Jose Rizal And The Malay World
Rizal - The foremost Malay? |
Pride of the Malay Race?
Lakandula-an artist concept |
Spaniards labelled the native inhabitants of the Philippines as "Indio" belonging to the race "Malayo"(Malays). Most viewed the "Indio" as primitive and indolent. Some Spaniards even went on saying; the native inhabitants were no different from the "Dayaks" of Borneo (which they termed as savages).
In his last hours before the execution, Rizal was made to sign the notification of the sentence. When the document was shown to him, he wanted a correction. He claimed that he was incorrectly described as a Chinese mestizo and wanted it to change to "Indio Puro."
An Illustration of Malay men |
Defining "Malay" - A Challenge
The challenge starts from what I define as an oversimplification by some 19th Century western scholars in determining the race of brown skin people living in the Malay peninsula and in the East Indies and Oceania. (including the Philippine archipelago and Taiwan) and whose culture, language, and physical attributes are somehow related. Yet despite all the similarities, there are innate differences among the so-called Malays, which one could not ignore.
The term "Malay race" was used in the late 19th Century and early 20th Century to describe the Austronesian People. Contemporary anthropologists, archaeologists, and linguists believe that the ancestors of the Austronesian people of the Sunda Islands, Madagascar and Polynesia had initially migrated south from the Philippines during the prehistoric period from their origin in Taiwan.
Johann Friedrich Blumenbach(1752–1840)- A German Scientist, introduced the concept of a Malay race and classified the Malays as the brown race in his theory of five runs. But many anthropologists have since rejected this theory, citing the "enormous complexity of classifying races."
The idea; "Malay race" is entirely different from the thinking and self-definition of the so-called "Ethnic Malays," the native population of the Malay Peninsula and most parts of Indonesia.
The idea; "Malay race" is entirely different from the thinking and self-definition of the so-called "Ethnic Malays," the native population of the Malay Peninsula and most parts of Indonesia.
In the Philippines, we use the term "Malay" to refer to the indigenous population of the country as well as the indigenous population of neighbouring countries of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei. This misconception is due in part to American anthropologists Henry Otley Beyer who proposed that the Filipinos were actually Malays who migrated from Malaysia and Indonesia, arriving in the country in waves of migration. This idea was for a long time accepted by Filipino historians.
A Scholar-Malay Study
Jose Rizal was one of the leading Filipino scholars on Malay Studies in the 19th Century. He made acquaintances with some of the imminent men of science in Europe to broaden his knowledge of the Philippines and the Malay World. Names worth mentioning are Rudolf Virchow and Feodor Jagor. His letters to his Austrian friend Ferdinand Blumentritt are gems itself for Malay studies, for it is filled with Rizal's readings, ideas, and observations on the subject.
Southeast Asia under Colonialism
For centuries, much of South East Asia were under the yoke of western imperialism. From the mid 15th Century, the region became a wealth base for European colonizers, with significant earnings coming from the spice trade. It's proximity to China and India also added to its attractiveness.
Southeast Asia during the time of Rizal |
16th Century Illustration of the Spice station in Batavia now Jakarta, Indonesia (Dutch East Indies). The colony was a source for cheap labour and manpower, |
A familiar scene in the Dutch East Indies. Native Malays serving the colonial master. |
Early 1900's photo of a Javanese worker in a coffee and rubber plantation. |
"Guardia Civil " - made up of native units. Seen here with captured "Katipunero" during the early days of the 1896 Philippine Revolution. |
Agents of Colonialism
The European powers in Southeast Asia conceptualized an effective system in the colony in producing wealth for the mother country. The colonial government granted rights to groups and companies to oversee the economic viability of the conquered lands.
Flag of the British East India Company |
Parts of Malaya were either administered or leased by the British East India Company. Under British rule, Malaya became one of the most profitable territories of the Empire, being the world's largest producer of tin and later rubber.
Flag of British North Borneo Company |
The Philippines, in the early centuries of the Spanish colonization, did not develop an economy similar to the other Malay countries in Southeast Asia. There were no first-grade spices to establish an agriculture/export-based economy. The state heavily relied on the income the Manila Galleon trade brought. The result was much of the country's arable lands were neglected and left undeveloped. It fell to the control of a few estate owners. The Catholic Church, with its primacy over the colonial society, became one of the most significant landholding sectors of the country. This was the Philippines that Rizal knew, a country under the "Frailocracy."
Late 19th Century photo of Friars belonging to the Augustinian order |
Rizal in Europe
Education in Europe did not only bring "enlightenment" and new knowledge to young Filipinos like Rizal, but it also gave them a chance to see freedom and new opportunities not present in the colony. They asked, "If these rights are allowed in the mother country, why not in the colony?" Young Filipinos who had acquired higher education either in the Philippines or in Europe were collectively known as "Ilustrados" (enlightened).
Rizal with some of the "Ilustrados" in Madrid |
Noli Me Tangere |
Multatuli's "Max Havelaar"
Max Havelaar |
Enter Paris 1889...."Redemption of the Malays"
Jose Rizal was living in Paris when the great Paris Exposition was held. In one of the many shows featured in the events, Rizal and some Filipino friends saw Buffalo Bill's troupe. He had been impressed by the pride of the Indians, their dignified look with their costumes, war paints, and the feather headgears. This inspired him to organize a club that would emulate that Indian pride (as Filipinos were also called Indios by the Spaniards). He founded the group "Indios Bravos" or brave Indians.
Buffalo Bill posing with some of the Indians in his troupe. |
Indios Bravos was heavily imbued with masonic methods. Rizal's British biographer Austin Coates wrote, "Dedicated to the idea of courage, its ostensible aims were to keep the Filipino colony united and encourage manly sports. Within it, however, was a secret inner group which beneath the concealment of the code letters Rd L.M. (Redención de los Malayos), was pledged to the liberation of the Malay peoples from colonial rule, a pledge to be made good first in the Philippines, later to be extended to the inhabitants of Borneo, Indonesia, and Malaya."
Rizal, in his quest for reforms for the colony, would go on spearhead writings whose aims were not only meant to expose the mistakes of the colonial power but also to criticize the conquered people themselves.
El Filibusterismo |
Borneo Colonization Plan
In April 1892, Jose Rizal, then living in Hong Kong, visited Sandakan, to confer with British colonial officials regarding his plans of establishing a Filipino colony made up of families ejected from Calamba. Rizal received a favorable reply from the officials of the British North Borneo Company. At that time, Sandakan was like an isolated village and in need of a rice-growing community to meet the demands. He was surprised that he was offered by the British officials, a maximum of 5,000 acres free of rent for three years.
Location Map Sandakan Sabah, North Borneo |
Shooting the foremost Malay
In 1892 Jose Rizal returned to the Philippines and founded the "La Liga Filipina." Among its members were names that would play prominent roles in the revolution of 1896. Days later, Rizal would be arrested and then exiled to Dapitan. Some elements of the La Liga saw the arrest of Rizal as the end in the belief for a moderate path.
Rizal established a school for boys in his property in Dapitan. He took in Christian and Muslim students. The importance of working and studying as one group was stressed.
In August 1896, the Katipunan led revolution broke, Rizal on the way to Cuba as a volunteer for the Spanish Army Medical Corps was arrested and sent back to Manila. In the last days of December 1896, he was sentenced to die by musketry. Accused by the Spaniards as "the living inspiration and of the revolution." On the morning of 30. In December 1896, Rizal met his end at Luneta, Bagumbayan.
December 30 1896. Rizal's execution |
Rizal-Inspiring Patriot
A century after his execution in Luneta, Rizal continues to be studied and scrutinized by Malay intellectuals. In this time, when the region seeks to explore with new vigor the meaning of Malay identity and Malay consciousness, could Jose Rizal be a relevant figure to emulate, even in understanding the common bond of the people of the Malay World?
" |
Jose Rizal was referred to by many of his friends and peers as the "Great Malay." Rizal's biographers began using the term on him as this 1930 adds about his biography written by Carlos Quirino |
Rizal With Some Of The Region's Intellectuals
Anwar Ibrahim
(born August 10, 1947) - Malaysian Opposition Leader. Former Deputy Prime Minister in the UMNO led government of Dr. Mahathir Mohammad. While still Deputy Prime Minister, Anwar organized an international conference on Jose Rizal in October 1995. He called Rizal an "Asian Renaissance Man " and "the greatest Malayan." Once considered as heir apparent to Mahathir, he had a falling out with the Prime Minister. He was sentenced for 6 years on corruption charges and a misdemeanor crime of sodomy. All of which Anwar branded as political harassment. In June 2004, the charges were reversed, and Anwar was released. In July 2008, he was arrested again over allegations he sodomized one of his male aides but was acquitted of the charge in January 2012. The identified leader of the "Reformasi" movement in Malaysia, Anwar, believes that much of Southeast Asia is inflicted by human cancer that Rizal wrote; the cancer of corruption. Anwar Ibrahim's Asiaweek article on Rizal http://www-cgi.cnn.com/ASIANOW/asiaweek/98/0612/sr11.html |
Hi, that's a great article about Rizal. I did read few facts about him before this. He's such a genius man but there is only one thing that makes me feel unsatisfied. I did read somewhere that he choose the death sentence. He got another option. For me it's kind of better to take the other option & make the revolution in the same. So he could contribute more on his race & country.
ReplyDelete2) I think you are pretty fascinated about one malaysian guy. Don't judge a book by it's cover.Give a deep thinking on him. He claimed he was injected with arsenic & HIV in 1998 until made a big riot in KL. But till now on he could fly any where in wherever part of this planet. So I think those HIV patients should claim the cure from him. In order to know more about him (proven documents + pictures), go here http://www.anwaraidc.com/ use the google translate. Make a free mind (it's the hardest to accept the truth) & you could make your fair judgement.
Thanks for reading the blog...with regards to the "option" you mentioned, I wrote an article about that topic (please read my blog "On The Trail of Rizal's Relation With The Katipunan")
DeleteAs with Anwar Ibrahim, I'm "fascinated"?...yes perhaps. I guess the best judgement would be to meet him personally and interview him. I am not only fascinated of him but also of Dr. Mahatir,UMNO, the Tunku Abdul Rahman, Bumiputras, Penang (where I worked 6 months), Lim Kit Siang, Peranakan, etc. etc. Malaysia and it's History interest me a lot. It has given me wonderful insights about our region, Southeast Asia. I'll check the link you gave me. Many thanks again!!
Rizal choose to die to avoid more bloodshed that might be done by the spanish to the filipinos. But the situation is ironic it fueled the revolution.
DeleteMalay is the great nation consist of various ethnic groups that inhabit the area of the south east asia south which also covered part of Indochina, Taiwan and Southern Island Japan. Then the arrival of colonials...Portuguese, Spanish, French, Dutch and British who divided the areas according to political boundaries. As a result we Malay peoples trapped in the countries formed by them namely Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Cambodia and Taiwan. Malay race has lost identity by the large scale of migration from other races who also seek economic opportunities.This great history and civilization has been altered and destroyed by the colonialists. Malays must unite despite differences in religion.
ReplyDeleteInteresting read... Most of the films depicting Rizal focus on what he has done for the Philippines. Very few of these films elaborate what he was to the world.
ReplyDeleteActually Rizal was quite famous among mine and older generations of indonesians (more famous than Marcos back then). We were taught about him at school. And Rizal or Yusrizal are very common name in Indonesia. I don't know whether it is authentic indonesian name or derived from him as admiration.
ReplyDelete