No kings of Pangasinan
Posted on July 29, 2007 - Filed Under Punch Forum |
Eduardo Pontaoe
28 July 2007
Mr. Jess Delfin was absolutely right. His post on the 17th telling the Forum there were no kings of Pangasinan, was true to form and substance. Kings of Pangasinan? Nobody, period.
Basing on recorded history we should separate the myth from the truth. If we look deeply into the writer’s mind who took the freedom to spoon-feed the Pangasinense of the exploits of these Pangasinan heroes, we can find lapses in judgment when some important criteria are missing or not explained.
Claiming Malong and Palaris were kings of Pangasinan is falsity in all its colors. On Andres Malong: Malong started his rebellion against Spanish rule in 1660. It ended in Jan 17, 1661. It only lasted less than a year but within this period he showed hubris and audacity to proclaim himself “king” of Pangasinan.
On the political perspective, this could not be done. The Philippines then, was under Spanish sovereignty and Malong declaring himself “king” . . . is idiotic. He was just a plain renegade who got caught and hanged.
On Juan dela Cruz Palaris: He never proclaimed himself “king”. It cannot be substantiated. He started his insurrection in 1762 to 1765. It went further than Malong because it coincided with the Seven Years War between England, France and Spain. Spain was preoccupied with her affairs in Europe and the Brits were in Manila.
But like all rebellion in the Philippines, it died a slow death blown by outgeneraled command, lack of logistics and the non-cohesiveness of the Filipino and treachery. Like Malong, he was offered on a platter and dismembered to be forgotten. He was thirty two years old.
On Urduja: Urduja in all her splendor is just a legend . . .fiction . . . an allegory. It could not be proven this girl wrapped in a feminine Hercules did really exist. Urduja came to the forefront when a numbskull of a Moslem traveler, Ibn Batuta, traveling on a Chinese merchant junk in 1347 came to Pangasinan – “kingdom of Tawalisi” - and saw Urduja in the accoutrement of an “Amazon” of the Brazilian Pantanal. And behold, the myth evolved.
The account of this jerk Batuta on his travels was disallowed, being declared capricious and conspiratorial. Until now, Pangasinenses are fascinated by Urduja, holding still the fantasy there was a princess.
Good while it last.
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