In the Philippine languages, a system of titles and
honorific
An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an Honorary title (academic), h ...
s was used extensively during the throughout its history. In the pre-colonial era, It was mostly used by the
Tagalogs
The Tagalog people are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the Philippines, particularly the Metro Manila and Calabarzon regions and Marinduque province of southern Luzon, and comprise the majority in the provinces of Bulacan, Bataan, N ...
and
Visayans
Visayans ( Cebuano: ''mga Bisayà'' ) are a Philippine ethnolinguistic family group or metaethnicity native to the Visayas, to the southernmost islands south of Luzon, and to a significant portion of Mindanao. They are composed of numerous d ...
. These were borrowed from the
Malay system of honorifics obtained from the
Moro people
The Moro people or Bangsamoro people are the 13 Muslim-majority ethnolinguistic Austronesian groups of Mindanao, Sulu, and Palawan, native to the region known as the Bangsamoro (lit. ''Moro nation'' or ''Moro country''). As Muslim-majority ...
s of
Mindanao
Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...
, which in turn was based on the Indianized Sanskrit
honorifics
An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an honorary academic title. It ...
system
and the Chinese's used in areas like
Ma-i
Mait (also spelled Maidh, Ma'I, Mai, Ma-yi, or Mayi; Baybayin: ; Hanunoo: ; Hokkien ; Mandarin ), was a medieval sovereign state located in what is now the Philippines.
Its existence was first documented in 971 in the Song dynasty documents k ...
(
Mindoro
Mindoro is the seventh largest and eighth-most populous island in the Philippines. With a total land area of 10,571 km2 ( 4,082 sq.mi ), it has a population of 1,408,454, as of the 2020 census. It is located off the southwestern coast of ...
) and
Pangasinan
Pangasinan, officially the Province of Pangasinan (, ; ; ), is a coastal Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region of Luzon. Its capital is Lingayen, Pangasinan, Lingayen while San Carlos, Pangasi ...
. The titles of historical figures such as Rajah Sulayman, Lakandula and Dayang Kalangitan evidence Indian influence. Malay titles are still used by the royal houses of
Sulu
Sulu (), officially the Province of Sulu (Tausug language, Tausūg: ''Wilaya' sin Lupa' Sūg''; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines in the Sulu Archipelago.
It was part of the Bangsamoro, Bangsamoro Autonomous R ...
,
Maguindanao
Maguindanao (; Maguindanaon: ''Dairat nu Magindanaw''; Iranun: ''Perobinsia a Magindanao''; ) was a province of the Philippines located in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). From 2014 to 2022, its provincial capital ...
,
Maranao and
Iranun
The Iranun are an Austronesian ethnic group native to southwestern Mindanao, Philippines. They are ethnically and culturally closely related to the Maranao, and Maguindanaon, all three groups being denoted as speaking Danao languages and giv ...
on the southern Philippine island of
Mindanao
Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...
. In the Spanish colonial era,
Philip II of Spain
Philip II (21 May 152713 September 1598), sometimes known in Spain as Philip the Prudent (), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from 1580, and King of Naples and List of Sicilian monarchs, Sicily from 1554 until his death in 1598. He ...
decreed that the nobility in the Philippine islands should retain their pre-hispanic honours and privileges. In the modern times, these are retained on a traditional basis as the
1987 Constitution
The Constitution of the Philippines ( Filipino: ''Saligang Batas ng Pilipinas'' or ''Konstitusyon ng Pilipinas'') is the supreme law of the Philippines. Its final draft was completed by the Constitutional Commission on October 12, 1986, and rat ...
explicitly reaffirms the abolition of royal and noble titles in the republic.
Pre-colonial era
Indian influence
Historically Southeast Asia was under the influence of
Ancient India
Anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. The earliest known human remains in South Asia date to 30,000 years ago. Sedentism, Sedentariness began in South Asia around 7000 BCE; ...
, where numerous
Indianized principalities and empires flourished for several centuries in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Cambodia and Vietnam. The influence of Indian culture into these areas was given the term ''indianization''.
French archaeologist,
George Coedes, defined it as the expansion of an organized culture that was framed upon Indian originations of royalty,
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...
and
Buddhism
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
and the
Sanskrit dialect.
This can be seen in the
Indianization of Southeast Asia,
spread of Hinduism and
Buddhism
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
.
Indian diaspora
Overseas Indians (ISO 15919, ISO: ), officially Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and People of Indian Origin (PIOs) are people of Indian descent who reside or originate outside of India (Including those that were directly under the British Raj). Acc ...
, both ancient (PIO) and current (NRI), played an ongoing key role as professionals, traders, priests and warriors.
Indian honorifics
Indian honorifics are honorific titles or appendices to names used in the Indian subcontinent, covering formal and informal social, commercial, and religious relationships. These may take the form of prefixes, suffixes or replacements.
Native ...
also influenced the
Malay,
Thai, Filipino and
Indonesian honorifics.
[Krishna Chandra Sagar, 2002, An Era of Peace, Page 52.]
The pre-colonial
native Filipino script called ''
baybayin
Baybayin (,),
also sometimes erroneously referred to as alibata, is a Suyat, Philippine script widely used primarily in Luzon during the 16th and 17th centuries and prior to write Tagalog language, Tagalog and to a lesser extent Visayan lang ...
'' was derived from the
Brahmic scripts
The Brahmic scripts, also known as Indic scripts, are a family of abugida writing systems. They are used throughout South Asia, Southeast Asia and parts of East Asia. They are descended from the Brahmi script of ancient India and are used b ...
of India and first recorded in the 16th century.
[.] According to Jocano, 336 loanwords in Filipino were identified by Professor
Juan R. Francisco to be
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
in origin, "with 150 of them identified as the origin of some major Philippine terms."
[Examples of Datus who took the title Rajah were Rajah Soliman, Rajah Matanda, and Rajah Humabon. Cf. Landa Jocano, Filipino Prehistory, Manila: 2001] Many of these loanwords concerned governance and mythology, which were the particular concern of the Maginoo class, indicating a desire for members of that class to validate their status as rulers by associating themselves with foreign powers.
The
Laguna Copperplate Inscription
The Laguna Copperplate Inscription is an official acquittance ( debt relief) certificate inscribed onto a copper plate in the Shaka year 822 ( Gregorian A.D. 900). It is the earliest-known, extant, calendar-dated document found within the Phil ...
, a legal document inscribed on a copper plate in 900 AD, is the earliest known written document found in the Philippines that is written in Indian Sanskrit and the
Brahmi script
Brahmi ( ; ; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Brāhmī'') is a writing system from ancient India. "Until the late nineteenth century, the script of the Aśokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its immediate derivatives was referred to by various names such as ...
-based Indonesian
Kawi script
The Kawi script or the Old Javanese script (, ) is a Brahmic script found primarily in Java and used across much of Maritime Southeast Asia between the 8th century and the 16th century.Aditya Bayu Perdana and Ilham Nurwansah 2020Proposal to en ...
.
Royal and noble titles
''Sri'' or ''Seri'' (
Baybayin
Baybayin (,),
also sometimes erroneously referred to as alibata, is a Suyat, Philippine script widely used primarily in Luzon during the 16th and 17th centuries and prior to write Tagalog language, Tagalog and to a lesser extent Visayan lang ...
: ) is a
polite form of address equivalent to the English ''Mr.'' or ''Ms.'' in Indianized polities and communities
The title is derived from Sanskrit श्रीमान् (śrīmān). Its use may stem from the
conception of prosperity, and examples of nobility who have use the title are
Sri Lumay
Sri Rajahmura Lumaya, known in his shortened name Sri Lumay, was the first Rajah and the founder of the Indianized kingdom of historic polity of Cebu. According to the epic '' Aginid, Bayok sa atong Tawarik'', a Bisayan epic story, Sri Lumay ...
, founder of
Cebu
Cebu ( ; ), officially the Province of Cebu (; ), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 surrounding islands and islets. The coastal zone of Cebu is identified as a ...
; his grandson
Sri Hamabar; Sripada of the
Lupah Sug; and possibly 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, though no ...
'' 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 ...
, Si
Lapu-lapu
Lapulapu (fl. 1521) or Lapu-Lapu, whose name was first recorded as Çilapulapu, was a datu (chief) of Mactan, an island now part of the Philippines. Lapulapu is known for the 1521 Battle of Mactan, where he and his men defeated Spanish forc ...
.
''Datu'' (
Baybayin
Baybayin (,),
also sometimes erroneously referred to as alibata, is a Suyat, Philippine script widely used primarily in Luzon during the 16th and 17th centuries and prior to write Tagalog language, Tagalog and to a lesser extent Visayan lang ...
: ) is the title for chiefs, sovereign princes, and monarchs in the
Visayas
The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands (Bisayan languages, Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; Filipino language, Filipino: ''Kabisayaan'' ), are one of the three Island groups of the Philippines, principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, a ...
and
Mindanao
Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...
regions of the
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
. Together with ''
lakan
In History of the Philippines (900–1521), early Philippine history, the Filipino styles and honorifics, rank of ''lakan'' denoted a "paramount ruler" (or more specifically, "''paramount datu''") of one of the large coastal barangays (known as ...
'' (
Luzon
Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...
), ''apo'' (central and northern Luzon), ''
sultan
Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...
,'' and ''
rajah
Raja (; from , IAST ') is a noble or royal Sanskrit title historically used by some Indian rulers and monarchs and highest-ranking nobles. The title was historically used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia.
The title has a long ...
'', they are titles used for native royalty, and are still used frequently in Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan. Depending upon the prestige of the sovereign royal family, the title of ''datu'' could be equated to royal princes, European
duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...
s,
marquess
A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or wid ...
es and
count
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
s. In large
precolonial barangays, which had contacts with other Southeast Asian cultures through trade, some ''datus'' took the title of ''rajah'' or sultan.
The oldest historical records mentioning about the title ''datu'' is the seventh century
Srivijaya
Srivijaya (), also spelled Sri Vijaya, was a Hinduism, Hindu-Buddhism, Buddhist thalassocracy, thalassocratic empire based on the island of Sumatra (in modern-day Indonesia) that influenced much of Southeast Asia. Srivijaya was an important ...
n inscriptions, such as the
Telaga Batu, to describe lesser kings or vassalized kings. It was called ''dātu'' in
Old Malay language to describe regional leader or elder, a kind of
chieftain
A tribal chief, chieftain, or headman is a leader of a tribe, tribal society or chiefdom.
Tribal societies
There is no definition for "tribe".
The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of weste ...
that rules of a collection of ''
kampungs'' (villages). The Srivijaya empire was described as a network of
mandala
A mandala (, ) is a geometric configuration of symbols. In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of practitioners and adepts, as a spiritual guidance tool, for establishing a sacred space and as an aid ...
that consists of settlements, villages, and ports each ruled by a datu that vowed their loyalty (''persumpahan'') to the central administration of Srivijayan
Maharaja
Maharaja (also spelled Maharajah or Maharaj; ; feminine: Maharani) is a royal title in Indian subcontinent, Indian subcontinent of Sanskrit origin. In modern India and Medieval India, medieval northern India, the title was equivalent to a pri ...
. Unlike the indianized title of
raja
Raja (; from , IAST ') is a noble or royal Sanskrit title historically used by some Indian subcontinent, Indian rulers and monarchs and highest-ranking nobles. The title was historically used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia.
T ...
and
maharaja
Maharaja (also spelled Maharajah or Maharaj; ; feminine: Maharani) is a royal title in Indian subcontinent, Indian subcontinent of Sanskrit origin. In modern India and Medieval India, medieval northern India, the title was equivalent to a pri ...
, the term datuk was also found in the
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
as
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, though no ...
, which suggests its common native
Austronesian origin. The term ''kadatwan'' or ''kedaton'' refer to the residence of datuk, equivalent with
keraton and
istana. In later
Mataram Javanese culture, the term kedaton shifted to refer the inner private compound of the keraton, the residential complex of king and royal family.

''
Lakan
In History of the Philippines (900–1521), early Philippine history, the Filipino styles and honorifics, rank of ''lakan'' denoted a "paramount ruler" (or more specifically, "''paramount datu''") of one of the large coastal barangays (known as ...
'' (
Baybayin
Baybayin (,),
also sometimes erroneously referred to as alibata, is a Suyat, Philippine script widely used primarily in Luzon during the 16th and 17th centuries and prior to write Tagalog language, Tagalog and to a lesser extent Visayan lang ...
: ) originally referred to a rank in the
precolonial Filipino nobility in the island of
Luzon
Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...
, which means "paramount ruler." It has been suggested that this rank is equivalent to that of
Raja
Raja (; from , IAST ') is a noble or royal Sanskrit title historically used by some Indian subcontinent, Indian rulers and monarchs and highest-ranking nobles. The title was historically used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia.
T ...
h, and that different ethnic groups either used one term or the other, or used the two words interchangeably. Today, the term is still occasionally used to mean ''
nobleman
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...
'', but has mostly been adapted to other uses. In
Filipino martial arts, it is equivalent to the
black belt rank.
/ref> Beauty contests in the Philippines have taken to referring to the winner as ''lakambini'', the female equivalent of ''lakan''. In such cases, the contestant's assigned escort can be referred to as a ''lakan''. More often, a male pageant winner is named a Lakan.
The title can be spelled separately from a person's name (e.g. "Lakan Dula"), or can be incorporated into one word (e.g. "Lakandula").
16th and 17th-century Spanish colonial accounts of ''lakan'' being used in Philippine history include:
* Lakandula
Lakandula (Baybayin: , Filipino orthography, Spanish orthography: ''Lacandola'') was the title of the last ''lakan'' or paramount ruler of History of the Philippines (900–1521), pre-colonial Tondo (historical polity), Tondo when the Spain, Sp ...
, later baptized as Don Carlos Lacandola, the ruler of Tondo at the advent of Spanish conquest
* Lakantagkan, the first recorded ruler of Namayan
Namayan (Baybayin: Pre-Kudlit: or (''Sapa''), Post-Kudlit: ), also called SapaLocsin, Leandro V. and Cecilia Y. Locsin. 1967. ''Oriental Ceramics Discovered in the Philippines.'' Vermont: Charles E. Tuttle Company. and sometimes Lamayan, ...
.
Spanish era
In Spanish Colonial Philippines, the honorific title was reserved to the local
Local may refer to:
Geography and transportation
* Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand
* Local, Missouri, a community in the United States
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...
nobility
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...
known as the ''Principalía
The ''principalía'' or Nobility, noble class was the ruling and usually educated upper class in the ''Municipality, pueblos'' of History of the Philippines (1521–1898), Spanish Philippines, comprising the ''gobernadorcillo'' (later called t ...
'', whose right to rule was recognised by Philip II on June 11, 1594.
The use of the honorific addresses ''Don'' and ''Doña'' was strictly limited to what many documents during the colonial period would refer to as ''"vecinas y vecinos distinguidos"''.[BERND SCHRÖTER and CHRISTIAN BÜSCHGES (1999), Beneméritos, aristócratas y empresarios: Identidades y estructuras sociales de las capas altas urbanas en América hispánica, pp 114] After barangays had become tributaries
A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream ('' main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which the ...
of the Kingdom of the Spains and the Indies, The pre-colonial Datu evolved into what was known as Cabeza de barangay
A ''cabeza de barangay'' ("barangay head"), also known as ''teniente del barrio'' ("holder of the barrio"), was the head of a barangay or barrio political unit in the Philippines during Spanish rule.Scott, William Henry. ''Barangay Sixteenth-C ...
, which was hereditary of native nobilities i.e ''principalias'' and could elect the ''Gobernadorcillo
The (, literally "little governor") was a municipal judge or governor in the Captaincy General of the Philippines, Philippines during the History of the Philippines (1565–1898), Spanish colonial period, who carried out in a town the combined ...
.''
In the Spanish era, Filipinos often used honorific systems based on the Spanish hierarchy, like ''don'', which was used to address members of the nobility, such as ''hidalgos'', ''fidalgos'', and members of the secular clergy
In Christianity, the term secular clergy refers to deacons and priests who are not monastics or otherwise members of religious life. Secular priests (sometimes known as diocesan priests) are priests who commit themselves to a certain geograph ...
. The treatment gradually became reserved for persons of the blood royal and those of such acknowledged high or ancient aristocratic birth as noble ''de Juro e Herdade'', that is, "by right and heredity" rather than by the king's grace. There were rare exemptions to the rule, such as the mulatto
( , ) is a Race (human categorization), racial classification that refers to people of mixed Sub-Saharan African, African and Ethnic groups in Europe, European ancestry only. When speaking or writing about a singular woman in English, the ...
, Miguel Enríquez, who received the distinction from Philip V due to his privateer
A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...
ing work in the Caribbean. However, by the 20th century, it was no longer restricted in use for the upper classes, since persons of means or education (at least of a "bachiller" level), regardless of background, came to be so addressed, and it is now often used as if it were a more formal version of ''Señor''. This term was also once used to address someone with the quality of nobility (not necessarily holding a nobiliary title). This was, for example, the case of military leaders addressing Spanish troops as ''señores soldados'' (gentlemen-soldiers). In Spanish-speaking Latin America, this honorific is usually used with people of older age.[Scott, William Henry. ''Barangay Sixteenth-Century Philippine Culture and Society.'' Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press, 1994.]
Modern era
President of the Philippines
The President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
and Vice-President of the Philippines ( Filipino: ''Ang Pangulo o Presidente'' and ''Ang Pangalawang Pangulo o Bise-Presidente'') are addressed in English as "Your Excellency" and "Sir" or "Ma'am" thereafter, and are referred to each as "His/Her Excellency
Excellency is an honorific style (manner of address), style given to certain high-level officers of a sovereign state, officials of an international organization, or members of an aristocracy. Once entitled to the title "Excellency", the holder ...
" or "Their Excellencies" when both are present. The president and vice-president may also be informally addressed as "Mister/Madam President or Vice-President" in English and is sometimes informally referred to as ''Ang Mahál na Pangulo'' or ''Ang Mahál na Pangalawang Pangulo''. Presently, noble titles are rarely used outside of the national honors system and as courtesy titles for Moro nobility. The only other common exception is the President of the Philippines
The president of the Philippines (, sometimes referred to as ) is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the commander-in-ch ...
, and all high-ranking government officials, who are referred to as "The Honorable
''The Honourable'' (Commonwealth English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific Style ...
". Former president Rodrigo Duterte
Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the first Philippine president from Mindanao, and is the oldest person to assum ...
dropped his title from official communications, pushing other government officials to follow suit.
Personal titles
''Italic'' words where a words from Old Tagalog
Old Tagalog (; Baybayin: pre-virama: , post-virama rus kudlit ; post-virama amudpod ᜎᜓᜋᜅ᜕ ᜆᜄᜎᜓᜄ᜕), also known as Old Filipino, is the earliest form of the Tagalog language during the Classical period. It is the primary l ...
which is used until the modern times. ''Asterisks'' (*) denote a title that is considered archaic or specific to certain historic, religious, or academic contexts.
See also
* Indian honorifics
Indian honorifics are honorific titles or appendices to names used in the Indian subcontinent, covering formal and informal social, commercial, and religious relationships. These may take the form of prefixes, suffixes or replacements.
Native ...
, many South and Southeast Asian honorifics derive from Indian influence
* Malay styles and titles
The Malay language has a complex system of Style (manner of address), styles, titles and honorifics which are used extensively in Brunei, Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia and Singapore.
Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, few provinces in the Philippines a ...
* Thai royal ranks and titles
The precedence of Thai royalty follows a system of ranks known as ''thanandon'' (), which are accompanied by royal titles.
The Sovereign
There are two styles which can be used for a king in ordinary speech, depending on whether he has been crow ...
* Thai honorifics
Honorifics (linguistics), Honorifics are a class of words or grammatical morphemes that encode a wide variety of social relationships between interlocutors or between interlocutors and referents.Foley, William. ''Anthropological Linguistics: An In ...
* Indonesian honorifics
* Sinhala honorifics
* Greater India
Greater India, also known as the Indian cultural sphere, or the Indic world, is an area composed of several countries and regions in South Asia, East Asia and Southeast Asia that were historically influenced by Indian culture, which itself ...
* Indosphere
Indosphere is a term used for areas of Indian subcontinent, Indian linguistic influence in the neighboring Southern Asian, Southeast Asian, and East Asian regions. It is commonly used in areal linguistics in contrast with the Sinophone languages ...
* Hinduism in the Philippines
Recent archaeological and other evidence suggests Hinduism has had some cultural, economic, political and religious influence in the Philippines. Among these is the 9th century Laguna Copperplate Inscription found in 1989, deciphered in 1992 t ...
* History of the Philippines (Before 1521)
The history of the Philippines dates from the earliest Hominini, hominin activity in the archipelago at least by 709,000 years ago. ''Homo luzonensis'', a species of archaic humans, was present on the island of Luzon at least by 134,000 years ...
* Datuk
Datuk (or its variant Dato or Datu) is a Malay language, Malay honorific title commonly used in Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia, as well as a traditional title by Minangkabau people in West Sumatra, Indonesia. Use of the title various between loc ...
– Malay nobility title.
* Datuk (Minangkabau)
Datuk (or Datuak) is a traditional, honorary title bestowed on a person by the agreement of a people or tribe in the Minangkabau language, spoken by the Minangkabau people of Indonesia and Malaysia.Navis A.A., (1984), ''Layar Terkembang Jadi Guru ...
* Maginoo
The Tagalog ''maginoo'', the Kapampangan ''ginu'', and the Visayan ''tumao'' were the nobility social class among various cultures of the pre-colonial Philippines. Among the Visayans, the ''tumao'' were further distinguished from the immediat ...
* Principalía
The ''principalía'' or Nobility, noble class was the ruling and usually educated upper class in the ''Municipality, pueblos'' of History of the Philippines (1521–1898), Spanish Philippines, comprising the ''gobernadorcillo'' (later called t ...
* Madja-as
* Rajahnate of Maynila
* Namayan
Namayan (Baybayin: Pre-Kudlit: or (''Sapa''), Post-Kudlit: ), also called SapaLocsin, Leandro V. and Cecilia Y. Locsin. 1967. ''Oriental Ceramics Discovered in the Philippines.'' Vermont: Charles E. Tuttle Company. and sometimes Lamayan, ...
* Tondo (historical polity)
Tondo (; Baybayin: , Kapampangan language, Kapampangan: Balayan ning Tundo), sometimes referred to as the Kingdom of Tondo, was a Tagalog and Kapampangan settlement which served as a major trade hub located on the northern part of the List of i ...
* Rajahnate of Butuan
* Rajahnate of Cebu
Cebu, also called Sugbu, informally referred to as the Rajahnate of Cebu, was an Indianized mandala (polity) monarchy on the island of Cebu in the Philippines prior to the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors. It is known in ancient Chi ...
* Sultanate of Maguindanao
The Sultanate of Maguindanao ( Maguindanaon: ''Kasultanan nu Magindanaw'', Jawi: كسولتانن نو مڬیندنو; Filipino: ''Kasultanan ng Mangindánaw'') was a Sunni Muslim sultanate that ruled parts of the island of Mindanao, in th ...
* Sultanate of Sulu
The Sultanate of Sulu (; ; ) is a Sunni Muslim subnational monarchy in the Philippines, Republic of the Philippines that includes the Sulu Archipelago, coastal areas of Zamboanga City and certain portions of Palawan in today's Philippines. H ...
* Taytay, Palawan
* List of sovereign state leaders in the Philippines
* Recorded list of Datus in the Philippines
Notes
References
*
External links
Impact of Spanish Colonialization in the Philippines
Encyclopædia Britannica – Datu (Filipino chieftain)
The official website of the Royal Sultanate of Sulu
{{Asia in topic, History of
Titles of national or ethnic leadership
Noble titles
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Feudalism in Asia
History of the Philippines (900–1565)
Filipino royalty
Filipino nobility
Tagalog language
Visayan languages
Honorifics by language