Jolo, Land of the Moros (1934)

[Music] traveling from Manila to Holo which is about 500 mil from the capital city we anticipate an interesting Excursion for although Holo is the largest island in the southern Philippine archipelago it is the most primitive coming to The City Gate early in the morning we come upon a sleeping Holo whose inhabitants have not set out for the Pearl Fisheries their main occupation all highclass residents live in buildings such as these which as you notice start at about the second or third floor the plants that hang on the Verandas are orchids they grow in great profusion in Holo and the natives use them as [Music] Ivy this boy looks happy and chews as peace is the most contented cow beetl nut might not be good for the digestion but the natives love it prepared from tobacco leaf Beetle nut sap from the Singapore tree and tambaran leaf this Holo Delight is guaranteed not to whiten the teeth but to stain them a dark almost black [Music] red our guide and sponsor in Holo Mrs Judi Shu a native female Diplomat whose Praises are sung throughout the whole island Mrs shuck exerts more influence over the inhabitants of Holo than any other one person in fact she has quelled serious uprisings when the Sultan of Sulu himself has failed Mrs shuck was born in Holo is half Morrow and half Arabian her husband is half Morrow half German one of the youngest datus on the island is an early morning caller aatu is a tribal Chieftain this one has brought his latest acquisition to display for the lady's approval this bolo is a splendid example of primitive yet perfect craftsmanship made of Damascus steel it is ground to such a keen Edge that one well- aimed swoop could sever a man's torso these datos are mean cut-ups when they get started [Music] his Royal Highness the Sultan of Sulu he makes his home in Holo and is the political and religious ruler Supreme Over more than half a million mohammadans polygamy is practiced in Sulu but the sultan has stopped practicing he's perfect at it now until recently the Su sultan received an annual salary from the United States government and as a senator in the Philippine legislature he gets a fat piece of change each year from England as head of the muhammadan church in Bono Spain used to pay a aer's dole for protection against Sulu Pirates this is not a whole old tenament house it's a royal residence the Palace of the Sultan of Sulu a dirty unemp ill smelling woodframe house that is where the sultan lives it might be a palace to the sultan but it's just a dump to [Music] us allow us to introduce Governor fugit executive of the province of Sulu he is the only white man who speaks mororo fluently and he knows many of the dialects used by his charges today is a busy one for governor fuget for vice Governor Hayden of the Philippines is in Hol on his annual inspection of the island Hayden's chief job on this tour is the inspection of sanitary conditions and that's a real snap since there is no sanitation in Holo while Hayden and fuga talk things over the sulan decides to put in his two cents worth so the boys get together for a [Music] conference reading from left to right superintendent of school's Chapman Vice Governor Hayden governor fugit and the Sultan of Sulu the sulan by the way speaks no English and he can neither read nor write his own language here we meet Usman a Muhammad and wise man that thing he's wearing isn't a freshman cap but a mark of Distinction for his pilgrimage to Mecca we asked if you were married and he nod nodded vigorously and held up five fingers we thought he wanted to drink of whiskey but our interpreter informed us that he meant he had five wise not bad for an old man another do to he's borrowed the sant's pistol for this picture here comes his daughter she asks him if she can have some money to buy a new Sarang but he tells her it's all sang and not the time to ask for it can't you see gal pops having his picture taken scat says the tto and he sculls over for trying to hug the camera a Polo Marketplace it looks like the natives go in for push coock pedaling all the perfumes of araby couldn't sweeten this vile smelling bizar unless you've got a great Yen for dried fish you wouldn't work up an appetite around here under any circumstances [Music] these prisoners are doing their road work not training to run away but just rebuilding the city streets all of these convicts are murderers but they'll be out of the pen soon but the maximum penalty for murder in Holo is 5 years the Sulu constabulary makes its headquarters in this fine building the barracks are the best living quarters on the island and despite the fact that Sulu is overrun with colorful plants and trees the constabulary gardens boast the OWN landscaped Garden in the entire Province it is said that these Gardens are planted with the favorite flowers of the infanta Isabella of Spain school's out and the kids are having a gay time School wouldn't matter however for there is no compulsory education although the United States has set up a school system that functions in a halfhazard fashion dependent upon whether the children want to go to school or not Muhammad and Priests spend their days at the mosque praying endlessly now The Dusk is beginning to gather this disciple of Muhammad leaves for his nearby home he is joined by other priests and hajis this is the first picture ever taken of Muhammad and Priests and wise men in Sulu and they watch the camera with wary and suspicious eyes [Music] when the late ex-president William Howard T was governor general of the Philippines he tried to establish a national unity in the islands through the medium of a national hero a George Washington of the islands Dr Jose razal depicted in this Monument was a staunch leader in the Philippine fight for independence he was executed by the Spaniards December 30th 1898 for his conspiracies and that date razal day is widely celebrated throughout the island leaving the Ral statue we traveled out of the city at the end of the Jungle we found this simple Catholic church built here to isolate its worshippers from the prying eyes and deadly swords of the morrow it is a frail building and it has been destroyed countless times during the hurricane and typhoon season each time its devoted followers hastily rebuild it and services and masses are held with no interruption the altar of this jungle church is crude and simple but the Blessed Virgin looks down from above it to watch over her faithful flock back in the city of Holo we visited the only other church on the island unlike the imposing structure in the jungle this church stands wide and strong in the Heart of the City safe for Morrow attacks because of its propinquity to the home of Governor fugit a typhoon took its toll from this edist too for it was completely demolished in 1880 a Miracles say the faithful kept the altar intact and the rebuilding was immediately begun close by the church of laveran delmen dwell two priests living in absolute seclusion within the confines of this Monastery Padre Domingo Perez from Aragon Spain he came to Holo many years ago to bring the faith of Christianity to the natives he never leaves the confines of the monastery his small Road and hem in boundary are not Freedom as we know it but Padre Perth has a greater scope and wider path to travel for his is the path of Happiness the endless Trail of the peaceful heart [Music]