Sharif Kabungsuwan

Shariff Muhammed Kabungsuwan[1] (Malay: Muhammad Kebungsuwan, Jawi: شريف کبوڠسووان) was the first Sultan of Maguindanao in the Philippines. A native of Johore in Maritime Southeast Asia, Kabungsuwan re-settled in Mindanao in the Philippines where he preached Islam to the native tribes around the region.[2][3]

Muhammad Kabungsuwan
1st Sultan of Maguindanao
Reign	1520–1543
Successor	Sultan Maka-alang Saripada
Born	unknown Johore
Died	1543 Maguindanao
Burial	Butig, Lanao del Sur
Spouse	Angintabo (Maranao princess)
Wife	Daughter of Macaapun Rajah Simbaan of Malabang Masawang (Angintabo's niece)
Issue	Sultan Maka-alang Saripada Dayang Daragat Layagun Aloyodan nine other children
Full name Muhammad Shariff Kabungsuwan
House	Sultan of Maguindanao
Mother	Daughter of Sultan Iskandar Zhulkarnain of Malacca
Religion	Sunni Islam

Origin

Maguindanao genealogy records state that Kabungsuwan's father was an Arab and a sharif or a descendant of the Islamic Prophet Mohammed while his mother was Malay. His recorded name "Kabungsuwan" in Maguindanao tradition means "youngest" and is said to the be the youngest among three children. His eldest brother, Ahmad is said to have established the Bruneian Sultanate while his other brother Alawi is said to have set up the Sulu Sultanate.[4]

Mission work in Mindanao

Kabungsuwan is generally regarded as the one who introduced Islam in the Lanao and Maguindanao areas in Mindanao arriving in the area in the early 16th century. There are several tarsilas or written genealogy on Kabungsuwan though most of these state that he brought in men when he landed in Mindanao, his group are composed of seafarers, there was initial force with his group's interaction with the locals and that there were already Muslims in Mindanao when his Kangungsuwan and his men landed near the mouth of the Pulangi River. Kabungsuwan formed alliances with influential royal families of Sulu, Borneo, and Ternate. This led to Islam becoming the dominant religion around Lake Lanao by the 19th century.[5]

Personal life

Kabungsuwan traded in T'buk (old name of Malabang) Malabang, Lanao, married to the native princess of Maranao.[6]

Kabungsuwan was of Arab-Malay ethnicity. He married a local princess and established the Sultanate of Maguindanao in the 16th century.[2] The sultanate was usually centered in the valley of Cotabato.

Legacy

The former province of Shariff Kabunsuan in the Philippines was named after him.

Notes

1. Ang Bayan Sa Labas Ng Maynila (2008), pg 195
2. "History/The%20Maguindanao%20Sultanate". mnlf.net. Retrieved 2015-08-23.
3. "WebCite query result". webcitation.org. Archived from the original on October 26, 2009. Retrieved 2015-08-23.
4. Gonda, John, ed. (1975). "The Muslims of the Philippines". Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 3 Southeast Asia, Religions, Religionen. BRILL. p. 93. ISBN 9004043306.
5. Nathan, K.S.; Kamali, Mohammad Hashim (2005). "Islam in the Phililippines". In Abubakar, Carmen (ed.). Islam in Southeast Asia: Political, Social and Strategic Challenges for the 21st Century (reprint ed.). Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. pp. 49–50. ISBN 9812302832.
6. Halili, M. (2004). Philippine History. Rex Book Store. p. 52. ISBN 9789712339349. Retrieved 2015-08-23.

References

• Ang Bayan Sa Labas Ng Maynila, by Rosario Cruz Lucero, published by Ateneo de Manila University Press, 2008, ISBN 971-550-535-X