Sama
Also known as Samal, Sama-Bajau (wider family)
The Sama, also called Samal, are the largest Sama-Bajau people of the Tawi-Tawi and Sulu islands. The 2020 census counted 398,666.
Sources on this group are thinner than for the largest groups. Figures are given only where a source states them, and this article will grow as more sources are added.
The Sama (also Samal) live mainly in Tawi-Tawi, the southernmost province of the Philippines.[1] The 2020 census counted 398,666 people as Sama or Samal, which is 5.6% of the national Muslim tribe total and the fourth-largest group.[2]
Language family
Sama languages are spoken across a wide area of the Sulu Sea. The Badjao, the Jama Mapun and the Yakan are separate groups whose languages and cultures are related to Sama, and Sama-Bajau is the common name for the wider family.[3]
History
Tradition places the first preaching of Islam at Simunul, in Tawi-Tawi, with the arrival of Karim ul-Makhdum around 1380.[4]
See also
References
- ↑ a b “Distribution of 13 Islamized ethnolinguistic groups”. Philippine Daily Inquirer, Opinion, 2012. Published October 20, 2012. News Retrieved 2026-10-28
- ↑ a b Philippine Statistics Authority. “About one in every four household population has Tagalog as ethnicity (2020 Census of Population and Housing)”. Philippine Statistics Authority, 2020 Census. Special release on ethnicity. Government Retrieved 2026-10-28
- ↑ ^ “Moro people”. Wikipedia. Encyclopedia Retrieved 2026-10-28
- ↑ ^ “Tausūg people”. Wikipedia. Encyclopedia Retrieved 2026-10-28