Danaya


Sang'gre Danaya is a character and one of the protagonists of the Encantadia series, written by Suzette Doctolero. The Encantadia franchise, consisting of four series Encantadia, Etheria, , and Encantadia, is primarily focused on Danaya's journey to save the realm against the invaders. Danaya is portrayed by actress Diana Zubiri on the first 3 series, while Sanya Lopez portrayed her in the 2016 series of the same name.
In Encantadia, Danaya is the youngest daughter of Mine-a, the Queen of Lireo to a diwata named Enuo. She was known as the Keeper of the Gem of Earth. She is known for her bravery and her loyalty to laws and orders in Encantadia. She really wants to be with Aquil for the rest of her life In the end, she ascended the throne of Lireo after Lira, Amihan's daughter, refused to succeed her mother. She continued her reign until Etheria. She was then succeeded by her niece Cassandra, Lira's daughter in Encantadia: Pag-ibig Hanggang Wakas.

Concept and creation

Encantadia is a spin-off of Mulawin. In Mulawin, a similar character named Florona was Encantadia's diwata of the earth and could be considered as the first version of the character.
The name Danaya may be a play on "Diana", which is the name of the actress Diana Zubiri who first played the role. It is also linked with the Roman goddess Diana, goddess of the hunt, the moon, and nature being associated with wild animals and woodland, and having the power to talk to and control animals. The story unfolds in Lireo, the kingdom where Queen Mine-a lives with her daughters Amihan, Alena, Danaya, and Pirena. The four Sangg'res are tasked to be the new keepers of the brilyantes. Their skills in war and their powers as the royalty of the diwatas are believed to be the strength of Lireo. As long as the gemstones are kept properly, the balance of nature in Encantadia remains.

Background

Danaya is the fourth and the youngest daughter of Mine-a and her second daughter with Enuo. Her father is a "diwata" who knows much about Encantadia's flora and fauna. She is also excellent in healing diseases or wounds with the help of the Earth gem. The youngest of Minea's daughters, Danaya is a determined fighter whose loyalty to the throne and laws of her Kingdom is absolute. She was described as just, fearless and prudent among the four sisters. She knows her kingdom’s laws by heart, and while she may be extremely stubborn, she’s one to do things by the book. Because of her relative youth, she is prone to playfulness and argue most of the time especially with her niece Lira and sister Pirena. Though Danaya can use swords and other arsenals as shown in "Etheria", her weapon of choice is an arnis stick called "eskrima". Aside from her weapon, she can also shape-shift into any animals or things she wish to.

Appearances

Encantadia (2005)

When her sister Pirena stole the Gem of Fire, her mother Mine-a handed her the Brilyante ng Lupa for safe keeping. With this, she is tasked to take care of nature and environment in Encantadia. Danaya was one of her mother's choice to ascend the throne of Lireo, but was defeated during the challenge. When her sister Amihan gave birth to Lira, as the wisest of the Sang'gres, she gave a magical gift to Lira, that she will never be harmed by Pirena. This happened when Pirena, a defector of Lireo, came back to ask for their forgiveness, Danaya was not convinced and did not bestowed her full trust to her. As part of Pirena's plan to overthrow Amihan from her throne, Danaya was attacked by Pirena and made an attempt on Amihan's life disguised as Danaya, leading to her exile in the mortal world. This would make easier for Pirena to penetrate the forces of Lireo. In the mortal world, she accidentally met Milagros, the true daughter of Amihan guarded by a lambana named Muyak. Danaya had several failed attempts to convince Mila about her origin. She was then followed by the Hathors including Hagorn and succeeded in killing her niece, Mila. She was later helped by Mulawin's Dakila and Bagwis and went to Halconia to look for Mercurios to bring Mila back to life. They went back to Encantadia and reunited with her sisters. She helped Amihan reclaim the throne of Lireo. When the war is over and Amihan had to pass on her crown to Lira, she refused and rather chose to go back to the mortal world to be with Anthony. Renouncing the throne, her mother and the other Sang'gres chose Danaya as the new Queen of Lireo after Pirena refused, and Alena be crowned as the future Queen of Sapiro.

Etheria (2005–06)

A prophecy by Ether was established a long time ago that if the last kin of the diwatas was born, the fallen Kingdom of Etheria will rise again. When Cassandra, granddaughter of Amihan was born, the prophecy became true and the fallen Kingdom poses a threat to now peaceful Encantadia. Danaya with her three sisters went back to the past to revert the prophecy by changing the history. Danaya headed their fight against the four Herans of Etheria in which they gain victory with the help of the "Inang brilyante". This became Danaya's way to revert the past and bring back the life of Aquil, head of Lirean army and her love interest.

Encantadia: Pag-ibig Hanggang Wakas (2006)

Because of the defeat of the Etherians, Ether flew around her kingdom which was all destroyed to find the Four herans. She found them all and kept their spirits in a crystal ball and brought them to the future. The Crystal ball broke and their spirits became free. They practiced fighting and planned to steal the four gems so Etheria may once again rise back in glory. Danaya fought against the Etherians once again to keep the gems in their territory. During the last war of Encantadia, she faces her "gabay-diwa", Sari-a. In a few years, she descended her throne and was succeeded by Cassandra, Lira's daughter. Legend says she settled with Aquil in the forest of Lireo and eventually vanished together with her other sisters.

Encantadia (2016)

The 2016 series is a reboot to the 2005 fantasy series with the same name. It is the fourth series of the Encantadia franchise and is 11 years apart from the third one. It features the same character and story of Danaya with the 2005 series. It was portrayed by actress Sanya Lopez who underwent vigorous training and repeated audition call backs.