Seven Manobo Sultans

I was excited when I found out about three years ago that a line of Dulangan Manobo chieftains had been using the title sultan. In my post about it, I mentioned that the Manobo sultans had not been as powerful or famous as the Muslim sultans of Mindanao, but I deemed the Manobo sultans to be holding a legitimate title. I no longer feel the same way. After making an extensive research on the sultanate of Maguindanao, for it was the main material in a novel manuscript that I wrote last year, I now feel that the Manobo sultans have been a little too presumptuous in assuming the title.

Among the rulers of Maguindanao, the first to call himself sultan was Kudarat, and there is no question that he deserved the title. At the peak of his reign in the 1600s, he ruled or had influence in almost the whole mainland Mindanao. The other sultanates, except for the sultanate of Sulu, emerged as such out of their association with the sultanate of Maguindanao. The other sultans were either in-laws of the sultan of Maguindanao or cousins of the sultan who wanted their own realms to rule. I believe, therefore, that the Manobo chieftains can only use the title sultan if they are related by affinity or consanguinity to the sultan of Maguindanao.

It seems that the Manobo sultan in Kulaman village is not even remotely related to the sultan of Maguindanao. Based on a 1960s research paper by anthropologist Marcelino Maceda, the first chieftain in Kulaman village to call himself sultan was Kalulong Dakyas. Maceda claims in the paper that Dakyas himself and other informants revealed to him that a certain “Datu de Patuan of Craan, Cotabato” conferred the title to Dakyas. It’s possible that the Muslim ruler was related to the Maguindanao royal family, for Dipatuan was one of Sultan Kudarat’s names, but I doubt if has the authority to confer the title sultan. He was himself using the humbler title datu! Nevertheless, the Dakyas patriarchs are free to call themselves sultan and pass the title from one generation to the next. It’s not against Philippine laws, and as far as I know, the descendants of Sultan Kudarat do not claim exclusive right to the title.

The same prerogative is enjoyed by the other Dulangan Manobo “sultans.” I discovered from Kitab, the customary law of the tribe, that six other Manobo chieftains are using the lofty title. They are Sulutan Dod Nayam of Lebak town, Sulutan Nestor Bualao of Ampatuan, Sulutan Diamadin Balaw of Palimbang, Sulutan Juanito Pugoyan of Palimbang, Sulutan Dod Banday of Kalamansig, and Sulutan Sama Mlok Bineklao of Kalamansig. The six sultans are tegeantangs or justice officers of the tribe, along with Sulutan Rey Dakias of Kulaman (Senator Ninoy Aquino) and twenty-two datus. The Kitab further shows that Manobo sultans are not higher in rank than the Manobo datus. None of the sultans is part of the Genelal Kaunotan, the executive committee of the tribe; the seven members of the committee are all datus.

Why am I writing this? It’s not to bash the Manobo sultans. It’s to reveal to my fellow outsiders that the political structure of indigenous cultural communities can be more complex than, or so different from, what we think. The dynamics may not be the same even if they’re using familiar terms. We should be careful with our assumptions. We might be thinking that sultans are the highest authority in a tribe and then give them rights and privileges that a humbler chieftain might deserve better. We must know our indigenous brothers and sisters more. If we don’t, what we believe to be an act of kindness might be a detriment to them.