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The Tagalog ''maginoo'', the Kapampangan ''ginu'', and the
Visayan Visayans ( Visayan: ''mga Bisaya''; ) or Visayan people are a Philippine ethnolinguistic group or metaethnicity native to the Visayas, the southernmost islands of Luzon and a significant portion of Mindanao. When taken as a single ethnic group, ...
''tumao'' were the nobility social class among various cultures of the pre-colonial
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
. Among the Visayans, the ''tumao'' were further distinguished from the immediate royal families, the ''kadatuan''.


Overview


Tagalog

The Tagalogs had a three-class social structure consisting of the ''maginoo'' (royalty), the ''
maharlika The ''Maharlika'' (meaning freeman or freedman) were the feudal warrior class in ancient Tagalog society in Luzon, the Philippines. They belonged to the lower nobility class similar to the ''Timawa'' of the Visayan people. In modern Filipino, h ...
'' (''lit.'' freemen; warrior nobility), and the ''
alipin The ''alipin'' refers to the lowest social class among the various cultures of the Philippines before the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th and 17th centuries. In the Visayan languages, the equivalent social classes were known as the ''oripun'' ...
'' (
serf Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which develop ...
s and slaves). Only those who could claim royal descent were included in the ''maginoo'' class. Their prominence depended on the fame of their ancestors (''bansag'') or their wealth and bravery in battle (''lingas''). Generally, the closer a ''maginoo'' lineage was to the royal founder (''puno'') of a lineage (''lalad''), the higher their status. Members of the ''maginoo'' class were referred to as ''Ginoo''. Proper names of the ''maginoo'' nobles were preceded by '' Gat'' (short for " pamagat" or "pamegat", originally meaning "lord" or "master", though it means "
title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...
" in modern Tagalog) for men and '' Dayang'' (lady) for women, denoting
Lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or ar ...
and
Lady The word ''lady'' is a term for a girl or woman, with various connotations. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the equivalent of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. Inform ...
respectively. The title ''Panginoon'' was reserved for particularly powerful ''maginoo'' who ruled over a large number of dependents and slaves, owned extensive property, and whose lineage was impeccable. Lower-status ''maginoo'' who gained prominence by newly acquired wealth were scornfully known as ''maygintawo'' (literally "person with a lot of gold"; ''
nouveau riche ''Nouveau riche'' (; ) is a term used, usually in a derogatory way, to describe those whose wealth has been acquired within their own generation, rather than by familial inheritance. The equivalent English term is the "new rich" or "new money" ...
''). In ''Vocabulario de la lengua Tagala'' (1613), the Spanish Franciscan missionary Pedro de San Buenaventura compared the ''maygintawo'' to "dark knights" who gain their status by gold and not by lineage. The Tagalog ''datu'' were ''maginoo'' who ruled over a community (a ''dulohan'' or ''barangay'', literally "corner" and "
balangay A Balangay, or barangay is a type of lashed-lug boat built by joining planks edge-to-edge using pins, dowels, and fiber lashings. They are found throughout the Philippines and were used largely as trading ships up until the colonial era. The ...
boat" respectively) or had a large enough following. These ''datu'' either ruled over a single community (a ''pook'') or were part of a larger settlement (a ''bayan'', "city-state"). They constituted a council (''lipon'', ''lupon'', or ''pulong'') and answered to a sovereign ruler, referred to as the ''
lakan In early Philippine history, the rank of ''lakan'' denoted a " paramount ruler" (or more specifically, "''paramount datu''") of one of the large coastal barangays (known as a "bayan") on the central and southern regions of the island of Luzon. ...
'' (or the
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the la ...
title ''raja'', "king"). After the Spanish conquest, these ''datu'' were given the Spanish title of
Don Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia * Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name * Don, Benin, a town in Benin * Don, Dang, a v ...
and were treated as local chiefs.


Visayas

In
Visayas The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands ( Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; tl, Kabisayaan ), are one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Luzon and Mindanao. Located in the central part of the archipelago, ...
, the Visayans utilized a three-class social structure consisting of the ''
oripun The ''alipin'' refers to the lowest social class among the various cultures of the Philippines before the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th and 17th centuries. In the Visayan languages, the equivalent social classes were known as the ''oripun'' ...
'' (commoners,
serf Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which develop ...
s, and slaves), the ''
timawa The ''Timawa'' were the feudal warrior class of the ancient Visayan societies of the Philippines. They were regarded as higher than the '' uripon'' (commoners, serfs, and slaves) but below the ''Tumao'' (royal nobility) in the Visayan social hi ...
'' (warrior nobility), and at the top, the ''tumao'' (nobility). The ''tumao'' consisted of blood relatives of the ''
datu ''Datu'' is a title which denotes the rulers (variously described in historical accounts as chiefs, sovereign princes, and monarchs) of numerous indigenous peoples throughout the Philippine archipelago. The title is still used today, especia ...
'' (community leader) untainted by slavery, servitude, or witchcraft. They were usually descendants of the children of a ''datu'' and secondary wives known as ''sandil''. Various ''tumao'' supporters of the ''datu'' are collectively referred to as ''sandig sa datu'' ("beside the datu"). The ''tumao'' were also usually employed in the court of the ''datu'' in various positions (though these may sometimes be filled with ''timawa'' as well). The chief minister or privy counselor of the ''datu'' was known as the ''atubang sa datu'' (literally "facing the ''datu''"). The steward who collected and recorded tributes and taxes and dispensed them among the household and dependents of the ''datu'' was known as the ''paragahin''. The ''paragahin'' was also responsible for organizing public feasts and communal work. The ''bilanggo'' was the one responsible for maintaining law and order and whose own house served as the community jail (''bilanggowan''). Both ''tumao'' and ''timawa'' were obligated to serve as the military forces of the ''datu'' in times of war, at their own expense. The immediate royal family of the Visayan ''datu'' were distinguished from the rest of the ''tumao'' as the ''kadatoan'', which was both a political office and a social class. The purity of the lineage of the ''kadatoan'' was extremely important in claiming the right to rule, thus the ''kadatoan'' usually only married members of other royal families. The sons and daughters of the ''datu'' by his first wife were zealously guarded from the rest of the community. The princesses were known as ''
binokot Binukot, also spelled Binokot, is a pre-colonial Visayan tradition from the Philippines that secludes a young woman with the expectation that seclusion will result in a higher value placed on the girl by marital suitors in the future. It originall ...
'' or ''binukot'' (literally "the veiled ones" or "the wrapped ones"), due to the fact that they were usually transported by slaves in covered
palanquin The litter is a class of wheelless vehicles, a type of human-powered transport, for the transport of people. Smaller litters may take the form of open chairs or beds carried by two or more carriers, some being enclosed for protection from the el ...
s. Women of the ''kadatoan'' class were powerful and revered. The first wife of the ''datu'' and the ''binokot'' could command the same number of slaves and dependents. A ''datu'' who gained his status by marrying a princess is known as a ''sabali''. A ''datu'' who is of pure royal lineage is known as ''potli'' or ''lubus nga datu'', while a datu whose four grandparents are all of pure royal descent are known as ''kalibutan'' ("all around"). The ''datu'' served as leaders and judges. Their proclamations (''mantala'') were delivered to the general populace by an ''oripun'' serving as the town herald (the ''paratawag''). They received tributes, taxes, and gifts from their subjects, among them were the ''himuka'' (gifts from ''timawa'' for permission to marry), ''bawbaw'' (gifts from the winning parties in a dispute settled by the ruling of the ''datu''), and ''hikun'' (the greater share of property being redistributed). They had control of trade through ''honos'' (fee for anchoring a ship in the community harbor), ''bihit'' (tariffs), and ''lopig'' (discounts on local purchases). They also had the power to restrict access to communal property through decrees (''balwang'') and their crops and animals were distributed among his subjects to care for in a practice known as ''takay''. The ''datu'', however, were far from being a leisured aristocracy. They were often skilled craftsmen, hunters, blacksmiths, fishermen, and warriors in their own right, and their household produced the best commodities for trade. Visayan ''datu'' were loosely bound to each other in a
federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-gover ...
(a
chiefdom A chiefdom is a form of hierarchical political organization in non-industrial societies usually based on kinship, and in which formal leadership is monopolized by the legitimate senior members of select families or 'houses'. These elites form a ...
). Members of a chiefdom had a leading ''datu'' who had authority over other ''datu'', usually simply referred to as the ''pangulo'' ("head" or "ruler"), ''kaponoan'' ("most sovereign", from the Visayan word for "root" or "origin", ''puno''), or ''makaporos nga datu'' (unifying chief). The ''pangulo'' of seaports with frequent foreign traffic may sometimes take on Malay or
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the la ...
titles like ''
Rajah ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in history of South Asia, South Asia and History of ...
'' ("ruler"), ''Batara'' ("noble lord"), ''Sarripada'' (from Sanskrit ''Sri Paduka'', "His Highness"; variants include ''Salip'', ''Sipad'', ''Paduka'', and ''Salipada''). However, they were not
king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the t ...
s in the European sense. Their authority usually stems from favorable trade positions, military prowess, lineage, and wealth (''bahandi'') rather than royal rule. While they had limited power over other member ''datu'' of the chiefdom based on their renown, they had no direct control over the subjects or lands of the other ''datu''. The historian William Henry Scott theorizes that this may have been
Ferdinand Magellan Ferdinand Magellan ( or ; pt, Fernão de Magalhães, ; es, link=no, Fernando de Magallanes, ; 4 February 1480 – 27 April 1521) was a Portuguese explorer. He is best known for having planned and led the 1519 Spanish expedition to the East ...
's fatal error. Magellan assumed that
Rajah Humabon Rajah Humabon, later baptized as Don Carlos, (died April 27, 1521) was the Rajah of Cebu (an Indianized Philippine polity). Humabon was Rajah at the time of the arrival of Portuguese-born, Spanish explorer Ferdinand Magellan in the Philippines ...
was the king of the land and thus of
Mactan Mactan is a densely populated island located a few kilometers (~1 mile) east of Cebu Island in the Philippines. The island is part of Cebu province and it is divided into the city of Lapu-Lapu and the municipality of Cordova. The island is se ...
as well. But the island of Mactan, the domain of
Lapu-Lapu Lapulapu or Lapu-Lapu (ᜎᜉ̰-ᜎᜉ̰), whose name was first recorded as Çilapulapu, was a datu (chief) of Mactan in the Visayas in the Philippines. He is best known for the Battle of Mactan that happened at dawn on April 27, 1521, where h ...
and another ''datu'' named Zula, was in a location that enabled them to intercept trade ships entering the harbor of
Cebu Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 1 ...
, Humabon's domain. Thus it was more likely that Lapu-Lapu was actually more powerful than Humabon. Humabon himself was married to Lapu-Lapu's niece. When Magellan demanded that Lapu-Lapu submit as his "king" Humabon had done, Lapu-Lapu purportedly replied that "he was unwilling to come and do reverence to one whom he had been commanding for so long a time".


Moro sultanates

In the Muslim Sultanate of Sulu and
Sultanate of Maguindanao The Sultanate of Maguindanao ( Maguindanaon: ''Kasultanan nu Magindanaw''; Old Maguindanaon: كاسولتانن نو ماڬينداناو; Jawi: کسلطانن ماڬيندناو; Iranun: ''Kesultanan a Magindanao''; ms, Kesultanan Magindana ...
, the supreme ruler was the sultan. The power of the sultan is counterpoised by a council of ''datu''. Female nobility of these ranks were addressed as ''dayang'' ("princess"), with the sultan's daughters being known as ''dayang-dayang'' ("princess of the first degree"). All of these titles are strictly hereditary. Below the royal nobility are the provincial governors (''panglima'') as well as wealthy people (''orang kaya''). Commoners can sometimes be promoted to nobility, known as '' datu sadja''. Usually for outstanding feats or services in line of duty through display of bravery, heroism, and so on. Unlike true ''datu'', the rank is only for the lifetime of the recipient and is not hereditary.


Maranao

The
Maranao people The Maranao people (Maranao: mәranaw Filipino: ''Maranaw''), also spelled Meranao, Maranaw, and Mëranaw, is the term used by the Philippine government to refer to the southern indigenous people who are the "people of the lake", a predomi ...
of the Lanao region differ from other Moro sultanates in that it is not centralized. Instead it is a confederation of several independent Maranao states each formed by multiple clans. The hereditary royal class of the Maranao society are collectively known as ''pidtaylan'', and trace their descent from the first Sultan. These sultans rule independent states (''pengampong''), which are further divided into smaller communities (''pulok'') ruled by hereditary ''datu'' of the ''kadatuan'' class. Local government units are administered by ''panglima'' (governors) and ''maharajah''. The highest position in female nobility is the ''bai-a-labi'' (most exalted queen). This is followed by ''potri maamor'' (princess), ''solotan a bai'' (kind queen), and ''bai a dalomangcob'' (queen). Noble women are referred to as ''bayi'' ("lady"), while non-noble wealthy women are known as ''bayi a gaos'' (rich lady).


Confusion with ''maharlika''

During the time of former president of the Philippines,
Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martia ...
, the term "maharlika" was mistakenly attributed to mean "royalty". As part of his drive at promoting the ''Bagong Lipunan'' (New Society), Marcos sponsored the research into pre-Hispanic culture of the Philippines. Apart from recommending changing the name of the Philippines into "Maharlika", Marcos was influential in making ''maharlika'' a trendy name for streets, edifices, banquet halls, villages and cultural organizations. Marcos himself utilized the word to christen a highway, a broadcasting corporation, and the reception area of the Malacañan Palace. Marcos' propagandistic utilization of the word started during World War II. Before being proven false in 1985, Marcos claimed that he had commanded a group of guerrillas known as the Maharlika Unit. Marcos also used ''Maharlika'' as his personal ''
nom de guerre A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individu ...
'', depicting himself as the most bemedalled anti-Japanese Filipino guerrilla soldier during World War II. During the martial law period in the Philippines, Marcos attempted to produce a film entitled ''Maharlika'' to present his "war exploits".Quimpo, Nathan Gilbert
Filipino nationalism is a contradiction in terms
Colonial Name, Colonial Mentality and Ethnocentrism, Part One of Four, "Kasama" Vol. 17 No. 3 / July–August–September 2003 / Solidarity Philippines Australia Network, cpcabrisbance.org
One of the results of this trend was the distortion of the original meaning of ''maharlika''. ''Maharlika'' does not actually refer to the "royalty" class as is claimed, but refers to the
vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...
warrior class. The ''maharlika'' were also more or less unique to the Tagalog caste system and that of its neighboring tribes.


See also

*
Barangay state In early Philippine history, Barangay is the term historically used by scholars to describe the complex sociopolitical units which were the dominant organizational pattern among the various peoples of the Philippine archipelago , . in the pe ...
*
Datu ''Datu'' is a title which denotes the rulers (variously described in historical accounts as chiefs, sovereign princes, and monarchs) of numerous indigenous peoples throughout the Philippine archipelago. The title is still used today, especia ...
* Datuk (Malay) * Datuk (Minangkabau) *
Indosphere Indosphere is a term coined by the linguist James Matisoff for areas of Indian linguistic and cultural influence in South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is commonly used in areal linguistics in contrast with Sinosphere. Influence The Tibeto-Bur ...
*
Ratu ''Ratu'' () is an Austronesian title used by male Fijians of chiefly rank. An equivalent title, ''adi'' (pronounced ), is used by females of chiefly rank. In the Malay language, the title ''ratu'' is also the traditional honorific title to re ...
*
Malay styles and titles The Malay language has a complex system of styles, titles and honorifics which are used extensively in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and the southern Philippines. Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and several provinces in Indonesia regu ...
* List of ancient Philippine consorts * Timeline of Philippine history *
Principalía The ''principalía'' or noble class was the ruling and usually educated upper class in the '' pueblos'' of Spanish Philippines, comprising the ''gobernadorcillo'' (later called the c''apitán municipal'' and had functions similar to a town mayo ...
*
Maharlika The ''Maharlika'' (meaning freeman or freedman) were the feudal warrior class in ancient Tagalog society in Luzon, the Philippines. They belonged to the lower nobility class similar to the ''Timawa'' of the Visayan people. In modern Filipino, h ...
*
Timawa The ''Timawa'' were the feudal warrior class of the ancient Visayan societies of the Philippines. They were regarded as higher than the '' uripon'' (commoners, serfs, and slaves) but below the ''Tumao'' (royal nobility) in the Visayan social hi ...
* Babaylan *
Pintados Visayans (Visayan: ''mga Bisaya''; ) or Visayan people are a Philippine ethnolinguistic group or metaethnicity native to the Visayas, the southernmost islands of Luzon and a significant portion of Mindanao. When taken as a single ethnic group, ...


References

{{India-related topics in Philippines History of the Philippines (900–1565) Filipino nobility Tagalog words and phrases Social class in the Philippines