The Maguindanao are part of the wider Moro ethnic group, who constitute the sixth largest Filipino ethnic group. Their name means “people of the plains”.
In the early 15th century, Sharif Muhammad Kabungsuan, an Arab-Malay preacher from the royal house of Malacca

Malacca

Malacca , dubbed The Historic State or Negeri Bersejarah among locals) is the third smallest Malaysian state, after Perlis and Penang. It is located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, on the Straits of Malacca. It borders Negeri Sembilan to the north and the state of Johor to the south...

, arrived in what is now Malabang, introduced Islamic faith and customs, settled down with a local princess, and founded a sultanate whose capital was Cotabato.