Maguindanao people

The Maguindanao people, called Maguindanaon, are an Austronesian ethnic group from the Philippines. The Maguindanaon are part of wider political identity of Muslims known as Moro, who constitute the third largest ethnic group of Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan. 

The Maguindanaons historically had an independent sultanate known as the Sultanate of Maguindanao which comprises modern day Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur, Zamboanga Peninsula, Davao Region and Soccsksargen. The name "Maguindanao/Magindanaw" itself was corrupted by Spanish sources into "Mindanao", which became the name for the entire island of Mindanao and its surrounding islets.

 Etymology 
The word Maguindanao or Magindanaw means "people of the flood plains", from the word Magi'inged that means "people or citizen" and danaw that means "lake or marsh". Thus Maguindanao or Magindanaw can also be translated as "people of the lake", identical to their close neighbors, the Maranao and Iranun. These three groups speak related languages belonging to the Danao language family.

Language
The Maguindanao language is the native language of the Maguindanaons. Aside from this, most are able to speak Filipino, and English in varying levels of fluency. Arabic is also used among madrasah-educated Maguindanaons, being the liturgical language of Islam, a religion of most Maguindanaons, though it is rarely used beyond its religious environment except by Maguindanaons in the Middle East, especially in Saudi Arabia, who are fluent in that language.

 Musical and performing arts 

The Maguindanaon have a culture that revolves around kulintang music, a specific type of gong music, found among both Muslim and non-Muslim groups of the Southern Philippines.

References

Category:Indigenous peoples of the Philippines
Category:Ethnic groups in the Philippines
Category:Maguindanao