In early Philippine history, the rank of Lakan denoted a "paramount ruler" of one of the large coastal barangays on the central and southern regions of the island of Luzon.
Overview
The lakan was democratically selected by other ruling datus from among themselves to serve as their "pangulo". Writers such as William Henry Scott have suggested that this rank is equivalent to that of Rajah, and that different ethnic groups either used one term or the other, or used the two words interchangeably. But other writers such as Nick Joaquin have suggested that the usage of the term "Rajah" specifically indicates leadership of a bayan or barangay which has extensive trade relations with Muslim traders. Equivalent terms for this rank include the term "Sultan" among the most developed and complex Islamized principalities of Mindanao, and the term "Datu" as used by various polities in the Visayas and in some areas of Mindanao.
Orthography and similar terms
The title Lakan can be spelled separately from a person's name, or can be incorporated into a singly spelled word. Rajah and Lakan: It is sometimes argued that since the words Rajah and Lakan mean more or less the same thing, the two should not be used together. Thus, popular reference to Rajah Lakan Dula are said to be the result of mistaking Lakan Dula to be the full proper name of the historic king.
In present-day culture, the term is still occasionally used to mean "nobleman", but has mostly been adapted to other uses. The name of Malacañan Palace, the official residence of the President of the Republic of the Philippines, is traditionally attributed to the phrase may lakan diyan, or "the king resides there". In Filipino Martial Arts, Lakan denotes an equivalent to the black belt rank. Also, beauty contests in the Philippines have taken to referring to the winner as "Lakambini", the female equivalent of Lakan. In such cases, the contestant's assigned escort can be referred to as a Lakan. More often, a male pageant winner is named a Lakan.
