The Maranao people (Maranao: ['mәranaw]; Filipino: Maranaw), also spelled Meranao, Maranaw, and Mëranaw, is the term used by the Philippine government to refer to the southern indigenous people who are the "people of the lake", a predominantly-Muslim Lanao province region of the Philippine island of Mindanao. They are known for their artwork, weaving, wood, plastic and metal crafts and epic literature, the Darangen. They are ethnically and culturally closely related to the Iranun, and Maguindanao, all three groups being denoted as speaking Danao languages and giving name to the island of Mindanao. Etymology The name "Maranao" (also spelled "Meranao", "Meranaw", or "Maranaw") means "people of the lake" (lanaw or ranaw, archaic danaw, means "lake" in the Maranao language). This is in reference to Lake Lanao, the predominant geographic feature of the ancestral homeland of the Maranao people. The original endonym of the ancestral Maranao is believed to be "Iranaoan". This group later diverged, resulting in the modern Maguindanao and the Iranun people (whose names can also be translated to "people of the lake"), while the ancestral Iranaoan who stayed in Lake Lanao became known as the Maranao. These three ethnic groups are still related to each other, share similar cultures and speak languages belonging to the Danao language family. History The Maranao were the last of the Muslims of the Southern Philippines undergoing islamicization, primarily under the influence of the Maguindanao Sultanate. Like neighboring Moros and Lumadnon, during the nominal occupation of the Philippines by the Spanish, and later the American and the Japanese, the Maranao had tribal leaders called datu. In the 16th century, upon the arrival of Islam, they developed into a kingdom with a Sultan due to the influence of Muslim missionaries. Culture Maranao culture can be characterized by: Lake Lanao Sarimanok (Papanoka a Məra or Marapatik) Torogan, Maranao royal houses, where the architecture used is the most aesthetic in the Philippines Darangən, an epic UNESCO Intangible cultural heritage Kirim, pre-Hispanic handwriting based from Arabic letters with 19 consonants and 7 vowels Singkil, a Philippine dance based on a scene from the Darangən Okir wood and metal carvings Kapmorod and Kakhalilang with Sambolayang and Pasandalan a Morog and Marigay for Kazipa sa Manggis Kaplagod (racing horses) Tabo, a drum used in mosques to call worshippers to prayer Maranao culture is centered around Lake Lanao, the largest lake in Mindanao, and second-largest and deepest lake in the Philippines.