Maranao language
Definition
Maranao is an Austronesian language spoken by the Maranao people of the area around Lake Lanao in Lanao del Sur and parts of Lanao del Norte, Philippines. One of the major languages of Filipino Muslim (Moro) communities and spoken by well over a million people, it is closely related to Maguindanao and Iranun, was historically written in an Arabic-based script, and is the language of the Darangen, the epic chant tradition recognized by UNESCO as a masterpiece of intangible heritage.
Identities (Wikipedia/Wikidata/DBpedia)
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maranao_language
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q33800
- DBpedia: N/A
Also Known As
Meranao; Maranaw; the language of the people of the lake (from “ranao,” lake).
Examples and Analogies
Maranao holds the position in Lanao that Javanese holds in central Java: a major regional language whose royal epics, chant traditions, and courtly vocabulary anchor a proud sultanate-era heritage within a larger nation-state. To hear the Darangen sung is closer to hearing Homer than to hearing a pop lyric — fixed meter, archaic diction, hours-long performance — and it survives in Maranao as Greek epic survives only in scholarly memory, except here it is still living practice.
Usage Scenarios
Maranao is the daily language of Maranao communities around Lake Lanao and in diaspora settlements in Mindanao cities and Metro Manila, used in homes, mosques, marketplaces, and local radio. Cultural workers use it in performances of the Darangen and in kulintang and dance traditions; teachers and officials encounter it in mother-tongue education initiatives and in local governance of the Bangsamoro region.
Strategies
Language maintenance is strongest where Islamic schooling, family use, and cultural performance reinforce one another — the pattern already visible in Maranao communities, where Quranic literacy historically supported script traditions. Documentation pairings between elder singers of the Darangen and younger performers, plus orthography support in both Arabic-based and Roman scripts, keep the written tradition healthy.
Security and Safety Measures
Maranao’s documentation is tied to the wellbeing of its heritage bearers: master chanters of the Darangen are few, so recording and fair compensation are urgent. Displacement from armed conflict — most recently the 2017 Marawi siege — scattered speaker communities and endangered libraries and family manuscripts; protecting cultural property during emergencies is a recognized obligation under heritage law.
Historical Context
Maranao grew from the speech of the lake-dwelling communities organized around the sultanates of Lanao, which entered Spanish, American, and Philippine records as cohesive polities. Arabic-script literacy accompanied Islam’s long presence in the region, supporting correspondence, genealogies, and literature including the Darangen, which UNESCO proclaimed a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2005. The language persisted through colonial and postcolonial periods and today benefits from the cultural programs of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Challenges and Controversies
The 2017 Marawi siege devastated the urban heart of Maranao speech, dispersing families and destroying heritage collections; recovery of cultural life lags behind physical reconstruction. Debates continue over Roman versus Arabic-based orthographies in published materials, over how Darangan performances should be taught outside hereditary chanter lineages, and over balancing Maranao with Filipino and English in Lanao schools.
Related Topic
Maranao People