<sub>(From Wikipedia)

Urduja was a warrior princess from the province of Pangasinan, in the Philippines. She was described in accounts of Ibn Battuta as a daughter of a ruler named Tawalisi, who governs a land of the same name. Urduja's army was composed of men and women, and she personally took part in the fighting and engaged in duels with other warriors. She was quoted as saying that she will marry no one but him who defeats her in duel. Other warriors avoided fighting her for fear of being disgraced.</sub>

Made in compliance of a college requirement (remake an artwork of an artist from a predefined list). I chose Yoshitoshi's Cooling Off At Shijo, and while I was encouraged to revamp it in the contemporary setting, I instead chose to look back at our pre-Spanish colonization history and integrate one of our traditional heroines into the artwork. The clouds and silhouettes I used for the background were photographed by my father.

Although I did insert some creative license on the dress, I stuck to the model of the pre-colonization dress of ladies in Luzon (the most northern of the Philippines' major islands, where Pangasinan was located). It showed clear Hindu and Malay influences, and actually blended in quite well with the costumes of other Southeast Asian countries. However, the body-hugging style was banned by the Spaniards who were notoriously conservative, and the women were stuck with wearing balloon-like skirts of the European mode (which in my opinion, were nowhere near as beautiful as the old ensemble).

Do not use or distribute without my permission.

THIS ART IS UNDER THE PROTECTION OF SPIKE, INC.