The name Tausug is derived from two words: tau meaning man and sug or suluk meaning current thus making Tausug as people of the current.

The Bay sug or the house of the tausug si usually a one-room partitionless structure. The nine posts of the tausug home correspond to varius parts of the human anatomy: The center post, the pipul (navel); the southeast and southwest corners, the pigi(hip); the northeast and northwest corners, the agata (shoulder); the eastern and western sides of the center post , the gusuk (ribs); the north post, the liug (neck); and the south post, the hita (groin). All the eight noncenter posts support the roof, which is given form by the ridge beam and is made from sari, nipa, sago palm, or plaud(coconut palms from the marang tree.) The sungan is a roof style, which is ventilated by a hole formed by having only two slopes meeting at the apex. 17.They decorate the bilik (room) with a large luhul or rectangular cloth to catch leaves, dust, and pests. Usually on flatland, the house is entered through sala (porch), a roofless platform attached to the sides of the structure. the porch serves as a welcoming area for visitors Sometimes the porch has railings of bamboo and wood. On the front porch is a long high bench comfortable enough for resting on especially during warm weather. Here older people gather to smoke or chew their tobacco and buyo. Structural: sleeping area or the bilik is the only room in the house proper and is supported by 9 posts while the porch and the kusina are supported by separate posts posts are made of heavy timber or bamboo Except for the center post, all posts rise up to the roof Wooden floor beams or hanglad attached to the posts together with other smaller beams support the floor joists Beams and girders are joined together either by joints or by tying both members with hijuk vines or lagtang and haun vines Walls are made of split bamboo or woven coconut palms wall does not reach up to the roof. An opening of about 0.45 meters is provided for ventilation PRE-SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF MINDANAO 41. Tausug House of Mindanao PRE-SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF MINDANAO