Note 45 — Letters from Father Mateo Gisbert to the Reverend Fathers and Brothers of Veruela

The Sámal are an exceedingly important element in the Sulu Archipelago. Their former locus, where the pure Sámal dialect was spoken, is in the islands between Basilan and Joló, especially Tonguil and Balanguingui. These were the very latest pirate haunts to be broken up by the Spaniards. The Sámal are now scattered along the coast of Zamboanga and nearly everywhere in the archipelago of Sulu. See Census of Philippines, i, p. 475.