Malay Letters from Mindanao and Sulu from the Early Eighteenth Century

Abstract

This article introduces nine letters in Malay in Jawi script from Mindanao and Sulu, dating from 1703 to 1721. Held in the Archivo General de Indias in Seville, these are the oldest known Malay documents from the Philippines. The two earliest letters are from Sultan Jalaluddin of Maguindanao and Sultan Syahabuddin of Sulu to the Spanish governor in Manila, Domingo de Zabálburu, and concern the killing of Sultan Kaharuddin Kuday of Maguindanao in 1702. The later letters are from Maulana Jafar Sadik Syah, contender sultan of Maguindanao in Tamontaka, to Gov. Sebastián de Amorena in Zamboanga.

KEYWORDS: MINDANAO • MAGUINDANAO • SULU • MALAY LETTERS • ZAMBOANGA