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Confederate States of Lanao

Confederation in Mindanao, Philippines (1616–1935)

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This confederation is also sometimes inaccurately referred to as simply the Lanao Sultanate or Sultanate of Lanao.

The Confederate States of Lanao, specifically its sultanates, still exists in modern-day Lanao del Sur and Lanao del Norte. However, all of the Lanao royal houses do not hold any political power in the Philippines.

History

Pre-Islamic period

Before the Maranaos were invaded by the Sultanate of Maguindanao, it already existed as a separate nation. The Chinese chronicle Zhufan Zhi (諸蕃志) published in 1225, described it as a country southeast of Shahuagong (Sanmalan) in present-day Zamboanga City, a country called "Maluonu", of which this is what the chronicles have to say.

Further southeast [of Shahuagong] there are uncultivated islands inhabited by barbarian bandits called Maluonu. When a merchant ship is blown off course to this country, these bandits assemble in large numbers and capture the crew, tie them between large bamboo sticks, cook them over a fire, and eat them. The chiefs of these bandits bore holes in their teeth and decorate the holes with gold. They use the tops of human skulls as eating and drinking vessels. The deeper one goes into these islands, the more cruel the bandits are.

— Zhufan zhi 諸蕃志 (1225)

Darangen

The Darangen is a traditional Maranao epic narrative in song existed before the 14th century during the pre-Islamic period in Mindanao. The epic has connections with early Sanskrit traditions, composed of 17 cycles and 72,000 lines. Aside from history, the epic explores themes of life, death, love, and politics, reflecting Maranao customs and values. The Darangen was mostly transmitted orally.

As part of the Maguindanao Sultanate

Eventually, the Lanao nation fell under the power of the Maguindanao Sultanate. The areas of Maguindanao and Lanao had embraced Islam, and Sultan Sharīf Kabunsuan, an Arab-Malay, introduced sultanate leadership to these regions. As he aged, Kabunsuan passed his title as sultan of Maguindanao to his son, Sharīf Makaalang, the first native Maranao sultan. The leadership continued through his descendants until Sultan Laut Buisan. After his death, Datu Kudarat sought to become the sultan, but leadership was to rotate to the Maranaos in Lanao based from tradition.

Due to his want of power, Kudarat invited his relatives from Lanao and announced his ambition of becoming sultan of Maguindanao. The Lanao lords were outraged. Balindong B'sar of Masiu, a Lanao lord, organised a meeting in Taraka then to Sawir, Lanao over which the Lanao datus decided to establish their own sultanate. The lords of Bayabao, Masiu, Unayan, and Balo-i seceded from the Maguindanao Sultanate in 1616. Datu Kudarat, meanwhile, became the sultan of Maguindanao.

The four states of Lanao consists of the following modern-day municipalities:

  • Bayabao - Bubong, Ditsaan-Ramain, Marawi City, Kapai, Lumba-Bayabao, Poona Bayabao, Saguiaran, and Wao
  • Masiu - Bacolod, Balindong, Madalum, Masiu, Mulondo, Tamparan, Taraka, and Tugaya
  • Unayan
    • In modern-day Lanao del Sur: Bayang, Binidayan, Butig, Ganassi, Kapatagan, Lumbatan, Madamba, Malabang, Pualas, Tatarikan and Tubaran
    • In modern-day Lanao del Norte: Baroy, Lala, Munai, Karomatan, Nunungan, and Tubod
  • Balo-i - Balo-i, Matungao, Pantao Ragat, and Tangcal

Despite being a separate state, the Confederate States of Lanao did not cut their military ties to the Sultanate of Maguindanao. The sultanates of Lanao worked with Maguindanao, combining their naval and military power. They also sent Maranao men to strengthen the Maguindanao fleet.

Conflict with Spain

Christianized Filipinos were used by the Spanish to invade the Maranao territory and other Muslim tribes in the Philippines. The Spanish colonial forces launched military and spiritual campaigns against the Maranao people at Lake Lanao. On April 4, 1639, Spanish conquistador Sebastián Hurtado de Corcuera sent the first expedition, which included Spaniards and Boholano troops. This campaign was led by Captain Francisco de Atienza and Fray Agustin de San Pedro, who formed alliances with some local chiefs. In 1640, Don Pedro Bermudes Castro established a garrison, but the Maranaos, feeling threatened, fought back, driving the Spaniards out and destroying their installations, leading to over 250 years without Spanish presence in the area.

Due to the arrival of the Spanish in Mindanao, Lanao was prevented to develop its own centralized system of authority. This decentralization led to independent functioning inged (towns) and agamas (communities) in Lanao over which modern scholars termed it as a "segmentary society".

Decline and fall

The American colonizers gained control of the Philippines from Spain in two ways: first, through the Treaty of Paris in 1898, which cost twenty million US dollars, and second, through armed conquest that defeated both the Filipino people and the Moro people in Mindanao. The treaty was a political agreement after the U.S. conquered Spain in the Spanish-American War. At the treaty's signing, certain Indigenous groups had not been colonized by Spain. One key issue is that the Moro people (particularly the Sultanate of Maguindanao, Sultanate of Sulu, and the Pat a P’ngampong sa Ranao, known as the Confederate States of Lanao) were brought into the Philippines without their consent.

Moro rebellion

The Maranaos fought the American colonizers. Notable battles include Bayang, Sultan Gumander, Ganassi and Tugaya. The Maranao fighters only used spear, bows and arrows while the Americans used rifles and cannons. Under Captain John J. Pershing, majority of the regions surrounding Lake Lanao fell under American control, with his last campaigns in Masiu and Taraca. By November 1903, he was succeeded by General Leonard Wood who sent punitive expeditions in Lanao to renounce the Maranaos' "uncivilized" practices such as slavery and theft. His expeditions resulted to the weakening of Moro resistance in Lanao leading to the Maranaos' crushing defeat. Eventually, in 1906, Lanao was pacified as noted by U.S. officials.

1934 Dansalan Declaration

The Maranaos' opposition against American annexation continued on March 18, 1935, with the "Dansalan Declaration of 1934," prepared by Didato Amai Manabilang and one hundred twenty Datus of Lanao, including thirty sultans. They sent a letter to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Congress, requesting that Mindanao and its Muslim inhabitants remain under American rule for future separate independence, but their request was rejected.

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