Abstract
Two dislocations or displacements are at the crux of this paper. In the first instance, the aim is to trace the process of the formation of the Samal Balangingi as an ethnic group comprised of 'pirates' and their captives, and their continued sense of belonging to the island stronghold of Balangingi. The second is to explore the reverse physical separation from place through the involuntary relocation and attempted assimilation that occurred when the inhabitants of Balangingi Island were forcefully resettled in the Cagayan Valley on the island of Luzon by the Spaniards in the decade between 1848 and 1858.