Sangir
Sangir
The Sangir (Sangirezen, Talaoerezen) are the indigenous inhabitants of the Sangihe (Sangir) and Taluad island chains located between southern Mindanao and northern Celebes. They speak Sangir, sometimes referred to as Sangil, Sangihé, or Sangirese, an Austronesian language. In 1987 the entire population, including those along the southern coast of Mindanao in the Philippines, numbered about 205,000. Those living in Indonesia have been subject to both Muslim and Christian influences for centuries; they are now mostly Christian and are being assimilated into the national economic and political system.
The Sangir are sometimes confused with the Sangil, a group of about 4,000 who live on islands off the southern coast of Mindanao. The Sangil are a contemporary population of Philippine Muslims descended from Sangir who migrated to Mindanao in the seventeenth century or perhaps earlier. They are seen as a group now distinct from the Sangir and as Filipinos rather than Indonesians.
Bibliography
Gowing, Peter G. (1975). "The Growing List of Filipino Muslim Groups." Dansalan Research Center Reports 2:5-6.