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Showing posts from 2014

Jose Rizal and the German "Kulturkampf"

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"Kulturkampf “ – Culture Clash. The German term that refers to Germany’s policies of favoring secularity and limiting the role and power of the Roman Catholic Church in Prussia, Germany. It was implemented in the 1870’s by the Prime Minister Otto von Bismarck. The term “Kulturkampf “ came into use in 1873, when the scientist and Prussian liberal statesman/friend of Rizal, Rudolf Virchow declared that the battle with the Roman Catholics was assuming “the character of a great struggle in the interest of humanity.”.  In the concluding years of the Kulturkampf upheavals, Rizal made  his sojourn to Germany. It exposed him to the liberal minds of Germany and it also gave reasons to the church and authorities in the Philippines to scrutinize his true activities in Germany. “Doctor Uliman" or "German doctor, “German spy” were labels that somehow ask whether it was a handiwork or a provocation by the church to be able to pin down Rizal. The theme of "Kulturkampf&qu

The Watchman of Old Manila

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In the highly praised short story  "May Day Eve" by Nick Joaquin,  the narratives begin and end with a watchman announcing: "Guardia sereno-o-o! A las doce han dado-o-o!". The writer is actually reliving a century-old feature of Spanish Manila that traced back to Medieval Times in Spain -- Sereno, the watchman.                        A watchman of Madrid. 1832. Drawing by Juan Carrafa (BNE). I haven't seen yet                                 illustrations or photos of  "Sereno" of Manila. It heightens more curiosities.                  A watchman unit was a common feature in a European medieval town. They were employed by the community inside a walled town to guard the streets and announce the hours of the night. This hourly announcement was also meant as a weather update for medieval farmers, in cases of weather disturbances for the protection of crops and animals .   Thus there are some parts in Spain with this popular sereno announcements: "Las

Malacca and the Spice Trade

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Portuguese Malacca drawing by Pedro Barreto Resende. In the book Livro das Plantas de Todas as Fortalezas, Cidades"  by Antonio Bacaro, Goa 1635                   "Whoever is lord of Malacca has his hand on the throat of Venice" .-The famous line of the 16th-century Portuguese chronicler Tome Pires highlighting the importance of Malacca (part of Malaysia) to the Spice trade. But long before the arrival of European maritime powers Portugal and Spain in Southeast Asia, spices were already making its wa y to Europe. From the fabled Spice Islands in the Moluccas (part of Indonesia), Malay and Chinese traders would navigate the dangerous seas to bring the commodities to different ports of the region.  From Malacca, Arab and Indian traders set the prices and take the goods,  crossing the waters of the Indian subcontinent and then heading towards important ports of Arabia where caravans would then take the land routes towards the Levant ports. The merchant ships of Venice would

Minding Mabini

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"When the people launched the war, I believed it was my duty to be by their side and help them in their struggle to the end; now that they feel they have lost the strength to continue fighting for their rights, I believe I ought to be by their side, to tell them that they should not despair but that they should have confidence in themselves, injustice, and in the future." ~ Apolinario Mabini One sure thing can be said about Mabini -- That he had indeed a hard life. Born poor, his family struggled to secure him a good education. His biographer vividly describes this "chronic lack of financial means." Paralyzed due to adult polio at the age of 32, he had to live all throughout his life accompanied by this constant stigma that disability brings. B ut his brilliant mind was his true gift and he gave the new republic not only its legal foundations but also its moral and intellectual direction.  Mabini also had entertained the idea of a greater Malayan confederacy and the

Something About Juan Luna's "SPOLIARIUM"

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SPOLIARIUM- Juan Luna  The Latin word "Spoliarium" refers to a holding area in the Roman Colosseum where the corpses of fallen gladiators were brought. If a gladiator met his death in the arena, a ceremony would be started in which a man dressed like Charon would claim the body. The gladiator's weapons, like his "gladius" (meaning sword, thus we get the word gladiator), would be gathered or collected. A group of Roman slaves or workers would then come in to collect the corpse. They would drag the body from the sandy arena using chains and a big hook attached to the carcass. Still, if it was a legendary gladiator, they would carry him on a stretcher, entering through a gate appropriately called the "PORTA LIBITINARIA" (or the entrance of Libitina). Libitina is an ancient Roman goddess of funerals and burial. These people who took care of the corpses or the undertakers were collectively known as "libitinarii." Today, we can liken them to

Migration Fuels Human Development

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                               Migration has always been the fuel of human development. Think about this, if our ancestors, the very first 'Homo Sapiens' did not leave the primordial home Africa, perhaps things would turn out differently, or worse, this branch of human species would have gone into extinction. From the moment Homo Sapiens moved out of that original home, a stunning feat of migrat ion, a new pace of human evolution began. This movement from one place to varied environments had impacted that social skills of thinking, enhancing more than innate quality in him, fashioning tools and weapons, a way to adapt in the ever-changing realities of the surroundings presented to him. (Obviously a reference to Darwinian adaptive evolution). The movement of humans was also a movement of groups, tribes, and communities. From this, migrating tribes developed their own unique signals or calls in hunting, moving, etc., using sounds created by mouths, hands, bodily gestures with obj