Rizal and Morga

Gemma Cruz Araneta By Gemma Cruz Araneta   Rizal said the Noli Me Tangere is a sketch of the actual conditions of our country and while writing his first novel,  he realized that before he could write more chapters about the present, or produce a sequel, he first had to visit the past. He had to reflect on what had taken place during the past 3 centuries. He said he was born and bred oblivious of our past, like most of his contemporaries; so, he felt that he had no voice or authority to talk on what he did not know. He found it necessary “to invoke the testimony of an “illustrious Spaniard” who ruled the destiny of the Philippines and was witness to the dwindling of our former identity. The illustrious Spaniard was DoctorAntonio de Morga, author of Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas that was published in Mexico in 1609. The book had been out of circulation when Rizal discovered it in an obscure corner of the British Library and Museum. Some of my historian friends believe that Rizal had always wanted to write a history of the Philippines but never found the time, so the next best thing was to annotate Morga’s book, which he copied by hand. Prof. Ferdinand Blumentritt was asked to write the prologue in Spanish, instead he wrote Rizal a long letter with constructive criticism. Rizal had read works about the Philippines written by friars like Fr. Gaspar de San Agustin and Fr. Chirino; these were about the conquest and evangelization of the Philippines; Morga’s book was rare because it was written by a layperson. In his annotations, Rizal would refer to Chirino and Gaspar de San Agustin, as well as to Isabelo los Reyes (“Limahong and Los Régulos de Manila”), Argensola (The Conquest of the Molucas) and to Trinidad Pardo de Tavera. The first seven chapters which covered Spanish colonial rule from Adelantado Miguel Lopez de Legazpi to Don Pedro de Acuña were packed with stories about political intrigue that gurgled from the Capitania-General de Filipinas, swirled directly to the Metropolis (Spain), but sometimes took a circuitous route through the Virreinato de la Nueva España (Mexico). The Captain-Generals (Governor-Generals) while supervising the evangelization of the Philippines had their sights strained on the Moluccas, China, Japan, and, believe it or not, Cambodia, Siam, and Cochin China as well. Although the Moluccas fell under Portugal’s domain, the spice trade was irresistible and the Spaniards based in Manila would sail there to sow intrigue among the princelings who were always at war with each other. Nepotism was commonplace, so was corruption. The religious orders were relentless in spreading the Faith among “infidels” even if a number of them were tortured and crucified in China and Japan and other heathen lands. Oftentimes, these politico-religious activities were carried out without the knowledge of the Spanish monarchs. In several annotations, Rizal repeatedly pointed out that “ to pacify” or “pacification” which were the politically correct word during Morga’s days were, in fact, synonyms for “make war” or “ sow animosity.” He also said that the evangelization of the Philippines was far from complete, so there was really to need to cross borders. Morga wrote copiously about the Moro pirate raids of the Visayas and Luzon and the myriad attempts of the Spanish governors to conquer Mindanao, Jolo, and Sulu. Rizal noted that because the Spanish colonial administration forbade the Christianized natives to bear arms, they could not defend themselves against the Moro raids; that encouraged the marauders. Rizal said that Antonio de Morga was a witness of the dying days of the native way of life, the end of that contact period and because he was a lay man, his observations would be a counterpoint to what the religious missionaries had written about the Philippines. Chapter 8 contains his more personal observations, which elicited punctilious annotations from Jose Rizal. At one point, when Morga wrote about loose morals among the natives, Rizal recommended to the reader, Blumentritt’s treatise, “Versuch einer Etnographie der Philippinen.” Morga wrote about food and, like current-day foreign visitors, he said that we natives love to eat fish “that is smelly and about to rot.” That is bagoong, Rizal explained, which is fermented and is a delicacy; Europeans also have smelly food, like certain kinds of cheese. Natives drink heavily, Morga said, they all end up drunk during wedding feasts; in his annotation, Rizal quoted Fr. Colin who said it is common knowledge that they drink a lot but no matter how inebriated they seem to be after a gathering or a feast, they can always find their way home. On the positive side, Morga was amazed at the native skill for boat making and navigating without a compass. Quite amazed, he described a boat with a hundred oars, carrying 30 well-armed warriors. Rizal expounded on that by saying that Filipinos, like the inhabitants of the Marianas, were known for their ship-building and navigational skills, but unfortunately, there was no progress because the natives were obliged to make European-style boats like the galleons. Rizal said that even with rudimentary tools, Filipinos made vessels that weighed 2,000 tons (He names a source.) River transport to the interior had died because of the “insecure system” of government; our naval architecture is nothing more than a memory. The boats Morga described were extinct but never replaced by modern watercraft, unlike in neighboring countries. For their time, they were the perfect type of vessels; so light, they could swiftly sail against the wind. The Spaniards called them lanzaderas. Couldn’t these boats have been perfected? Rizal wondered. He also commented on the loss of certain species of wood due to the construction of European-style vessels. Rizal painstakingly put things in their proper context: Morga said the natives revere and venerate the crocodile because they are afraid of its power. Even Christians curse “may the crocodile kill him!” to those who make false promises, perjure,  and breach contracts. May they suffer the wrath of the buhaya! Rizal explained that there were instances when crocodiles, while sparing their Indio servants, gobbled friars. Historians have given propitious explanations when that happens, but not when Indios are victims. (More)   (ggc1898@gmail.com)