The Road to Taluksangay

Taluksangay is the oldest Muslim settlement in Zamboanga and in Mindanao island. It is featured in the Lonely Planet travel guide and other documentaries and is famous for the oldest mosque in the island. Located about thirty minutes to the east of Zamboanga city, one gets instantly awed by the series of views that follows upon crossing the bridge. The mosque with gold overlain minarets is the center of the settlement. It is constructed on the bank of the mouth of a river that opens into the sea. Houses are built around the mosque and from the minarets, one can get a glimpse of everyday life in the area.






Everyday life in Taluksangay involves the community. The western sense of privacy is nonexistent. As one steps into the plank that leads into the rows of houses, a large area in the center is occupied by women huddled in fours and fives playing cards while attending to their children. There were rice, cassava delicacies and vegetables were lay on the floor for sale. The inhabitants travel mindlessly over the wooden paths unmindful of the gaps. Children walk without fear of falling into the water. The men are in their boats fishing or gathering seaweed.




Houses are built on stilts above the water. They are built adjacent to one another for strength. There are no latrines and running water from faucets. The residents transport fresh water in huge containers from nearby wells on boats. There are no rooms inside the house instead the huge open space is a living area in the morning a dining room during meals and a bedrooom at night. Boats are parked like cars hitched on posts along the wooden walking paths.



Fishing is gradually being replaced as a source of livelihood in the area. Zamboanga provides one-third of the world supply of seaweed which is used as food additives and binders for medicines and other products. Rows and rows of seaweed are laid out to dry on the road. From fresh greens to slimy black to dry whitish yellow varieties. Grown-ups to children as young as five help in the initial processing of seaweed.




A trip to Taluksngay is a worthwhile experience for any traveller interested in the history and culture of Mindanao. It presents facets of community life as it was in the original settlement. Faces, ways and clothes may have changed but the essence of community and bonds of kinship remain.