Iranun
Also known as Iranaon, Ilanun
The Iranun are a Muslim people of southwestern Mindanao, famed as seafarers. The 2020 census counted 333,454 in the Philippines, and communities also live in Sabah.
The Iranun (older spelling Iranaon) are a people of southwestern Mindanao. The 2020 census counted 333,454 in the Philippines, 4.7% of the Muslim tribe total.[1] Smaller communities live in Sabah, Malaysia (an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 in 2006) and in parts of Indonesia.[2]
Name and language
The origin of the name is debated. Iranun may have been the name of an ancestral group that later divided into the Iranun, Maranao and Maguindanao. The British-era form Ilanun gave Malay the word lanun, "pirate".[2] Iranun is an Austronesian language closest to Maranao.[2]
History
The Iranun formed the early core of the Sultanate of Maguindanao. Its capitals were first in Iranun territory and moved into Maguindanaon areas in the 1700s. They fought under the sultanate against Spanish and later American forces.[2] The Iranun were also renowned sailors and shipbuilders who raided Spanish-held areas across the Sulu Sea, Moro Gulf, Celebes Sea and South China Sea.[2] Studies of this maritime world include Warren (1981)[3] and Saleeby (1905).[4]
See also
References
- ↑ a b Philippine Statistics Authority. “About one in every four household population has Tagalog as ethnicity (2020 Census of Population and Housing)”. Philippine Statistics Authority, 2020 Census. Special release on ethnicity. Government Retrieved 2026-10-28
- ↑ a b c d e f g h “Iranun people”. Wikipedia. Encyclopedia Retrieved 2026-10-28
- ↑ ^ James Francis Warren. “The Sulu Zone, 1768–1898”. Singapore University Press, 1981. Book
- ↑ ^ Najeeb M. Saleeby. “Studies in Moro History, Law, and Religion”. Bureau of Public Printing, Manila, 1905. Book
- ↑ ^ “Distribution of 13 Islamized ethnolinguistic groups”. Philippine Daily Inquirer, Opinion, 2012. Published October 20, 2012. News Retrieved 2026-10-28