Mindanaoan Tribes

by Yeoj Adrian E. Guevarra

Iranun Tribe

The Iranun people or Ilanun were one of the oldest existing tribes in the
Philippines. The name of the tribe Ilanun or “Lanun” is a Malay word which means
“pirate”. They were from the proud lineage of sultans of the pre-colonial Philippines.
They are native in the land of Mindanao, Philippines.

They inhabited the area bordering between Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao.
The two ethnic groups Maranao and Maguindanao were said to be originating from the
Iranun tribe. And it is said the the language of the two ethnic groups are strongly rooted
from the Iranun tongue. The Iranun formed part of the Maguindanao sultanate for
several centuries. Rather than the Maranao, it is said that the culture of the Iranun tribe
were influenced from the Maguindanao. There are now settlements of Iranun in Borneo,
the Sulu Archipelago, and among the Maguinao and Maranao, but this dispora has not
received much attention form the scholars, and a little is known about the Iranun people.
It has been observed that when they lived in an area that is predominantly Maranao,
they weave and wear Maranao-style clothing. If their Maguindanao family surround
them, however, they adapt their weaving practices and cloth patterns to conform to
Maguindanao aesthetic values. Below is an example of an Iranun cloth,
 The patterns are reflections with vertical and horizontal reflection axes that
intersect at a center. The symmetry group of the repeating pattern is a plane
crystallographic group of type.

Yet ethnic consciousness has been strong as the Iranun continued to preserve
their own ways of life and even to chart their own political destiny. Like other Muslim
groups, the Iranuns are also advanced in the field of education. They actively participate
in local development; their professionals have managed to occupy key positions in the
government, run their own business entities and Islamic institutions like masjid and
madrasa.

Source:

https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/161954/The-11-tribes-in-Davao-Iranun-
https://mathinphilippineart.wordpress.com/patterns-by-region-2/muslim-mindanao/maranao/

Palibugan Tribe

Yakan Tribe

The word Yakan denotes "Dayak Origin". Various Yakan folk stories indicate that
Yakans are descendants of both migrating Dayak from Northeast Borneo and Sama
from Johore a long time ago. (NCIP)

The island of Basilan just off the southern tip of the Zamboanga peninsula of
western Mindanao, and the islands of Sakol, Malanipa, and Tumalutab east of
Zamboanga are inhabited by the Yakan. (NCCA)

The Yakans are believed to be the aborigines of Basilan. They live in the interior
part of this island province. They have no compact village and their houses are
scattered in the field. The house of the Yakans is rectangular in form and has no special
quarters for women. Both men and women including their guests gather in the same
room or at the porch. Farming is the chief means of livelihood among the Yakans and
they usually cultivate upland rice. The initiative for marriage in a Yakan community
comes from the man. He has to pay the dowry as well as the expenses for the wedding
ceremony. The marriage is solemnized by the imam.

Yakan weaving are inspired by patterns, like the Palipattang inspired by the
rainbow and a Bunga-sama inspired by the skin patterns of a Python. From here they
play around with combination of colors.

http://www.univie.ac.at/Voelkerkunde/apsis/aufi/yakan/yakan.htm

https://web.archive.org/web/20071113214937/http://www.ncca.gov.ph/about_culta
rts/ebook_subcont.php?subcont_Id=63

https://web.archive.org/web/20041214094247/http://www.ncip.gov.ph/resources/et
hno_detail.php?ethnoid=106

https://www.ironwulf.net/2009/04/25/zamboanga-yakan-weaving-and-people/