#nitewrighter

Before I begin, I want to get this out of my head first:

While, yes, my brain is where my ideas come from, it is also in the same brain that I hear cynical remarks and comments such as, "Isa, really? Do you really have to smother your ethinicity's culture on pretty much any- and everything you like?"

First of all, bakit, hindi ba pwedeng mag-praktis magbahagi ng kulturang atin sa isang fanmade work bago gawin yun sa sarili kong gawa? [why, can I not practice how to share my culture in a fanmade work before doing that in my own work?] Second of all, Cinderella's story has been retold so many times in different cultures and time periods, but the better known ones are often those from the West (like those shown in the North American films) and the alleged Egyptian Cinderella. I really thought it would be nice to have a Filipino — particularly Tagalog — retelling.

Now, this is where the rabbit hole truly begins; what I just wrote was just me ranting about the cynical voice in my brain trying to discourage me from writing a Tagalog retelling of Cinderella. On that note... human brains are so weird. One would think we're so self-centered that we don't sabotage ourselves like this... but well! That's undiagnosed mental illness, babey!

I decided on having the Tagalog culture and mythos among the thousands of cultures in the Philippines because

I grew up in the Tagalog region (entire Metro Manila/National Capital Region, Regions III, IV-A and IV-B);

The Tagalog people is one of the biggest ethnolinguistic group in the Philippines; and

I just know Tagalog culture better.

Speaking of culture and mythos... there's just so much I could do, and comparing mythos notes with other cultures is always super interesting! Miss Sarah (a.k.a. nitewrighter) had established that Cinderella's fairy godmother came from the hazel tree that Cinderella's father had planted; the writer also established that the godmother was sent by her fellow fairies, so it made me think that there might have been some kind of High Fairy Council or something.

Yeah, we see that, Isa, but what's your culture's version of that?

I present to you: the Engkanto no, not the Disney movie :\ or, as I like to call them, Ang Mga Taong Mahiwaga (transliteration: the mystical/magical people).

The Engkanto were named by my ancestors' Spanish colonizers (GLARES AT SPAIN) because there were way too many mythical races in the Philippines. They were so overwhelmed with the many cultures and associated mythos that these dudes just went, "Ey, no, we are not- we are just calling them 'enchanted.' Boom. That just made our lives easier." Little did they know that their boiling down of our many cultural mythos into just being called "enchanted" was going to make so many future Filipino creatives' lives harder. I am one of them. >:\\\

One of the many mythical races is the diwata. They are guardians of nature, and most cultures within the Philippines use this word to refer to spirits, though some cultures also use this word to refer to gods and deities. They can be benevolent, or mischievous, or downright evil — it may depend on how you treat them first. Better known diwata are the likes of Maria Makiling, Maria Cacao, and Maria Sinukuan, all of which are mountain diwata because they are associated to a mountain (Mount Makiling, Mount Lantoy, and Mount Arayat, respectively).

When you compare the diwata to commonly known Western cultures, they are more similar to the fairies or nymphs, especially in the sense that they are nature spirits/guardians and are associated with certain locations.

Have I mentioned that some engkanto often reside in trees or use trees as their storage chests? It's exactly why when you see big trees — particularly and especially Balete — you say, "Tabi tabi po." It's like saying "excuse me" to the engkanto who may or may not be there in the tree.

Now, with the fairy godmother and the tree out of the way, let's move on to the socio-economic dynamics in my Tagalog retelling! *claps hands*

I've been thinking about having it set in a Spanish era-inspired setting because not only does the 1600-1800s sound fitting, but it is also the time period in which the Filipiniana was the commonly worn everyday attire before the Americans introduced their clothing styles. There's also the socio-economic dynamics of the higher-class Spanish and the mestizo/mestiza (Filipinos mixed with Spanish blood/heritage), and the lower class Filipinos known as indios. Indio was a word the Spaniards used to refer to natives and the indigenous of the Philippines until a negative connotation was attached to it; indio became a word that, if you were to be called one, it meant you were a slave or an idiot. Can you believe my own father used to call me "indio" a lot when I was a kid? No wonder I still self-deprecatingly joke that I'm dumb or whatever.

With that in mind, I like to think that Cinderella's stepmother is a Spanish-Filipino woman, widowed by her late Spanish ex-husband. Cinderella's parents could be mestizo/mestiza too, considering they lived nicely before her mother's death.

I would definitely keep sewing as a hobby and a mother-daughter thing between Cindy and her mom. We used to do a lot of sewing too — heck, three women first sew the Philippine flag as we know it today!

Now, about how Cinderella is oppressed by her own family... I'm not really sure.

...never mind, I'm sure now.

Cinderella was prettier than them and they couldn't accept that.

It's something I picked up in Miss Sarah's telling of the tale; they always depended on their pretty clothes to make themselves pretty, but could never feel confident in themselves without pretty clothes. Cinderella, however, doesn't really think much of her appearance; I like to think that she feels secure in herself enough not to. Besides, creativity also makes her even prettier and more attractive, I think.

Hey, Isa, what about the royalty?

Ay caramba, Inang Maria. Oo nga pala. Medyo makalimutin ako, sori. :P - [in Filipino] Ay caramba, Mother Mary. Right. I'm kind of forgetful, sorry. :P

Hmm.

Hmmmmm.

The closest I can think of for royalty in the Spanish era... is... uh...

(( José Rizal's Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo flashbacks ))

The gobernadorcillo!

The gobernadorcillo was basically the Spanish-era equivalent of today's governors.

That... that is pretty much all I know. :P

The Wikipedia says this, though:

The position of a gobernadorcillo was honorary and mandatory in order to afford him those valid exemptions signified in the Philippine law. At the end of his biennial term he would enter and form part of the principalía, and was entitled to enjoy the honors and preeminence inherent to this state. This "mayor", who was at the same time "justice of the peace" and port captain, was directly responsible to the governor of the province in the exercise of his office.

Can you believe a gobernadorcillo's term only lasts two years? With this much in the job?

Sure would be nice if my brain didn't forget much of El Filibusterismo... *sighs in I can't remember much of my Grade 10 Filipino class :(*

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...well, I think that's it! I've been holding this train of thought since this morning when it first came to me, so it's a bit of a relief that this post ends here.

I knew this was going to be a rabbit hole, haha. I hope you enjoyed your fall into it, though!

Sources & References —

Squeegool, S. [@squeegool]. 2015, March 16. cinderelly in Filipiniana costume [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/squeegool/status/577486180880498689

Tiongson, N.G., Maranan, E.B., Barrios, J., Cruz-Lucero, R., Acuña, A., Cerda, C., ..., Campoamor II, G. (2017). Encyclopedia of Philippine art (2nd ed., Vol. 3, p. 234). Cultural Center of the Philippines in cooperation with the Office of the Chancellor, University of the Philippines, Diliman

Tagalog people. In Wikipedia. Retrieved on 23 March 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tagalog_people

Philippines - regions and provinces map [map]. Retrieved on 23 March 2022, from https://en.populationdata.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Philippines-regions-provinces.png

Engkanto. In Wikipedia. Retrieved on 23 March 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engkanto

Clark, J. (2016, 3 March). The DIWATA of Philippine Mythology: Ancestors, Spirits, & Deities • THE ASWANG PROJECT. The Aswang Project. Retrieved on 23 March 2022 from https://www.aswangproject.com/diwata/

Diwata. In Wikipilipinas. Retrieved on 23 March 2022 from https://en.wikipilipinas.org/view/Diwata

What is indio Filipino? In Answers. Retrieved 23 March 2022 from https://www.answers.com/Q/What_is_indio_Filipino