“The exaggeration of some puts the Indio as beneath their level. They see him as as lazy, indolent, ingrate, false, shameless, one who has no love for others, and one who lacks dignity. This is because they have not done any close observation on the Indio’s society. Do you happen to know who among the Indios is considered lazy, indolent, ungrateful, liar, shameless, thief and mean? All these words are in the vocabulary of the Indios, which they use in their own time, according to how they are used in the society in which they live. They do not use these words in the same and identical circumstances like we Europeans do but that does not mean they lack [virtues]. What it shows is that between their society and ours, there is a difference. If we compare the two, our peculiar criteria will show us some inferiority to that of the Indio. This would not give us a right to see nothing in him as a civilized man, absolutely depriving him of the honorable qualities that he possesses”.— P. Fr. Mariano MartÃnez Cuadrado, Práctica de confesar indios rudos Filipinos,1892
The Importance of Noli Me Tangere
From: Filipinas problema fundamental / por un español de larga residencia en aquellas islas
Author: Anonymous
Published: 1891
Translated by: Maria Remedios Layug Zachary
We point out to our readers that the importance of Noli Me Tangere is neither historical, neither scientific nor literary. It leaves much to be desired if we look at it from these three points of views. Nevertheless, this book is worthy of every good Spaniard’s attention, the lover of our country’s integrity. It is worthy of attention because of the violent attacks by its author directed towards all state agencies in our oceanic possessions.
For two years now, a multitude of brochures, secretly produced leaflets, anger-igniting and anti-Spanish proclamations have been widely distributed throughout the Philippine archipelago in both Spanish and in the native languages of the Philippines. Aside from the Philippines, in other places, other writings, short items, and articles have been published in some newspapers which surprised the good faith and patriotism of their editors. Everywhere, the public opinion in Spain on the affairs of the Philippines has been distorted.
The one who for some time has followed step by step and with a Spanish sentiment the passing of events in that unfortunate country; the one who has closely observed the behavior of those who audaciously abrogate the representation of the legitimate aspirations of the Filipino people; the one who gave a moment of attention to the ghost presented by the writings, lies, rants and wrong accusations on respectable entities and institutions as launched by some ungrateful Filipinos from the capital of Spain and other countries, sees very clearly that everything that has been written and is being written about the government of Spain in the Philippines is being undermined in the doctrines, challenges and teachings of the famous Noli Me Tangere, printed in Berlin under the inspiration and safeguarding of a foreigner1, a real enemy of what Spain loves and value in that rich colony
1Referring to Ferdinand Blumentritt who defended the Noli Me Tangere and joined the common cause of the Filipino patriots. Author was wondering why should anyone put this foreigner in the category of a redeemer.
The first event that occurred in the style of Rizal was the anti-Spanish demonstration of March 1, 1888. Emboldened by some Spanish authorities, a petition which was nothing more than a demand of the expulsion of Archbishop Payo and all the friars from the Philippine Islands was made. The reason according to the petitioners was that these friars were anti-patriots.
Then came another book, El Morga, of greater importance if not equally important as the first. The explanations and annotations were written down by the same mestizo Rizal, the distinguished author who tried to prove that Spain, by planting its flag of civilization in the savage country of the Philippines stopped the progress of a powerful and vigorous civilization that was majestically developing when Magellan, Elcano, Legazpi, Urdaneta and Salcedo arrived.
Too much audacity, too much ignorance and too much bad faith are unbelievable but more incredible is that men as enlightened as Morayta, Becerra and Labra, newspapers as patriotic and popular as El Globo, El Pais, El Resumen and La Justicia, associations as respectable as Circulos and Ateneos de Barcelana and some in Madrid, have not realized the inclinations of a group of Filipinos who are not representatives in Spain nor can they represent on an official basis, the group is not a legal entity. All they do is deviate the public opinions on the current social and political status of the islands.
According to Rizal, Paterno and other Chinese mestizos, the natives of the Philppines were already enjoying a gradually developing powerful and majestic civilization when the Spaniards arrived. The Paternos and the Rizales did not have to tell us that. We saw the powerful Igorot civilization in the Exhibition of Madrid. We saw the Philippines’ primitive races, where they looked like children, gracefully dressed in their loincloths. They worked marvelously with their spear and bow, sacrificed an unclean animal then danced, comforted by alcohol around their victim, drunk, morally depressed and lying face down and in savage lethargy…. Have the archaeologists, paleontologists, geologists and ethnographers examine the origin of the Philippine native race. No skull possessing an angle of
85 degrees 2, nor a brick, nor a carved stone, nor a piece of a mile marker, nor a piece of vault, nor a peristyle will be found. Nothing, absolutely nothing that can be used to trace the path towards civilization. Examine the Carolinas, Jolo, Bontoc Lepanto, Tiagan, and Benguet, etc. ; penetrate its thick branches and big forests. What you will find there is what the Filipinos had when the Spaniards arrived in the islands. The savages had less much less than what they have nowadays. That is because more or less, direct contact with the Europeans has taught them something. For example, in the Carolinas, they know how to handle the rifle or Remington, instead of the bow and arrow that the Igorots use, which for Rizal and his admirers is already a great step [toward civilization].
2 A scientific theory that stated that the greater the facial angle the more intelligent and highly developed as a being. The Europeans, according to this theory, possess facial angles that are greater than that of any other race. This theory has long been debunked
The arsenal of weapons that is being used against Spain, against the administration, against the military and the navy, against the friars and ultimately, anything that can bring the Spaniards down is in the Noli Me Tangere. It is the new bible of the ilustrado Filipino writers, whose text and ideas distort with impertinence the public opinions on the most significant issues.
it is therefore worthy that we know about this book much more than Rizal’s enthusiastic mestizo admirers. It seems to share a common cause with the people of Antilles, with whom Rizal’s admirers sympathize. They learned the great teachings of the autonomist, Mr. Labra 3, the man who we find very strange. He measures his brain as the size of that of a Malay-Mongol, he confuses his white skin with that of a hairless, a mixture of yellowish color, and a chubby face Chinese Mestizo,
3 Rafael Maria de Labra, born in Cuba to Spanish parents. He was a lawyer, an autonomist and abolitionist.
While on his way out of his official duties Governor General Terrero, with the famous political manifestation of March 1,1888 resulting into nothing, gave the task of censorship process to the prosecutor working for His Majesty. The censorship process we are reproducing in here is interesting because it reveals not only the tendencies of the book in question but the characteristics of all the articles, brochures and proclamations published in Spain and foreign lands especially those that came out of the printing presses in HongKong, the most violent in character. Hong Kong is for the separatist Filipinos the refuge of the new patriots for its proximity to the archipelago, just as the United States is the asylum for all of the Antillean enemies of the Spanish integrity. You should not lose sight of other circumstances most specially in Hong Kong, the current address and location of some furious ringleaders of the bloody and filibusterous insurrection in Cavite. These are the ones who direct at close range the current separatist movement and secretly send incendiary proclamations from Hong Kong to Manila and provinces in the archipelago inciting rebellion in the Philippines.
We call the attention, most of all, of the press in Madrid and Barcelona, still the most advanced in political ideals, eminently patriotic, supporter of Spain’s integrity and bitter enemy of the ungrateful sons of the same mother.
