When the Spaniards first explored Lanao in 1689, they found a well-settled community named Dansalan at the lake's northern end.

Dansalan became a municipality in 1907 and a city in 1940.

1352 changed the name Dansalan to Marawi, taken from the word rawi, referring to the reclining lilies abundant in the Agus River.

Marawi was known as Dansalan when it served as the capital of the undivided Lanao province from 1907 to 1940.

The granting of a charter to the old Dansalan municipality was jointly conceived by the Philippine Commonwealth President Manuel L. Quezon and Assemblyman, later Senator, Tomas L. Cabili.

The changing of the official name from Dansalan to Marawi was through Congressional amendment of the Charter in 1956 sponsored by Sen. Domocao Alonto.

It was in the year 1940 President Quezon issued an Executive Order known as Commonwealth Act No. 592 creating Dansalan ( now Marawi City ) as regular municipality and Tamparan as its municipal district covering the areas ( now municipalities ) of Masiu, Taraka, Poona-Bayabao, Lumba Bayabao, Maguing, Mulondo, Bumbaran and Wao.

Its office was based at Dansalan, Lanao under the directorship of Teofisto Guingona, Sr. who was then exercising government control over provinces and municipal districts of Mindanao.

The region is home to most of the country's Muslim or Moro populations, composed of many ethnic groups such as the Maranao and the Tausug, the Banguingui ( users of the vinta ), as well as the collective group of indigenous tribes known as the Lumad.

The Maranao is an ethnic group of Malay descent.

Maranao is the most commonly spoken language in the province.

Due to its use across a wide variety groups and languages, the kulintang is also called kolintang by the Maranao and those in Sulawesi, kulintangan, gulintangan by those in Sabah and the Sulu Archipelago and totobuang by those in central Maluku.

The kulintang is traditionally considered a women ’ s instrument by many groups: the Maguindanao, Maranao, Tausug / Suluk, Samal, Badjao / Sama, Iranun, Kadazan, Murut, Bidayuh and Iban.

Though these melodies vary even within groups like the Maguindanao and Maranao, one theme which characterizes the Sulu-type is the exchange of short melodic phrases between the kulintangan and the Agungs, where both instruments imitate and duplicate each others rhythms very quickly.

Maranao is widely spoken in Marawi City, however, local inhabitants can also speak Tagalog, Cebuano and to some extent, English.

The feeling of the unique natural setting of the Maranaos in Marawi City is manifested by the presence of many large Torogans, an antique royal high-roofed houses with carvings designed by the Maranao, and Sambitory old Buildings in Barrio Naga, Marawi City.

Maranao is an Austronesian language spoken by the Maranao people in the provinces of Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur in the Philippines.

Maranao is the term used for the people of Lanao, a predominantly Muslim region in the Philippines island of Mindanao.

The word Maranao, also spelled Maranaw, means " People of the Lake ," referring to the indigenous people who inhabited the lands around Lake Lanao whose principal town is Marawi City.

Maranao is an Austronesian language spoken by the Maranao people in the provinces of Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur in the Philippines.

Sarimanok is a legendary bird of the Maranao that has become a ubiquitous symbol of their art.

Biyula is another Instrument for the Maranao people to use, Biyula is a string instrument.

It is made of stewed scallion bulbs or “ sakurab ” in Maranao.

The language of the Maranao people is also called Maranao.

Okkir or okkil is the term for geometric and flowing designs ( often based on an elaborate leaf and vine pattern ) and folk motifs that can be usually found in Maranao and Muslim-influenced artwork, especially in the southern Philippines, and in some parts of Southeast Asia.

In the Philippines, an ancient proof of okir's style of flowering symbols is the torogan, the ancestral home of the highest titleholder in a Maranao village.

The Maharadia Lawana, is the Maranao version of the Ramayana.

Each household specializes in some form of art or craft that is part of traditional Maranao culture: back-strap loom weaving, tapestry weaving, and other kinds of handmade textile manufacture ; foundry casting of various forms of brass or bronze vessels, instruments, and decorative items ; wood-carving and mother-of-pearl inlay work ; metalwork and silver-and gold-smithing -- all of which utilize the traditional Maranao form of decoration, okir.

In the last few years, Maranao arts and crafts – most of them coming from Tugaya – have become more visible not only in Davao City, but also in Manila, where they can be seen in chic offices and residences.

The year 1945 witnessed the entry of the United States & Philippine Commonwealth forces which liberated Malabang, Lanao del Sur together with Maranao guerrillas.

Some inhabitants are of Waray, Tagalog and Maranao descent.

In 1945, the first of the liberation forces landed in Southern Lanao and liberated the area with United States, Philippine Commonwealth troops together with the Maranao guerrilla units.

They used infantry weapons, the Maranao Kris, Barong and Kampilan swords against the Japanese forces in the Battle of Lanao.

The native Maranao of Lanao del Sur have a fascinating culture that revolves around kulintang music, a specific type of gong music, found among both Muslim and non-Muslim groups of the Southern Philippines.

These include, among other tribes, the Maguindanaoan, the Maranao and Tausug who constitute the major tribes of the Moro people.

According to Hashim Salamat the Moro people comprise by the Maguindanaoan, the Maranao and Tausug.

As part of the larger gong-chime culture of Southeast Asia, kulintang music ensembles have been playing for many centuries in regions of the Eastern Malay Archipelago — the Southern Philippines, Eastern Indonesia, Eastern Malaysia, Brunei and Timor, although this article has a focus on the Philippine Kulintang traditions of the Maranao and Maguindanao peoples in particular.

Kulintang-like instruments are played by the Maguindanao, Maranao, Iranun, Kalagan, Kalibugan and more recently the Tboli, Blaan and Subanao of Mindanao, the Tausug, Samal, Sama / Badjao, Yakan and the Sangir / Sangil of the Sulu, the Ambon, Banda, Seram, Ternate, Tidore, and Kei of Maluku, the Bajau, Suluk, Murut, Kadazan-Dusun, Kadayah and Paitanic Peoples of Sabah, the Malays of Brunei, the Bidayuh and Iban / Sea Dayak of Sarawak, the Bolaang Mongondow and Kailinese / Toli-Toli of Sulawesi and other groups in Banjarmasin and Tanjung in Kalimantan and Timor.

The kulintang frame known as an antangan by the Maguindanao ( means to “ arrange ”) and langkonga by the Maranao could have designs that could be particularly crude made from only bamboo / wooden poles or highly decorated, rich with artistic designs like the traditional okil / okir motifs or arabesque designs.

When playing the kulintang, the Maguindanao and Maranao would always sit on chairs while for the Tausug / Suluk and other groups that who play the kulintangan, they would commonly sit on the floor.

In fact, though the Maguindanao, Maranao and Tausug artists technically have no concept of scale ( because emphasis placed on the concept of “ rhythmic modes ”), the Pelog and Slendro scales of Java were found to be most satisfactory to their own varying pentatonic / heptatonic scales.

Though this practice has died out among the Maranao due to its non-Islamic nature, some areas in Mindanao, Sabah and Maluku still practice this ancient tradition.

The Maranao on the other hand have only three typical genres — Kapromayas / Romayas, Kapagonor / Onor, and Katitik Pandai / Kapaginandang.

Old styles are considered slow, well-pronounced and dignified like the Maguindanao ’ s kamamatuan and the Maranao ’ s andung.

New styles such as the Maguindanao ’ s kagungudan and the Maranao ’ s bago, are considered fast, rhythmic and showy.

They were impressed by the fact those who were not of Maguindanao or Maranao background and some who were not even Filipino were enthusastic in picking up an alien tradition from a foreign land.

Many of the younger generation of Maguindanao and Maranao were encouraged to play their traditional music by the sight of outsiders playing the kulintang.

Also of note are the relatively significant Yakan, Samal / Badjao, Maranao, Ilocano, Ilonggo and to a much lesser extent, Tagalog and Chinese presence.

The clashes between Spanish colonial authorities and the indigenous Sultanates of the Moro peoples, ( the Sultanate of Sulu, Maranao and Maguindanao ) further escalated tensions between the Christian and Muslim groups of the country.