MARANAO/TOROGAN

HOUSE
By: Raf Eli Castro and
Mariel Dallyn Asuncion
HISTORY

• The torogan was the

traditional house of
Maranao royalties. The
sultan, along with his
wives, children & servants
lived on it. However, it was
more than just a residence,
it was also a communal
house where affairs of the
community were held.
The ancestral home for
the Datu class and royal
family

• The existing torogans in Marawi City were built

by the community and the lower class citizens
for the datu in the 1800s. In Intramuros, A
replica of the Torogan can be found right
beside the Clamshell.
• There are also existing torogans in various
locations in Lanao such as the Dayawan
Torogan of Marawi and Laguindab Torogan of
Ganassi. All require massive funding for their
rehabilitation.
The HOUSE OF
POWER

There are three types of traditional Maranao dwellings.

1. First, the torogan, the homes

reserved for nobilities.
2. Second is the “mala-a-walay”
or the big house.
3. Finally, the “lawig” or the small
house.
Parts of
Torogan
• Torogans were elevated
from the ground using
“tukod” or hard tree
trunks of huge girths.
At the center is the
“tapuwilih” post
surrounded by twenty-
five others at the base.
• Each of it stands on a
careful assemblage of
huge stones half-buried
on the ground.
• They also act as shock
absorbers making the
house sway in times of
earthquake or strong
winds.
BILIK
• emergency hideout located
behind the headboard of the
Sultan’s bed
DORUNG
• is the multi-purpose ground space created under the wooden beams.
The main house on the second floor is called the “poro”. It is an
open space partitioned only with cloths & chests.
BARIMBINGAN planks make up the “lantay” (flooring) held together
by wooden floor joists called “dolog”. The wooden
staircase or “towak” as well as its stringer board
screams of the folk motif okir carvings.
The walls made of “gisuk” & wall studs called “tartek” hold the walling planks or the “dingending”. The
carved center beam inside the house called the “tinai-a-walay” supports the king post of the roof.
LAMIN
• tower atop the trogan
where the princess and
her ladies – in waiting
hide during the
occasions
LAMIN
• Perched atop the roof or
sometimes tucked at the
back is the
princess chamber called “
lamin”. In the absence of a
lamin, a “gibon” or a
makeshift room of adorned
fabrics inside the torogan
replaces it.
LAMIN
• Today, only a few lamin are
left. Among them is that of
the late Bae Minangoao
Dimaporo in Binidayan.
WALAY
• – house for the
ordinary member
of the community
MAGOYODA
• a combionation of
dragon and plant motifs
 ORIK
– ornamental
design for both
scroll and
geometric forms
ORIK A DATU
– scroll, gentlemen’s design
ORIK A BAI
geometric forms, ladies’
design
PAKO ROBONG
the intricate design
inside of Maranao
architecture
Sarimanok
cock of art
Panolong – ornamental beam ends (right)
Naga
serpent-like design in
floral design
BIRDO
motif of growing vine, growing
plant in horizontal movement
THE
END