datuk is a traditional malay honorific title commonly used in malaysia, indonesia, and brunei. its variant is dato and its equivalent is datu in the philippines. == origin == the oldest historical records mentioning about the title datuk is the 7th century srivijayan inscriptions such as telaga batu to describe lesser kings or vassalized kings. it was called dÄtu in old malay language to describe regional leader or elder,casparis, j.g., (1956), prasasti indonesia ii: selected inscriptions from the 7th to the 9th century a.d., dinas purbakala republik indonesia, bandung: masa baru. a kind of chieftain that rules of a collection of kampungs (villages). the srivijaya empire was describes as a network of mandala that consists of settlements, villages, and ports each ruled by a datu that vowed their loyalty (persumpahan) to the central administration of srivijayan maharaja. unlike the indianized title of raja and maharaja, the term datuk was also found in the philippines as datu, which suggests its common native austronesian origin. the term kadatwan or kedaton refer to the residence of datuk, equivalent with keraton and istana. in later mataram javanese culture, the term kedaton shifted to refer the inner private compound of the keraton, the residential complex of king and royal family. == indonesia == today in indonesia, datuk refer to honorific title of traditional community, especially among malay and minangkabau people. it is functioned as a title reserved for community leader that deals with traditions and community affairs. in minangkabau tradition, datuk (or datuak) is a traditional, honorary title bestowed on a person by the agreement of a people or tribe in the minangkabau language, spoken by the minangkabau people.navis a.a., (1984), layar terkembang jadi guru: adat dan kebudayaan minangkabau, jakarta: pt. grafiti pers. (indonesian) the title of datuk was agreed upon by local, traditional leaders (kerapatan adat nagari). the title engenders great respect, and is only used for minangkabau men who have become stakeholders of traditional leaders or penghulu (noblemen) for a particular tribe. when the title is bestowed, it is celebrated with a traditional ceremony (malewa gala) and a banquet. unlike other malay traditions, the title of datuk in minangkabau is inherited according to the matrilineal system. when a datuk dies his title may pass to his brother or nephew, whoever is closest in the maternal line. if there is no maternal relative, it may be given to another tribal member with the agreement of the tribe. == malaysia == in malaysia the title "datuk" has two meanings: formal and infor
Honorifics Malaysian_honours_list