The Word Yakan denotes "Dayak origin". Various Yakan folk stories indicate that Yakans are descendants of both migrating Dayak from Northeast Borneo and Sama from Johore a long time ago.
Some Yakans today identify themselves as Sama-Yakan thus acknowledging their Sama and Dayak origin. The prominent person of each community of Yakan is the Imam who combines birth religion and socio-political leadership.
The Yakan are mostly found in the Interior of Basilan Island. They speak a dialect of Sama language (Sinama or Siama) and are culturally influenced in some respect of Tausog. They are land bound agricultural, cultivating upland rice, corn and other crops. They do not normally live in compact in village but their houses just out of sight of each other, scattered among their plots of farmland.

Source: Group Research

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