Filipino nobility

250px|thumb|right|A pre-colonial couple belonging to the datu or nobility as depicted in the Boxer Codex of the 16th century. Datu is a title which denotes the rulers (variously described in historical accounts as chiefs, sovereign princes, and monarchs) of numerous indigenous peoples throughout the Philippine archipelago. The title is still used today, though not as much as early Philippine history. It is a cognate of datuk, dato, and ratu in several other Austronesian languages.

The maharlika (Baybayin pre-virama: ᜋᜑᜎᜒᜃ meaning freeman or freedman) were the feudal warrior class in ancient Tagalog society in Luzon, the Philippines. They belonged to the lower nobility class similar to the timawa of the Visayan people. In modern Filipino, however, the word has come to refer to aristocrats or to royal nobility, which was actually restricted to the hereditary maginoo class.

Spanish illustrations of ethnic groups across East to SE Asia and Micronesia c. 1590

upright|thumb|Tagalog people|Tagalog men in traditional [[barong tagalog, vestido de anajao (palm leaf rain capes), and salakot, c. 1855]]

ancient ritual of the Philippines

thumb|right|250px|upright=0.83|Typical costume of a family belonging to the principalía of the late 19th century History of the Philippines (1521–1898)|Philippines. Exhibit in the Villa Escudero Museum, [[San Pablo, Laguna.]]

250px|thumb|right|"Naturales" (natives) depicted in the Boxer Codex, specifically marked and identified as Tagalogs. In early Philippine history, the rank of lakan denoted a "paramount ruler" (or more specifically, "paramount datu") of one of the large coastal barangays (known as a "bayan") on the central and southern regions of the island of Luzon.

The timawa were the feudal warrior class of the ancient Visayan societies of the Philippines. They were regarded as higher than the uripon (commoners, serfs, and slaves) but below the tumao (royal nobility) in the Visayan social hierarchy. They were roughly similar to the Tagalog maharlika caste.

Sultanate of Maguindanao politician

5th Sultan of Maguindanao