By: Frances O. Ponce
“I was born in Kalamba on the 19th of June 1861 between eleven and twelve o’clock at night, a few days before the full of the moon.”
“I was born in Kalamba on the 19th of June 1861 between eleven and twelve o’clock at night, a few days before the full of the moon.”
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| A portrait of Dr. Jose P. Rizal photo credits to moralheroes.org |
The above line was written by Jose Rizal himself reminiscing his childhood memories in his beloved hometown, Calamba. Jose Rizal, like many Filipino boys, had many beautiful memories during his childhood days. His was a happy home, filled with parental affection, imbued with family joys, and sanctified by prayers. In the midst of such peaceful, refined, God-loving family, he spent the early years of his childhood. The beauties of Calamba impressed him as a growing child and deeply influenced his mind and character. The happiest period of his life was truly his childhood days in his natal town.
Looking at the life story of our greatest hero, we can see that Jose Rizal was indeed the “chosen one and the most unique among all.” He grew up in a place and in an environment full of unique influences. Those influences made him a great hero of the Philippines. Among these factors that influenced him are the Hereditary Influence, Environmental Influence, and the Aid of Divine Providence. The ancestry of Rizal was a mixture of different races and cultures. Among these are Malayan, Chinese, Spanish, Negrito, Indonesian, and even Japanese.
On the other hand, another hereditary influence was from his Chinese ancestors where he derived his serious nature, frugality, patience and love for children. From his Spanish ancestors, he got his elegance of bearing, sensitivity to insult, and gallantry to ladies. In fact, Rizal’s love life was rich. He met different girls coming from different races and culture. Among them are Segunda Katigbak, Leonor Valenzuela, Leonor Rivera, Consuelo Ortiga, O Sei San, Gertrude Beckett, Nellie Boustead, Suzanne Jacoby, and Josephine Bracken. The last girl that he wanted to marry was the 18-year old petite girl, Josephine Bracken. Josephine went to the Philippines in order to seek treatment for the eyes of George Taufer-- a blind man from Hong Kong who adopted Josephine as his daughter. Rizal asked Josephine to marry him, but she was not yet ready to make a decision due to her responsibility to the blind Taufer. Since Taufer’s blindness was untreatable, he left for Hon Kong on March 1895. Josephine stayed with Rizal’s family in Manila. Upon her return to Dapitan, Rizal tried to arrange with Father Antonio Obach for their marriage. However, the priest wanted a retraction as a precondition before marrying them. Rizal upon the advice of his family and friends and with Josephine’s consent took her as his wife even without the Church blessings. Josephine later gave birth prematurely to a stillborn baby, a result of some incidence, which might have shocked or frightened her.
From his Malayan ancestors, Rizal inherited his passionate love for freedom and his serenity of life’s outlook. We can see this from the very nature of Jose Rizal. Although, he was a frail, sickly, and undersized child, Rizal’s mind was instilled with deep convictions. He was an introvert by nature and he loves meditating and sightseeing with the great beauties of our Mother Earth. His love for the nature can be recounted during his boyhood memoirs: Rizal, at the age of three, watched from his garden cottage, the caliauan, the maya, the maria capra, the martin, the pipit, and other birds and listened “with wonder and joy” to their twilight songs; the happy moonlit nights at the azotea after the nightly Rosary; the many stories about the fairies, tales of buried treasure and trees blooming with diamonds, and other fabulous stories that the aya related to the Rizal children (including Jose); the nocturnal walk in the moonlight by the river, where the trees cast grotesque shadows on the bank.
On the other hand, another hereditary influence was from his Chinese ancestors where he derived his serious nature, frugality, patience and love for children. From his Spanish ancestors, he got his elegance of bearing, sensitivity to insult, and gallantry to ladies. In fact, Rizal’s love life was rich. He met different girls coming from different races and culture. Among them are Segunda Katigbak, Leonor Valenzuela, Leonor Rivera, Consuelo Ortiga, O Sei San, Gertrude Beckett, Nellie Boustead, Suzanne Jacoby, and Josephine Bracken. The last girl that he wanted to marry was the 18-year old petite girl, Josephine Bracken. Josephine went to the Philippines in order to seek treatment for the eyes of George Taufer-- a blind man from Hong Kong who adopted Josephine as his daughter. Rizal asked Josephine to marry him, but she was not yet ready to make a decision due to her responsibility to the blind Taufer. Since Taufer’s blindness was untreatable, he left for Hon Kong on March 1895. Josephine stayed with Rizal’s family in Manila. Upon her return to Dapitan, Rizal tried to arrange with Father Antonio Obach for their marriage. However, the priest wanted a retraction as a precondition before marrying them. Rizal upon the advice of his family and friends and with Josephine’s consent took her as his wife even without the Church blessings. Josephine later gave birth prematurely to a stillborn baby, a result of some incidence, which might have shocked or frightened her.
Going back to the influences of our hero, the environment also made a great contribution to the development of Rizal’s character. The scenic beauties of Calamba and the beautiful garden of the Rizal family stimulated the inborn artistic and literary talents of Jose Rizal. The religious atmosphere at his home fortified his religious nature. His brother, Paciano, instilled in his mind the love for freedom and justice. From his sisters, he learned to be courteous and kind to women. The fairy tales told by his aya during his early childhood awakened his interest in folklore and legends.
There were three uncles, brothers of his mother, who played a great part in the early education and character development of Rizal. Among them are Uncle Gregorio, Uncle Jose and Uncle Manuel. Uncle Gregorio was a lover of books. He instilled into the mind of his precocious nephew (Rizal) a great love for books. He taught him to work hard, to think for himself, and to observe life keenly. On the other hand, Uncle Jose, who had been educated at Calcutta, India, was the youngest brother of Dona Teodora. He encouraged his nephew to master painting, sketching and sculpting. Furthermore, Uncle Manuel was a big, strong and husky man. He looked after the physical training of his sickly and weak nephew. He encouraged young Rizal to learn swimming, fencing, wrestling and other sports, so that in later years Rizal’s frail body acquired agility, endurance and strength.
Furthermore, the Aid of the Divine Providence had the most significant impact on the totality of Jose Rizal’s character. Dr. Gregorio F. Zaide and Sonia M. Zaide in their book “The Life, Works, and Writings of a Genius, Writer, Scientist, and National Hero,” stated the following excerpt:
Greater than heredity and environment in the fate of man is the aid of Divine Providence. A person may have everything in life-- brains, wealth, and power-- but, without the aid of Divine Providence, he cannot attain greatness in the annals of the nation.
No matter how powerful a person is, God still owns everything for He is the creator of the universe. No matter how genius, rich or physically attractive the person is, God can still destroy them for He is the owner of every creation in this universe. Eventually, Rizal was providentially destined to be the pride and glory of the Filipino people. God had endowed him with the versatile talents of a rare genius, the unsurpassed spirit of nationalism, and the valiant heart to sacrifice himself for a noble cause. He gave us this particular genius and hero during the darkest period of our history in order that our suffering people might be emancipated from Spanish tyranny.
Many persons were born during the times of Rizal but he is the only one who reigns above everyone. His existence was indeed a unique one. This uniqueness contributed to his great work in fostering the freedom of the Filipino people. He used his outstanding intelligence and patriotic character in order to free his fellowmen from the dire atrocities of the Spanish government. Accordingly, his burning desire to free his country inspired him to sacrifice his life. He saw the ruthless violence of the Spanish officials towards the Filipinos and this scene invigorated his spirit to fight tyranny.
Nowadays, we study the life and works of Rizal during his times. Perhaps, only few Filipinos these days (or even none except God) could surpass the greatness of our national hero. However, his life could provide inspiration to the young generation. His courage and determination to free his nation and to love his own country could instil patriotic ideals to our young people these days. His admirable personality and his outstanding intelligence and talents will even help the young generation to find their own exemplary talents and use these talents and skills for the betterment of our nation.
Noted Sources:
Books
Zaide, Gregorio F. Jose Rizal: Life, Works and Writings. Metro Manila: Echanis Press, Inc., 1992.
Zaide, Gregorio F., et. al. Jose Rizal: Life, Works, and Writings of a Genius, Writer, Scientist, and National Hero. Metro Manila: All-Nations Publishing Co., Inc., 1999.
Online References
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