Kinship, Islam, and Raiding in Maguindanao, c. 1760–1780of raids themselves – personally conceived and justified the raiding
enterprise from the lens of family or religion. On the other, it recognizes
how abstract notions of social connections like “religion” and “family”
possibly shaped how and especially where actual raids were conducted.
Both religion and family were social affiliations used to draw the line
between declared enemies and possible allies. Although there is little
direct evidence of Islam playing the main motivational factor for raid-
ing, the historical evidence strongly suggests that a common religious
identity likely facilitated the establishment if not deepening of alliances
among the various coastal rulers. Through Islam, Maguindanao could
be situated within the orbit of inter-linked polities that had oper-
ated along the margins of and turned increasingly against the prevailing
Company-dominated system. The role of kinship in raiding is however
more concrete. While Islam probably connected Maguindanao with
more distant regions such as Maluku and Riau, familial ties conveniently
served Maguindanao in its relations with the neighboring Sangir archi-
pelago. Maguindanao variably used marriage ties, raiding and captivity
of Sangirese chiefs to establish political and economic dominance.
Author’s NoteI wish to thank the Cosmopolis Programme of the Institute for History,
Leiden University, for funding my participation in the European Associa-
tion for Southeast Asian Studies (EuroSEAS) conference in Lisbon,
Portugal (2013), where this paper was first presented.