The town of Parang is one of the largest settlements on the island and has, at present, an estimated population of 1,000. It is situated at the head of a small open bay facing the southwest and commands a beautiful view of Tapul and Lugus and the intervening sheet of water. It is the capital of the district and has one of the best markets in the Archipelago for fish, shells, and pearls. The drinking water in this neighborhood is brackish.

An islet lies off the shore near Tandu Bunga. Beyond this point the shore line turns north to Bwisan, which is one of the most prosperous settlements in the district. Beyond Alu Pangku' the coast inclines a little east and runs to Silankan and Timahu. Extensive coconut groves and well-cultivated fields and fruit trees of various kinds abound all along the coast from Parang to Timahu.

DISTRICTS OF THE ISLAND

The districts of the island conform in a great measure to its natural divisions. However, political reasons have modified the natural boundaries and increased the districts to six by division. These districts are Parang, Pansul, Lati, Gi'tung, Lu'uk and Tandu. The first district on the west is Parang. A line joining the western limit of Bwalu on the south coast, with a point slightly east of the summit of Mount Tumantangis, and projected to the sea on the north, delimits this district on the east and carves out of the western natural division the district of Pansul. The eastern boundary of Pansul is a line running from a point 2 or 3 miles east of Maymbung to Mount Pula and Busbus. The chief reason for separating Pansul from Parang was to reserve for the sultan direct control over Jolo and Maymbung. This district has more foreigners residing in it than any other.

A line joining Su' and Lubuk marks the eastern limit of both Lati and Gi'tung, the third and fourth districts. The watershed line joining the summits of Mounts Dahu, Tambang, and Sinuma'an and falling on the east to the vicinity of Su', divides Lati on the north from Gi'tung on the south. For all practical purposes the district of Lati may be said to lie between Jolo and Su', and the district of Gi'tung or Talipao between Maymbung and Tu'tu'. The land joining Si'it and Tu'tu' is low. Sulu traditions say that when the Samals arrived in the island this neck of land was submerged and the island was divided by a channel of water. The extinct volcano of Pandakan, generally spoken of as the "Crater Lake," which lies in this vicinity, may be of late origin and may have been the source of the geologic deposits which helped to fill the channel. Spanish records speak of a volcanic eruption in the vicinity of Jolo as late as 1840, and it is very likely that other volcanic action occurred prior to that date and after the arrival of the Samals in the fourteenth century.

A line joining Limawa on the north and Sukuban or Tandu Panu'an on the south, divides Lu'uk from Tandu, thus forming the fifth and sixth districts respectively. A line joining Mount Tayungan and Bud Tandu divides both Lu'uk and Tandu into a northern and a southern part. In both cases the southern parts are more fertile and better cultivated and probably more thickly populated than the northern.

The Sulus are principally agriculturists. The greater part of the people are farmers and a considerable portion of the interior of the island is under cultivation. They raise a good number of cattle, carabaos, and horses, which they utilize for tilling the soil and transporting its products. Trails cross the island in all directions and the interior is in easy communication with the sea. Fruits are good and abundant. The forests are rich in jungle products and in timber. Some copra and hemp is raised and the amount is being increased annually. The staples are tapioca, rice, and corn. Sugar cane is raised in small quantities. Ubi and taro are fairly abundant. Some coffee is produced, but disease destroyed most of the plantations. Some tobacco and vegetables are raised for home consumption only.

Jolo is one of the best fish markets in the Philippine Islands. The varieties of fish in Sulu waters are innumerable and of excellent quality. The Island of Sulu surpasses Mindanao in the quality and proportional amount of its fruit. There is an abundance of mangostins, durians, nangkas (jack-fruit), lançones, [10] marangs, [10] mangos of several varieties (mampalam, bawnu, and wanni), oranges, custard apples, pineapples, bananas, etc.

In the extent and quality of cultivation the district of Lu'uk ranks first, Parang second, and Lati third. Good fresh water abounds everywhere except on the western coast. Considerable irrigation is possible in many localities.

TOWN OF JOLO.

GENERAL PLAN, BUILDINGS AND STREETS

Jolo is the Spanish representation (or rather misrepresentation) of the word Sulu, sometimes written Sooloo. The early Spaniards wrote it "Xolo," which later changed to Joló. The complete form of the word is Sulug, as it is rendered in Magindanao. The Sulus pronounce it and write it Sug. Sug means a sea current. The flow of the tide through the innumerable narrow channels separating the numerous islands of the Archipelago gives rise to unusually strong currents which figure prominently in the seafaring life of the people. Therefore the term is an appropriate designation for the Archipelago as a whole.

The rulers of the island state have changed their capital four times. The most ancient capital was Maymbung, the second was Bwansa, which lies on the north coast of the island about 3 miles west of Jolo. Here ruled Raja Baginda and the first three sultans of Sulu. The fourth sultan moved to Sug, the third capital, and the town remained the capital of the sultanate until 1876, the date of the Spanish conquest and occupation. Sultan Jamalul A`lam then moved to Maymbung and the Spaniards occupied the town. Since then the term Jolo has become so intimately associated with it, that it is deemed preferable to use it as a name for the town, while the term Sulu, which is more correct and more commonly used, is retained in all other applications.

The town of Jolo has been so closely identified with the history of the sultanate as to claim considerable attention. The Spanish buildings and improvements were sufficiently extensive to obscure the ancient landmarks of the town and to render a complete and intelligent understanding of the early history and traditions of the place impracticable. A few words describing the location of Jolo, its ancient landmarks, and the Spanish improvements will therefore be of primary interest.

The town as it stands at present is divided into four distinct parts. The main or central part is Jolo proper or the "walled town." This is known to the Moros as Tiyangi Sug meaning the "shops or market of Sulu." The western half of this part bordering on Suba' Bawang formerly was termed Luway. The second part, called San Remondo, lies back and south of the walled town and is separated from it by a little stream called Tubig Hasa'an. The third part is Tulay and lies on the west side; the fourth is Busbus, on the east side.

At the head of the roadstead separating the Pueblo nuevo or Tulay from Jolo proper or Luway is a small tidal stream formerly called Suba' Bawang. Some maps designate it as Rio del Sultan. This stream extends back into a swamp and divides into two branches. The main or direct branch extends in a more or less southerly direction to a point about 700 meters from the mouth of the stream, where it rises in copious springs of fresh water at the edge of the swamp. The other branch is formed by the junction of the rivulet that rises in the springs of San Remondo with Tubig Hasa'an. The latter has its origin at the foot of the hills above the cemetery and Blockhouse No. 2. Hasa'an means grindstone, and the springs are said to have burst out of the spot where a grindstone was set for use. Another stream, termed Suba' Ligayan, drains the northern slopes of Buds Datu and Agad, and running north, passes by Fort Asturias and through Tulay, and empties into the roadstead of Jolo at a point about 250 meters west of the mouth of Suba' Bawang. A branch of this stream formerly issued at Asturias and connected with the main stream of Suba' Bawang. The land which thus lay between Suba' Bawang and Suba' Ligayan was a delta. It was called by the Moros u-laya (that is, the head of the net) because of its triangular shape. It was mostly marshy, but it had a central longitudinal strip of dry land which practically connected Tulay with the base of the hills, at Asturias. At the upper end of this strip there existed at one time a well-defined, sandy spot, different in formation from the surrounding land, which was considered sacred and was supposed to be the first land formed on the island. This spot was Sug proper; after it was named the whole settlement which was built along the banks of Suba' Bawang and at the head of the roadstead.

The Sultan's palace, termed istana, his kuta (fort) and stockades were built along the lower left bank of the stream Bawang; hence the name Rio del Sultan. On the right bank lay the houses and stockades of the other datus of high rank. Two bridges connected one side of the stream with the other.