Rizal beyond the image

By Ambeth Ocampo Philippine Daily Inquirer First Posted 01:48:00 01/09/2009 Filed Under: history, Personalities, Books, Anniversaries
Rizal Day came and went as usual without much fuss, except in Rizal Park, where Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile presided over the ceremonies. But then, of course, the President was in La Union yet again for Rizal Day. Everyone is swept up by Christmas and New Year to notice. I missed writing yet another front-page article for Rizal Day because I was, believe it or not, in a place that had no Internet connection. There are people who think we should wear long faces and commemorate Dec. 30 with somber thoughts of death, martyrdom and Ultimo Adios. I would rather that people read Rizals novels and discuss them instead of repeating stock phrases and praises that have numbed our youth. Better yet, try and read Rizals other writings, those that were not forced on you in school. If you know a bit about Rizal, have some idea about his life and the plots of his novels, it would be fruitful to browse though the littleknown volumes in the 25-volume complete compilation of Rizals writings. My favorite volumes in the series are: Rizals Prose (Vol. III Book 2 of the Writings of Jose Rizal series published by the Jose Rizal National Centennial Commission in 1962, which has been frequently reprinted in our time by the National Historical Institute) and Miscellaneous Writings of Jose Rizal. The former is a collection of writings, many of which we were never taught in school, while the latter is a mixed bag ranging from his medical notebooks, Rules for the Determination of the Dimensions of Parapets, to a list of shells he collected in Dapitan. Rizals Prose is basically on his literary works while Miscellaneous Writings is just that: stray pieces on a variety of topics not easily classifiednotes on Tagalog orthography, the treatment of the bewitched (or how to cure a victim of a mangkukulam), and one of the few articles that Rizal originally wrote in English, which is his re-telling of the famous Philippine folktale The Monkey and the Turtle. If you are so inclined, there are separate volumes for his letters, another for his poetry. The schoolmasters favorite is the one devoted to his political and historical writings. In Miscellaneous Writings, everything is translated from the original Spanish or French or Tagalog into English and the compilation has thus misled some into concluding that Rizal wrote some fairy tales, including The Ugly Duckling, because the compiler forgot to mention that these tales by Hans Christian Andersen were translated into Tagalog and illustrated by Rizal for his nephews and nieces. These are best read in Rizals original Tagalog. His charming translation of Thumbelina is Si Gahinlalaki and The Ugly Duckling is rendered as Ang Pangit na Sisiu ng Pato. It is truly unfortunate that a hero who left so many writings is so seldom read by his people. Maybe we have become so conditioned to associate Rizal with nationalism and holidays that we forget he can be an engaging writer on a wide range of topics. To read him is to rediscover not just another aspect of the hero but a way to understand ourselves as Filipinos. Sometimes he can be cryptic, such as when he says, Hay mas dias que longanisas (There are more days than longanisas), which is a phrase whose context is lost on us today. Then there is yet another cryptic parable that can be relevant to those who like to involve lawyers and get tangled in lawsuits. Rizal wrote: Once, two friends found a clam near the sea. They debated as to who would have it. I, one said, saw it first. But I picked it up, replied his friend. They went to court and asked the judge to settle the question. The judge opened the shell, ate the meat, and divided the shell between the litigants. It is a reminder to people who are fond of resorting to the courts of justice. Another unfinished story or novel is quite similar to George Orwells Animal Farm. First published in 1946, Orwell set the story in a place called Manor Farm, renamed Animal Farm after a successful revolt of the animals that drove out the humans. The leader of the animals was a pig named Napoleon. In Rizals story, the leader of the animals is also a pig named Botiok. In this farm there lived an efficient farmhand named Suan who produced healthy and productive animals. One day, for some unknown reason, the animals turned sickly. Egg production dropped, the turkeys lost the sheen on their feathers and the other animals grew thin. This was strange, because there was no epidemic of animal disease at the time. The narrator, who was born on St. Solomons Day, had the gift of understanding the language of

animals, so he climbed and hid in a macopa tree to eavesdrop on the animals. He discovered that the animals, like humans, had a social structure of their own, with the pig at the head of their society. It is unfortunate that Rizal did not complete this story to educate and entertain us further. When people ask why Rizal always seems relevant and interesting to me, I reply that if we want to understand Rizal and ourselves, we

must go beyond the image in our monuments and textbooks to unravel the complexity of a man who mirrors a lot of what we are and what we wish for.

Jose Rizal's Legacy . . . A Life worth Emulating

By: Zigfred Diaz More than 111 years ago, Spanish authorities shot a man in the grounds of Luneta Manila. That moment was about to change the course of Philippine history. The man who was shot during that time was Jose Rizal. Every year we continue to remember and commemorate the death anniversary of this great man. What was the reason why Jose Rizal was chosen as our national hero ? What is the greatest legacy that he gave to the Filipino people ? Majority of Filipinos believed that Jose Rizal become a national hero because of his example and his writings that greatly influenced most of our revolutionary leaders. However there are those who believe that he should only be declared a hero not "The national hero." Majority of Filipinos also believe that the greatest legacy that he gave to the Filipino people was his patriotism and his love for his country. Years ago when I was taking up the required "Rizal" course in college, I was so amazed by the story of Jose Rizal that I went through Zaide's book on Rizal in just one day. I consider Jose Rizal is one of my "Role models." When I went to Manila, I made sure that I could visit the actual grounds where Rizal was shot. Contrary to what others believe, Rizal was not shot where the Rizal shrine in Luneta stands. The actual place where he was shot is several meters away from the shrine. As you approach the area you can see a sign that says that the place is "hollowed ground." and it truly is for me. After we took the bar exams, I went with my family to Enchanted Kingdom. I also saw this as an oppurtunity to visit nearby Calamba, Laguna, Rizal's home. Hopefully, I hope to visit his place of exile in Dapitan someday. Reading so much about Rizal, being to the places where he has been, and watching so many Rizal movies, I cannot help but ask myself, how could a somebody who lived only 34 years of his life make a huge difference in this world, not only in his country but globally as well ? It is my personal belief that Jose Rizal's greatest legacy is a life that is full of meaning and purpose. Even if he lived for only 34 years, he accomplished so much because he had a vision in his mind and a mission in his heart. The strength and intensity of such mission and vision translated into action. That is why he did not waste any time in trivial matters. Rather he devoted all of his time to live out his mission and accomplish his vision. The question right now that I should be asking myself or you should be asking yourself is when the time comes for us to leave this earth, will our lives matter? Can we truly say that we have lived a full and meaningful life? If we cannot answer this question positively, than we must ask God to grant us a personal vision and a mission for our lives in order that we might not waste our time on things that does not matter at all. In so doing we might be able to live a life just like Jose Rizal did and leave a legacy for others to follow. Leaving a legacy as Rizal did is what I believe as my "higher calling." Article Source: http://www.approvedarticles.com

A MISTAKE IN RIZAL'S LETTERS

By John Nery Philippine Daily Inquirer First Posted 00:08:00 12/30/2008 The letter is the 12th printed in chronological order, out of the 226 included in "Letters Between Rizal and Family Members 1876-1896." It is dated Jan. 17, 1882, written in Madrid and addressed to Jose Rizal's brother-in-law Silvestre Ubaldo. Ubaldo had repeatedly asked Rizal to work for his transfer to the government telegraph station in Calamba. Rizal's reply was practical to a fault: "I'll see if I can do something for you at the ministry, but my acquaintances are still few. If you didn't expect much from the post you hold, I believe it would be much better if you would devote yourself to farming." He does not fail to end on a light note, asking Ubaldo to give his regards to his wife Seora Ipia (Rizal's sister Olimpia), "who turned out to be stout as I believed. Tell her to stop wriggling." The letter, however, is erroneously placed in the chronology. Rizal did not leave for Europe until May 3, 1882. He did not arrive in Barcelona

until June 15, and did not begin his studies in Madrid until Oct. 3. How could he have written a letter from Madrid before he even left Manila? I have not seen the original letter, but I can make an educated guess about the mistake. It was the turn of the year, and 1883 was not even three weeks old; Rizal wrote down the wrong year. It happens. It happens even to the best of us; and it happened to Rizal. What makes this particular, decidedly trivial error instructive, however, is that some of the country's best historians in the 1960s, and then again in the 1990s, did not see it as erroneous. To be sure, it takes some chutzpah on my part, a mere student of history, to take to task the very people on whose shoulders I and my generation of Rizal readers now stand. But I cannot help but think that the National Heroes Commission, which printed several volumes of Rizal's letters in 1963, including those he wrote to and received from his family, accepted everything Rizal wrote as holy writ; and that the National Historical Institute, which reprinted the same volumes starting in 1992, passed up the chance to edit Rizal's letters according to contemporary standards and by the light of the latest research. (Could it be that blame for the perpetuation of this admittedly minor error goes all the way back to Teodoro M. Kalaw and his "Epistolario

Rizalino"? If I correctly read the introductory note to Filipiniana. net's impressive "epistolary bibliography, " which unfortunately repeats the sequencing error, perhaps the answer is yes.) There is plenty of evidence both internal to the letter and external to it that would have told anyone that the date of the letter, even if affixed by the hand of Rizal, was wrong.

patriot, or Rizal the hero and martyr whom we fondly and unquestioningly worship." Ah. Hero worship. *** Some of Rizal's letters are a little too earnest now for our taste, but many of them are alert with both precision of description and intensity of passion, and quite a few are genuinely funny. Their greatness lies in what they show us: his protean mind, but his constant character. The real mistake is not in his letters, but in the way we handle them. We should not confine our attempts to publish them to a few thousand copies, in large-paper formats, bound like precious and unavailing dissertations. We should publish, in time for the 150th anniversary of his birth in 2011, hundreds of thousands of copies, in formats that we can read on the bus, in the ferry, while lying in bed.

Rizal begins the letter by acknowledging receipt of a previous letter from Ubaldo, dated Dec. 23, and by mentioning that he had already replied to Ubaldo's entreaties ("I thank you for your perseverance in writing me") not once but twice. These circumstances would have placed Rizal in Spain sometime in December 1881, perhaps even earlier clearly an untenable thought, if, that is, the thought had been entertained. The letter as placed in the sequence is also jolting; it jumps out of context. (This is, in fact, what drew my attention in the first place.) On one spread, Rizal is enduring a chastening from Leonor Rivera and making plans to survey a piece of land; on the next, he is dispensing advice to his brother-in-law from Madrid. Indeed, the very next letter in the sequence, No. 13, is from that good man, Rizal's older brother Paciano, writing from Manila on May 26, 1882, and informing the younger brother then en route to Europe about his parents' grief upon hearing the news of his departure. If these weren't enough, there is the evidence of Ubaldo's own letters. On June 26, 1882, Ubaldo raises the request for the first time: "If you can do me a favor there by having me transferred to Calamba, recommend me to the Inspector General of Communications. " He follows it up on Oct. 5, 1882. There are also three other letters touching on the request: Paciano's of July 24, 1882; Rizal's of Oct. 10; and finally Rizal's again of Jan. 11, 1883. "I received Silvestre's letter," he writes, "and I'm very sorry that I can't do anything for him now." Admittedly a small error, and an even more minor mystery, the obvious key to which may lie in the preface to the volume of "family" letters. The last sentence of the preface (written, I assume, on behalf of the National Heroes Commission) reads: "Going over all these letters can never fail to reveal to us Rizal the man, or Rizal the

It would be the best way to get to know him. Writing his sister Josefa, for instance, he couldn't resist another poke at the stout older sister. "Is Sr. Ipia there already? Do her eyes still become small when she laughs?" The only thing missing, it seems, is the now obligatory LOL. http://opinion. inquirer. net/inquireropin ion/columns/ view/20081230180547/A- mistake-in- Rizals-letters

History, Independence Day, Jose Rizal

By Dr. Pablo S. Trillana III Inquirer (Editor's Note: The author is a former chair of the National Historical Institute and currently Knight Grand Officer of the Knights of Rizal.) MANILA, PhilippinesWithin a week of each other, the nation will commemorate two events of great national significance the declaration of independence in Kawit, Cavite, on June 12, 1898, and the birth of national hero Dr. Jose Rizal on June 19, 1861. These seemingly disparate events, in the course of our story as a people, led to a historical conjunction that gave birth to our modern nation. It would be difficult to think of one without the other. The radical idea of separating from Spain through a revolution is generally laid at the doorstep of the Katipunan. This was the secret society founded on July 7, 1892, the day the decree of Rizal's exile "to one of the southern islands" was published in the Gaceta de Manila. In truth, the roots of separatist ideas reached deeper into the past. On Dec. 12, 1896, in preparing his defense against the charge of

rebellion, Rizal acknowledged these roots: "Separatist ideas have existed in the Philippines for many years. In this century alone there occurred many uprisings: Those of Novales, Cuesta, Apolinario, in the Ilocos and Pangasinan, of the regiment of the Pampangos, of Cavite and again that of Pangasinan in 1884." Novales was Capt. Andres Novales, a Spanish mestizo who led a revolt in 1823 and declared himself "Emperor of the Philippines. " His armed uprising was foiled and he was executed. Cuesta was Lt. Jose Cuesta, another Spanish mestizo who, in 1854, rebelled and declared the country's independence from Spain. He was also captured and then hanged. Apolinario, on the other hand, was Apolinario de la Cruz, more popularly known as Hermano Pule, a native of Lucban, whose movement called the Cofradia de San Jose attracted thousands of followers in Tayabas, Laguna, Batangas and Cavite. They were suspected of being heretics and subversives and were attacked in 1841 on the slopes of Mt. San Cristobal in Tayabas. Pule was captured, shot and quartered. Early conquest years Going back farther, down to the early conquest years, the sons and relatives of Rajah Matanda, Lakandula and Rajah Soliman attempted in 1574 to separate from the Spaniards and regain leadership over their ancient domains. Thirteen years later, Magat Salamat and Agustin de Legazpi led the so-called "Revolt of the Lakans (1587-88)" to drive away the Spaniards. Both attempts failed. The uprisings were easily suppressed. They were not based "on the necessity of the whole nation," a principal reason, according to Rizal, why they failed. There was yet no clear idea of nation, no national sentiment that could galvanize disparate ethnolinguistic communities into a united yet widespread struggle for independence. Rizal changed all that and gave the idea of independent nationhood moral clarity. Social order Rizal's choice of means were words. When Filipinos were falling for the line that our culture was nonexistent before the arrival of Spain, he found Antonio de Morga's "Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas" (Events in the Philippine Isles), first published in 1609, and annotated it to emphasize the richness and liveliness of our pre-colonial past. In "Noli Me Tangere" (The Social Cancer), published in 1887, Rizal took the bold step of laying bare the cancerous present by accurately

depicting everyday events under the velvet heel of Spanish oppression, leading up to "El Filibusterismo" (The Reign of Greed), which came out in 1891, his call to revolution. And in "Las Filipinas Dentro de Cien Aos" (The Philippines a Century Hence), Rizal lightly parted the veil of the future to give a glimpse of the direction toward which the country was heading. In these works, Rizal created a climate of opinion that questioned the existing social order. If Spain, after more than 300 years of colonial rule, had nothing more to offer than tears and chains for the indios, it was time for the Filipinos to separate from her by regaining their freedom and establishing their own nation. Rizal clearly laid out the historical basis for independence in Las Filipinas Dentro de Cien Aos: If Spain would not introduce equitable laws and sincere reforms to assimilate Filipinos then he predicted that "the Philippines one day will declare herself inevitably and unmistakably independent. " Peace or destruction? It is true that the national hero emphasized education as the foundation upon which the Filipinos could succeed in developing a fledgling nation. He condemned the 1896 revolution of Bonifacio because Rizal believed that conditions were not ripe for its success. Armed struggle, however, was an option that remained on his mind. On June 19, 1887, his 26th birthday, Rizal wrote to his good friend Ferdinand Blumentritt: "I assure you that I have no desire to take part in conspiracies which seem to me too premature and risky. But if the government drives us to them, that is to say, when no other hope remains to us but to seek our destruction in war, when the Filipinos would prefer to die rather than endure longer their misery, then I will also become a partisan of violent means. The choice of peace or destruction is in the hands of Spain" http://blogs.inquirer.net/beingfilipino/2007/06/11/2-historicalevents-led-to-birth-of-modern-rp/#more-11

Jose Rizals 100-year-old secret in Germany

By Michaela P. del Callar 09/26/2010

BERLIN Stored in a German museums metal cabinets and glass vaults with controlled temperature for more than a century, Jose Rizals intricately hand-woven Barong Tagalog and other cultural mementoes depict how he once proudly showed off his small Southeast Asian nations cultural heritage in mighty Europe. Then a dreamy-eyed Filipino in his 20s, Rizal had traveled to Germany in 1886 to further his studies in Medicine, nurture his revolutionary zeal, and finish writing and publish his epic novel, the Noli Me Tangere. Rizal brought along keepsakes that reminded him of home a wood and brass betel nutcracker, a rice stalk cutter, a beaded belt from Mindanao, a tawo-piece Muslim ethnic garment, and a 19th century barot saya woven from pia and abaca fiber. The cultural pieces in his bachelors pad in a quaint residential building in Berlins upscale Stadtmitte district were donated to the German citys Ethnological Museum when he decided to return to the Philippines. Back home, he kept his romance with Europe and continued shipping and donating cultural artifacts to the Berlin museum a year after he left. After his Dec. 30, 1896 execution at Manilas Bagumbayan, now known as Luneta Park, his mementoes in Berlin were forgotten. For more than 100 years, Rizals treasures lay hidden from the public eye, stored at Berlins Ethnologisches Museum in Museenkomplex Dahlem Lanstrasse, where German authorities kept them, seen only by very few people, who got wind of their existence and seek special government permission to view them with an escort-curator. Now, Rizals century-old secret may finally unravel. The Philippine Embassy in Berlin has proposed that a collection of Philippine cultural artifacts, including Rizals items, be inventoried and catalogued by German museum authorities and then possibly be put on display for Filipinos and other foreign visitors to see. Philippine officials have praised Germany, which owns the priceless artifacts, for safeguarding the treasures from the decay of time, insects and shifting temperature. Most, including Rizals Barong Tagalog, have been excellently preserved and still look stunningly new. This journalist was allowed by German museum authorities to view Rizals artifacts in a rare, two-hour tour that seemed like a journey back in history. The experience was bittersweet, witnessing how a foreign government had spent and taken pains to preserve a part of Philippine heritage that may have easily been lost in time and knowing how many of our museums back home have been left in

neglect, with the scantiest budget to protect priceless artifacts from the ravages of time and even theft.

The Berlin museum director for Southeast Asia, Dr. Roland Platz, carefully removed Rizals treasures from overhead metal safe boxes and laid them side by side on a table. The bespectacled curator beamed with pride as he finally presented the items after a long wait. Its your cultural heritage, Platz said. I think that Jose Rizal is very important to you, he told the Tribune. The items that he collected are special. I can imagine that a lot of Filipinos would like to see them or have them photographed somewhere or published in a way. The 21 cultural relics included native garments, Filipino household items and wooden and metal artifacts from rural regions across the Philippines. All items date back to the 19th century, according to Platz. A tribal vest from Mindanao, its intricate Ikat print design similar to batik still sharp, was held up by Platz. He pointed to Rizals wellpreserved Barong shirt, his letter opener and rain coat. There were hand-woven pia tablecloth and table runners, a wooden peg for fighting cocks, a baby carrier crafted from native cloth with ethnic patterns. There were womens and mens accessories like a beaded belt and a traditional Filipino salakot hat. Platz lamented that very few Filipinos have had the privilege to marvel at the artifacts because of the distance and scant information about them. Although tucked in locked cases, the Rizal collection could be shown to small groups of visitors by arrangement. We are open for the public but of course not too many people can come here, he said, adding that a few can always come and are welcome to visit. Consul Julius Flores of the Philippine Embassy in Berlin said Rizal donated these items because of his fondness and affection for Germany, where he took up further studies in ophthalmology. Rizal lived in Berlin for about six months where he was welcomed in its prestigious scientific circles, where he wore his native outfits.

Rizal liked the absence of racial prejudice. He stayed longer, though, in Heidelberg, where he interned and worked in an ophthalmology clinic, Flores said.He loved Germany and therefore the only way for him to share something of himself is his personal effects ... an impression of the Philippines, Flores said. German authorities have long planned to put Rizals artifacts on public display but have not found an appropriate space. The Berlin museum currently showcases about 500,000 objects and collections from Africa, American archaeology, American ethnology, Europe, the Islamic World, Eastern and Northern Asia, South and Southeast Asia, the South Seas and Australia. http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100926hed3.html

Rizal next met his puppy love Segunda Katigbak. Unfortunately, Katigbak was already engaged and set to wed her Batangas townmate, Manuel Luz. After Katigbak came two LeonorsLeonor Valenzuela and Leonor Rivera. Rizal met Valenzuela in Intramuros near the dormitory where he was staying. Cleverly using invisible ink, Rizal sent her love notes, which could only be read over the flame of a lamp or candle. While he was courting Valenzuela, Rizal was also seeing Rivera, the woman who would eventually become his girlfriend for the next 11 years. She would be his inspiration for Maria Clara, one of the main characters in his first novel, Noli Me Tangere. He was ready to marry her if not for the objections of Riveras mother who disliked Rizals reputation of being a dissenter. When Rizal went to Spain, he continued to send her letters, which Riveras mother hid from her. Thinking that he had abandoned her, Rivera eventually gave in to her mothers request and married Englishman Henry Kipping. Rizal was said to have cried shamelessly when news of the wedding reached him. During his stay in Spain, Rizal frequented the Ortigas residence in Madrid where he met Consuelo Ortiga y Rey, the prettier of Don Pablo Ortigas daughters. He dedicated to her A la Senorita C.O. y R., which became one of his best poems. Their relationship never became serious, however, as Rizal wanted to remain loyal to Rivera, and because his friend Eduardo de Lete was madly in love with Consuelo.

Jose P. Rizal: One geek of a ladies man who charmed 10 women

BY ED UY LIFESTYLE REPORTER In a time without Facebook, Twitter and networking sites, Jose P. Rizal was a social butterfly whose presence was always memorable, as he used poems, magic and his wit to delight the crowd. He was a poet, novelist, sculptor, painter and doctor, and his passion for knowledge is only matched by his love for women. Rizal was the ultimate geek of his time, and he used his mastery of the language and arts to fight for the country and conquer the hearts of women on the side. According to several Filipino historians, Rizal had romanced and conquered the hearts of at least 10 womenof different nationalities quite a feat for a man who stood no more than 411 tall. In his book, The Loves of Rizal (2000), former National Historical Institute chairman, Dr. Pablo Trillana 3rd, said that Rizal gave and received affection and, like everyone else, felt the joy, anguish or regret of Cupids arrow. Rizals first romance, ironically, was the last to be discovered. Her name was Julia, although her surname remains unknown. Trillana said that he learned about Julia from a book written by Carlos Quirino, a National Artist for historical literature. She was a 14-yearold girl whom Rizal met in Los Baos, Laguna. In his book, Trillana described her as a vibrant yet modest, oval-faced, and oliveskinned, and blessed with simple beauty. Rizal was 15 when he first saw Julia trying to catch a butterfly she was chasing. Rizal, ever gallant, caught two, Trillana wrote. There was an instant attraction, but for lack of subsequent contact, Rizal eventually forgot Julia.

European loves When he learned about Riveras marriage, Rizal eventually met and courted Nelly Boustead, one of two daughters of his host, Eduardo Boustead, in the resort city of Biarritz, France. Their love story ended when Nellys parents requested Rizal to convert to the Protestant faith. On his second trip to Europe in 1888, Rizal stopped by Japan where he met Seiko Usui whom he affectionately called O Sei San. She was a lovely and intelligent daughter of a samurai who taught Rizal the Japanese art of painting known as su-mie, and helped him improve his knowledge of Japanese language. Historians said that if Rizal wasnt patriotic he could have married O Sei San and settled in Japan because a Spanish delegation there was offering him a lucrative job. In a letter, he said of her: O Sei San, O Sei San, sayonara. No woman, like you, has ever loved me . . . Rizal also had a short-lived affair with Suzanne Jacoby when he moved to Brussels because of the high cost of living in Paris. There he

lived at the boarding house owned by the Jacoby sisters. Their romance ended when Rizal left for Madrid without telling her. While annotating the Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas in London, Rizal lived in the house of the Beckett family near the British Museum. There he also had a brief relationship with Gertrude, the oldest of the three Beckett daughters. Gertrude helped him in his painting and sculpture, but when he realized Gertrude was seriously in love with him, he left London and went to Paris. Attempt at marriage The last woman in Rizals life was Josephine Bracken whom he met in Dapitan. Bracken was an 18-year-old petite Irish girl and the adopted daughter of George Taufer from Hong Kong. Taufer came to Dapitan to seek Rizal for eye treatment. Rizal was immediately attracted to Josephine. He called her dulce estranjera, or sweet foreigner. He eventually found himself falling in love with Josephine, but Rizals sisters suspected her of being a spy for the Spanish authorities and a threat to his security. Upon her return to Dapitan, Rizal tried to arrange their marriage with Father Antonio Obach. The priest, however, wanted a retraction as a precondition before marrying them. Rizal eventually took Bracken as his wife without the Church blessings and Bracken later gave birth prematurely to a stillborn baby. How he managed to win all those ladies affection, Trillana attributes to Rizals impeccable manners and gift of gab, not to mention good looks and innate charm. Rizals love life may not be as successful as his patriotic endeavors, but one thing is for sure, he had used all the knowledge and talent he has to make them fall for him, and he in turn immortalized their love through his works. The [women] came at varying crossroads in Rizals life. And with varying passion and devotion, he would remember each in his heart and works, Trillana said. Source: Trillana, Pablo S. 3rd. The Loves of Rizal and Other Essays on Philippine History, Art and Public Policy. Quezon City: New Day Publisher, 2000. Jose Rizal University Rizal, the Romantic http://www.joserizal.ph/lv01.html

This paper does not propose that Dr.Jose Rizal was a psychologist. Rizal did not undergo professional training in psychology. My intention here is to search for concepts Rizal may have directly or indirectly dealt with in his two novels, Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, and a major essay, La Curacin de los Hechizados (The Treatment of the Possessed), that reflect types of human behavior usually described in psychology textbooks. I have set four objectives: To discover in the aforementioned works by Rizal certain concepts that may have theoretical and pragmatic implications to modern psychology and psychiatry; to find out the historical roots of his knowledge in psychology; to evaluate whether or not Rizal's concepts related to psychology and psychiatry fall under behavioral tenets or psychoanalytic principles; and to examine if some of the present Filipino behavioral patterns continue to adhere to Rizal's "diagnosis" and "prognosis'. My discussion will revolve around the characters in Noli who reappear in Fili or haunt its pages, specifically, Sisa, Pilosopong Tasyo, and Doa Victorina, three colorful literary characters who exhibit classic psychological profiles in the real world. I will touch on the possessed individual as examined in Rizal's essay. Sisa, whose sad life drives her to madness, is one of two tragic heroines of Noli. Her case exemplifies a female Filipino adult, who has a weak personality, that is, in psychological parlance, very much below the 50th percentile. By contrast, her submissiveness almost reaches the 99th percentile. Her gambler of a husband constantly takes out his anger over his hard luck on his family. It is typical of him to come home, after sustaining heavy losses at the cockfight, to physically abuse Sisa and their two children, Basilio and Crispin. Outside her home, Sisa is also a victim. Her children, parish altar boys, are wrongly accused of stealing money from the church. To pay for their "crime", the priest canes Crispin to death and Basilio, who narrowly escapes the same fate, is grazed by a guardia civil's bullet. Sisa's misery is exacerbated by the loss of Crispin and the extreme humiliation she suffers at the hands of the Spanish militia. Branded as a mother of thieves and forced to walk to the cuartel under the cruel stare of her neighbors, she breaks down. In Fili, Sisa is resurrected as a disturbing memory. Through Sisa, Rizal attempted to show how the psyche of the Filipino women of his time had been adversely affected by the colonial culture. During the Spanish era, partly due to the hold of medieval Catholicism and the generally accepted idea of women's inferiority to men, the Filipino woman was brought up to blindly obey the wishes of her parents (especially her father's) or husband; to never assert her own will; and to fully dedicate her life in the service of God and family. Outside of the church and the home, she had no function. There was no room for her to develop into a mature and independent person in this rigid, limited and sheltered environment. She could be likened to a piece of crystal -- decoratively but extremely fragile.

RIZAL AND PSYCHOLOGY

Rizal and Psychology by Dr. Regino P. Paular Chief, Historical Education Division National Historical Institute

When confronted by a severely threatening or frustrating experience she retreated, or worse, broke down. Such is Sisa's situation. A dutiful, submissive woman who, when cornered and hurt, loses her grip on reality. Pilosopong Tasyo typifies the Filipino who is caught between two disparate cultures, the East and the West. As a young man, he studied philosophy and was a bright student. In fact, too bright for his mother's comfort. Fearing that Tasyo might become too absorbed in his studies and, therefore, forget God, his mother told him to make a choice: be a priest or leave school. He chose the latter, being an obedient son, and also because he was in love. He got married but was, unfortunately, widowed and orphaned in less than a year. Frustration, loneliness, and perhaps disenchantment with the colonial establishment he previously embraced drove him to seek solace in his books, in the cockpits, and in a life of sheer idleness. Eventually, although born wealthy, his fortunes dwindled. An old man when we meet him in Noli, he is touched with benign lunacy. But while the people of San Diego make fun of his odd ideas, such as his theories on the doctrine of Purgatory, there is method to his madness. Rizal attempted to show us that reciprocal inhibition or sublimation or resorting to other activities to forget unpleasant experiences is the common refuge of intelligent people. Repressing his personal problems through reading was the only way Tasyo could preserve the appearance of sanity and blend in with the "normal" world. The irony is, the more learned he was, the farther he moved away from what is perceived to be sane. Doa Victorina is one of Rizal's most colorful characters. She is a monument to self-deception. A Filipino by blood, she styles herself as European. She wears overly accessorized gowns; she covers her face with rice powder to hide her brown skin and her age. And although she speaks bad Spanish, she is "more Spanish than Agustina de Zaragosa", a symbol of Spanish patriotism. Naturally, her prime ambition is to marry the Spaniard. However, no Spaniard seemed interested. Not until Tiburcio de Espadaa shows up in her middle age, when her luxuriant hair has thinned out, wrinkles lined her face and "her teeth started to loosen". Her Spaniard, on the other hand, is lame, bald, toothless, speaks with a stutter, and is of low birth. Theirs is a perfect marriage of compromise. In Doa Victorina, Rizal has drawn a picture of the Filipino woman who has a distorted view of herself. Rejecting her own kind as inferior and admiring everything foreign, especially Hispanic, she reinvents herself. She alters her physical appearance through artificial means -by using cosmetics that lighten the color of her skin and by hiding her Asian frame inside voluminous European dresses. However, in the process she creates a misfit shunned by Europeans as a freak and derided by her own people as a caricature. In the end, Doa Victorina becomes entrapped in her own deception; she is ill at ease in both her own and borrowed world. Doa Victorina's self-delusion finds further explanation in Rizal's essay, "La Curacin de los Hechizados," written in 1895. Here he

dwells on kulam, or sorcery, and the modern concept of autosuggestion or self-hypnosis as the underlying cause of so-called possession. Rizal argues that if person believes he is being subjected to kulam and then behaves as if possessed, he becomes a slave to his own thoughts. This is a classic case of auto-suggestion or selfhypnosis. His condition, which affects him both physically and mentally, is not a result of demonic possession, but rather the power of the mind. Rizal's background in psychology Rizal was introduced to the field of psychology when he was studying for his bachillerato or high school diploma at the Ateneo de Manila in the 1870s. The subject, however, was taught only as a part of philosophy. Later, as a freshman medical student at the Universidad de Santo Tomas and, later, at the Universidad Central de Madrid, he learned more about ailments that affect the mind. Even then, however, psychology/psychiat ry was not offered as a distinct branch of medicine, but it was incorporated into medical books. Therefore, concepts relevant to insanity -- its causes, effects, and recommended therapy -- were studied and discussed. Rizal's medical training also exposed him to the European understanding of mental illness and its cure. His travels in France and Germany gave him the opportunity to observe new trends in the treatment of the disease. In addition, he must have read books on human behavior by two noted 19th century French doctors, JeanMarie Charcot (1825-1893) and Joseph Breuer (1842-1925). Charcot, a psychiatrist, was a recognized authority on mental disorders while Breuer was an advocate of the practice of mesmerism in the treatment of mental illness. Sigmund Freud's (1856-1939) association with the two doctors helped him develop his now famous psychoanalytic theories and treatment. All told, Rizal's academic background, personal experiences and exposure to various social milieus gave him first-hand knowledge of the probable causes and effects of human behavior. Moreover, he was a keen observer of people and their idiosyncrasies, a gift palpable in his works. Psychoanalytic or behavioral? Rizal's portrayal of Sisa, Pilosopong Tasyo, Doa Victorina, and the possessed individual could be interpreted either through psychoanalysis or behavioral psychology. Psychoanalysis claims that human actions are influenced by hidden conflicts while behavioral psychology puts emphasis on the environment or reward system as a determinant of how an individual conducts himself. I believe that Rizal's exposition on the four personalities under discussion leans more toward behavioral rather than psychoanalysis. Sisa's weak personality stems from upbringing. She learns to assume the role of a soft-spoken girl/lady, because her actuations leading to this role, are always met by social, verbal or material reinforcements at home and in the community. Behavior, whether normal or abnormal, could be molded by a reward system. Even as an adult, Sisa continues to

conduct herself within the norms taught her as child. Unable to mature psychologically, she is not prepared to cope with extreme frustrations or debilitating experiences. Overpowered by an abusive husband and later by the death of a son, her ultimate defense is madness. Pilosopong Tasyo's extreme retreat into books and new knowledge is a form of reciprocal inhibition, that is, blocking negative behavior with positive behavior. Tasyo's sorrow over the death of his wife and mother could have destroyed him had he not found an alternate reality in books. As explained by Rizal, the case of a person supposedly under the power a mangkukulam could be the result of auto-suggestion or selfhypnosis. In modern psychology/psychiat ry, such a person can be compared to an individual who, under hypnosis, believes or does whatever is suggested to him. As can be gleaned from the characters of Sisa, Tasyo, and Doa Victorina as well as from his article on sorcery, Rizal's concepts, both implied and symbolic, are relevant to the contemporary field of psychology or psychiatry. His observations may be summarized as follows. Extreme frustration could drive a person to insanity, especially if the subject has low self-esteem or a low level of endurance. Bad behavior like gambling could be inhibited through environmental manipulation or reciprocal inhibition, that is, by indulging in productive activities like reading, thereby neglecting maladaptive or bad behavior. Physical or mental pretensions could persist if the behavioral idiosyncrasies of a subject are rewarded socially, verbally, or materially even if they are abnormal or maladaptive, or if they are allowed to thrive as "superstitious behaviors". Belief in sorcery could be explained in terms of autosuggestion or self-hypnosis. Past versus present Praised for their timelessness, Rizal's novels offer proof that Filipino society has not changed much since his day. There are countless Sisas roaming our streets. Newspapers and police blotters are filled with stories of women who are victims of domestic violence and neglect and who eventually end up as drug addicts, prostitutes, or suicides. Children of broken homes tell the same sad tales. Unlike in Rizal's time, however, abused women today can turn to NGOs who look after their well-being and rights. Pilosopong Tasyo lives in contemporary Filipino intellectuals sequestered in ivory towers. They know the world only in the abstract and regard it with disdain. They are critical of government but refuse to do something to make it better, such as exercising their right to vote or running for public office. They are observers, never participants, preferring the safe world of ideas to the more challenging world of action. Today's Doa Victorina moves around the elite's social circle. Her many incarnations include the patroness of the arts, the belle of the ball, the champion of the poor. More often than not, her titles have

been acquired through image, not substance. Her male counterparts, the Don Victorinos, are no less ugly and ignoble.As to Rizal's possessed individuals, the victims of self-hypnosis or autosuggestion, their malady has spread to half of the present labor force. In search of a better life, many Filipino men and women have mesmerized themselves into believing that they would strike gold as contract workers overseas. Some of them do. But some end up with their dreams shattered by loneliness and a harsh work environment. Conclusion Rizal's contribution to psychology and psychiatry is both diagnostic and prognostic. His portrayal of colonial Filipinos has both historical and psychological bases. Hispanic influences diluted the Filipino's indigenous oriental culture, thereby changing his person and later, his society. Much of these changes, unfortunately, had given rise to conflicting values. What are Sisa, Pilosopong Tasyo, and Doa Victorina if not the products of Hispano-oriental cultural crossbreeding? You can see in them the mingling or warring positive or negative traits, both indigenous and Hispanic. Rizal's Sisa, Pilosopong Tasyo and Doa Victorina as symbols of the stagnation and deterioration of Filipino values will remain in our cultural mainstream until we retool our society into something more akin to the purer pre-colonial society. Although Rizal was not formally trained as a psychologist, his portrayal of Filipino behavioral patterns and his analysis of their effects of the individual and society show that he had a firm grasp of the psychology of the human mind and the psychology of human nature.

Chinese, other Asians like the Japanese, being confused with them are likewise disliked by the ignorant Americans".

RIZAL, THE SCIENTIST

By Ben O. de Lumen Professor, Dept of Nutritional Sciences and Toxicology University of California at Berkeley, CA Jose P. Rizal was a man of many talents and interests. For a man who lived only 35 years, his achievements are remarkable and numerous. The Rizal Centennial Commission listed 278 written works of Rizal including his two major novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. Although Rizal is well known for his literary prowess, perhaps his accomplishments as a scientist are not well publicized. At this age where science and technology play a major role in economic development, his scientific achievements are relevant and inspiring. To talk about Rizal as a scientist, it is difficult to separate Rizal the natural scientist (one who practiced the natural sciences) from Rizal the social scientistand political reformer because he believed that knowledge should be used for enlightenment and liberation and not for oppression. In his choice of medicine as a career and during his education in Europe, he never lost sight of his goal: to serve his people and liberate them from years of oppression and injustice by the Spaniards. Here are some highlights of Rizal's scientific accomplishments. After 5 years in Europe, he went home to the Philippines in 1887. He operated on his mother's eyes to remove her cataracts- the surgery was successful and was the first of its kind ever done in the Philippines. His fame as an eye doctor spread quickly and people began coming to him for treatment from all over the Philippines and even from as far away as China. He opened a clinic, sent away for equipment, charged moderate fees and treated the poor free. After only six months, Rizal had to leave the country because his novel Noli Me Tangere had circulated and the friars were out to get him. He went back to Europe via Japan and the US. Here again, Rizal made some perceptive observations of the US then. After 15 days crossing the Pacific, their ship was quarantined in San Francisco for a week although none of the passengers were sick and health clearance had been given. The authorities cited smallpox as a risk. He noted that there were a number of Chinese immigrants, the cargo silk had been unloaded without fumigation and the custom officers were not afraid to eat aboard. Rizal discovered the real reason for the quarantine. He wrote that: America was opposed to Chinese immigration and since it was election time, the administration appeared strict to the Chinese to obtain the people's votes. He took the train across the US and made a number of stops along the way. He wrote his impressions of the US: "Undoubtedly America is a great country but it still has many defects. There is no real civil liberty. In some states the Negro cannot intermarry. Because of the hatred towards the

In London, he undertook a project that he had wanted to do. As a boy, one of his uncles told him about a book written in the 16th century by a Spaniard that gave a truthful picture about early Philippine history. All accounts he had read thus far were written by prejudiced Spaniards seeking to justify Spain's colonial rule on the ground that the natives were "child-like savages". The book Sucesos de las Islas Pilipinas written by Antonio de Morga and published in Mexico in 1609 was available only in a few libraries, and a copy was in the British Museum in London! His plan was simple. He would study Morga and other writers who dealt with pre-Spanish Philippine history, compare them all and publish a new edition of Morga, with notes and comments by himself. Thus the truth about the Philippines would become available to his people and the Europeans who had learned about the early Filipinos through the prejudiced eyes of the Spanish colonizers. Going through Morga's volumes, Rizal found that the Filipino people had been historically wronged. In the coastal regions where most of the islanders lived, their arts, industries and energy had been at a high level when the Spaniards arrived. Morga described their skills in weaving, in metal work, in agriculture, in commerce, in navigation, in government, their fine ships (better than Spain's), their busy market places, It was a civilization that Rizal and the Filipino people could be proud of. More, it cut away the basis for Spain's claim to colonial rule. Rizal wanted to give the Filipino people back their past for he believed that a people without a proper understanding of their past was a people without a future. The last major episode of his life was spent in exile in Dapitan, in northern Mindanao, where he was sent by Spanish authorities after he returned to the Philippines in 1892. As one author wrote, it was one of the most extraordinary exiles in human history. In Dapitan, there was no water system, no school, no street lighting, no hospital, the land was fertile but farming techniques were primitive. But, Rizal with his characteristic creativity and self-discipline, tackled these problems. In his four years in Dapitan: He established a large and well known medical practice where his patients come from all over the Philippines and from Hong Kong and other Asian cities. He built a hospital. He built a small house for himself and a large one for his family and visiting friends He bought lands and practiced scientific farming He set up a water supply system based on gravity He set up and taught a school for local children He paid for the first street lighting system He beautified the town plaza and a made a giant relief map of the Philippines which is still preserved today He obtained from Kalamba an improved type of fishing net that helped the Dapitan fishermen improve their catch. He imported farm machinery from the US for himself and local farmers He subscribed to the magazine Scientific American and ordered

medicines and pharmaceuticals from the US He collaborated with foremost scientists from Europe at that time. With his students, he collected specimens of plants, animals and ethnographic materials from Mindanao and sent them to his colleagues in Europe Some of the animal specimens were rare and named after him: A new species of frog named Rhacophorus rizali A new species of beetle named Apogonia rizali And a new species of lizard named Draconi rizali In Dapitan, as everywhere he stayed, Rizal followed a disciplined schedule. He had a brilliant mind, but the key to his productivity was planning and self-disciplined execution. He wrote to his Austrian friend Blumentritt how he spent a typical day in Dapitan: "I get up early at 5:00, visit my fields, feed the chickens, I wake up my people and start them moving. At 7:30 we take breakfast. Afterward I treat my poor patients who come to my land. Then I dress up and go to town to treat the people there and return at 12 noon for lunch. Afterwards I teach the boys until 4:00 and I spend the afternoon farming. Evenings are used for studying and reading." Finally, Rizal shared with us his philosophy and thinking about education and science. Within the limits of the circumstances in Dapitan, Rizal gave his students the key elements of his educational goals: academic knowledge, industrial training, ethical instruction and physical development. He believed that moral values were as important as knowledge itself; indeed they were the only assurance that knowledge will be used to help and enlighten, rather than oppress men. Einstein echoed similar ideas when he addressed the students at California Institute of Technology: "Concern for man himself and his fate must always form the chief interests of all technical endeavors - in order that the creation of our mind will be a blessing and not a curse to mankind". PS. I have used a number of books and other publications at the UC Berkeley library for this write-up. I would be happy to share these titles with anyone who wants to do further research on Rizal, the scientist. One of the few remaining original copies of Sucesos de las Islas de las Filipinas by A. Morga annotated by Rizal is at the rare book collection of UC Berkeley Bancroft library.