About the year 1400 something happened which changed the beliefs and
customs of many of the tribes of the southern Philippines and made
of them a powerful and dreaded people.
It was about this time that Arabian traders and missionaries began
to establish themselves in the Islands, and soon these were followed
by hordes of Mohammedan converts from the islands to the south. Among
the newcomers were men who became powerful rulers, and they, in time,
brought together many of the settlements which formerly had been
hostile to each other and united them under the faith of Islam. Those
who accepted the new faith adopted the dress and many of the customs
of their teachers and came to be known as Moro.
With the possession of firearms, which were introduced by the
newcomers, the Moro grew very daring and were greatly feared by the
other natives. And soon they began to make long trips on the sea
to the north and south, carrying on trade and making many surprise
attacks for loot and slaves.
At the time the Spaniards discovered the Philippines, the Moro
were a terror to the other inhabitants, and they continued to be so
until very recent years. They became ferocious pirates infesting the
southern seas and preying upon the rich trade which the Spaniards
carried on with Mexico. Stone walls and watch towers were built at
advantageous points to guard against them, but bays and creeks which
afforded opportunities for lurking, surprise, and attack continued
to be frequented by the treacherous warriors.
Since American occupation the waters have been made practically
free from their ravages, but on land they have continued to give
trouble. The greater part of the Moro now live in the Sulu Archipelago
and on the Island of Mindanao. They range in degree of civilization
from sea "gypsies," who wander from place to place, living for months
in their rude outrigger boats, to settled communities which live by
fishing and farming, and even by manufacturing some cloth, brass, and
steel. Their villages are near the coast, along rivers, or about the
shores of the interior lakes, the houses being raised high on poles
near or over the water, for they live largely on food from the sea.
Their folk-lore, as will be seen from the following tales, shows
decided influence from Arabia and India, which has filtered in through
the islands to the south. [140]