Identity and claiming the national slot: The Bangsamoro discourse in Mindanao (Alex de Jong) Introduction Struggles over the control of territory and resources are accompanied by competition between the discourses that accompany and form part of this control, legitimizing or challenging it. This essay will look at a case of contested land-control and the use of a discourse in challenging state-power, legitimizing rebellion and counter-claims to resources. The case will be the conflict in the southern part region of the Philippines, Mindanao, and the nationalist discourse used by Muslim separatist groups and sympathizers. Philippine Muslims are called 'Moro', a name given to them by the Spanish colonialists. 1 The name for the nation Moro nationalists claim to be part of is 'Bangsamoro' – Bangsa being the term for a descent group associated with a particular locality. 2 The essay examines central elements of the 'Bangsamoro discourse' and consider possible answers to the question why this discourse has become as influential as it is, gaining considerable influence in the Philippine political and academic field. Although the discourse originated from separatist movements in Mindanao, it has been adopted by parties as varied as university professors, Non- Governmental Organization activists and even in part by representatives of the government. 3 Approach and focus The approach of this essay is influenced by the essays by Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing and Tania Murray Li. 4 Both scholars examine discourses from a broadly Foucauldian perspective. Tsing asks the question how a 'globally circulating social category' becomes meaningful in a particular context. 5 The category in question is that of tribal elders. She concludes that certain concepts of 1 Compare the Dutch word 'Moor'. 2 Thomas McKenna, Muslim rulers and rebels. Everyday politics and armed separatism in the Southern Philippines (Pasig City 2002) 47. 3 In 2008, government representatives and of one of the insurgent groups almost reached an agreement on forming a 'Bangsamoro Juridical Entity'. For an example of the adoption of the Bangsamoro discourse by Philippine NGO activists, see: Kristina Gaerlan and Mara Stankovitch ed., Rebels, warlords and ulama. A reader on Muslim separatism and the war in the Southern Philippines (Quezon City 2010). Examples of the adoption of the Bangsamoro discourse by Philippine academics are: Rudy B. Rodil, 'Sharing/analysis on the Bangsamoro issue' in: Alvaro 'Al' O. Senturias Jr., Insights on the referendum, ancestral domain and the right to self-determination (Cotabato 2006) 62-74 and Abhoud Syed M. Lingga, 'Understanding Bangsamoro right to self-determination' in Abhoud Syed M. Linnga, Alvaro O. Senturias and Soliman M. Santos Jr., Referendum on political options for the Bangsamoro: study papers on the legal and historical basis (Cotabato City 2010) 1-15. 4 Anna L. Tsing, 'Becoming a Tribal Elder, and Other Green Development Fantasies' in: Tania M. Li ed., Transforming the Indonesian Uplands: Marginality, Power and Production (Amsterdam 1999) 159-202. Tania Murray Li, 'Articulating Indigenous Identity in Indonesia: Resource Politics and the Tribal Slot.' Comparative Studies in Society and History 42 (2000) 149-179. 5 Tsing, 'Becoming a Tribal Elder' 159.