Amorsolo's Urduja

Princess Urduja, Fernando Amorsolo (1892 - 1972, National Artist for Visual Arts), 1959, oil on canvas, 61 x 87 cm.


According to Yuchengco Museum, "Amorsolo's Princess Urduja is a historical fantasy: the beautiful princess—dressed in a helmet, a rather revealing vest, and a red tapis—sits on a raised platform as she addresses a throng of warriors brandishing spears. Behind her is a clump of lush bamboo and, beyond that, a mountain range in the distance. Without any strong historical or archaeological evidence for Urduja's 14th century kingdom, the artist would have created all the costumes and weapons in painting, as well as the context of the gathering, from his imagination."

I am sure Amorsolo created this image guided by his own reading of the period and accounts on Princess Urduja that he had the chance to read on. However, I do not know where he got the idea of a helmet, a vest and a tapis.

Although I would imagine certain types of covering for the body, I would imagine it to be a practical one, as befits a warrior. I would imagine a woman warrior to cover her breasts with something impenetrable, to cover her heart from being hit. The helmet must cover the entire head, with only the eyes exposed. I would not have her wearing a tapis! Besides, if I exposed her breasts, why am I covering her with a tapis? To protect her legs?

The way she is sitting on whatever she is propped on (a horse?), looks like she was coached for a beauty pageant, or taught by Ms. Manners instead of going to war. In this painting, she appears like she is poised to lead the singing of the National Anthem, ready to be killed ("mamatay ng dahil sa iyo") than exhibiting resolve to kill her opponents, as recorded by Ibn Batuta.

This is my favorite interpretation of Urduja, it shows her in her true elegance and role as a leader in conference with visiting leaders and traders from various parts of the world. It is an interpretation of Botong Francisco.

In this interpretation, she treats these leaders to a banquet with her women warriors in the background, and a woman dancing for the pleasure of it, her presence providing no distraction to the business being discussed.

Urduja : Towards Building a National Identity and Character

When asked for comments on the animated film "Urduja" by Ms. Yolanda Fuertes of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the following comments were issued by the Women in Development (WID) Foundation:

First, the courage of GMA Network for producing this film is commendable. It has put Urduja as a truly Philippine character, not Cambodian, not Vietnamese, in the eyes of the world. We must honor every effort to look into our own history, myths and legends in our continuing effort to build our national identity and character. This alone strengthens our belief that Filipinos can look within, and if we continue to look within, we cannot be lost. Thank you GMA.

However, we believe that the material could have been improved if the film developed the character of Urduja according to historical accounts, or if one were to think of her as a myth or a legend, at least develop the story closer to the myth or legend.

The character of Urduja is a rich one, and there is enough to work on, especially as it involves her leadership and her various encounters as a woman warrior leader. “Urduja was trained in the art of war since she was a child, and she became an expert with the kampilan and a skilled navigator. She commanded a fleet of proas to protect their maritime trade networks against pirates and threats from China. With her beauty, she attracted many suitors.” The film could have focused more on her adventures at sea instead of her frolicking in the woods with Limahong. More colorful suitors could have been created, if the film really needed men to spice up her story.

Unexplored in the film is the existence of women warriors which would have lent it the action and the color that the love story (with Limahong) did not at all provide. The focus on her leadership and governance could have explored advocacies on leadership styles, decision-making processes and use of influence and power for women leaders, and how they managed the land’s productivity.

In Korean films, we are made to taste their food, learn about their indigenous herbal medicines, experience their culture, without getting bored. Urduja’s kingdom was described as having abundant rice, buffaloes, ginger, pepper, lemons, mangoes, and salt. There was nothing in the film to contextualize Urduja in her own environment and culture as described in historical, or legendary accounts. Nothing was depicted on the character of the people or their way of life except that they fought over a “thing” that the rival tribe thought was stolen by Urduja’s people.

Below are some notes on the comments made by the Committee on Women and Culture of the WID Foundation:

1. Limahong, was a notorious Chinese pirate and warlord who invaded the northern Philippine Islands in 1574 (16th century). He built up a reputation for his constant raids to ports in Guangdong, Fujian and southern China. He is noted to have twice attempted, and failed, to overthrow the Spanish city of Manila in 1574. On the other hand, Urduja’s existence was first recorded by Ibn Battuta, 2 centuries earlier, in the 14th century (ca. 1350 C.E - 1400 C.E.), is a legendary warrior-princess who is recognized as a heroine in Pangasinan. A historical reference to Urduja can be found in the travel account of Ibn Battuta (1304 - possibly 1368 or 1377 C.E.), a Muslim traveler from Morocco.

To be true to this historical accounts, one would conclude that the two could not have met at any point, and if they have, Urduja would have been more than 200 years old when Limahong was in his prime.

2. In the film, Urduja has to be married off by his father. In the context of the women of Pangasinan before the Spanish time, they were free to be in union with any man they wanted, they were not forced into it. The reality of that period is for Urduja, and much more so with her because, according to Ibn Battuta, he was told that Princess Urduja was a woman warrior who personally took part in the fighting and engaged in duels with other warriors. She was quoted as saying, “I will marry none but him who fights and overcomes me in a single combat,” and they avoided fighting with her for fear of being disgraced if she defeated them.

There was no need for Limahong to enter the picture as a lover boy liberating Urduja from an unwanted marriage with Sumakwel (from Aklan?), and for Urduja to be portrayed as a lovesick warrior.

3. Ibn Batuta also recounted that the ships captain told him that Urduja has an array of women warriors who fight with her in battles. During one of these encounters, many of her warriors were killed and were surely defeated, but she broke through the ranks, dashed forward and reached for the head of the king whom she was fighting against. “She brought back his head on the point of a spear, ahd his relatives redeemed it from her for a large sum of money. When she returned, her father gave her the town, which was formerly under her brother’s command.

There was absolutely no need for a Chinese pirate to fight for her. In the film, Limahong takes center stage, liberating Urduja and her people from his fellow Chinese pirates and from a rival tribe. The “sinofication of Urduja” slant is very evident throughout the film.