The first object sought in the search for the Genealogy of Sulu was a knowledge of those significant historical events of Sulu which antedated the Spanish discovery and conquest of the Philippine Islands, the connection which those events might have had with the earlier history of the other islands and the light that they might throw upon the subject of prehistoric Malayan immigration to the Archipelago. The tarsila (genealogies)1 of Mindanao show that events of considerable importance had occurred in the Archipelago, especially in the south, long before the Portuguese or the Spaniards reached Malaysia. Some tribes, such as the Samals, we were told, had emigrated from western Malaysia to the Sulu Archipelago and Mindanao, and indications were not wanting that probably other tribes, now inhabiting the Philippine Islands, came from the same place. Further, information was desired relative to the mohammedanization of Sulu and the possible connection that such a movement might have had with the introduction of Islam into Sumatra and Malacca.

The research so conducted was well rewarded. The history of Sulu was traced as far back as the early days of its oldest settlements, and the organization of the nation was followed back to the primitive communities out of which the Sulu nation has grown. Records of early Malayan expeditions and of communication between Sulu and Mindanao were traced to the earliest missionaries who reached these Islands by the way of Malacca, and through whom the sultanates of Mindanao and Sulu were organized on plans similar to those of Malacca and Palembang. A fuller account of the life history and work of these missionaries will be given in a later paper of this series. We here give only a narrative of the events in which they participated and the part they played in making the history of Sulu proper.

Many difficulties were encountered in the effort to secure an authentic copy of the Genealogy of Sulu. Several trips of 20 to 40 miles were made in small Moro sailing craft to visit datus who were said to have copies of this document. The Sulu authorities who had the manuscript or copies of it denied this fact from time to time, but after two years and a half of persistent endeavor and inquiry, the original manuscript was procured from the prime minister of the Sultan of Sulu, whose confidence was gained by a long period of intimate acquaintance and frequent communication. Soon after that, the Annals of Sulu (the Luntar) were obtained from the sultan and some facts of importance were learned and