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Datu (Baybayin: ᜇᜆᜓ) is the title for chiefs, sovereign princes, and monarchs [19] in the Visayas [20] and Mindanao [21] regions of the Philippines. Together with lakan , apo (central and northern Luzon), [22] sultan, and rajah, they are titles used for native royalty, and are still used frequently in Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan.
According to Historian Robert Nicholl, Rajah Tugau of the Melanao was the Rajah Makatunao mentioned in the Philippine History book of Maragtas to which the 10 Datus of the Kedatuan of Madja-as in Panay Island, at the Visayas region, waged a war against, it is through the Melano that Visayans have further links with the Srivijayans in Vijayapura ...
The existence of Datu or Rajah Makatunaw have corroboration in Chinese records during the Song Dynasty when Chinese scholars recorded that the ruler of Brunei during a February 1082 AD diplomatic meeting, was Seri Maharaja, and his descendant was Rajah Makatunaw and was together with Sang Aji (grandfather to Sultan Muhammad Shah).
The titles of the paramount datu also changed from case to case, including: Sultan in the most Islamized areas of Mindanao; [2] [page needed] lakan among the Tagalogs; [2] [page needed] Thimuay Labi among the Subanen; rajah in polities which traded extensively with Indonesia and Malaysia; or simply Datu in some areas of Mindanao and the Visayas.
The fourth societal category above can be termed the datu class, and was a titled aristocracy. [5]: 150–151 The early polities were typically made up of three-tier social structure: a nobility class, a class of "freemen", and a class of dependent debtor-bondsmen: [6] [7] Datu (ruling class) and Maginoo (noble class, where the datu ascends from)
The datu himself was required to defend or avenge these timawa even at the risk of his own life. The most trusted among these timawa are traditionally tasked with carrying out diplomatic missions, marriage negotiations, and mourning rites in case of the death of the datu. As such, the Boxer Codex likened them to "knights and hidalgos". [1] [5]
Macabebe and Sulayman's forces were defeated, and the Datu of Macabebe was killed in what history would record as the Battle of Bangkusay Channel. (The similarity of names has caused some confusion between these two leaders, but Tarik Sulayman and Rajah Sulayman were different individuals – one survived the battle, and the other did not.) [2]
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. [1] The title is still used today, though not as much as early Philippine history.