RIZAL IN DAPITAN

(1892-1896)

DAPITAN A remote town in Mindanao which was under the missionary jurisdiction of the Jesuits from 1892-1896.

A 3rd class city in the province of Zamboanga del Norte.

Cebu- Steamer which brought Rizal to Dapitan.

Fr. Pablo Pastells

Fr. Antonio Obach

LETTER’S GIST Father Superior  Pastells informed Father

Obach  that Rizal could live at the parish convent on the following conditions: 1."That Rizal publicly retract his errors concerning religion, and make statements that were clearly  pro-Spanish and against revolution".    2."That he perform the church rites and make a general confession of his past life".    3.That henceforth he conduct himself in an exemplary manner as a Spanish subject and a man of religion."

WINS IN MANILA LOTTERY On September 21, 1892, Dapitan’s mood

burst in hectic excitement. As the mail boat Butuan brought the news about Rizal, winning in the lottery.

LOTTERY TICKET NO. 9736 Total Lottery Prize: P20000.00

Rizal’s Share Allocation

Given to his father: P 2000 To his friend, Basa: P 200 Allocated for investment: P 4000 Rizal’s total share: P 6200

Rizal never drank hard liquor and never smoked, but he was a lottery addict. He always invested at least three pesetas every month in lottery tickets.

Peseta- the currency of Spain between 1869 and 2002.

CHALLENGING THE RELIGION: A DEBATE WITH FR. PASTELLS

Fr. Pablo Pastells- Jesuit priest who attempted to persuade Rizal to return to orthodox Roman Catholic by way of correspondence.

Father Pastells tried his best to win Rizal back to the faith but fortunately or unfortunately, in vain. These series of debate ended inconclusively in which neither of them convinced the other of his judgments/arguments.

The debate started when Fr. Pastells sent Rizal a book by Sarda, with advice that the latter (Rizal) should desist from his majaderas (foolishness) in viewing religion from the prism of individual judgment and self esteem.

Rizal was bitter against the friars because they commit abuses under the cloak of religion.

Fr. Pastells tried to bring back to Catholicism Rizal by telling him that human intelligence is limited, thus he needs guidance from God.

Dapitan, 1 September 1892Very Reverend Fr. PastellsMy ever esteemed Father:

Though I have not had the honor of meriting a letter from Your Reverence, the precious gift that you have deigned to send me through my beloved professor, Fr. Sanchez, and all the lines that you devote to me in your letter to Fr. Obach place me under obligation to write you, for I have no one in Manila whom to ask to thank Your Reverence on my behalf. I have known for a long time the writings of Mr. Sarda for having read them in college and in my humble opinion he is the most skillful polemicist in diffusing in a certain social class the ideas he upholds...... I only regret that being an exile in a poor town like Dapitan, I have nothing with which to return your kindness, but I hope I shall have an opportunity to do so some day if we shall still be alive and if not, I will say to you like the Bisayos: Dios magbayad! (God repay you!)

-Letter for Dr. Pastells

Mission of the Society of Jesus in the Philippine Islands Personal

Mr. José Rizal

Dapitan

My most beloved in Christ Don José,

I received on time your very esteemed letter of the 9th January. I appreciate the gift that in honor of St. Paul you have deigned to send me. The said image will continually remind me that I ought to pray to God for you through such a powerful mediator. Likewise I appreciate the undeserved confidence you place in me which I shall try to return with the same candor.

-In reply to Dr. JoseRizal

Dapitan, 4 April 1893 Very Rev. Fr. Pablo PastellsMy very Reverend Father,

I received in time your gift, the work of Mgr. Bougand, which I am reading most attentively and with the greatest interest [Emile Bougand, Le Christianisme et le temps présents - rly]. It is one of the best works of its kind that I have seen as much for its lucidity as for its eminently Christian and conciliatory spirit, as for the light that animates its author as well as for his convictions. If the work of Mr. Sarda is that of a champion of a polemicist, that of Mgr. Bougand is of a prelate in the most beautiful meaning of the word. Let us see if its perusal will modify my faith, or if the faith that Your Reverence misses is reborn; if not, we have to content ourselves with what God furnishes each one.

-In reply to Fr. Pastells

Escuela Normal de ManilaManila, 28 April 1893Mr. José Rizal,

I am glad that you are getting to like the work of Mgr. Bougand. May your faith be reborn with its perusal, the faith that we are missing in you. Faith cannot be called the result of rationalization; it is a supernatural gift of God our Lord, because faith, being the beginning and root of justification, cannot be acquired through natural forces only. It needs besides the aid of divine grace. My most beloved in Christ Don José,

-In reply to Dr. Rizal

Very Rev. Fr. Pablo PastelsDirector of the Escuala NormalMy dear Very Reverend Father:

I deeply appreciate your desire to enlighten me and illumine my path. But I fear it is a useless task. Lest I make you waste your time, I rather tell you now: let us leave to God the things that are God’s and to men the things that are men’s. As Your Reverence says, the return to the faith is God’s work.Again I express to you my sincere gratitude and I beg you to forgive me for not having seen earlier the impossibility of this undertaking.

-In reply to Fr. Pastells

Behind the debate, Pastells and Rizal were friends as evidently pictured when:

Pastell gave Rizal a copy of Imitacion de Cristo by Fr. Thomas a Kempis.

Rizal gave Pastells a bust of St. Paul which he had made Rizal continued to hear mass and celebrate religious events.

CHALLENGES A FRENCHMAN TO A DUEL Mr. Juan Lardet – a French businessman

whom Rizal had a conflict.

Estudios sobre la lengua tagala– manuscript which Rizal gave to Sanchez on his birthday (study of the tagalog language).

IDYLLIC LIFE IN DAPITAN

During his exile, Rizal was visited by the following folks since August 1893:

1.His mother 2.His sisters (Trinidad, Maria and Narcisa)3.Nephews (Teodosio, Estanislao, Mauricio

and Prudencio)

Describing his life in Dapitan, Rizal wrote to Blumentritt on December 19, 1893.

Rizal built a house by the seashore of Talisay. Surrounded by the following:

A school for boys, and;

A hospital for his patients.

AS A PHYSICIAN Rizal provided free medicine to his

patients, most of them were underprivileged. However, he also had wealthy patients who paid him well enough for his excellent surgical skill. Among them were Don Ignacio Tumarong who gave Rizal 3000 pesos for restoring his sight, an Englishman who gave him 500 pesos, and Aklanon haciendero, Don Francisco Azcarraga who paid him a cargo of sugar. His skill was put into test in August 1893 when his mother, Dona Teodora Alonzo, was placed under opthalmic surgery for the third time. The operation was a success, however, Alonzo, ignored her son's instructions and removed the bandages in her eyes which lead to irritation and infection.

AS AN ENGINEER Rizal applied his knowledge

through the waterworks system he constructed in Dapitan. Going back to his academic life, Rizal obtained the title of expert surveyor (perito agrimensor) from the Ateneo Municipal. From his practical knowledge as agrimensor, he widened his knowledge by reading engineering-related books. As a result, despite the inadequacy of tools at hand, he successfully provided a good water system in the province.

AS AN EDUCATOR Rizal established a school in Dapitan (1893-1896)

which was attended by 16 young boys from prominent families. Instead of charging them for the matriculation, he made the students do community projects for him like maintaining his garden and field. He taught them reading, writing in English and Spanish, geography, history, mathematics, industrial work, nature study, morals and gymnastics. He encouraged his students to engage in sports activities to strengthen their bodies as well. There was no formal room, like the typical classroom nowadays. Classes were conducted from 2 p.m to 4 p.m. with the teacher sitting on a hammock while the students sat on a long bamboo bench.

HYMN TO TALISAY

Rizal wrote a poem in honor of Talisay which made his pupil sing. Here’s the chorus part of the song.

“Hail, Talisay, firm and faithful,

Ever forward march elate! You, victorious, the elements —land, sea and

air— shall dominate! “

AS AN AGRICULTURIST Rizal devoted time in planting important crops and

fruit-bearing trees in his 16-hectare land (later, reaching as large as 70 hectares). He planted cacao, coffee, sugarcane, and coconuts, among many others. He even invested part of his earnings from being a medical practitioner and his 6000-peso winnings from a lottery on lands. From the United States, he imported agricultural machinery and introduced to the native farmers of Dapitan the modern agricultural methods. Rizal also visualized of having an agricultural colony in Sitio Ponot, within the Sindañgan Bay. He believed that the area was suitable for cattle-raising and for cash-crops as the area had abundant water. Unfortunately, this plan did not materialized.

AS A BUSINESSMAN

The adventurous Rizal, with his partner, Ramon Carreon, tried his luck in the fishing, hemp and copra industries. In a letter to his brother-in-law, Manuel T. Hidalgo, he pointed out the potential of the fishing industry in the province (as the area was abundant with fish and good beach). He also requested that two good Calamba fishermen be sent to Dapitan to teach the fisher folks of the new fishing methods, using a big net called pukutan. But the industry in which Rizal became more successful was in hemp, shipping the said product to a foreign firm in Manila.

AS AN INVENTOR

 Little was known of Rizal. In 1887, during his medical practice in Calamba, he invented a special type of lighter called sulpukan which he sent to Blumentritt as a gift. According to Rizal, the wooden lighter's mechanism was based on the principle of compressed air. Another of his inventions was the wooden brick-maker can manufacture about 6,000 bricks a day.

AS AN ARTIST

He had contributed his talent in the Sisters of Charity who were preparing for the arrival of the image of the Holy Virgin. Rizal was actually the person who modeled the image's right foot and other details. He also conceptualize its curtain, which was oil-painted by a Sister under his instruction. He also made sketches of anything which attracted him in Dapitan. Among his collections were the three rare fauna species that he discovered (dragon/lizard, frog and beetle) and the fishes he caught. He also sculptured the statuette called “The Mother's Revenge” which represented his dog, Syria, avenging her puppy to a crocodile which killed it.

AS A LINGUIST

Rizal was interested in the languages used in Dapitan, thus, studied and made comparisons of the Bisayan and Malayan languages existing in the region. In fact, Rizal had knowledge in 22 languages: Tagalog, Ilocano, Bisayan, Subanun, Spanish, Latin, Greek, English, French, German, Arabic, Malayan, Hebrew, Sanskrit, Dutch, Catalan, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, Swedish and Russian.

AS A SCIENTIST

 Rizal shared his interest with nature to his students. With his boys, they explored the jungles and searched for specimens which he sent to museums in Europe, particularly in Dressed Museum. In return, scientific books and surgical instruments were delivered to him from the European scientists. He also made a bulk of other researches and studies in the fields of ethnography, archaeology, geology, anthropology and geography.

 However, Rizal's most significant contribution in the scientific world was his discovery of three species:

Draco rizali – flying dragon Apogonia rizali – small beetle Rhacophorus rizali – rare frog

AS A CIVIC WORKER

Upon arriving in the province, he noticed its poor condition.

He drained the marshes of Dapitan to get rid of malaria-carrying mosquitoes.

He also provided lighting system – coconut oil lamps posted in dark streets – in the province out of what he earned from being a physician.

He beautified Dapitan by remodelling the town plaza, with the aid of his Jesuit teacher, Fr. Francisco Sanchez, and created a relief map of Mindanao (footnote: using stones, soil and grass) right in front the church.

WATER SYSTEM FOR DAPITAN

As a perito agrimensor (expert surveyor), Rizal applied his engineering knowledge by constructing a system of waterworks to furnish clean water to the townspeople.

Mr. H.F. Cameron –American engineer who praised Rizal for his engineering ingenuity.

A POEM FOR HIS MOTHER

In February, 1895, upon restoring her eyesight, Dona Teodora returned to Manila. Seeing how busy Rizal is, she regretted neglecting her muses. She requested Rizal to write poetry. As a response, Rizal wrote “Mi Retiro” (My Retreat) relating his serene life as an exile in Dapitan.

AFFAIR IN DAPITAN

The death of Leonor Rivera (August 28, 1893) left a poignant void in Rizal’s heart. In his loneliness, he met Josephine Bracken, an 18 y/o Irish girl who, to Wenceslao Retana's words, was “slender, a chestnut blond, with blue eyes, dressed with elegant simplicity, with an atmosphere of light (gaiety).”

JOSEPHINE BRACKEN Born in Hongkong on

October 3, 1876. Daughter of James

Bracken and Elizabeth Jane Macbride.

Her mother died in childbirth. And she was adopted by Mr. George Taufer.

Mr. Taufer became blind so he sought for an ophthalmic specialist. This is how Josephine and Rizal met.

Manuela Orlac – Filipina companion who accompanied Josephine Bracken to Dapitan.

Rizal and Josephine Bracken decided to get married but Father Obach refused to marry them without the permission of Bishop of Cebu.

To avoid a tragedy, Josephine accompanied Mr. Taufer back to Manila. Mr. Taufer returned to Hong Kong alone while Josephine stayed with the Rizals in Manila.

Having no priests to marry them, Rizal and Josephine married themselves before the eyes of God.

The two were happy for they were expecting for a baby. However, Rizal played a prank on Josephine making her give birth to an eight-month baby boy. The baby lived for only three hours. He was named “Francisco” in honor of Rizal’s father.

RIZAL AND THE KATIPUNAN

Pio Valenzuela – emissary to Dapitan in order to inform Rizal of the plan of Katipunan during the meeting at a little river called Bitukang Manok.

Venus – steamer Valenzuela boarded to reach Dapitan.

Raymundo Mata – blind man who came withValenzuela to camouflage his mission

Rizal objected Bonifacio’s project because:1.The people are not ready for a

revolution2.Arms and funds must first be

collected before raising the cry of revolution.

AS A VOLUNTEER MILITARY DOCTOR

When Cuba was under revolution and raging yellow fever epidemic, Rizal wrote to Governor General Ramon Blanco offering his services as military doctor.

Governor Blanco later notified Rizal of the acceptance of the offer. The notification came along with an instruction of acquiring first a pass for Manila from the politico-military commander of Dapitan.

THE SONG OF THE TRAVELLER

Upon receiving the acceptance of his offer to go to Europe then to Cuba to help in the curing of patients suffering yellow fever, he wrote a poem “El Canto del Viajero”

ADIOS DAPITAN!

July 31, 1896- Rizal’s four-year exile has ended.

España – steamer which brought Rizal to Manila from Dapitan.

Rizal was accompanied by Josephine, Narcisa, Angelica (Narcisa’s daughter), his three nephews and six pupils.

As farewell, the town brass of Dapitan played the dolorous  Funeral March of Chopin.

He stayed in Dapitan for four years, thirteen days and a few hours.

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!

-XO