This is in reference to Lake Lanao, the predominant geographic feature of the ancestral homeland of the Maranao people.

[5][6] The Maranao were the last of the Muslims of the Southern Philippines undergoing Islamization, primarily under the influence of the Arab-Malay missionaries like Sharif Kabungsuan and other from Borneo.

Like neighboring Moros and the Lumads, during the nominal occupation of the Philippines by the Spanish, and later the American and the Japanese, the Maranao had tribal leaders called datu.

It supports a major fishery, and powers the hydroelectric plant installed on it; the Agus River system generates 70% of the electricity used by the people of Mindanao.

Sarimanok, Papanok a "Məra" or "Marapatik" is a legendary bird of the Maranao that is a ubiquitous symbol of their art.

It is depicted as a Hoodhud (Arabic) with colorful wings and feathered tail, holding a fish on its beak or talons.

Traditional Maranao architecture, like elsewhere in the Philippines and at large maritime Southeast Asia, follows the Austronesian framework of wooden structures on piles, divided in three tiers pertaining to social class: torogan of royalty, mala a walay of lesser nobility, and the common lawig analogous to the bahay kubo.

In 2005, the Darangen Epic of the Maranao people of Lake Lanao was selected by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

Traditionally cultivated spices, locally known as palapa (Bontang, native product of Gandamatu) are a common condiment.