The socio-economic characteristics of the FIlipino sultanates

Abstract

In the pre-islamic era, the Muslim south shared the same political organization as the rest of the Philippine archipelago. The head of the social organization, which was called the barangay, was the datu who belonged to the nobility or ruling class and was assisted by a group of elders, composed usually of the heads of families. They ruled the village whose population consisted of both freemen and dependents.