IDTG

About a month or so ago I wrote about the heraldic privileges of the Royal and Hashemite Order of the Pearl of Sulu. Now, I feel is a good time to present a short summary of this very old Sultanate of SE Asia.

Recently, in the October-December 2011 (#44) issue of “Il Mondo del Cavaliere” the official journal of the International Commission on Orders of Chivalry (better known as ICOC), an in depth article on the Sultanate was published written by the Chancellor of the Order of the Pearl, Mr. Andres Linholm. Interestingly enough, the Raja Muda Muedzul Lail Tan Kiram (the Crown Prince of Sulu and Head of the Royal House) graced the cover of the journal.

Though I recommend very much to read the original article in the journal, I will try to provide a quick summary of the history of the Sultanate and some information that may of interest.

The Sultanate of Sulu has a fascinating story that goes back to the 15th century when a Mecca born Arab explorer, Sayyid Abu Bakr Abirin, reached Sulu in 1457. Abu Bakr held the title of “Sayyid” as an accepted male descendant of the Prophet Muhhamed’s grandsons (sons of the Prophet’s daughter) and thus considered to be of the highest nobility in the Muslim world.

After arriving in Sulu, Abu Bakr married Paramisuli, the daughter of the local lord Raja Baginda. As the Raja did not have any male children, he chose to name Abu Bakr as his heir and to continue the Royal House. The local lords accepted the Sayyid as their sovereign and spiritual leader, assuming the role of Caliph and the title of Sultan.

The male descendants of Abu Bakr have ruled the Sultanate for all these centuries from the late 15th century and well into the 20th.

One of the first serious encounters with the European powers was in the late 1600′s during the reign of Salahud Din Karamat (Baktial) when there were a number of invasions by the Dutch, asserting their own rule in present day Indonesia. It should be noted that Sulu after this and throughout the Spanish rule of the Philippines never lost is freedom. Though it was considered a client state of the Spanish Crown it retained its own autonomy and local class system and rule under the Sultan. This pact was solidified in 1737 and in 1750 Sultan Alimud Din was baptized in the Catholic Church as Ferdinand I of Sulu.

This close relationship with the Spanish Crown continued well into the 19th century with accords signed with Captain General Salazar (in 1836) and ratified by Queen Isabel II of Spain. The relationship between the Sultanate and the Spain was reaffirmed a few decades later in 1844 by Sultan Muhammed Pulalun where full sovereignty was ceded to Madrid.

Beyond Spain, Sulu had a close relationship with the British when Sultan Jamalul A’Lam leased his posessions in North Borneo (Sabah) to the British North Borneo Company the possessions for the sum of 5000 Mexican dollars a year.

In 1878, a further agreement with Spain was reached whereby the Sultanate became a protectorate and under the complete control of the Spanish government of the Philippines.

After the end of the Spanish American War of 1898, Sultan Jamalul Kiram II signed a treated with General John C. Bates who was representing the United States in the negotiations. The treaty concluded with the sovereignty of Sulu passing to the United States in 1899.

The transition of sovereignty to the USA was reaffirmed in 1915 with the Carpenter Agreement that Sultan Jamalul Kiram II subscribed to. What is interesting to note here is that even though Sulu was under the administration of the USA, the position of the Sultan was still recognized and the Sultan was even welcomed by President Roosevelt to the White House. This makes the Sultan one of the handful of royals to have ever been recognized by the United States government in US administered territories.

During the Japanese occupation, Sultan Ombra Amilbangsa worked with the Japanese forces who in turn recognized his position as Sultan of his possessions. After the liberation, he worked through Congress to retain his position.

In 1962, Sultan Ishmael E. Kiram I cedes to the Philippine Republic, under the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos, the territories of North Borneo. Later, in 1974, Sultan Ishmael’s eldest son Mohammed Mahakuttah A. Kiram succeeds him to the throne and is is recognized as such by President Marcos and the Philippine Republic. Sultan Mohammed Mahakuttah A. Kiram was to become the last Sultan recognized in law by the Republic of the Philippines.

His son, Muedzul Lail Tan Kiram was named Raja Muda (Crown Prince) at the same time as the coronation of the Sultan in 1974 and also recognized as such the same year by the Republic. The Raja Muda is the current head of the Royal House of Sulu and the current pretender to the Sultanate.

It is indeed odd for a Republic to recognize native royalty and titles of “king” or “prince” however, it is not unheard of. We have seen similar examples in other countries of the world such as Uganda, where local traditional kings are recognized in the constitution, or even European countries where the former royal families are recognized in law.

Unfortunately, due to the relative lack of information from that part of the world, there are numerous pretenders to the Sultanate that range from completely ludicrous to fantastical. However, the only one with a wholly valid claim, the only to have been officially named Crown Prince by the last Sultan and recognized as such in law by the Philippine State is Raja Muda Muedzul Lail Tan Kiram.

One of the main areas of focus of the Royal House is the philanthropic works  for the benefit of the people of the Raja Muda’s island of Jolo. The biggest need there is access to fresh water. The charity set up has as a stated goal to accomplish this for the impoverished families of the island. The link to the charity page is http://www.royalsultanateofsulu.org/#!charity

The official site of the Royal House of Sulu is: http://www.royalsultanateofsulu.org/

A good page on the Raja Muda and the false pretenders is: http://www.fakesulusultans.com/

The official page of the International Commission on Orders of Chivalry is: http://www.icocregister.org/

Note: All images from Wikipedia

Whoever visits the various forums on heraldry or is in any way involved with chivalric institutions will invariably end up reading/hearing about someone’s claim to Polish nobility. Be warned that more often than not, the claim is completely false.

What’s especially interesting is that they’re not content with claiming minor Polish nobility but go to the top, even claiming princely status.

Rafe Heydel-Mankoo, co-editor of the venerable World Orders of Knighthood and Merit and recognized expert on such matters, maintains a site on Polish Aristocracy that lists those families that actually are titled Polish nobles.

The link to the site is: http://www.polishnobles.com/

Typically, republics and kingdoms aren’t compatible and don’t coexist homewever, there are some notable examples around the world that are the exceptions proving the rule.

Some of the better known kingdoms that are part of a republic are those that are within the Republic of Uganda. The kingdoms of Buganda, Bunyoro-Kitara, Busoga and Toro are ancient traditional kingdoms of Africa that long enjoyed local and international recognition, even by the British colonial powers.

Unfortunately, with the political upheavel that Uganda experienced in the late 1960′s the new government of Milton Obote forcefully disbanded all the traditional kingdoms. The constitution introduced in 1967 went a step further and fully outlawed them.

The famously violent regime of Idi Amin of the 1970′s was no better and it wasn’t until the democratically elected government of 1993 re-established them. Then in 1995, the new constitution fully recognized these ancient kingdoms in law and the powers of their leaders or Kings. The 2005 amendment to the constitution re-affirmed the position of these Kings, further confirming their status in Ugandan society.

Though these Kingdoms are fully recognized in law, they are not fully sovereign politically. However, they do have considerable political influence and regularly meet with government leaders.

As mentioned above, the only four kingdoms recognized in Ugandan law are the following:

Buganda is the largest of the subnational kingdoms of Uganda and the namesake of the country and covers about 17% of the population of the country. The traditional title of the King of Buganda is “Kabaka” and the current Kabaka is Muwenda Mutebi II.

Bunyoro-Kitara is the second largest of the Ugandan kingdoms and the only one that was once an empire controlling a large swath of the land that is Uganda today. The traditional title of the King of Bunyoro-Kitara is “Omukama” and the current Omukama is Solomon Iguru I.

Busoga is another ancient Ugandan kingdom that is smaller than those above. The traditional title of the King “Kyabazinga” and the last one to hold the title was Henry Wako Muloki. Unfortunately, there has been strife among the leaders of the Kingdom and a successor has not yet been chosen.

Toro was once part of the Bunyoro Empire and was created in 1830 when the eldest son of the Omukama rebelled and founded his own kingdom. The Kingdom of Toro also names its King “Omukama” and the current holder of the title is Rukidi IV.

Links of interest:

• Official site of the Kingdom of Buganda
• Official site of the Kingdom of Bunyoro-Kitara
• Wikipedia article on the Kingdom of Busoga
• Official site of the Kingdom of Toro

Note: Images from Wikipedia

Heraldic and genealogical studies have the distinction of requiring high academic standards in its research, to be taken seriously, but there is very little formal training and education available from traditional educational institutions. The vast majority of us in these fields are amateurs, in the original sense of the word (look it up).

Therefore, it is exciting to see that some universities take these fields seriously enough to establish some educational programs around them.

The list below is not intended to be comprehensive or all inclusive but, it will be an ever growing list (kind of like the list of heraldic artists I have):

• University of Strathclyde: Offers a Genealogical Studies Postgraduate Programme offering postgraduate certificates and diplomas via distance education. Graduates of the Diploma program have the option to continue their education and receive a MSc.
• University of Dundee: Offers a Heralrdy Course (only) that is part of its Postgraduate Certificate in Family and Local History, or as part of the University of Dundee’s Masters degree in Archives and Records Management.
• Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED): A top Spanish university, offers three levels of education via distance education at a postgraduate level also that covers not only heraldry and genealogy but also nobiliary law. The levels are “Expert”, “Specialist” and “Master” in the mentioned areas. Naturally, the language of the program is Spanish.

At this point, I’d like to quote Martin Goldstraw from his excellent Cheshire Heraldry blog where he said:

Courses of this nature can’t be a bad thing however I can’t help but think that once universities get involved we are only one step away from the view often nowadays held by academics that unless one has a recognised qualification in a particular subject one can’t possibly know anything about it.

I agree with this sentiment and would hate for this happen.