Pre History of Mindanao Philippines
Mindanao (/mɪndəˈnaʊ/ ( listen)) is the second-largest island in the Philippines,
after Luzon and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the
archipelago, the island is part of an island group of the same name that also includes its adjacent
islands, notably the Sulu Archipelago. As of 2015 census, Mindanao has 25,700,000 inhabitants,
while the entire island group has an estimated population of 27,021,036 as of 2021.
Mindanao is divided into six administrative regions: the Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao,
the Caraga region, the Davao region, Soccsksargen, and the autonomous region of Bangsamoro.
According to the 2015 census, Davao City is the most populous city on the island, with 1,632,991
residents, followed by Zamboanga City (pop. 861,799), Cagayan de Oro (pop. 675,950), General
Santos (pop. 594,446), Iligan (pop. 342,618), Butuan (pop. 337,063) and Cotabato City (pop.
299,438).[3] About 70% of residents identify as Christian and 24% as Muslim.[4][needs update]
Mindanao is considered the major breadbasket of the Philippines,[5] with eight of the top 10 agri-
commodities exported from the Philippines coming from the island itself.[
Prehistory[edit]
A 1926 photograph of Bagobo (Manobo) warriors
Archaeological findings on the island point to evidence of human activity dating back about ten
thousand years. Around 1500 BC Austronesian people spread throughout the Philippines.
The Subanon are believed to have established themselves on Mindanao Island during
the Neolithic Era, or New Stone Age, the period in the development of human technology beginning
around 10,000 BC according to the ASPRO chronology (between 4,500 and 2,000 BC).[clarification needed]
[8]
The evidence of old stone tools in Zamboanga del Norte may indicate a late Neolithic presence.
Ceramic burial jars, both unglazed and glazed, as well as Chinese celadons, have been found in
caves, together with shell bracelets, beads, and gold ornaments. Many of the ceramic objects are
from the Yuan and Ming periods. Evidently, there was a long history of trade between the Subanon
and the Chinese long before the latter's contact with Islam.
Rajahnates and Hindu-Buddhism[edit]
An old Spanish map of Mindanao island.
In the classic epoch of Philippine history (900 AD onwards), the people of Mindanao were heavily
exposed to Hindu and Buddhist influence and beliefs from Indonesia and Malaysia. Indianized
abugida scripts such as Kawi and Baybayin was introduced via Sulawesi and Java, and the cultural
icons of the sarong (known as malong or patadyong), the pudong turban, silk,
and batik and ikat weaving and dyeing methods were introduced. Artifacts found from this era
include the Golden kinnara, Golden Tara, and the Ganesh pendant. These cultural traits passed
from Mindanao into the Visayas and Luzon, but were subsequently lost or heavily modified after the
Spanish arrival in the 16th century.
The Hindu-Buddhist cultural revolution was strongest in the coastal areas of the island, tending to
become incorporated into local animist beliefs and customs among the tribes of the interior.
The Rajahnate of Butuan, a fully Hindu kingdom mentioned in Chinese records as a tributary state in
the 10th century, was concentrated along the northeastern coast of the island around Butuan.[9][failed
The Darangen epic of the Maranao people harkens back to this era as the most complete local
verification]
version of the Ramayana. The Maguindanao at this time also had strong Hindu beliefs, evidenced by
the Ladya Lawana (Rajah Ravana) epic saga that survives to the present, albeit highly Islamized
from the 17th century onward.
Sultanates and Islam[edit]
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Approximate historical extent of the Muslim sultanates of Sulu, Maguindanao and Lanao in the 19th century
The spread of Islam in the Philippines began in the 14th century, mostly through the influence of
Muslim merchants from the western Malay Archipelago. The first mosque in the Philippines was built
in the mid-14th century in the town of Simunul, Tawi-Tawi.[9] Around the 16th century, the Muslim
sultanates of Sulu, Lanao and Maguindanao were established from formerly Hindu-Buddhist
Rajahnates.
As Islam gained influence in Mindanao, the natives of the Sultanates had to either convert to Islam
or pay tribute to their new Muslim rulers. The largest of the Muslim polities in mainland Mindanao
was the Sultanate of Maguindanao, which controlled the southern floodplains of the Rio Grande de
Mindanao and most of the coastal area of the Illana Bay and the Moro Gulf. The name Mindanao
was derived from this Sultanate. But most of Mindanao remained animist, especially the Lumad
people in the interior. Most of the northern, eastern, and southern coastal regions inhabited
by Visayans (Surigaonon and Butuanon) and other groups were later converted to Christianity by the
Spanish. Mindanao was then embroiled between a conflict with the Boholano (Visayan) Kedatuan of
Dapitan and the Moluccan Sultanate of Ternate. Dapitan which was originally at Bohol was
destroyed by an expeditionary force from the Ternate Sultanate and Dapitenyos were forced to
relocate to Northern Mindanao where they waged war against the Sultanate of Lanao and
established a new Dapitan there.[10] Mindanaoans then spread out of Mindanao across Southeast
Asia, Historian William Henry Scott, quoting the Portuguese manuscript Summa Orientalis, noted
that Mottama in Burma (Myanmar) had a large presence of merchants from Mindanao.[11]
