Interesting facts every visitor should know about Marawi

MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur - The Maranaos which means the "people of the lake" are the

last group to be Islamized in Mindanao but turned out to be strongest of adherents. They

settled around the edge of Lake Lanao, and along the banks of the small rivers which lead

into it.

The lake is surrounded with myths and legends. A particularly interesting version says that before

the Spanish regime, St. Francis Xavier came to Marawi to preach and convert the Muslims. He

was said to have failed because of the unusual ferocity of the people living there.

Due geographical location, the Maranaos lived in isolation far from the sophisticated life of the

cities.

The spread of Islamic religion in Marawi, the capital of this province, and the only chartered city

in the country with predominantly Muslim population, followed the pattern in Indonesia and

other Malay areas. It started with the coming of Arab traders, intermingling with the Maranaos

and consequently establishing communities locally.

The first contacts were primarily economic but the Muslim teachers and Islamic missionaries

pursued the native traders with intensity, indoctrinating them with Islamic religion to strengthen

their hold on the natives. Finally, the Maranao chieftains embraced Islamic religion and the

people followed. Shortly thereafter Islam spread throughout the south.

By the time the Spaniards arrived in the 16th century, Islam had taken deep root throughout the

south.

The Maranao family is traditionally large. They are close-knit people that in a family with 10

members is considered small. Even in a wealthy family, married members of the same family

tend to live in the same house. In some great Maranao merchant houses, the central room is

shared by as many as six married families.

The Maranaos are also known for their business acumen and commercial prowess. The central

areas or family rooms are marked off by large mats where they eat, sleep and socialize.

Among the Maranao, feudal standings once strictly defined and inclusive are still visible. The

leading class is composed of sultans, datus and their closest kin, sometimes referred to as "of

royal" in reference to their ancestors who were once the ruling sultans of Lanao. Many of them

maintain their high positions because of wealth, land ownership and generally, political

positions to which they are now elected or appointed or notwithstanding by means of

vote-buying.

Such is the case of Prof. Datu Diamael M. Lucman who was recently appointed president of the

most prestigious Mindanao State University System in Marawi City and who is said to be widely

responsible for President "Erap" Estrada's overwhelming victory in the last elections all over

Mindanao. It is claimed that because of Lucman's popular sway over his Muslim brothers,

Mindanao which has always been pro-administration instead supported Erap's bid for the

presidency!

MSU president Diamael M. Lucman comes from the royal lineage of Princess Tarhata Alonto

Lucman, a prominent political figure descended from a long line of sultans and datus. It is

worth-while remembering that the husband of Princess Tarhata: Congressman Al-Rashid

Lucman, who died in exile in Saudi Arabia during the Marcos' martial law era, was accorded a

royal and hero's burial by the king. Al-Rashid Lucman was widely known and called the

"Supreme Datu" of Mindanao. Such families with ancient lineages are now consolidated by

intermarriages. And Marawi to this day, is perhaps one of the most likely places in Mindanao for

visitors to witness a royal wedding with all its ageold pomposity, color, festivities and intracacies

of ritual and tradition. (To be continued)