[3] The Sangirese have traditionally been concentrated in the province of North Sulawesi in Indonesia and the Region of Dávao in the Philippines.

[4] Many Sangirese migrants inhabit mainland Sulawesi,[5] as well as North Maluku, including Ternate and Halmahera.

[6][7] The (Muslim) Sangil of the Philippines, who represent an early migrant group, are ethnically distinct from the (predominantly Christian) Sangirese of Indonesia,[8][9] and are considered part of the Moro.

Archaeologists have determined that the first humans that arrived in the region of islands were in the 3rd millennium BCE and probably were a mix of Veddoids and Negritos.

The Sangirese people consider themselves to have originated directly from Sangir Island and their primogenitor being Gumansalangi,[15] a cultural hero who lived around the 14th[16] to 15th century.

As Sangihe Islands were between Dutch and Spanish possessions, the local inhabitants had successfully performed the role of middleman dealers and smugglers.

Sangirese resettlements in other areas of the eastern Celebes Sea were contributed by the catastrophic volcanic eruption of Mount Awu on Sangir Island on 2 March 1856.

[22] Among Sangirese people are a class of distinguished shamans or priests that acted as mediators between the world humans and spirits, to protect patients and children, and to perform miracles.

Islam began to spread in the 15th to 16th century from the Maluku Islands and North Sulawesi;[24] but before the arrival of Europeans, they had a very limited impact.

The first Christian missionaries that arrived were the Spanish Catholic monks in the 17th century, but their activity had little long-term effects.

[26] In the Philippines, most Sangirese Muslims are of the Sunni sect due to the stronger influence of the Sultanate of Maguindanao.

[28] To protect the cultivated fruits like coconuts from thefts, residents from Sangir hung small dolls (in Sangirese language, urǒ), which, according to legend, will "pursue a thief".

Forestry production (harvesting of rattan and ebony wood), blacksmithing, and weaving were also widely spread.