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Sultan Kudarat




Sultan Kudarat is a Province of the Philippines located in the SOCCSKSARGEN Region in Mindanao . Its capital is Isulan and borders Maguindanao and Cotabato to the north, Davao Del Sur to the east, and South Cotabato to the south. To the southwest lies the Celebes Sea .


Philippine Information

  Infoboxtitle Province of Sultan Kudarat
  Sealfile
  Region SOCCSKSARGEN (Region XII)
  Capital Isulan
  Founded
  Pop2000 586,505
  Pop2000rank 42nd largest
  Popden2000 124
  Popden2000rank 21st highest
  Areakm2 4,7148
  Arearank 23rd largest
  Hucities 0
  Componentcities 1
  Municipalities 11
  Barangays 248
  Districts 1
  Languages
  Governor Datu Pax S Mangudadato



PEOPLE


As of the 2000 census, Sultan Kudarat has a total population of 586,505. The province formerly had a Muslim majority, but Christian migrants now outnumber Muslims and highlanders.

Maguindanaons live in the coastal towns of the province. Tribal groups with settlements in the province include the Iranons , Tirurays and Manobo .

The census showed that 84 dialects are spoken in the province. The most dominant language is Hiligaynon (Ilonggo), though Ilocano and Cebuano are spoken in some municipalities. Maguindanao is the local language of the Muslim population.


ECONOMY


The economy of Sultan Kudarat is predominantly agricultural. With vast agricultural potential, the output consists of practically all types of crops grown in the country, including rice, corn, beef, coffee, and vegetables. The province is self-sufficient in poultry, swine, and root crops. The province is one of the few producers of Irish Potato es in the Philippines. The southern Philippines Grain Complex in Tacurong is the largest grains-processing complex in the country. There are more than 200 ricemills in the province.

Fishing is a fast growing industry. Tuna caught along the coasts along the Celebes Sea are of high quality, and are exported to Japan and Europe .

Another significant economic activities include the Cottage Industry , which includes crafts made of Rattan and other types of wood.


GEOGRAPHY



Political


Sultan Kudarat is subdivided into 11 Municipalities and 1 City . Three of the municipalities ( Kalamansig , Lebak , and Palimbang ) are coastal towns, while the rest of the province are located inland.

Tacurong City is the smallest unit in the province in terms of land area, but it is the most urbanized, and is considered to be the province's commercial center. Other growth centers are Lebak and Isulan , the latter being the provincial capital. Bagumbayan is the largest town in terms of land area.

The 11 municipalities and Tacurong City are further subdivided into 249 Barangay s.


City




Municipalities








Physical


Sultan Kudarat is located on the southwestern part of the island of Mindanao . It is bounded on the north by the provinces of Maguindanao and Cotabato ; on the south by South Cotabato ; on the east by Davao Del Sur ; and on the west by the Celebes Sea . The province's total land area is 4783.1898 square kilometres.

The three coastal towns on the province's western side are lined with mountain ranges that wall the central part of the province from the sea. There are also mountains on the eastern side, leaving flat land in between.

The climate is characterized by a short Dry Season lasting from one to three months. Unlike most other provinces in the country, Sultan Kudarat is generally free from Typhoon s and rainfall is more evenly distributed throughout the year.


CULTURE


Sultan Kudarat is home to a fascinating culture that revolves around Kulintang music, a specific type of gong music, found among both Muslim and non-Muslim groups of the Southern Philippines. Kulintang music functions as a main community unifier, where all of the community can come to engage in events such as weddings, birthday celebrations and festivals to dignitary engagements and pilgrimages to and from Mecca . At home, such music unifies and solidifies family ties as family members take to playing after dinner. Kulintang music also plays a vital role as the accompaniment to healing dances, as a long-distance communication between members (They have the ability to use the Gandingan , also known as the ‘talking gongs,’ to communicate from far away before the invention of the telephone), and a social conduit for young people (Interactions between opposite sexes were not allowed except though such instruments).

Kulintang ensembles among those of the Southern Philippines are usually composed of five pieces of instrumentation. Among the Maguindanao, this would include: the Kulintang (strung out horizontally on a stand, serving as the main melody instrument of the ensemble), the Agung (the largest gongs of the ensemble providing much of the lower beats, either coming in a pair of two or just one alone), the Gandingan (four large vertical gongs aligned front to back, used as a secondary melodic instrument), the Dabakan (an hour-glass shaped drum covered in goat/lizard skin) and the Babendil (a singular gong used as the timekeeper of the entire ensemble).


HISTORY


The territory that is now the province of Sultan Kudarat was originally part of Cotabato Province , which was one of the largest and richest provinces in the country. During the Spanish colonial era, the land was heavily forested and left largely underdeveloped.

Because of the enormity of the province, there was a need to divide it into smaller units to ease the magnitude of responsibility on the local government. Additionally, conflicting political, social, and economic interests limited the province's progress. Cotabato was split into what is now Maguindanao , Cotabato , and Sultan Kudarat.

Sultan Kudarat was named after the Muslim leader Sultan Muhammad Dipatuan Kudarat , who reigned from 1623 to 1671. It became a separate province on November 22 , 1973 .


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