Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Traversing the Islamic City of Marawi
Officially known as the Islamic City of Marawi is the capital of the province of Lanao del Sur, the spiritual and cultural center of the Filipino Muslims of the Philippines. It is located in the southeast of Lanao del Norte, about 37 kilometers away from its Christian gateway City, Iligan. A dominant physical feature of this potential travel destination is the Lake Lanao to which the province economy is very much dependent.
How
to go to Marawi
From the south
bound Integrated Bus and Jeepney terminal of Iligan City located at Camague,
Brgy Tomas Ll. Caili, you have to take a jeep or a van which will cost you
more or less P50 pesos which would take more or less one hour travel. If you
are a Christian and it would be your first travel to Marawi, I would strongly
recommend that you should find a local trust worthy contact for your safety. If
you are a woman, you should dress decently, if its not too much you can wear
their “kombong” a local term for turban
which is made from Maranao fabric.
Craftsmanship
My recent visit to Marawi gave me a
glimpse of the culture of the city’s dominant tribe, the Maranao. The
Maranao’s or the “People of the Lake,” together with the Tausug and Maguindanao
are among the three major Muslim groups of the Philippines. My history class
back in college teaches me about the craftsmanship of the Maranao
tribe. They are a superb craftspeople who are known for their
excellent malong waving and brass-wares. The brass-making town of Tugaya
is accessible by boat upon crossing the Lake Lanao from the busy market. It is
a municipality situated for about 23 kilometers on the western shore of Lake
Lanao.
The
MSU Main Campus
Mindanao State University Main
Campus. The MSU Main Campus is founded in 1962 with a total area of 10 sq.
kilometers. The campus that showcases Muslim culture, intellects and
aspirations. The University is run by Muslim and Christina educators and the
students are both Muslim and Christian coming from the different parts of
Mindanao. The university serves as the vehicle for integration between the
Christian and Muslim cultures.
The
Aga Khan Museum of Islamic Arts
Inside the MSU main campus is the Aga
Khan Museum of Islamic Arts. The museum has two sections; one that displays
Muslim and the Maranao tribal artifacts, textiles, and some Chinese pottery;
while the other section contains exhibits of history.
The
People of Marawi and the Lake
Majority of the settlers of Marawi
are the Maranao or “the people of the lake.” The Maranao dialect is the local
language of communication. The word “Lanao” came from the word “ranao” means
“lake” a body of water in the native dialect. The Maranao’s are very sensitive
to maratabat which is a term that derives from Arabic and signifies rank and
its due respect. They are the most status-conscious among the tribes settling
the 7,107 islands of the Philippines. Maratabat serves as the controlling
factor of the Maranao’s social actions, which determines not only what they do,
but what they avoid doing so as not to offend the maratabat of their fellows.
Sometimes it is intricately linked with family honor and afronts against it
that may seem trivial to outsiders can lead a Maranao to demand retribution or
exact violent revenge.
The
Mosques and the Madrasa
In my recent travel to Marawi, I had
this chance of visiting and taking photos with their famous Mosques. Marawi as
the cultural and spiritual center of the Filipino Muslims, it has built several
Madrasas, a religious schools whose curriculum includes instruction in the
basic principles of Islam, performance of the tribes rituals, and the reading
of an Arabic Kor’an.
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