Sulu Archipelago

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Sulu Archipelago Native name: Sulu
Map of the Philippines; the bottom left shows the location of the Visayas
Geography
Location	South East Asia
Archipelago	Philippines
Major islands	Basilan, Jolo
Area	4,068 km
Administration
Philippines
Provinces	Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi
Largest city	Jolo
Demographics
Population	1.3 million (as of 2005)
Density	313/km²
Indigenous people	Moro (Banguingui, Samal, Tausug, Yakan), Bajau

Sulu Archipelago is an island chain in the southwest Philippines. It is considered to be part of Moroland by the local independence movement. With the centers in Maimbung and Jolo, the whole of this archipelago, Palawan and coastal regions of the Zamboanga Peninsula and North Borneo used to be part of the thalassocratic Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo. It is home to the indigenous Tausug, various Samal (Sama) groups, including the semi-nomadic Badjaw, land-based Sama, the closely related Yakan, and Jama Mapun peoples. The Tausug language is spoken widely as both a first and second language throughout the archipelago. The Yakan language is spoken mainly in Basilan Island. Numerous dialects of Sinama are spoken throughout the archipelago, from the Tawi-Tawi Island group, to the Mapun island group (Mapun), to the coast of Mindanao and beyond.

The island chain is one of two partial land bridges to Borneo and is an important migration route for birds. Excavations in Bolobok Cave (Sanga-Sanga Island, Tawi-Tawi Province) shows human settlement around 2,000 years before the birth of Christ. So far, it is a definitive source of the beginning of artistic development in the country.