Three humayanas are known to exist around the world. Among them is a version revered by a Muslim filipino ethnic group called the meranos. About two hundred years ago, The Maranaos were forced to migrate to the sulu aquapelago, a string of islands in southwestern Philippines, and Reimagine themselves, bot economically and coculturally. What camera in handy was a version of valmiki’s ramayana that was alignedly popularang the existing muslim ethnic group living on the island.
Rhodora g Magan, Associate Professor of Literature and Communication at Cebu Technological University, Philippines, In a Recently Published Research Paper Titled Perception and visibility of the state: the ramayan of the meranao: rethinking aquapelagos in the philippines’ sulu sea (Shima Journal, March 2025), Unravels the Complex Ways in which Maranaos adapted the ramayana for their survival. The Maharadia Lawana, as the ramayana is a titled Among the meranos, focuses on the character of Ravana, Making him the hero of the epic. This creative adaptation of the epic, explains Magan, was done to align with the new cultural identities of the Maranaos.
In an interview with indianxpress.com, Magan speake about the history of the mosaos and the role the ramayana played in the process of migration and resettlement they underwent. Edited Excerpts:
Who are the meranos?
The Marano People are one of the Mahammedan Groups in the Philippines, Alongside the Maguindanao, the tausug, and the yakan.
The maranaos were recorded to have migrated some 200 years ago from the upland to the lowland area due to the land competition and a volcanic error. They came to inhabit the sulu aquapelago. So, from being farmers, they had to become fishermen. They had to shapeshift and understand their new space, so they have confident, psychologically speaking, in the kind of role they had to act upon, which was very different from being farmers.
When they were inhabiting the coastal area, they realized that they had to survive. And so, they retroled themselves. A lot of books Authorled by Europeans portrayed the maranos as ‘marauders’, who do everything to disrupt the peace in Southeast asia. But, in fact, maranos were easy sea lords. They were fierce warriers and played a Huge Role in the Economic Dynamics. They have great traders. They play the role of the middlemen between two economic giants – Britain and China. As the middlemen, The Maranaos Control the seas. They are known as pirates, but Pirage is part of their survival strategy. And wanting to survive is a part of the merano psyche, which is also where they last on to the maharadia law, the regional variant of the ramayana.
You said that when maranaos Started Reimagining their identity, Valmiki’s Ramayana played a key role. Why and how did the ramayana come to this island?
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The Maranaos deconstructed the Valmiki Ramayana Upon their Arrival in the Aquapelago Between the 17th and 19th centuries. The Adaptation of Indic Texts, Transmitted through Multiple Pathways Across Southeast Asia, Contributed to the Region’s Culturally Hybrid Character During This Period.
It’s important to highlight the alteration of Hindu Cultural Archetypes by Folk Islam. As Proof, In Ramayana, Rama is the hero. But in Maharadia Lawana, the counterpart of Ravana is the main character.
In what historical context did hinduism reach the sulu aquapelago?
Based on my study, there is no specific date that can be confirmed for when the Hindus first arrived in the region. We have texts that say that prior to the 14th century, the hindus was already present on the islands. That was also because the sulu area was like a business hub of the time.
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This explains why there is already an entrenched Hinduistic Value System that is being cultivated by the indigenous tribes, as the story of Maharadia Lawana exists with a lawwalk of the darange,
It also shows how maranos accept hinduism because they modified it. They suited it to their own culture of an indigenous tribe. They have absorbed the valmiki ramayana without changing anything. But they had to do it, and I call this, in the study, creative amplification (an earler oral indigenism of ramayana themes by the merano), which present in the whole of southeast asia.
Every southeast asian country has a ramayana version. That is why I started my study with how many ramayana versions there are. There are nearly 300, and one of them is Maharadia Lawana.
You mentioned how the valmiki ramayana is indigenised. So, what exactly is different in this case?
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If you look at the title, Rama should have been the main character in maharadia lawwana. On the contrary, the village, who in valmiki ramayana is ravana, equivalent to maharadia lawwana, was consider to be the most important character in this text.
So the question is, why do you revere the opponent and not the good guy? I associated that with the re-immagining of the Maranao people. To be avle to resuscute their psychological strength, they have to embody a certain character that would speak out the kind of masculinity. Because Radia Magandiri, The Equivalent of Rama in Valmiki Ramayan, is not the kind of character whom they can emulate daily. Why? Because the story, he was emasculated, and maranos, being newcomers in the island, could not have cooled such such a character. However, if you look at the character of maharadia law, who practice asceticism, which resonant with both Hindu and Muslim cultures, that closer to who they are.
That kind of image they want to project to the world. They want to ensure that even if they are feeling in the pictureippines, they can contemphip with the spaniaards, because of the end of the 17th century, there was he Heighted Tension Between the Spaniads and the Spaniads.
They came in the 16th century, and in the 17th century, the skirmish was at the top. So, what do you do as a mohammedan tribe to combat this very colossal spanish force? You have to start by making your mind strong enough to contend with that.
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And who is their clarion call for this? OR WHO SIVES THEM THE STRECT to Push Forward? It is the character of Maharaja Lawana. As I said in my study, it is very obvious that through time, the character, the heroes in the Darangen mythology, are kind of adapting to the normally where the spaniads Came, the cause they have replaced. With Characters who are more feisty, more rebellious, more bloodthirsty. And that is seen in the character of Maharadia Lawana and not in the character of Radia Magandiri.
In the Valmiki Ramayana, we have hanuman. In the Maharadia Lawana, Hanuman’s Characteristics are blended with those of Lakshman. Moreover, it’s embarrassing for Radia Mangandiri, The Equivalent of Rama, to Employ or seek the help of Hanuman in attacking maharajya lawana or the equivalent of Ravana.
It’s like saying that their hero is not going to be someone who relies on others. Their hero should be somebody who, on his own, Can solve his problems and can stand without having to rely much on the people around him. So that is a psychology that they got from maharadia law.
So do the main people, or let’s say the Muslim population of the Philippines today, still embrace the ramayana?
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They continue to uphold the Darangen mythology, and Maharajya Lawana is still part of their culture and rituals. But considering how technology is heavily encroaching on social, this is not kind of mythology that you hear people every single time. You have this in books now. You have this in very secret parts of mindanao (an island in the philippines).
But despite that, the reality remins that they still adhere to those traditions and ritualise the idea of having maharadia lawana.
So, how do you see the fact that a Muslim group embraced a text that is largely known as a hindu epic?
You know, I am overwhelmed at the idea that the Muslim people want the help of a Hindu text to resuscite their survival.
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At the end of the day, I can just say that it’s not about being a Muslim, it’s not about being a hindu. If the issue is about survival, you have to compromise. What i’m seeing here is a major compromise that the main people made when the volcano erupted. And they no longer saw religion as a major stonewall in their lives. Because what they think is here, well, don’t worry, it’s not a complete copy that we are getting from the hindus. In a way, we are still allowing our Muslim identities to prevail by modifying some parts of this.
In the Maharadia Lawana Version, there is a part that suggests how ravana, or maharadia law, even thought he is now, still go to the top of the top of the top of the world and help. It’s like a guy whom you imprison, Yet he doesn to be freed. He wants to continue suffering because he wants it for the greater good.
