Show I I I OUt Our Only an I a M 1 Jw w n nt q A t i Y Yi 4 i b 8 do doS doy doV I y S V oY 1 a paa N NoY st SF Sultan of Sulu Is a Modern Ruler I I I I I I I I I Prepared by Society w ashington D C CW U tV W U Service HE sultan or of Sulu the only THE T orIental potentate ruling under the protection of the United States has been bereft or of all political poser po er although he still exercIses religious authority over o hIs Moro Ioro subjects In a group of rods whIch are part rt of the Philip Philippines Philippines pines The new governor or of tile the Philip Philippines Philippines pines crank decided not to appoint the sultan to the Philippine senate Although the sultan seldom tool took hIs seat the honor had been ac- ac accorded accorded corded him since the time of GOY Gov Gen DwIght F Davis In real life Ufe the sultan of Sulu is not the amusIng semi saVage that George Ade put Into comIc opera three decades ago but a decIdedly modern ruler ot of the Sulu archipelago whIch forms a series of oceanIc stepping steppingstones stones from the Philippine to British North Borneo writes George GeorgeM M Hanson former United States con consul sul suI at British North Bor Borneo neo Although he partly acl the temporal SO of the UnIt UnIted United ed States In 1890 1800 and completely so In 1915 he retaIns some of tile the glam or ascrIbed to hIm by the dramatist and remains locally a potentate to the native e Sulus or Moros He formerly maintaIned at on the southern coast of the island ot of JoIo Job a two story frame palace for himself and six smaller d for his wives Ives and retinue In 1032 a storm wrecked most of the bUildIngs Purely relIgIOus his title connotes nothing more than leadership of the Mohammedan chuich ch within the lIm lImIt limits It its of his sultanate The sultan of Brunei British Borneo the recognIzed royal roal highness In the greeter part or of the territory Is inclined to re regard hIm as a poor u who ho pays s trib tribute I ute to BruneI but ne he Is IsI Isa isa I a full fledged sultan and has author I sty of a sort over oyer perhaps small islands and that part of British North I I Borneo wIth admInistrative headquarters headquarters at I In In Borneo as else elsewhere here the But ButI ish 1511 are good colonizers They belIeve I It Is wiser to placate the Sulus on the Borneo sIde of at the Sulu sultanate than to run risk of trouble cone conse- consequently they still pay trIbute to the sultan and accord hIm military hon honors honors ors on hIs VIsits to TIc He Heis Is given a salute of at guns when he I heI comes to collect his annual trIbute and Is entertaIned for two n weeks or more by British officials at GO GOel el n meat ment house Here he recen es local native chIefs and other notables Many Wives but No Children The sultan prides es himself on beIng an AmerIcan though hIs domestic ar arrangements have hardly been of a kind sanctioned In n the United States Un Under ler the Koran he may ha hale hae e four wises 1 es at one time and sInce he be has power to dIsmIss a wife or dIvorce her by waling wa hIs royal hand the of number has not been I Irksome It is said that In his Ius day he espoused mans wives wIes He his no children however and the I or heIr apparent muda Is a Malay word meaning unrIpe Is hIs young younger I Ier I er brother Although the 1015 treaty I recognized him as the spIritual head I of the Sulu Its terms I I were such as will III eventually cause I polygamy to be abandoned Matrimony is somewhat casual I I among the Sulus and It is not un unI unI I I usual for tor girls of thirteen h c or I II I c eVen ele eleven eleen en to be claimed as brIdes I II When ben I was as United States consul at I I had an amusing e erI- erI once ence whIch impressed upon me the ther r I peculiarity of native marriage sus cus susI cusI tomb I I Shortly before the sultans sultan's VIsit t I to Borneo that year a German land landholder landholder holder whom the British had ordered out of the country for the duration of I the World war requested me to take charge ot of his rubber plantation iwar I agreed sInce It n was as then my duty to take oser o representation I of German Interests to go there on onI I each pay day and check chech the accounts but I declined to assume officIal con control control of the plantation Thus I became for a short time ma master ter of the Malay laborers pen pending appoIntment of a permanent superintendent Upon m my arrIval on the first pay payday payday day the accountant a SInghalese from Ce Ceylon lon brought to my attention a plea from Alus the house boy bov who needed an advance of 10 SIngapore currency for weddIng expenses Alus the e bride the IntermedIary explained was nas Canapa daughter of the chIef Canapa Was Too Young Canapa was as rather a little ULUe girl and it seemed to me when her moth I er presented her for Inspection much too young to be thinking of matri- matri matrimony matrimony mony I decided a little delay would do no harm Although the mother herself only twenty four argued that Canapa was long past eleven and ready to marry I announced kindly but firmI that no gIrl under twelve could be married wIthout my special consent The mother asked If the n wedding could take tahe place when the girl was twelve Not wishIng to seem over over- harsh I assented I even een offered to take tahe a photograph or of the supplIcants and to gIve them a prInt as balm for theIr dIsappointment They eagerly posed for the picture and went away seemingly well pleased On my ne next t vIsIt to the planta plantatIon plantation tIon I sent for Canapa and her moth or ar and gale ga them a print of the pho photograph photograph I had taken of them diem tn two 0 weeks earlier They seemed very ery hap happy happy py and the mother asked again agam If Canapa could be married when hen she was twelve e I SlId said yes es and told her to go ahead and prepare for the wedding Alus also asked the same question and I repe repented ted my as ur urance ance to him Canapa would be twelve at the full moon would occur so he hid learned from flom the account accountant ant on Sunday of the nc next t week Entertaining the Sultan A week after this episode the sul suI suItan sultan tan ed and recessed e official en at government gO gOC C house I could not let the British outdo me in shou showing mg hun him the courtesy due hIs post tion and Influence and I Hed him and hIs party to the con consulate consulate to tea The guests included the tho sultana the the sultans sultan's mInister and se several eral datus or chIefs I offered them cigarettes and hand handed handed ed the Ule sultan mUan a package age labeled Cg tian CIgarettes Turkish tobacco lie He ex trained the parI critically and when he saw the hieroglyphics he was delIghted EgyptIan cigarettes he said were made by the tollo followers ers of the faIthful and not by Christian Infidels I did not disturb his 1115 sublime faith though I could hale ha told him that those cIgarettes were ere made in North Carolina from tobacco grown in Ash MInor And So They Were MarrIed While I was entertaIning the sul suI suItan sultan tan at the consulate It occurred to tome tome me that Jt it would be a fine thIng to toba ba base bae e hIm perform the weddIng core cere ceremony moray mony would be an honor to Alus and Canapa and no doubt would pro proe e hIghly gratIfyIng to all alJ concerned The more I thought of the idea the better I liked It it I would have the young couple come comeback back bac with me to Sandal on Satur Saturday Saturday day and incite In the sultan to another er en tea where here be could smoke hIs fill of Turkish cIgarettes made by the r I m in North CarolIna The wed weddIng wedding dIng of Alus the to and the twelve year ear old Malay beauty Canape would foIl follow 0 The incident was all but closed When I went to the plantation the follo following ing Saturday ay the full moon that regulated Malay hlay birthdays s for the month had w perceptibly The accountant met me as usual but no smilIng Alus stood In the doorway to o greet me Where Is Alus lashed I asked He Is here no more TIe He and Cn Ca papa napa live In the little house behind the rubber factory with the gardener g and they went to today In the hope of get to see the sultan ILi ing with Canapa I muttered What Wb do you JOU means mean They were marrIed at the full fullmoon fullmoon moon a eek ago as the tuan had saId and he Is at thIs house no nomore nomore more t Married a week ago Who marrIed them W hy by you Tuna Tuan you marrIed them I marrIed them I What are you driving at It w n as the full tull moon Tuan and Canape was e And so they were ere married as the tuan had said They sleep In tile the house of the haboon n who Is Canapa's uncle Is not the tuna pleased l Then the whole thing sUddenly da dawned ned The rhe accountant n was as rIght and all my paternalistic plans for Cor gh ln the house boy hoy an and his Ius child childIsh childish Ish fiancee a wedding of regal pomp and cIrcumstance come to naught I I had married them hou e cr but none the less certain certainly lYe ly Bec Because luse of my Inexperience wIth native customs In n affairs of oC the heart I had spoken fateful n words too ton ease casu ally aUy Tile The tuan had signified his bIs con consent consent sent and had fixed the tf e a Iba that was enough |