo. The larger island of Palawan to its north, the coastal regions of the westward-extending Zamboanga Peninsula of Mindanao, and the north-eastern part of the island of Borneo were formerly parts of the thalassocratic Sultanate of Sulu. The archipelago is the home of the indigenous Tausūg people and various groups of Sama(l) peoples, including the semi-nomadic Bajau; the land-based Sama; the related Yakan people; and the Jama Mapun people. The Tausug language is widely spoken in the Sulu Archipelago as both a first and a second language across these islands. Sama-Bajaw languages are also spoken. The Yakan language is spoken mainly in Basilan Island. Numerous dialects of Sinama are spoken throughout the archipelago, from the Tawi-Tawi Island group, to the Mapun island group, to the coast of Mindanao and beyond.

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