Federation of the Royal Sultanate of Lanao

SULTANIA: The History of the Federation of the Royal Sultanate of Lanao

Amidst the surmountable catastrophe brought to us by the foreign conquistadors ie: the Spanish, the Americans and the Japanese down to the regime of the present democracy, the Sultanate system of government has not been subjugated nor destroyed for almost 400 years. The evil pursuit to destroy the very unity of the Bangsa Moro did not prosper. The sultans and datus of Lanao, Maguindanao and Sulu, who have Islamic bravery and as freedom fighters who fought and died in defense of our people homeland, self-determination, culture and Islam as a whole, make what we are today as manifested in the recent signing of the PGH-MILF Comprehensive Compact Agreement as a sign of a healthy democracy, self-determintaion onward to peace and development of the Bangsamoro homeland. It's a fact that this Sultanate system of leadership was formally introduced to us by the shariefs who came to Mindanao since 13th up to the 15th century, and foremost among them are Sultan Kabungsuan otherwise known as Sultan Mohammad Ali Zainal Abedin as the first Sultan of Maguindanao and Sharief Alawi as Sultan sa Tagoloan.

Sultan is an Arabic word that connotes head and or leader clothed with an authority to rule his own people with love, kindness and justice tempered with honesty and who looks forward for his own people welfare and development. He is the stunt pillar that advocates the system of a monarchial and or collegial type of leadership institutionalized in Malaysia, Brunei and the rest of the Islamic world.

It was estimated that sultanship entered into the heart of Lanao in the early part of the 13th century. Some writer of history agrees that in the Philippines, particularly in the Muslim Mindanao, the sultanates got started first at Maguindanao, Sulu and in Lanao peninsula.

When Sharief Kabungsuan landed in an island at the mouth of the Polangi River somewhere in Maguindanao, he befriended their datus like Datu Tabonawaan. When he introduced them the Deen al-Islam and the system of leadership, the positive response of those datus like Tabonawaan was, first, to make Sharief Kabungsuan as Sultan of Maguindanao and to have the cudgels of leadership at the time we learn the state of the art of leadership. As he successfully led the people of Maguindanao, sultanship got flourished in the Sulu and Lanao Peninsula. Sultan Kabungsuan who led his people successfully became an old man devoting himself in the service of Islam and relinquished his sultanship as Sultan of Maguindanao to his son Saripada Macaalang. Saripada Macaalang was a son of Sharief Kabungsuan to his first wife in the person of Bae Angintabo whose genealogical lineage happened to be a pure and solid Maranao from Malabang. Thus, Sharief Kabungsuan, the first Sultan of Maguindanao died as a pious man. After Saripada Macaalang, the sultanship was again turn over to Sharief Bangkaya as Sultan of Maguindanao. From that time on, sultania reaches all over Mindanao. To reckon with, as a starting point, after Sharief Bangkaya, the leadership got rotated alternately to his three children, namely: Sultan Mohammad Dimasangkay a Adil, Sultan Mohammad Sarikula and Sultan Mohammad Buisan whose family lineage or progenies dwell and flows to Lanao. These three brothers had made a covenant that the Sultanship of Maguindanao be rotated by their children's children, going down to their respective family blood lineage in accordance with their order of rotation succession above stated.

As the years passed by, population got increased and education through the Madrasah way showed up and the sultanship of both the Maguindanaons and the Maranaos ruled independently the leadership of the sultanship, the Maguindanaons ruled exclusively the Maguindanao empire (formerly all the Cotabato provinces) and the Maranao ruled the Maranao dominion (formerly all the Maranao provinces). (Monsing Macabando: 2002).

When the Maranao got acquainted with the sultanate leadership, Balindong Buzar of Masiu was enthroned as Sultan a Diagaborola sa Ranao, meaning a leader given with an authority to rule and enforce the Islamic way of life in Lanao. There are other historical facts surrounding the honour, charisma, influence brought to us by the different sultans like the first Sultan of Pagayawan, Sultan sa Ramain, Sultan sa Bayang, Sultan sa Macadar, Sultan sa Masiu and the other first sultans of the four (4) principalities of Lanao, but because of time and space we were not able to facilitate its inclusion.

In those years of transfiguration, some historian of the Salsila way, sayeth that the number of Panoroganan was three and got increased to five Panoroganan, but accordingly and finally, the nine (9) wise men of Lanao, namely: Simbaan a Acari of Ramain, Ottowa of Ditsaan, Dianaton Naim and Burua of the Principality of Unayan, Balindong Buzar of the Principality of Masiu, Mboar of Bansayan of the Principality of Baloi, had sworn to an oath and unanimously chose a collegial leadership of equality of the four principalities of Lanao and founded the (15) Royal House of Lanao and now the (16) royal houses of the 4 principalities of Lanao, of which their royal traditional power and influence are equal with the Royal Sultan of Maguindanao, the Royal House of Kabuntalan, the Royal House of Buayaan and that of the Royal House of Sulu whose power, authority, novelity and royal traditions are only within their respective traditional area of empire or domain (Sultan Monsing Macabando: 2002). These are the Royal Houses of Mindanao and Sulu recognized by the Philippine government at this point in time.

Our people cultural heritage was enriched by family royalty, thus, everyone valued their blood relationship and lineage to the 16 Royal Houses, 28 Legislative Assemblies, 4 sultanship that demarcated the land boundary of the 4 principalities of Lanao and the different Sultans of the Piliponganan. In fact, people are now interested in the sultanship when it's their turn to assume their “Idal” to any of the vacated sultanship title/position in their respective areas of responsibilities.

Anent this, and sad to note, there were places in Lanao where you can find the granting and enthroning “sultanship title” to a non-muslim for purposes of political accomodation, and places where two to four sultans occupying one and the same title of sultanship, as well as the enthronement of people in the island of Luzon and Visayas. These are among the Sultan sa Luzon, Sultan sa Iligan, Sultan sa Pilipinas, Sultan sa Mindanao, Sultan sa Laguna and Sultan sa Quiapo. It is obvious and to be studied with, in cognizant to the true replica and or picture of our Taritib and Igma and to what our forebears swore in the Holy Quran: the Gapen for Bayabao, Begao for Unayan, Sungkor sa Masiu and Naas sa Baloi as well as the content of what they agreed upon not to destroy and violate the essence of Kapagisa-isa, Kamagadata, Kaphoporowai, Kanggiginawai and Kasheselai. These 5 K's are the cardinal principles that governed from among themselves, hoping to be followed by us. Let us not think of the sultanates leadership as a power nor an authority but think of it as a responsibility that once you do not exercise your duties and responsibilities, then you are committing a sin which is answerable in the hereafter.

This is the philosophy and or objectives of the Federation of the Royal Sultanate of Lanao to possibly stop in the spirit of the 5 K's, namely: Kanggiginawai, Kaphoporowai, Kapamagadata, Kasheselai, and aya mala na so Kapagisaisa, which is the basic and a core to play in the sultanate.

The Bangsa Moro in Muslim Mindanao Sultania type has two distinctive leadership in nature. In Maguindanao and Sulu, the sultanship is more on the monarchial type because no other sultan or datu can equal the Sultan of Maguindanao and Sulu. In the Sultanate of Lanao, it is more in collegial body in type because in the Province of Lanao, it has 4 principalities ie: Bayabao, Masiu, Unayan and Baloi, where it has 16 royal houses, and each of these 16 royal houses has equal footing of power, authority and influence with the Sultan of Maguindanao and Sulu.

As the year passed by, the Sultanate of Lanao got improved. In fact, as early as 1950 to date, several movement proliferate like flowers in the four principalities of Lanao, prominent among them is the Marawi Sultanate League which was organized on August 22, 1954. In the middle part of 1960, the Antanga Didaagen Sultanate League, followed by the Angoyao, Pagayawan Royal Sultanate League, and many Sultanate Leagues, was established for purposes of strengthening and preserving the Customary Adat Laws, Taritib and Igma of the 4 principalities of Lanao.

Sometimes on June 15, 2010 held at the MSU Ayala Resort Hotel, the late Sultan sa Masiu Provincial Prosecutor of Lanao del Sur Sultan Paca-ambung C. Macabando invited some of the head of the several sultanate movement of Lanao to form one united sultanate organization in order to preserve the Taritib and Igma (customary tradition) that were organized and sworn in the Holy Qur'an by our forebears representing the four principalities of Lanao. Some of the prominent sultans and datus present were Sultan sa Pagayawan, Macmod Dalidig; Sultan a Panoroganan, Al Qareeb Odal Abedin; Sultan sa Marantao, Mangoda Tanggote; Datu Jamael Hadji Ali Sarip Amatonding ko Ditsaan-Ramain and many others. But Sultan sa Masiu Provincial Prosecutor Paca-ambung C. Macabando got sick and died after one year of lingering illness, so this plan of organizing a united organization, which would compose the 16 Royal Houses, the 28 Houses of Legislative Sultanate, the 4 Demarcation Sultanate and other Piliponganan Sultanate, was temporarily suspended...