Thimuay


Thimuay is the name of the most senior ancestral leader among the Subanon people of the Zamboanga peninsula in the Philippines. Less senior ancestral leaders are called "Datu", just as they are elsewhere in the Philippines. Thimuay is equivalent to the titles "Lakan", "Sultan", or "Rajah" in other Philippine cultures.
A greatly honored Thimuay is sometimes additionally called a Thimuay Labi, with the word "Labi" simply being a descriptor meaning "highest" or most senior. In predominantly Muslim Subanon communities, the term Solotan is sometimes used instead of Thimuay.

Prominent Thimuay

Perhaps the most prominent modern-day Thimuay was Thimuay Imbing, who led the Subanon people from Lapuyan, Zamboanga del Sur during the Philippines' American Colonial period. he is perhaps best known for his role in introducing Evangelical Protestantism to the Subanon of Lapuyan.