In her conquest of Mindanao Spain directed her forces against the district of Sibugay first, and then against Mindanao. The district of Sibugay was in a state of complete submission before the Rio Grande Moros were controlled. The subjection of Sibugay advanced to such an extent that in 1896 the region was divided into three districts, to each one of which a datu was assigned by Spanish authority. The datus received orders and directions from the governor of Zamboanga direct, and an annual tax of one real was imposed upon every Subano and Moro male above the age of 18 years. CHAPTER II LAWS OF THE MOROS GENERAL INTRODUCTION The Mohammedan conquerors of Mindanao and Sulu established a new form of government planned on lines similar to those of the Arabian caliphate, and adopted written codes of law for guidance in the administration of the state. In all probability the art of writing was not known in Mindanao and Sulu prior to the Mohammedan invasion. The author has no knowledge of the existence of any written law among the pagan tribes of Mindanao, nor of any written material that antedates Islam in Mindanao or Sulu. The Moros are not savage, though they seem so at first sight. As early as the end of the fifteenth century they could read and write. Mohammedanism encouraged education and invited learning. The Arabic alphabet was applied to the Mindanao tongue, and old Arabic and Malay books on religion and law were translated into the native Magindanao and Ranao dialects. The Moros of Magindanao have translations of the Quran, Hadeeth, some books on law, some commentaries on the Quran, some magic, and other varied literature. Their original writings in the Magindanao tongue consist of many genealogies and stories. The Sulu Moros have done the same. They acted independently, but on the same general lines. The languages of Mindanao and Sulu are members of the general Malayan family of languages, but they differ so much as to render intercourse impracticable without an interpreter. The Moros are several tribes, and each tribe differs as much from the others as the Visayan and the Ilocano and the Igorot tribes differ one from another. The laws of these tribes are different. They came from similar sources, but they were worked out and compiled separately and independently. The present chapter includes the best official codes of Magindanao and Sulu. The manuscripts themselves are undoubtedly authentic and complete. Every care has been taken to render the translations as accurate and complete and useful as possible. THE LUWARAN; OR, THE LAWS OF MAGINDANAO INTRODUCTION