The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Filipino: Awtonomong Rehiyon sa Muslim

Mindanao is an autonomous region of the Philippines, located in the Mindanao island group of

the Philippines, that consists of five predominantly Muslimprovinces: Basilan (except Isabela
City), Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi. It is the only region that has its own
government. The region's de facto seat of government is Cotabato City, although this self-governing
city is outside its jurisdiction. The ARMM previously included the province of Shariff Kabunsuan until
16 July 2008, when Shariff Kabunsuan ceased to exist as a province after the Supreme Court of the
Philippines declared the "Muslim Mindanao Autonomy Act 201", which created it, unconstitutional

Autonomous Region of Muslim

Mindanao (ARMM)

Geography
The ARMM spans two geographical areas: the Mindanao mainland, where Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao are
situated, and the Sulu Archipelago, made up of the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi. The region
covers a total of 12,288 km².
Famous People
1.     Leonor Orosa-Goquingco (July 24, 1917 - July 15, 2005) was a 1976 Filipino national artist in creative dance. She
could play the piano, draw, design scenery and costumes, sculpt, act, direct, dance and choreograph. Her pen name
was Cristina Luna and she was known as Trailblazer, Mother of Philippine Theater Dance and Dean of Filipino
Performing Arts Critics.
2.     Muhammad Dipatuan Kudarat (also spelled Qudarat or Corallat) (1581–1671) was a Sultan of Maguindanao. During
his reign, he successfully opposed the Spaniards who attempted to conquer his land and hindered
the Christianization of the island of Mindanao. He was a direct descendant of Shariff Kabungsuwan,
a Muslim missionary who brought Islam to the Philippines.
Literature of ARMM

Tarasul - poems of Tausug. Tarasul are both entertaining and pedagogical. Although part of oral
tradition, they are also written down. Topics of the tarasul are various-nature, cooking, love, among
others.

Examples of Tarasul: 

1.  In ulan iban suga

Kagunahan ha dunya
Apu' Banuwa
In jambangan tulunga.

The rain and sun

Are essential on earth,
Oh, Apu' Banuwa ["grandfather chief" or angel Michael]
Help the garden.

2. Manggis iban buwahan

Kasusuban sin katan;
In marang iban duyan
Bungangkahuy manaman.

The mangosteen and the lanzones

Are the delight of everybody;
The marang and the durian
Fruits are tasty.

3. Tarasul ini iban daman

Ganti' pamintangan
Ha pasal ina' subay kalasahan
Di ha dunya ganti' patuhanan.

This tarasul and daman

Serves as a lesson
Concerning the obligation to love one's mother
Since she is God's representative on earth.

4. Mabugtang agun in baran ku

Pasal sin raybal ku.
Hangkan no aku di' no magkadtu
Sabab landu' susa in atay ku.

My whole being seems paralyzed

[Thinking] of my rival.
The reason I no longer pay [her] a visit
Is that my heart is grieving much.

Katakata – one of the four Tausug narratives:  the salsila (ethno-historical narratives), the kaawn kissa (creation
stories), the usulan kissa (origin stories), and the katakata (marchen).

Märchen -  folktale characterized by elements of magic or the supernatural, such as the endowment of a mortal
character with magical powers or special knowledge; variations expose the hero to supernatural beings or objects.
The German term Märchen, used universally by folklorists, also embraces tall tales and humorous anecdotes;
although it is often translated as “fairy tale,” the fairy is not a requisite motif.
Katakata are stories which are not historical and which are recited basically for entertainment. There are
generally three types of katakata, one which resembles the legend, the marchen, and the trickster tale.

An example of the first type is:

"In Duwa bud" (The Two Mountains)

A man and a woman who have died become two mountains, which today are believed to be enchanted.
Resting between the sea of Sulu and Zamboanga, the two mountains must not be referred to by
travellers.

An example of the second type is the Tausug version of "Tom Thumb" folktales and is
called"Hangdangaw" (literally, "a span high").

Despite his size, Hangdangaw is a voracious eater and grows with exceptional strength. He leaves his
parents and -meets four powerful men who become his friends: Mamuk Bunga, Tumibik Batu, Sumagpih
Ipil, and  Rumatag Bud. One day, Hangdangaw catches s big fish but discovers that he needs fire to cook
it. He sends the four to get fire, but they are captured and imprisoned by a human-eating giant.
Hangdangaw rescues them, and they finally get to eat the fish. After the meal, Hangdangaw throws away
the fish bone, which, unfortunately lands on the maharajah's well. Hangdangaw helps the maharajah by
throwing the fish bone a second time; it lands on the water hole of a panglima (headman). This is
repeated two more times in the wells of the imam and the crown prince. As a reward, the daughters of the
maharajah, panglima, imam, and crown prince are married off to Hangdangaw's four friends. From the
crown prince's well, the fish bone lands on the sultan's. Hangdangaw intervenes again and ends up
marrying the sultan's sister.

More popular among the Tausug are the trickster tales which involve Pusong and Abunnawas and which
belong to the "clever lad" genre. In these tales, Pusong and Abunnawas always get away with the tricks
they play on the sultan. The popularity of these tales and the irreverence they show towards the sultan
betray the egalitarian attitude of the Tausug.

Other katakata deal with agassi (giants) like the "Baguinda Iban Hinda Apu" (Baguinda and Grand-father
Agassi). There are also stories where handsome anak datu (royal princes) or beautiful putli (royal prin-
cesses) are turned into ugly creatures only to be return-ed to their true selves after undergoing various
trials. "Putli Pugut" and "Manik Buwangsi" are good examples of this type of katakata.

Animal tales such as that of pilanduk, a kind of mouse deer, are also types of the katakata. Pilan-duk has
evolved into a human trickster as wily as Pusong and Abunnawas (Tuban 1977:93-94). Other examples
of animal tales include the stories of "The Rabbit and the Lion," "The Tukling and the Crow," and "There
was a King"
Tudtul - Maguindanao tudtul (folktales) are short stories involving simple events.  Two examples are
presented.

The "Lagya Kudarat" tells the adventures of the two children of Lagya (rajah) Mampalai of Lum who are
blown away after Mampalai laments the lack of viable partners for his children.  These two children are
Lagya Kudarat and Puteli (princess) Sittie Kumala.  Puteli Kumala is blown to a forest where she meets a
kabayan (in all Maguindanao stories, this character is associated with an old unmarried woman).  The
kabayan adopts her, as she earlier did the prince named Sumedsen sa Alungan.  Although Kumala and
Sumedsen live in the same house, they never speak to each other.  Later, because of peeping toms,
Kumala leaves and Sumedsen goes with her.  They find their way to Lum, where a happy reunion takes
place.  Sumedsen eventually marries Kumala.  Meanwhile, Lagya Kudarat is blown to Kabulawanan. 
There he meets another kabayan who allows him to live with her.  One day while hunting, Kudarat hears
the game of sipa (rattan ball kicked with the ankle) being played.  He proceeds to the direction of the
game and is invited to play.  Not knowing how to play, he accidentally causes the sipa to fall in front of the
princess who is sitting beside the window.  She throws him her ring and handkerchief.  The marriage
between the princess and Kudarat is then arranged.  After the wedding, Kudarat feels homesick; his wife
then suggests that they go back to Lum.  There is a happy reunion.  A week later, Kudarat and his wife
returns to Kabulawanan to live with his in-laws.

Pat-I-Mata" narrates the story of two brothers -- Pat-I-Mata and Datu sa Pulu.  The former rules
Kabalukan while the latter reigns over Reina Regente.  Pat-I-Mata is so-called because he has four eyes;
when his two eyes sleep, his other two are awake.  He is also known for his cruelty to women, marrying
them when they are beautiful and returning them after they have gone ugly.  Because of this, the people
of Kabalukan can no longer tolerate Pat-I-Mata's cruelty.  They approach his brother and ask for his help. 
The Datu sa Pulu tries to advise his brother but to no avail.  He then decides to kill Pat-I-Mata.  So he
builds a cage.  Seeing the cage, Pat-I-Mata asks what it is for.  The Datu replies that it is constructed to
protect them from an incoming storm.  Being greedy, Pat-I-Mata asks for the cage saying that the Datu
can make his own anytime.  The Datu pretends to hesitate but later accommodates his brother's wishes. 
When Pat-I-Mata and his followers enter the cage, the Datu orders the door shut.  Realizing that he is
tricked, he says before being thrown into the river: "Never mind, my brother.  We would always be
enemies -- and we will never be reconciled till eternity.  I would die but I pray that whenever you go riding
on a boat in the river, my spirit will capsize it".

Bidasari – an epic of Mindanao based on a Malayan epic. It resembles the tales of Snow White, Cinderella,
and Sleeping Beauty all combined
Summary of Bidasari
When a simple merchant, his young son and mute servant are out in the woods, they chance upon a drifting boat, in
which there is a baby girl and a bowl containing a live goldfish. The merchant realises that the baby is unusual
because her life is bonded to the fish: if the fish leaves the water, she stops breathing. The merchant adopts the baby
as her own and names her Bidasari. Years later Bidasari grows up into a beautiful young woman while the merchant
has prospered into a wealthy businessman.

At the royal palace of this kingdom, the King has just remarried a beautiful woman, the Permaisuri (Queen). The
Permaisuri is a proud woman who secretly practises witchcraft. Hidden in her chambers is a magic mirror that can
show her anything she asks. She uses it to ask who the most beautiful in all the land is. One day when she asks the
mirror this question, the image of Bidasari appears in it. She is enraged by this and carries out a search to find who
Bidasari is.

Her search leads her to the merchant's house. Under the guise of kindness, the Permaisuri asks the merchant for
permission to bring Bidasari to the palace to be her companion. Although the merchant is reluctant to part with his
beloved daughter, he lets her go. But once Bidasari arrives at the palace, she is sent to the kitchens as a servant,
where she is starved and given the dirtiest jobs.

After the Permaisuri is satisfied that Bidasari has been ruined, she once again asks her magic mirror who is the most
beautiful in the land. When the mirror shows Bidasari yet again, the Permaisuri flies into a rage and runs to the
kitchen where she grabs burning pieces of firewood which she tries to burn Bidasari's face with. She is shocked when
the fire goes out and Bidasari's face is left untouched. Bidasari, who has by now realised that the Permaisuri's malice
is targeted only at her and will never stop, begs for mercy and explains her life is bonded to that of a fish that is kept
in a bowl in her father's garden.

The Permaisuri has a servant steal the fish for her from the merchant's garden, and as soon as the fish leaves the
water, Bidasari collapses and stops breathing. Satisfied that Bidasari's life is in her hands, the Permaisuri hangs the
fish around her neck as a trophy. When she asks the mirror who is the most beautiful in the land, the mirror shows
her own image.

The merchant realises that the fish is missing, and is told that Bidasari died mysteriously at the palace. Her body is
returned to him and he builds a small tomb for her in the woods where her body is laid out in peace.

Meanwhile, the Permaisuri's stepson the Prince has been having dreams about Bidasari, although he has never met
her. The dreams plague him even in his waking hours, despite his father's advice that such a beautiful woman cannot
exist. The Permaisuri sees her stepson acting this way and plants a painting of Bidasari in his room. The Prince finds
the painting, which leads him to the merchant who explains the sad tale of Bidasari's death and the mysterious
disappearance of the fish.

The Prince decides to visit Bidasari's tomb to see her beauty with his own eyes. Coincidentally at this time, back at
the palace the Permaisuri is having a bath in the royal bathing pool. The fish manages to break free of its locket and
drops into the water where it starts swimming. This causes Bidasari to wake up right before the Prince's eyes.
Bidasari tells him of what the Permaisuri did to her, which confirms the Prince's suspicions of his stepmother.

When the Permaisuri finishes her bath, she discovers that the fish has gotten free. She manages to catch it just as
the Prince is about to help Bidasari leave the tomb, causing her to fall unconscious again. The Prince places Bidasari
back in the tomb and promises to make things right.
The Prince returns to the palace in a fury, demanding that the Permaisuri give him the fish. The Permaisuri pretends
not to know anything, and when the King listens to the Prince's explanation, the King declares that his son has gone
insane and calls the royal guards. A fight ensues, during which the Permaisuri is injured and dies.

Just before the Prince is about to be captured, the merchant and the Prince's loyal manservants arrive with Bidasari
on a stretcher. The merchant explains that the story about the fish being bonded to Bidasari's life is true. The Prince
takes the fish from the locket around the Permaisuri's neck and puts it into a bowl of water. As soon as the fish enters
the water, Bidasari comes back to life. The King apologises to his son, and the Prince and Bidasari are married.

Trivia

At least 37 Mindanao books published in 2013; 346 since 2000

At least 37 Mindanao books were published in 2013, majority still on history and peacebuilding in the

Bangsamoro, the dominant themes since 2000. But the 2013 harvest has three photobooks – two photographic

guides to amphibians, reptiles and bats of Mindanao, and a photobook on the other faces and facets of Sulu.

In 2012, MindaNews listed only five, placing the total number of  books on Mindanao or written
by Mindanawons from 2000 to 2013 at 346.