Series / Indio

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Indio is a 2013 fantasy-drama series from the Philippines created and developed by Suzette Doctolero. While largely set in the backdrop of Spanish colonization (more specifically, the initial decades following Ferdinand Magellan's expedition), the story itself starts off in pre-Hispanic times. Ynaguiguinid, the diwata goddess of war, who have fallen in love and had chosen to marry a warrior tribesman lives with their newborn child, who's later called Malaya. Things come to an abrupt end however when the Conquistadores arrive. Realizing that all would soon be lost, she sacrifices her life to ensure Malaya's survival, helped in part by the now orphaned baby being adopted by a local Visayan couple. For a time, and with the help of another goddess named Magayon, Malaya begins to learn his heritage and destiny...only have his adoptive parents taken away and end up under the care of an ambitious encomendero named Juancho Sanreal.

Many years later, Malaya (or Simeon as he's now called) maintains a strong relationship and unrelenting devotion for Juancho. Until he uncovers Juancho's manipulation and deceit, including the oppression of the common people and the latter’s involvement in the death of Rosa, the love of his life. This prompts him to finally embrace his mission. With this his quest and battle for peace and freedom begin.

The series is known locally for its high production values and being a major flagship series for its home network, GMA 7, as well as its sharp break from the conventional Filipino teleserye/teledrama. It's also notable for its historical accuracy and efforts to show things from both sides. The title itself is a term used during the Spanish Era referring to indigenous Filipinos.

Provides Examples Of:

• A Mythology Is True: The diwata (local deities) and other supernatural beings exist and feel threatened by the Spanish and their Christian missionaries.
• Aristocrats Are Evil: The encomendero Juancho is a lot more interested in becoming Governor-General than actually looking after his personal fief.
• Artistic License – History: Although the series takes great pains to create a realistic picture of the Early Colonial Philippines, they get some of the details incorrect:
  • The natives losing out to guns and steel is oversimplified. Some indigenous groups in the Philippines had gunpowder weapons called ''lantaka''👁 Image
    , some of which were used against the Spanish. An indigenous gunsmith by the name of Pira also commanded the forge in Manila both before and after the conquest. While the Spanish did gain some victories from their guns being somewhat better than the native ones, much of their success in the lowlands came from a lack of large-scale organized resistance from the indigenous people.
  • The pueblo depicted in the series features the facade of an imposing stone church. Early in the conquest, the churches would not have immediately been made of stone, at least outside of the major cities like Manila.
  • The civilian outfits worn by the Spanish do not line up to what was worn by 17th Century Europeans (in his later years, Juancho wears a tricorne, which wouldn't have been common fashion until much later in history). Likewise, the Chinese mandarins shown in one flashback are shown wearing exaggerated outfits loosely based on Qing-era clothing, whereas the dynasty in charge at the time would've been the Ming.
• But Not Too Foreign: Esperanza Sanreal is a Mestiza, daughter of a Spanish father and an indigenous mother.
• Christianity Is Catholic: Justified; the Spaniards also sought to bring Catholicism to the "heathens." Although the diwata and anito aren't so pleased with how they're going about it.
• End of an Age: The show begins towards the end of pre-colonial life in the Philippines. The decline and gradual purging of the old ways become a major plot point.
• Fantastic Racism: Also crossed with Deliberate Values Dissonance.
  • The Spanish thumb their noses down at the Indios and their culture.
  • They use another slur, sangleya, to describe the Chinese merchants in Manila.
• Faux Affably Evil: Juancho. He deliberately tries to present himself as a nice guy to Simeon only because of what his abilities could do for his own ambitions.
• Foregone Conclusion: Anyone familiar with Spanish colonial history knows how the prologue (and much of the series) is going to play out.
• Gold Fever: Not exactly gold, but many Spaniards seem lured in by all the potential trade they could profit from.
• Good Shepherd: The Spanish Friar, Jacobe, sincerely believes in the evangelizing mission and sees the actions of the colonizers as increasingly at odds with the duties of the church. He later writes to the king a letter condemning Juancho's increasing abuses, but was killed before he could send it.
• Gratuitous Spanish: Justified, although it helps that there are also a lot of Spanish loanwords in Filipino.
• Half-Human Hybrid: Malaya/Simeon's real mother was a diwata goddess.
• La Résistance: What Malaya/Simeon hopes to shape his countrymen into.
• The Magic Goes Away: Subverted. Christianity may have driven the local deities and creatures further afield. On the other hand, some of the more antagonistic Spaniards aren't above trying to harness it for their own ends.
• Meaningful Name: Malaya is the word for "free" in both Filipino and Tagalog (the language that forms the basis of Filipino).
  • The title itself is meaningful, as indio was historically used as a slur toward the indigenous peoples of what is now the Philippines.
• My Master, Right or Wrong: Hernando, Juancho's second-in-command. He's torn between his conscience and loyalty to his superior.
• Outside-Context Problem: The local inhabitants and diwata certainly didn't expect the new visitors from the seas to be brandishing guns.
• Punch-Clock Villain / Anti-Villain: The Spanish colonists. With certain exceptions, not all of them are evil.
• Rock Beats Laser: Subverted. Magic and sheer determination weren't enough to counter steel, armor, and guns.
• Shown Their Work: The creators went through a good deal of effort to research not only the early Spanish colonial period but also precolonial mythology.
  • The names of many of the deities correspond to actual attested figures in Visayan indigenous religion.
  • Frayle Jacobe attempts to write to the king about Juancho's actions. Friars called out the abuses done toward the indigenous peoples by the conquistadores during the early days of the conquest.
  • A flashback has the governor explain that three Chinese officials came to him seeking out a mountain of gold, which was an actual event that took place in the Spring of 1603👁 Image
    .
• 👁 This example contains a YMMV entry. It should be moved to the YMMV tab.
  Spiritual Successor: To Amaya, another GMA series focusing on precolonial culture and mythology. Suzette Doctolero was also a major showrunner on Amaya.
• Translation Convention: For the most part, everyone speaks in Filipino (including the Spaniards), although bits and pieces of Spanish are increasingly used as the series progresses. The people depicted in the series are not based on the Tagalogs; they should be speaking a Visayan language. This is an example of Shown Their Work whenever the Spanish talk to the indigenous folk, as unlike in the Americas, the Spanish didn't bother teaching the indigenous inhabitants of the islands their language but instead learned the local languages to relay orders and evangelize.
• Tropical Island Adventure: Obviously, as the series is set in the Philippines.