In early Philippine history, datus and a small group of their close relatives formed the "apex stratum" of

the traditional three-tier social hierarchy of lowland Philippine societies.[2] Only a member of this
birthright aristocracy (called maginoo, nobleza, maharlika, or timagua by various early chroniclers) could
become a datu; members of this elite could hope to become a datu by demonstrating prowess in war or
exceptional leadership.[2][3][4]

In large coastal polities such as those in Maynila, Tondo, Pangasinan, Cebu, Panay, Bohol, Butuan,
Cotabato, Lanao, and Sulu,[2] several datus brought their loyalty-groups, referred to as barangays or
dulohan, into compact settlements which allowed greater degrees of cooperation and economic
specialization. In such cases, datus of these barangays selected the most senior or most respected
among them to serve as what scholars referred to as a paramount leader or paramount datu.[3][4] The
titles used by such paramount datu varied, but some of the most prominent examples were: sultan in
the most Islamized areas of Mindanao; lakan among the Tagalog people; thimuay among the Subanen
people; rajah in polities which traded extensively with Indonesia and Malaysia; or simply datu in some
areas of Mindanao and the Visayas.[5]