Datu
Datu is a title which denotes the rulers of numerous indigenous peoples throughout the Philippine archipelago. The title is still used today, though not as much as early Philippine history. It is a cognate of datuk, dato, and ratu in several other Austronesian languages.
Overview
In early Philippine history, datus and a small group of their close relatives formed the "apex stratum" of the traditional three-tier social hierarchy of lowland Philippine societies. Only a member of this birthright aristocracy could become a datu; members of this elite could hope to become a datu by demonstrating prowess in war or exceptional leadership.In large coastal polities such as those in Maynila, Tondo, Pangasinan, Cebu, Panay, Bohol, Butuan, Cotabato, Lanao, and Sulu, several datus brought their loyalty-groups, referred to as barangays or dulohan, into compact settlements which allowed greater degrees of cooperation and economic specialization. In such cases, datus of these barangays selected the most senior or most respected among them to serve as what scholars referred to as a paramount leader or paramount ''datu. The titles used by such paramount datu varied, but some of the most prominent examples were: sultan in the most Islamized areas of Mindanao; lakan among the Tagalog people; thimuay among the Subanen people; rajah in polities which traded extensively with Indonesia and Malaysia; or simply datu'' in some areas of Mindanao and the Visayas.
Proof of Filipino royalty and nobility could only be demonstrated by clear blood descent from ancient native royal blood, and in some cases adoption into a royal family.
Terminology
Datu is the title for chiefs, sovereign princes, and monarchs throughout the Philippine archipelago. The title is still used today, especially in Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan, but it was used more extensively in early Philippine history, particularly in central and southern Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao. Other titles still used today are lakan in Luzon, apo in central and northern Luzon, and sultan and rajah, especially 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 dukes, marquesses and counts. In large ancient 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 datus are the 7th-century Srivijayan inscriptions such as Telaga Batu to describe lesser kings or vassalized kings. The word datu is a cognate of the Malay terms dato or datuk and to the Fijian title of ratu.
History
In pre-Islamic times, the political leadership office was vested in a rajahship in Manila and a datuship elsewhere in the Philippines.''Datu'' in Moro and Lumad societies in Mindanao
In the later part of the 1500s, the Spaniards took possession of most of Luzon and the Visayas, converting the lowland population to Christianity from their local Indigenous religion. Although Spain eventually established footholds in northern and eastern Mindanao and the Zamboanga Peninsula, its armies failed to colonize the rest of Mindanao. This area was populated by Islamized peoples and by non-Muslim Indigenous groups now known as Lumad peoples.The Moro societies of Mindanao and Sulu
In the traditional structure of Moro societies, the sultans were the highest authority followed by the datus or rajah, with their rule being sanctioned by the Quran, though both titles predate the coming of Islam. These titles were assimilated into the new structure under Islam. Datus were supported by their tribes, and in return for tribute and labor, the datu provided aid in emergencies and advocacy in disputes with other communities, and warfare through the Agama and Maratabat laws.The Lumad societies of Mindanao
At the beginning of the 20th century, the Lumad peoples controlled an area that now covers 17 of Mindanao's 24 provinces – but by the 1980 census, they constituted less than 6% of the population of Mindanao and Sulu. Heavy migration to Mindanao of Visayans, who have settled in the Island for centuries, spurred by government-sponsored resettlement programmes, turned the Lumads into minorities. The Bukidnon province population grew from 63,470 in 1948 to 194,368 in 1960 and 414,762 in 1970, with the proportion of Indigenous Bukidnons falling from 64% to 33%, and then 14%.There are 18 Lumad ethnolinguistic groups: Ata people, Bagobo, Banwaon, B'laan, Bukidnon, Dibabawon, Higaonon, Mamanwa, Mandaya, Manguwangan, Manobo, Mansaka, Subanon, Tagakaolo, Tasaday, Tboli, Teduray and Ubo.
Lumad datus have protected their homeland forests from illegal loggers in previous decades; some joined the New People's Army.
Datus continue to act as the community leaders in their respective tribes among a variety of indigenous peoples in Mindanao today. Moros, Lumads and Visayans now share with new settlers a homeland in Mindanao.
''Datu'' in pre-colonial principalities in the Visayas
In more affluent and powerful territorial jurisdictions and principalities in the Visayas, such as Panay, Cebu and Leyte, the datu class was at the top of a divinely sanctioned and stable social order in a sakop or kinadatuan, which is elsewhere commonly referred to also as a barangay. This social order was divided into three classes. The kadatuan were compared by the Boxer Codex to the titled lords in Spain. As agalon or amo, the datus enjoyed an ascribed right to respect, obedience, and support from their oripun or followers belonging to the third order. These datus had acquired rights to the same advantages from their legal Timawa or vassals, who bind themselves to the datu as his seafaring warriors. The Timawa did not pay tribute or perform agricultural labor. The Boxer Codex calls them knights and hidalgos. The Spanish conquistador, Miguel de Loarca, described them as "free men, neither chiefs nor slaves". In the late 1600s, the Spanish Jesuit priest Francisco Ignatio Alcina classified them as the third rank of nobility.To maintain the purity of bloodline, datus marry only among their kind, often seeking high ranking brides in other Barangays, abducting them, or contracting brideprices in gold, slaves and jewelry. Meanwhile, datus kept their daughters secluded for protection and prestige. These well-guarded and protected highborn women were called binokot, the datus of pure descent were called "potli nga datu" or "lubus nga datu", while a woman of noble lineage are addressed by Panay inhabitants as uray.
''Datu'' in pre-colonial principalities in the Tagalog region
The different type of culture prevalent in Luzon gave a less stable and more complex social structure to the pre-colonial Tagalog barangays of Manila, Pampanga and Laguna. The Tagalog people enjoyed a more extensive commerce than those in Visayas, having the influence of Bornean political contacts, and engaging in farming wet rice for a living. They were described by the Spanish Augustinian friar Martin de Rada as traders more than warriors.The more complex social structure of the Tagalog people was less stable during the Spaniards' arrival because it was still differentiating. In this society, the term datu, lakan, or apo refers to the chief, but the noble class was the maginoo class. One could be born as part of the maginoo, but could also become a datu through personal achievement.
''Datu'' during the Spanish period
The datu class of the four echelons of Filipino society at the time of contact with the Europeans, was referred to by the Spaniards as the principalía. Loarca, and the canon lawyer Antonio de Morga, who classified the society into three estates, also affirmed the usage of this term and also spoke about the preeminence of the principales. All members of the datu class were principales, whether they ruled or not. San Buenaventura's 1613 Dictionary of the Tagalog Language defines three terms that clarify the concept of the principalía:- Poón or punò – principal or head of a lineage.
- Ginoó – a noble by lineage and parentage, family and descent.
- Maginoo – principal in lineage or parentage.
Upon the Christianization of most parts of the Philippine archipelago, the datus retained their right to govern their territory under the Spanish Empire. King Philip II of Spain, signed a law on June 11, 1594, which commanded the Spanish colonial officials in the archipelago that these native royalties and nobilities be given the same respect, and privileges that they had enjoyed before their conversion. Their domains became self-ruled tributary barangays of the Spanish Empire.
The Filipino royals and nobles formed part of the principalía of the Philippines. It was the class that constituted a birthright aristocracy with claims to respect, obedience, and support from those of subordinate status.
With the recognition of the Spanish monarchs came the privilege of being addressed as Don or Doña. – a mark of esteem and distinction in Europe reserved for a person of noble or royal status during the colonial period. Other honors and high regard were also accorded to the Christianized datus by the Spanish Empire. For example, the gobernadorcillos and Filipino officials of justice received the greatest consideration from the Spanish Crown officials. The colonial officials were under obligation to show them the honor corresponding to their respective duties. They were allowed to sit in the houses of the Spanish provincial governors, and in any other places. They were not left to remain standing. Spanish parish priests were forbidden from treating Filipino nobles with less consideration.
The gobernadorcillos exercised the command of the towns, and were port captains in coastal towns. Their office corresponded to the alcaldes' and municipal judges' of the Iberian Peninsula, and performed the duties of both judges and notaries with defined powers. They also had the rights and powers to elect assistants and several lieutenants and alguaciles, proportionate in number to the inhabitants of the town.
By the end of the 16th century, any claim to Filipino royalty, nobility, or hidalguía had disappeared into a homogenized, hispanized and Christianized nobility through the principalía. This remnant of the pre-colonial royal and noble families continued to rule their traditional domain until the end of the Spanish regime. However, there were cases when succession in leadership was also done through the election of new leaders, especially in provinces near the central colonial government in Manila where the ancient ruling families lost their prestige and role. Perhaps proximity to the central power diminished their significance. However, in distant territories, where the central authority had less control and where order could be maintained without using coercive measures, hereditary succession was still enforced until Spain lost the archipelago to the Americans. These distant territories remained patriarchal societies, where people retained great respect for the principalía.
The principalía was larger and more influential than the pre-conquest Indigenous nobility. It helped create and perpetuate an oligarchic system in the Spanish colony for over three hundred years. The Spanish colonial government's prohibition for foreigners to own land in the Philippines contributed to the evolution of this form of oligarchy. In some Philippine provinces, many Spaniards and foreign merchants married the rich and received Austronesian local nobilities. From these unions, a new cultural group was formed: the mestizo class. Their descendants emerged later to become an influential part of the government and the principalía.