Kedatuan

[1] The earliest written record mentioning the term kadatuan was the 7th-century Srivijayan Telaga Batu and Kota Kapur inscription from Sumatra, Indonesia.

Datu (also spelled dato) referred to hereditary rulers of independent communities (called barangay, dulohan, pulok, banwa, etc.

Paramount datu, who ruled larger city-states connected to maritime trading routes, often took on other titles like lakan or loanwords like rajah or sultan, depending on ethnic group.

They were part of the colonial government, often serving as gobernadorcillos and cabezas de barangay (elected town and village mayors).

It is derived from datu or datuk, an ancient Austronesian title, and position for regional leader or elder that is used throughout Maritime Southeast Asia.

From a Srivijayan perspective, the realm of the Kadatuan Srivijaya consisted of several wanua (settlements), each led by a datu (datuk), which means a community leader or elder.

[11] In Javanese, the term ratu is used instead of datu, thus in Java karaton, keraton, or kraton is used instead of kedaton to describe the residence of the regional leader.