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In early Philippine history, the
rank Rank is the relative position, value, worth, complexity, power, importance, authority, level, etc. of a person or object within a ranking, such as: Level or position in a hierarchical organization * Academic rank * Diplomatic rank * Hierarchy * H ...
of ''lakan'' denoted a "
paramount ruler {{Use American English, date=December 2018 The term paramount ruler, or sometimes paramount king, is a generic description, though occasionally also used as an actual title, for a number of rulers' position in relative terms, as the summit of a fe ...
" (or more specifically, "'' paramount datu''") of one of the large coastal
barangay A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolitan ...
s (known as a "bayan") on the central and southern regions of the island of
Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, a ...
.


Overview

The ''lakan'' was democratically selected by other ruling
datu ''Datu'' is a title which denotes the rulers (variously described in historical accounts as chiefs, sovereign princes, and monarchs) of numerous indigenous peoples throughout the Philippine archipelago. The title is still used today, especia ...
s from among themselves to serve as their "''pangulo''" (head). Writers such as William Henry Scott have suggested that this rank is equivalent to that of
rajah ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in history of South Asia, South Asia and History of ...
, and that different ethnic groups either used one term or the other, or used the two words interchangeably.Scott, William Henry, Barangay: Sixteenth-Century Philippine Culture and Society, Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press, 1994. But other writers such as
Nick Joaquin Nicomedes "Nick" Marquez Joaquin (; May 4, 1917 – April 29, 2004) was a Filipino writer and journalist best known for his short stories and novels in the English language. He also wrote using the pen name Quijano de Manila. Joaquin was conferr ...
have suggested that the usage of the term "rajah" specifically indicates leadership of a bayan or barangay which has extensive trade relations with Muslim traders. Equivalent terms for this rank include the term "
sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...
" in the Muslim polities of
Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) 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 t ...
, and the term "
datu ''Datu'' is a title which denotes the rulers (variously described in historical accounts as chiefs, sovereign princes, and monarchs) of numerous indigenous peoples throughout the Philippine archipelago. The title is still used today, especia ...
" as used by various polities in the
Visayas The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands ( Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; tl, Kabisayaan ), are one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Luzon and Mindanao. Located in the central part of the archipelago, ...
and in some areas of
Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) 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 t ...
.


Orthography

There is no particular legal or academic prescription of orthography for the title of ''lakan''. Thus it may be spelled separate from the person's name (e.g. "Lakan Dula"), or be incorporated with the name to form a single word (e.g. "Lakandula"). Rajah and lakan: It is sometimes argued that since the titles "rajah" and "lakan" are roughly equivalent, the two should not be used together. Thus, referring to Lakandula as Rajah Lakandula is said to be the result of mistaking Lakandula to be the full proper name of the said king.


Prominent lakans

Users of the title ''lakan'' that figure in 16th- and 17th-century Spanish colonial accounts of Philippine history include: * Lakandula (later christened as Don Carlos Lacandola), ruler of Tondo when the Spanish conquest of
Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, a ...
began. *Lakan Tagkan, ruler of
Namayan Namayan (Baybayin: Pre-Kudlit: or (''Sapa''), Post-Kudlit: ), also called Sapa,Locsin, Leandro V. and Cecilia Y. Locsin. 1967. ''Oriental Ceramics Discovered in the Philippines.'' Vermont: Charles E. Tuttle Company. Maysapan or Nasapan, an ...
. *Lambusan (Lakan Busan), a king in pre-colonial
Mandaue Mandaue (), officially the City of Mandaue ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Mandaue; fil, Lungsod ng Mandaue), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 364,116 ...
. *Lakan Usman, king of Bangsa Usman.


Present-day usage

In present-day culture, the term is still occasionally used to mean "
nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteris ...
", but has mostly been adapted to other uses. The name of Malacañan Palace, the official residence of the president of the Republic of the Philippines, is traditionally attributed to the phrase ''may lakan diyan'', or "the king
r head R, or r, is the eighteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ar'' (pronounced ), plural ''ars'', or in Irela ...
resides there". In Filipino Martial Arts, ''lakan'' denotes an equivalent to the black belt rank.http://www.martialedge.net/encyclopedia/definition/terminology/view/lakan/ Also, beauty contests in the Philippines have taken to referring to the winner as "lakambini", the female equivalent of ''lakan''. In such cases, the contestant's assigned escort can be referred to as a ''lakan''. More often, a male pageant winner is named a ''lakan''. Philippine National Police Academy graduates are called ''lakan'' (male) and ''lakambini'' (female)


See also

*
Principalía The ''principalía'' or noble class was the ruling and usually educated upper class in the '' pueblos'' of Spanish Philippines, comprising the ''gobernadorcillo'' (later called the c''apitán municipal'' and had functions similar to a town mayo ...
*
Maginoo The Tagalog ''maginoo'', the Kapampangan ''ginu'', and the Visayan ''tumao'' were the nobility social class among various cultures of the pre-colonial Philippines. Among the Visayans, the ''tumao'' were further distinguished from the immediate ...
*
Datu ''Datu'' is a title which denotes the rulers (variously described in historical accounts as chiefs, sovereign princes, and monarchs) of numerous indigenous peoples throughout the Philippine archipelago. The title is still used today, especia ...
*
Maharlika The ''Maharlika'' (meaning freeman or freedman) were the feudal warrior class in ancient Tagalog society in Luzon, the Philippines. They belonged to the lower nobility class similar to the ''Timawa'' of the Visayan people. In modern Filipino, h ...
*
Timawa The ''Timawa'' were the feudal warrior class of the ancient Visayan societies of the Philippines. They were regarded as higher than the '' uripon'' (commoners, serfs, and slaves) but below the ''Tumao'' (royal nobility) in the Visayan social hi ...
*
Philippine shamans Filipino shamans, commonly known as (also ''Balian'' or , among many other names), were Shamanism, shamans of the various Ethnic groups in the Philippines, ethnic groups of the History of the Philippines (900–1521), pre-colonial Philippines ...
*
Tondo (historical polity) In History of the Philippines (900–1521), early Philippine history, the Tagalog people, Tagalog settlement at Tondo (; Baybayin: ) was a major trade hub located on the northern part of the List of islands in the Greater Manila Area, Pasig R ...
*
Barangay A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolitan ...
* History of the Philippines (pre-1521)


Sources

{{India-related topics in Philippines Indigenous culture of the Tagalog people History of the Philippines (900–1565) Filipino paramount rulers Filipino nobility Filipino royalty Social class in the Philippines