Friday, 24 June 2005

Characters and Native epics that influenced the character of Princess Ranao.
Now Playing: Characters and Native epics that influenced the character of Princess Ranao.

(Note:Part of this article also apears in Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine_Epic_Poetries)

The creation of Princess Ranao starts from the concoction of several fictional characters.
Hayao Miyasaki's Nausicaa of the valley of the wind was one of them. Nausicaa's head strong personality was a model for Ranao's character. The other one is Princess Urduja.
An ancient Philippine legend from Pangasinan, Urduja was aprincess said to challenge her suitors in a fight before she can have them for a date.
Then there is that charming mermaid princess, Ariel of Disney's The Little Mermaid.

Basically, Ranao is a psedo-ancient legend story, set in a future world that revats back to the ancient times. But the basic story was based on ancient Philippine legends:

Centuries before the Spaniards came; the Filipinos already had their own cultural traditions, folklore, mythologies and epics. There were substantial writings by early natives that Jesuit historian, Fr. Pedro Chirino noted: “All of the islanders are much given to reading and writing. And there is hardly a man, much less a woman who did not read and write.” (Relacion de las isles Filipinas-1604)

Stories of epics, done in poetry displayed tremendous vitality, color and imagination. Tales of love and adventures about native heroes, endowed with powers from the gods, battle monsters, and triumphs over formidable armies, rode the wind, traveled in flying shields and protect the earliest communities of the islands.

Established epic poems of notable quality and length blossomed. And early historians like Padre Colin, Joaquin Martinez de Zuniga and Antonio Pigafetta have all attested to the existence of these epics. There were even reports of a dramatic play given by natives at the arrival of Don Miguel Lopez de Legaspi in 1565.

Epic poems and songs about the exploits of enchanted folk heroes were performed during festivities and proper occasions. Most often, these epic poems (folk epics or ethno-epics) were titled after the names of the hero involved, except for some which carry traditional titles like the Kalinga Ullalim; the Sulod Hinilawod; the Maranao Daragen; or the Bicol Ibalon.

Stories about folk heroes of long ago were described as “Old Time History” because; they can be used to study the lifestyle and beliefs of the people who produced them. They were also referred to as “Lost”, because they were soon forgotten by natives influenced heavily by Spanish and “western” colonization.
The famed orientalist, Chauncey Starkweather , stressed that : “These epic romances are charming poem in the Malayan literature.”

But there are those who perpetuated myths that in the early days of Spanish intrusion, priests in their zealous rage against paganism destroyed all existing records, as well as all forms of writing and art works, regarding ancient Philippine folk heroes. This is a blatant Christian crime against a rich and noble culture! There was even a Spanish priest who arrogantly boasted of destroying more than 300 scrolls written in native characters.

But this is not true. The colorful and fascinating literature of pre-Hispanic Filipinos are still here. Giving the new generation, an over view of a heritage that is an unusual and invaluable source of joy and information. Regarding the life style, love and aspirations of early Filipinos. It is from these, wonderful epics, where a Filipino can find his or her national identity.
It is from these that a Filipino can feel heroic, truly pulsating with splendor of a magnificent and authentic cultural force.

Posted by victorinoparaiso at 12:44 PM JST | Post Comment | Permalink
Updated: Friday, 5 August 2005 5:57 PM JST

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