muslim suite |
The Muslims are the largest group of non-Christian people in the Philippines, comprising eight percent of the population. There are nine tribes which embraced Islam: Sanggil, Yakan, Samal, Jama Mapun, Molbog, Palawani, Badjaos, Tausug, Maranaw, and Magindanaw. They have been influenced by Hindu, Arabic, and Malayan cultures. In 1565, Philip II sent fleets to settle in Cebu and convert the indigenous peoples. The Muslims, who had settled in Mindanao and the Sulu Islands at this time, had spread as far as Manila. Their beliefs were rejected by the Roman Catholics, and were confronted with a movement similar to the Crusades by the Spanish against the Moors in the Mediterranean. Christian Filipinos inherited the Spanish attitude toward the Muslims and called them Moros. Muslim dance links them to Indo-Malayan worlds and Islamic cultures of
the East. These have an emphasis of the upper torso, the use of hands to
express feelings, bent knees, and upturned toes, the dances are
characterized by the vivid colors and rhythmic movements. |
2006 unofficial roster |
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