Warring Societies of Pre-Colonial Southeast Asia_ Local Cultures of Conflict Within a Regional Context

Warring Societies of Pre-colonial Southeast Asia

of Maguindanao but in a region whose rulers profess alliance with the
Company. If Salawo had succeeded, it would have facilitated his social
and political mobility within and between various polities in the image
of his co-sojourner and likely supporter, Timbang Sulug.
Timbang Sulug embodies the quintessential anak raja – aristocratic
figures who serve as conduits for commercial and political network-
ing.^93 Genealogical proximity to various ruling families seems to be an
indispensable criterion in becoming or being considered one. Not only
could Timbang Sulug claim close enatic relations to Sangir, Iranun and
Maguindanao but also agnatically to Sulu.^94 He traded wax for Indian
cloth with a Company functionary while visiting Sangir and appeared
well-informed of the political affairs in Maguindanao.^95
Viewed from a longer historical perspective, Salawo’s marriage
venture in Sangir was not exceptional. Maguindanao and Sangir share a
long history of inter-elite marriages that could be traced back as early as
the seventeenth century in both local and European sources.^96 But the

93. For examples from other regions, see Barbara Andaya, “The Role of the Anak
    Raja in Malay History: A Case Study from Eighteenth-Century Kedah”, Journal of
    Southeast Asian Studies 7.2 (1976) and Wellen, The Open Door, chapter five.


94. “Timbang Sulug” or “Timbang Xullok” in Dutch sources is “Raja Baginda
    Timbang”. Najeeb M. Saleeby, Studies in Moro History, Law and Religion (Manila:
    Bureau of Printing, 1905): 35. The Dutch source mentions that he was named
    such because of him “being related to both kings” (zijnde van de parentagie der
    beide kooningen) [of Sulu and Maguindanao]. NA, VOC 8130, Letter sent to
    Governor-general Jacob Mossel, 31 May 1760, fol. 45. “Timbang” means “equal”
    or a mixture of two parts while “Sulug” apparently comes from “Sulu”. In Sangirese
    (and most likely in many languages of the Indonesian Archipelago) “Timbang”
    connotes the existence and mixture of two (equal) elements. K. G. F. and W. E.
    Aebersold Steller, Sangirees-Nederlands woordenboek met Nederlands-Sangirees
    register (’s-Gravenhage: Martinus Nijhoff, 1959): 497. Turning our attention to the
    tarsila (royal genealogy), we find that his mother Fatima, was a Maguindanaoan
    noble, while his father, named Gulay, was a Datu from Sulu. Saleeby, Studies in
    Moro History, Law and Religion, 39. Timbang Sulug’s mother Fatima was in fact the
    daughter of the Tabukan (Sangirese) princess Babay Basing and the Maguindanao
    sultan Barahaman (r. 1678–1699). Ibid.: 38. Meanwhile Babay Basing was the
    granddaughter of an Iranun chief who became a chief in Sangir. Forrest, A Voyage
    to New Guinea, and the Moluccas from Balambangan, 216.


95. NA, VOC 8130, Letter sent to Governor-General Jacob Mossel from Ternate, 31
    May 1760, fol. 45.


96. See Saleeby, Studies in Moro History, Law and Religion, 38. NA, VOC 4633, Extract
    uijt d’ Instructie door den commissaris Dirk de Haas, op zijn vertrok, aan den
    Gouverneur in Ternate, Johannes Cops nagelaten in dato, 31 July 1689, fol. 2.