Ringkasnya saya orang Irranun asal Kota Belud,Sabah. Orang Irranun atau Illanun atau Illanon etc adalah bangsa besar dan punya kuasa laut yang gagah selama lebih kurang 100 tahun.Dalam tempoh antara 1700 hingga 1800 atau lebih orang Irranun menguasai Asia Tenggara.Selain sebagai pelaut yang perkasa,orang Irranun juga menjadi askar upahan dan pedagang kelautan serta hamba yang paling disegani dan digeruni di Asia Tenggara hatta sampai ke Laut Andaman. Saya bukannya bangga kerana mempunyai nenek moyang pedagang hamba dan askar upahan tetapi bayangkan pada zaman itu bilamana bangsa lain masih lemah dan menjadi hamba abdi, bangsa saya sudah menjadi terlalu kuat. Langit tidak selalu cerah.Bangsa Irranun yang dulunya kuat semakin lemah apabila penjajah Sepanyol,Inggeris dan Belanda menguasai Asia Tengara dengan senjata yang canggih.Lama kelamaan orang Irranun bertebaran di Asia Tenggara dan akhirnya membuat penempatan di Sabah khususnya di Kota Belud, Kudat,Lahad Datu dan Kota Kinabalu selain di Pulau Mindanao terutama Kawasan Lanao de Sur.
Beberapa Pendapat Sejarahwan Mengenai Irranun
* Hamilton ed. 1998 p64 (Roy W. Hamilton, "From the Rainbow's Varied Hue: Textile Style Regions of Mindanao and Sulu" p14-101)
"The term Iranun (also Ilanun or other variants) is one of the most confusing group names in the southern Philippines. The only facts commonly agreed on are that the shores of Illana Bay constitute the Iranun homeland and that the Iranun are very closely related to the Maranao, who live inland around the shores of Lake Lanao. In the eighteenth century the Iranun were among the most feared raiders in the Sulu Sea region, and like the term 'Moro,' their name came to be applied indiscriminately to any and all Muslim populations. As a seafaring group, they did indeed cover large expanses of territory, and an Iranun population now established in Sabah (northern Borneo) is recognized as an offshoot of the Mindanao Iranun.
"[...] While some authors have maintained that the Iranun are Maranao who descended to the sea, others have it the other way around, claiming that the Maranao are Iranun who moved inland to settle the lake region. If none of these differentiations existed before 1500 C.E., it seems more likely that each group developed its distinctive dialect and cultural characteristics in situ out of a nondifferentiated protopopulation once thinly established throughout the region."
* McKenna 1998 p31
"[...] For at least 150 years prior to the inception of American colonial rule at the turn of the century, they specialized as seagoing marauders. The Iranun raided throughout island Southeast Asia, from the Celebes in the south to Luzon in the north and as far west as the Straits of Malacca, attacking merchant shipping and coastal settlements in search of slaves and plunder."
* Warren 2002 p53-54
"The Iranun burst quite suddenly into Southeast Asian history in the second half of the eighteenth century with a series of terrifying raids and attacks on the coasts and shipping of the Philippines, the straits of Malacca and the islands beyond Sulawesi. Their primary targets were unprotected coastal settlements and sailing boats that travelled throughout Southeast Asia bringing valuable commodities from China and the West back to the most remote parts of the archipelago. Many of these marauders were sponsored by rulers from the trading states of Cotabato, Sulu, Siak, and Sambas. They were soon described as 'Lanun' or 'Illanoon'—'pirates'—by those who suffered their depradations or either travelled with or hunted them and wrote about their widespread impact on the Southeast Asian world.
"It is estimated that during the last quarter of this century (1774–1798) of maritime raiding and conflict against the Dutch and Spanish, between 100 and 200 seaworthy raiding prahus set out from the Mindanao-Sulu area each year. The sheer size of the vessels—the largest joanga measuring upward of 130 feet in length—and the scale of the expeditions dwarfed most previous efforts, marking a significant departure in the naval strategy of Malay maritime raiding as it had been traditionally understood. The Iranun were far more than mere 'pirates' or brigands. The colonial powers and precolonial Malay trading states had to reckon with a dominant force in their own right; a force that was capable of inflicting major defeats on the Spanish and Dutch and toppling local kingdoms. The huge numbers of these skilled sea raiders and slavers that the sultanate of Sulu could mobilize during the heyday of the China trade would henceforth have a profound impact upon Southeast Asia's history."
* McKenna 1998 p74-75
"A key element in the maritime orientation of the Magindanao Sultanate was its relationship with the Iranun populations that resided within its territory. European accounts beginning in the mid-eighteenth century identify the Iranun as specialized maritime raiders who channeled large amounts of externally acquired wealth -- in the form of slaves, plunder, and occasionally external tribute -- back into the sultanate. Swift Iranun warships set out south from Ilana Bay to harry coastal villages, merchant vessels, and Dutch settlements in Sulawesi (the Celebes) and Maluku (the Moluccas). Larger Iranun raids were directed against Spanish territories in the Philippines. The coastal towns of southern Luzon and the Visayas were the victims of persistent, large-scale attacks from 'Moro' sea raiders. Captives were sold externally, usually to Bugis or Brunei slave traders, or internally along the Pulangi River. Spaniards or other prominent captives were usually allowed to redeem themselves by ransom immediately after their seizure.
"The Iranun occupied an important niche in the socioeconomic system of the precolonial Cotabato Basin. They formed autonomous coastal communities headed by datus or petty sultans. Although living in close proximity to the Magindanao Sultanate and often aligned with it, the Iranun were never incorporated into the sultanate as subjects, and they assiduously guarded their political independence. When allied with the downriver sultan, the Iranun provided him with very significant economic and political support. The internal circulation of the wealth seized externally by Iranun raiders was also a vital component of the economic prosperity of the Magindanao Sultanate."
* Konstam 1999 p178-179
"Of all the pirate groups in the Indonesian archipelago, the most feared were the Ilanun pirates of the Philippines and the Balanini pirates of Sulu, northeast of Borneo. The Ilanun pirates not only plagued the waters of the Philippines but also raided far out into the South China Sea. Early observers, including the buccaneer William Dampier, described the Ilanun people as being peaceable, so their reliance on piracy must have developed during the 18th century. ...
"Ilanun raids were often designed to gather slaves, which were then traded in the markets of Sumatra and Java. These large-scale raids were augmented by attacks on Spanish shipping around Manila, and the occasional foray against passing Dutch and British shipping. Like many Indonesian pirates, they used prahus, shallow-drafted canoes rowed by slaves.
"The Balanini pirates were based on the island of Jolo and, like the Ilanun pirates, they were well placed to engage in slave raiding and attacks on Spanish vessels around the Philippines. Their preferred craft was the corocoro, a fast-sailing vessel fitted with outriggers that could be powered by sail or oar. Corocoros could displace as much as 100 tons (91 tonnes) and carry as many as 60 pirates, although most were smaller."
* Warren 2002 p146
"The Samal Balangingi, who, as late as 1838, were often mistakenly confused with the Iranun, were a highly-organized, extremely expert slave raiding group, regional in scope, with significant resources in ships, munitions, capital, especially slaves, and contacts. The Balangingi Samal lived, along with Iranun and other Samal-speaking groups, in a dozen or more villages and fortified settlements scattered along the southern Mindanao coast, the southern shore of Basilan, and on the islands of the Samalese cluster of which Balangingi was dominant. As Sulu's trade with China and the West expanded at the end of the eighteenth century. Tausog datus increasingly retained neighboring groups of Samal seafarers as slave raiders. From Balangingi and related settlements on other islands, Samal-speakers voyaged great distances; they swept the coasts from Luzon to Brunei and from Singapore to Menado, capturing slaves. ... From that period [late 1830s] the ethnic label, 'Balangingi,' began to supersede 'Illanun' in the European literature as synonymous with 'pirate.' The Balangingi Samal seem to have acquired ethnic distinction as 'notorious pirates' only because they specialized in maritime slave raiding and incorporated an incredible number of non-Samal peoples into their society."
* Warren 2002 p56
"In the second half of the eighteenth century many Philippine ports, towns, shipyards, and monasteries were not adequately defended while others were totally defenseless. From the mid-1750s onward, the scale, ferocity and unexpected nature of the initial wave of Iranun attacks were deeply disturbing. Thousands of Filipinos perished or were seized as captives; the more so as the Iranun were Muslims and recognized none of the accepted conventions and taboos that were meant to protect the property and personnel of the Catholic Church in times of war between Christians.... This terrifying period of Iranun slave raiding activity, which lasted more than 70 years from roughly 1752 to 1832, severely hampered the overall social and material well-being and growth of the Philippine island world and the colonial state."
* Singapore and Malaysia 1996 p310
"In the Sulu Sea, memories of [Ilanun] piracy are still fresh. When early European traders came to this region, they found the major rivers uninhabited as far as 40 miles from the coast. Riverside farmers, tired of having each year's harvest robbed from them by force of arms, fled into the more inaccessible highlands."
* Wallace 1890 p261 (describing Batchian, Ternate)
"Whenever I asked the reason why no one goes to live in them [coastal huts], the answer always was, 'For fear of the Magindano pirates.' [NOTE: probably referring to the Iranun pirates' erstwhile association with Magindanao; see McKenna 1998 p74-75 above.] Every year these scourges of the Archipelago wander in one direction or another, making their rendezvous on some uninhabited island, and carrying devastation to all the small settlements around; robbing, destroying, killing, or taking captive all they meet with. Their long well-manned praus escape from the pursuit of any sailing vessel by pulling away right in the wind's eye, and the warning smoke of a steamer generally enables them to hide in some shallow bay, or narrow river, or forest-covered inlet, till the danger is passed. The only effectual way to put a stop to their depredations would be to attack them in their strongholds and villages, and compel them to give up piracy, and submit to strict surveillance. Sir James Brooke did this with the pirates of the north-west coast of Borneo, and deserves the thanks of the whole population of the Archipelago for having rid them of half their enemies."
Chopper
* Demetrio 1991 v2 p596 (quoting Majul 1978 p1169)
"Tabas Sword Used for Beheading. 'Tabas is a heavy curved sword for beheading with a blade that broadens at the distal end. The double-grip handle is curved and long, serving as counterweight to the long and heavy blade. The tabas is normally unornamented. Found among all the Muslims, it is used for executions. Among the Iranun it was used in battle. It was expedient in dispatching wounded enemies by warriors who were specially designated for this task.'"
Sword
* Warren 2002 p172
"The Iranun marines, sometimes including tribal headhunters among their numbers, took no part in sailing the ship, and were there simply to fight and engage the enemy vessel. They were expected to do so with unwavering courage and tenacity of purpose, attacking with grappling poles, boarding lances, muskets and the dreaded kampilan, a scimitar-like sword."
* Wiley 1996 p119
"The kampilan is a sword of approximately 44 inches in length. It has a carved hilt, a fork-shaped pommel, and a guard which stylized the cavernous jaws of a crocodile. Kampilan are generally decorated with either red- or black-dyed tufts of hair. The blade is long and straight with a single edge which widens into a dual-point."
* Evangelista 1995 p88
"CAMPILAN. A Malayan sword, originally the weapon of the Dyaks of Borneo. It has a long, straight, single-edged blade (average length: twenty-eight inches), wider at the point than at the hilt. The grip is carved from wood. The weapon is often decorated with tufts of goat hair.
"The scabbard of the campilan was fashioned of two separate pieces of wood so that when a single lashing was cut, it would fall away from the sword, making it unnecessary to draw the blade." [See Macaraeg 2009 Pirates below.] [citations omitted]
* Macaraeg 2009 Pirates p47
"At this point we should pause to mention a claim attached to kampilans that is certainly false: That their scabbards were bound with thin lashing to enable a faster draw because the blade would simply cut through the lashing. A moment's critical reflection reveals that one would still need to apply pressure to the lashings in a direction away from one's intended target, which would retard rather than quicken a draw. Further, such pressure would need to be applied against a resisting force, and we have no evidence that kampilans were suspended by straps or baldrics (and then, whouldn't the sword need to cut through those too?). We observe from Japanese iaijutsu that the fastest and most effective way to attack on the draw is simply to unsheathe the blade according to technique specific to that purpose." [citations omitted]
* Demetrio 1991 v2 p591-592 (quoting Majul 1978 p1169)
"Kampilan Favorite Of The Maranao.
The kampilan has a long blade that widens to a truncated distal end. It is heavy and single-edged. Kampilan is a cutting weapon used by Iranun, Magindanao and Maranao warriors. It is especially favored by the latter. It usually has a huge guard and its handle is often ornamented. The kampilan has a spikelet at the distal end of the blade. Its ornamentation, like horsehair at the sides of the handle, etc. denotes rank."
* Cato 1996 p32
"Kampilans were ... used in the [Maranao] ritual which drew protective spirits from the mountains. These entities were invoked to protect the lives and crops of the people."
* Warren 2002 p283
"The kampilan, in the minds of hapless European sailors, was a weapon that represented the ferocity of the Iranun warrior himself. The blade was razor sharp and resilient. In the hands of an Iranun warrior launching a boarding raid on a European ship it had only one purpose -- to kill the enemy. In the confined space of the ship's deck it was an ideal weapon. The vanguard of warriors with kampilan and kris went eye to eye at the crew of a merchantman prone to fight back. They slit their throats to frighten them into submission."
Cutlasses
* Draeger & Smith 1969 p186
"Bladed weapons abound, especially in Moroland, in the Sulu Archipelago. Each weapon is not necessarily accompanied by an organized system of fighting skills but rather is used to suit individual tastes and requirements. Common Moro knife weapons include: the gunong, kalis, barong, kampilan, laring, gayang, banjal, punal, pira, utak, panabas, bangkcon, and the lahot. ... The bladed-weapon was the core weapon; the kris, bolo, and the balaraw (a dagger-bladed knife), the standard types."
Danangan Kris
* Cato 1996 p83-84
"The largest danganan krises (and sometimes kampilans) were carried on retainers' shoulders in processions when, for instance, a sultan or datu paid a call on another important Moro personage. (This custom is also observed by some of the tribes in Java and other regions of the Malay world.) The purpose of these huge danganans was to express the awesome power and prestige of the owner."
* Ghiringhelli 2007 p44
"This keris has an exceptionally big size in consideration of its function of representing the Sultan during ceremonies and public processions in case he couldn't attend them. The keris was sent by the Sultan himself in his stead."
Guns
* Warren 2002 p
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