Princess Hadja Tarhata Kiram

Princess Tarhata Kiram was a Moro leader. She was the niece and adopted daughter of Jamamul Kiram II, Sultan of Sulu. After being educated in Manila and the United States, she returned to Jolo and married a Moro chieftain, Datu Tahil. In 1927, they staged a brief, failed rebellion against the corruption and excessive land taxation of American-supported Filipino governmental authorities. Her father was Datu Atik Kiram. It is documented that Sayyid Capt. Kalingalan Caluang's mother, Apoh Hj. Norma, assumed the role of wet nurse for Princess Tarhata Kiram. From birth, she held the title Dayang Dayang (Princess).

Due to her position in a noble family, Kiram received scholarships to study in Manila and, eventually, abroad. Filipino and American officials in the new colonial government sought to educate certain Muslim youth into a heavily American-influenced, Christian Filipino culture. They hoped these elite children, the next generation of Moro leaders, would be able to "civilize" their Muslim brethren in the Southern islands where the former Spanish colonial masters never succeeded in exerting much control. In this way, Filipino nationalists hoped to advance the goal of unifying all the Philippine islands into one nation. Upon graduation from Normal School, through the sponsorship of Governor Frank Carpenter, the United States Bureau of Insular Affairs offered support for further post-secondary study abroad.

Kiram played with stereotypes, as well. She liked to jokingly threaten she might "run amuck," or engage in a suicidal rampage, a commonly held stereotype of Southeast Asian Muslim people. This earned her an additional nickname: "Hattie the Headhunter."

In Jolo, Kiram established a Muslim-Christian women's club whose main mission involved performing charity work. During this time, before her marriage, she also taught at a school in Jolo.

In 1926, Tarhata Kiram became the fourth wife of the much older Moro chieftain Datu Tahil, son of Datu Jokonain and veteran leader of the 1913 Battle of Bud Bagsak.

In January 1927, hundreds of Datu Tahil's followers joined Tarhata Kiram and her husband in a prolonged standoff with the Philippine Constabulary at a cotta (fort) in Patikul. Some say it was Kiram who encouraged her husband to build the fort after her efforts to secure him the governorship of Jolo failed. An American officer named Major Malone was also involved in encouraging and helping plot the rebellion. Kiram acted as sometime translator between Malone and her husband.

The New York Times reported Tahil's followers numbered over 300 and that Philippine authorities had enlisted the support of other Moro leaders and were prepared to use tear gas. The Filipinos were unwilling to attack for fear that killing Kiram may spark a revolution among the Moro people.

The Philippine officers held off on attacking until they heard Kiram had escaped, via tunnel, on January 27. When they finally raided the cotta, 35 of Tahil's followers were killed.

Upon his capture, Datu Tahil was tried for sedition and sentenced to seven years in prison. During the trial, testimony revealed that Datu Tahil was aided by an American officer, Major Malone, who had given him rifles and 600 rounds of ammunition to encourage Tahil’s plans to stage an uprising. According to Jolo Governor Moore’s testimony, the uprising began due to an altercation between Datu Tahil and Datu Uddin over who would wield more power in the region. Datu Tahil had offended Datu Uddin by divorcing Uddin’s daughter, Princess Korona, in order to take Tarhata Kiram as his fourth wife.

Post-uprising media attention Kiram met Datu Tahil in Cebu before he was sent to Bilibid prison in Manila. She, apparently, looked much aged by the ordeal. Though unclear when or how it happened, the couple divorced.

In an October 9, 1960 speech to the University of Chicago Alumni Association, Philippine Secretary of National Defense Alejo S. Santos mentioned Tarhata Kiram in his plea for help with the economic development of Sulu. Santos said:

In passing, it is fitting to mention at this juncture the magnificent efforts of a refined lady in Sulu who is obsessed with an ambition to improve the lot of the Muslim people. She is aware of the appalling conditions of poverty, ignorance, and economic stagnation which are plaguing the Sulu archipelago. She knows how neglect, indifference, apathy, and civic ineptitude have spawned and continue to provide fertile grounds for her own people to be misunderstood. At this very moment I can envision the frail and delicate frame of Princess Tarhata Kiram determinedly fighting with a stout heart her battle against so many odds.

Kiram attempted to run for the Philippine Senate in 1969, but the Nacionalista Party rejected her candidacy. The move signaled a continued lack of interest in prioritizing Filipino Muslim issues and representation.

In the mid-1970s, she was appointed member of the AFP Southwest Command (SOWESCOM) Advisory Council, and later served as consultant on Islamic affairs in the Office of the Regional Commissioner for Region IX under Rear Admiral Romulo Espaldon.

Personal life Kiram re-married twice. Her first husband was Datu Buyungan. Her second husband was Francisco Salvador, a Christian lawyer, engineer, and accountant from Dalaguete, Cebu. Her children were Puti Denchurain and Datu Agham Kiram.

She also composed music. One of her most famous songs was "Jolo Farewell."

Death and posthumous honors

Princess Tarhata Kiram died of heart failure on May 23, 1979 at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Quezon City.

In 1984, the National Historical Institute erected a marker in her hometown, Jolo, to honor Kiram’s lifelong dedication to fighting for the interests of Muslim Filipinos. In the same year, the Philippine government printed her portrait on the 3 peso stamp.