Dayang Kalangitan
Dayang Kalangitan (Baybayin: ᜃᜎᜅᜒᜆᜈ᜔ , Abecedario: Cálan͠gúitán) (r. 1450–ca. 1515) is a legendary figure in early Philippine history who was said to be Dayang of the pre-Hispanic Indianized Philippine polity of Pasig.[1] The eldest daughter of Rajah Gambang and ruling Pasig together with her husband, Rajah Lontok, legend considers her one of the most powerful rulers in the early history of the Tagalog people, and one of very few female leaders in early Philippine history.
| Kalangitan | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dayang of Tondo and Namayan | |||||
| Reign | 1450–ca. 1515 | ||||
| Predecessor | Rajah Lontok | ||||
| Successor | Rajah Salalila | ||||
| Spouse | Rajah Lontok | ||||
| Issue | Dayang Panginoan Dayang Lahat | ||||
| |||||
| House | Tondo and Namayan | ||||
| Father | Rajah Gambang | ||||
Under her reign, the Kingdom of Tondo reached its Golden Age, where it spanned from the southern Cordilleras down to Ibalon (now Bicol). She is also notably the last Buddhist ruler of Tondo, which encompassed land along the banks of the Pasig River in Metro Manila.
Life
Dayang Kalangitan was the daughter of Rajah Gambang, who was then sovereign of Tondo. Since her father died without leaving a male heir, she was appointed queen regnant. Kalangitan married to Gat Lontok, (later Rajah Lontok) of Tondo. Believing herself capable of ruling, she proved to be a strong ruler. Together with her husband, Kalangitan established a small kingdom upstream to the east of Tondo around the Bitukang Manók (today Parian Creek in Pasig City).
Sometime around 1450, she became sole ruler of both Tondo, which included Bitukang Manók, the place she had established with her husband. Around 1470, Namayan became a vassal to the Kingdom of Tondo. In order to maintain power and influence as queen in the area, Kalangitan assented to the marriage of one of her daughters, Dayang Panginoan, to Prince Balagtas, the son of Empress Sasaban of Namayan. Under her reign, the Kingdom of Tondo reached its Golden Age, where it spanned from the southern Cordilleras down to Ibalon (now Bicol), the greatest extent of the kingdom's historical territories.
However, at around 1500, the Sultanate of Brunei made an attack on the Kingdom of Tondo and established the Kingdom of Maynila and put Kalangitan's son, Salalila as the monarch of Tondo, Maynila, and Namayan.
Dayang Kalangitan's son Salalila succeeded her as monarch; after converting to Islam, he adopted his more famous name, Sulaiman.[1]
Tondo and Maynila became separate kingdoms after Salalila. Tondo was ruled by Salalila's eldest son, Lakan Dula and Maynila by Rajah Matanda and Rajah Sulayman. Namayan came under the rule of Rajah Kalamayin.
In popular media
literature
- Kalangitan is a novel written by A.F. Eleazar. The plot revolves around a princess named Kalangitan, who became the Queen regnant of Namayan, Tondo, and on her realm at Bitukang Manok, which is the seat of power. As described on the novel, Kalangitan is the most powerful woman in the Maisung at the time of her reign. The novel tackled the history of pre-Hispanic Philippines and the tradition of monogamy, justice system, culture and social norms. The main gist of the novel is about feminism during the pre-colonial era as it shows on the way it was written. It also explore the genre of Philippine mythology, epic and legends. It also contains allegories and sublimal messages as seen on the succeeding chapters of the book.[2] The story was set in Manila during 1450 AD.[3]
References
- Odal-Devora, Grace (2000). Alejandro, Reynaldo Gamboa; Yuson, Alfred A. (eds.). The River Dwellers. Pasig : The River of Life. Unilever Philippines. pp. 43–66.
- World Famous in the Philippines: Ancient History of the Philippines
- "History of the Philippines". Archived from the original on 10 August 2011. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Rajah Lontok |
Dayang of Tondo and Namayan c. 1450–1515 |
Succeeded by Rajah Salalila |