Why the municipality is called South Ubian when it is actually located in the easternmost portion of the province of Tawi-Tawi is a mystery to many

The much older Tabawan settlement now belongs to the new municipality of South Ubian. There is no North or Central Ubian. Why the municipality is called South Ubian when it is actually located in the easternmost portion of the province of Tawi-Tawi is a mystery to many. Speaking of mystery, the island of Tabawan holds the key to the understanding of the mysterium and the fascinans of the Sama peoples. In this island rest their ancestors and the spirits that guide their destiny. The indigenous rituals widely practiced are known as “pagomboh” and “pagdiwata”. The former is a ritual related to their ancestors – a devotion to their origin, and the latter refers to the spirits or jinns – rituals of offering to please the jinns. These two rituals have become keys to the very soul of the Sama peoples who are the inhabitants of all the islands that form the Municipality of South Ubian. The more famous landmark of Tabawan is the ancient well called Boheh Dea. Boheh is the Sama word for water and Dea is the word for forest. Boheh Dea, then would mean water in the forest. There are legends around the well. The more obvious one is the fact that it is the “source of life for the Sama people. As long as the well does not run dry, the Sama peoples live! And popular belief among the old says that at the other end of the Boheh Dea is the Zamzam Well in Makka. The people remember well that by tradition and by belief, the great Zamzam Well is a gift from Allah, precisely to save the lives of Hagar and her child ‘Ismael. Bohed Dea, definitely, is one of the great wonders in the region. It is considered a real miracle to have continued supply of fresh water in a very deep well in a coral reef island. Tabawan is also the center of the mystical rituals for the Sama omboh (ancestors). They celebrate the omboh devotion twice a year. The first ritual is to appease the ancestors for the “disturbances” created in the community and family. They call this ritual as omboh jabo. The families prepare a ligu (a tray made of bamboo) containing seven plates filled with yellow rice. The local Imam (religious leader) leads the families in prayers that accompany the offering of the ligu. The other omboh rituals mark the Sama peoples’ departure and arrival – asking for the ancestors’ blessing before departure and thanksgiving on safe arrival. read more..........................