Maranao

The Maranao (also written Meranaw or Maranaw) are the people of the Lake Lanao region in northern Mindanao. The name comes from lanaw or ranaw, "lake", so Maranao means "people of the lake".^[1] Marawi City is the capital of Lanao del Sur, their heartland.

People and language

The 2020 census counted about 1.8 million Maranao, which is 1.65% of the national population and 25.3% of all Muslim tribe members.^[1][2] Maranao is an Austronesian language of the Danao family. Many Maranao also speak Cebuano, Tagalog, English and Arabic.^[1]

History

Before Islam, Maranao communities were led by datu. After Islam arrived, mainly through Arab-Malay missionaries such as Sharif Kabungsuwan, they formed kingdoms ruled by sultans in the 16th century, and the Maranao were among the last Muslim groups in the south to Islamize.^[1] Spanish, American and Japanese control over their lands was largely nominal, and Amai Pakpak is remembered for resisting Spanish colonization of Lanao.^[1]

Traditional society was divided into mapiyatao (pure royal bloodline) and kasilidan (mixed blood), a division that has been fading as economic conditions change.^[1]

Culture

• Darangen: a sung epic recognized by UNESCO in 2005 as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.^[3]
• Okir: wood and metal carving motifs. The torogan is the royal house; a three-tier house system also exists for lesser nobility (mala a walay) and commoners (lawig).^[1]
• Sarimanok: a legendary bird that is a symbol of good fortune in Maranao art.^[1]
• Music and dance: kulintang gong music and the singkil, a dance drawn from a scene in the Darangen.^[1]
• Food: spicy cooking, including the palapa condiment.^[1]

Lake Lanao

Lake Lanao is the largest lake in Mindanao and the second-largest and deepest in the Philippines. The hydroelectric plants on the Agus River system supply about 70% of the electricity used in Mindanao.^[1]