Jose Rizal's Third novel

2. Outline
 Makamisa according to some of Rizal’s Biographers
 The Quest
 Librarian’s Mistake
 Manuscripts
 Reasons why it is the third novel
 Letters to Ferdinand Blumentritt
 Makamisa (Tagalog)
 Makamisa (Spanish)
 Reference

3. Makamisa
 “The title of some cuartillas or quarter sheets that are the beginnings of a novel in
Tagalog. I do not know if this is the title of a single chapter or the entire novel-in-
progress, but I am inclined to believe that Makamisa is the title of one chapter only.”
-Mariano Ponce
 “Title of the beginning of a novel in Tagalog, written in alight ironic style. Composed
of two chapters, it is incomplete. 20 pages. 34.2 x 22 centimeters.” -Rafael
Palma[1949]
 “…appears to be an incomplete novel in Tagalog, written in an ironic style. The title
suggests that it is a chapter rather than a novel as Ponce believed. Only two chapters
were written. [The] manuscript bears no date nor place, but according to V[icente]
Elio, it could have been written in Dapitan in 1894. We believe it is written in Hong
Kong, when Rizal informed Blumentritt in his letter of 31 January 1892 that he had
begun another novel in Tagalog…” -Jose Rizal National Centennial
Commission(JRNCC)[1961]

4. Makamisa
 “After Mass” or “after having said Mass”
 Third unfinished novel of Dr. Jose Rizal written in Tagalog but later continued in
Spanish
 It was acquired from the heirs of Mariano Ponce before the Second World War
 The National Library mistook the Spanish version to be the manuscript of Rizal’s first
novel Noli me Tangere
 It was thought to be the Borrador(Draft) of Noli me tangere
 The manuscript was unsigned, untitled, and undated but Rizal’s family confirmed that
it was his through his penmanship

5. Makamisa
 The novel has only one chapter. It runs for only ten pages and is hand-written in the
old orthographic ancillary glyphs. Although written in a different language, its style,
characterization and setting mirror those of Rizal's two previous novel, which he wrote
in Spanish.
 Rizal wrote the borrador while on the ship Melbourne en route to Hong Kong from
Marseilles in October 1891, or in Hong Kong itself in early 1892
 Letters to Blumentritt disproves the dating of some Rizal scholars, like Vicente Elio,
who believe that Makamisa was written in Dapitan in 1894.
 He was stung by Marcelo H. del Pilar’s honest opinion of El Filibusterismo, because of
the criticism, Rizal vowed to write the third novel.

6. Makamisa: The Quest
 Dr. Angel Hidalgo- grandson of Saturnina Rizal
 Informed the JRNCC about an unpublished manuscript in Spanish resembling the Tagalog
Makamisa in plot and characters, and existing in the National Library. He was silenced by
his uncle Leoncio Lopez Rizal by declaring that the manuscript in question is a draft of Noli
Me Tangere.
 Juan Collas
 gave Rizal’s third unfinished novel the title “Tagalog Nobility” in 1957.
 Ambeth Ocampo
 Recovered the 245 pages manuscripts containing the Makamisa in 1987. He was given
access to the confidential inventory of manuscripts in the National Library.
 He reconstructed this draft and translated it into a rich and full narrative, now known as the
Makamisa.

7. Librarian’s Mistake
 Problem arose when the National Library placed the borrador on its accession list
 Librarian assigned titles and dates to manuscripts (It was supposed to be undated and
untitled)
 Mislabeled the Spanish version, or drafts of Makamisa, having mistaken the manuscript for
the borrador of Noli me Tangere
 The loose sheets comprising this draft were bound with a cover title, “Borrador incompleto
del Noli me Tangere”,thus retarding one area of Rizal scholarship for nearly a century.

8. Rizal’s Unfinished Prose Works
(245 pages collection of papers)
 Dos Trabajos Literarios Borradores incompletos
 Ang Dalawang Magkapatid (Cuento Tendencioso)
 Un Rumboso Gobernadorcillo
 Costumbres Filipinas
 Los Animales De Suan
 Principios De Una Novela Satirica
 Dapitan
 Principios De Una Novela Historica
 Memorias De Un Gallo
 Makamisa
 Borrador Del Noli Me Tangere

9. Reasons why Makamisa is Rizal’s third novel
 In letters to Blumentritt, Rizal said he began his third novel on the ship en route from Marseilles to
Hong Kong circa 1891.
 Rizal’s third novel, as he stated, was not in Spanish but in Tagalog
 Its storyline touches on the customs of the Tagalogs.
 It is satirical and humorous.
 Rizal changed his mind and shifted from Tagalog to Spanish, thus resulting with two manuscripts
with the same story and plot.
 Of all his unfinished works, only Makamisa and Dalawang Magkakapatid were written in Tagalog.
The latter does not fit the description above.
 “Tagalog Nobility” is not even in Tagalog, nor does it conform to Rizal’s descriptions.

10. Rizal’s Letters to Blumentritt
 Reply to Blumentritt’s kind opinion on the El Filibusterismo
 “ …I am thinking of writing a third novel, a novel in the modern sense of the word. But this time
politics will not occupy much space in it. Ethics will play the principal role. It will deal only with the
mores and customs of the Filipinos; there will be only two Spaniards –the curate and the Teniente de
la Guardia Civil. I want to be witty , satirical and candid; I want to cudgel and laugh, laugh amid tears,
that is to say, to cry bitterly.”
 Letter to Blumentritt from Hong Kong on 31 January 1892
 “While I rest from my professional work, I write the third part of my book [after the Noli me tangere
and the El Filibusterismo] in Tagalog. It deals only with Tagalog customs, exclusively of the usages,
virtues and defects of the Tagalogs. I am sorry I cannot write it in Spanish, for I have found a very
beautiful theme. I want to write a novel in the modern sense of term – an artistic and literary novel.
This time I want to sacrifice politics and everything for art. If I write it in Spanish, then the poor
Tgalogs to whom the work is dedicated will not get to know it, do with it? Perhaps they will only
laugh and mock our defects. The book gives me much difficulty, for many of my ideas cannot be
expressed freely without my introducing many neologisms, and moreover I lack practice in writing
Tagalog…”

11. Rizal’s Letters to Blumentritt
 Letter to Blumentritt indicating the sudden shift from Tagalog to Spanish on 20
April 1892
 “The translation of the Noli continuous, but I have already given up the idea of writing
the third part in Tagalog, for it would not be appropriate to write a work in two
languages as they would be like the sermons of the friars. So I am writing it now in
Spanish.”

12. MAKAMISA
(Tagalog Manuscript)

13. Main Characters
 Padre Agaton
 Aleng Anday
 Capitan Lucas
 Marcela
 Capitan Tibo
 Teniente Mayor Tato
 Juez de Paz Don Segundo

14. Description and Events
 Set in the late 19th century Philippines in a small town, Tulig, on the Sunday before
Palm Sunday.
 Story begins after Fr. Agaton’s Mass,
 Everyone wonders why the priest hurried through the ritual, which he usually performed
with such flourish and relish
 Women trying to explain Fr. Agaton’s irritable manner
 Capitan Lucas worrying that the curate might not endorse him in the coming election
 Written in a biting satirical style, the story develops around the actions of Fr. Agaton
 Ends with the line, “Sapagkat nabalitaang nasampal si Aleng Anday ay wala mandin
silang”

15. MAKAMISA
(Spanish Manuscript)

16. Main Characters
 Padre Agaton
 Capitan Panchong
 Capitana Barang
 Cecilia
 Mana Sebia
 Anday and Felicidad
 Capitan Tanukang
 Clodio
 Fura
 Ysagani
 Cecilio
 Silvino

17. Events
 Comes in four parts, marked with pagination prefixed by a,b,c, and d
 Section a, 35 pages,
 resembles in plot and even the name of the priest Fr. Agaton, the Tagalog Makamisa.
 Differences are:
1. The name of the town, Tulig in Tagalog but Pili in the Spanish version;
2. Some characters names
3. Actions are more elaborated
 Section b, 12 pages,
 story unfolds with the introduction of more characters.
 novel returns to the church patio where other townspeople discuss Padre Agaton’s mood

18. Events
 Section c, 17 pages,
 Capitan Panchong contemplating his chances for reelection as gobernadorcillo
 Panchong discusses Padre Agaton’s actions in the tribunal, worried that the priest won’t
support him in the reelection.
 Panchong becomes ill and is tended by his daughter Cecilia, who sees Ysagani and falls in
love with him
 The Capitan was healed because of the holy water from Jordan river given by Padre
Agaton
 Padre Agaton courts Cecilia through his father
 Cecilia’s biography, how she grew up in Manila
 Lenten activities in the town of Pili
 The egg-cracking game called tuktukan (were a brawl happened)

19. Events
 Section d,
 Aftermath of the events:
1. Procession
2. Fight over the tuktukan
3. Talk against the evil Tanukang (Tibo in Tagalog version), who donates 200 pesos for the
parish priest’s support in the election
4. Renewed inquiries into Padre Agaton’s behavior during the mass

20. Analysis
 Compare the Tagalog and Spanish manuscript
 The novel is timely and still describes the Filipino custom until today
 Significance in terms of Rizaliana studies
 Efforts towards national language development in the Philippines
 Potentialities of the Tagalog language as a vehicle for serious fiction
 Importance of English reconstruction and translation of the unfinished novel

21. Reference
 Ocampo, A. (1992). Makamisa The Search for Rizal’s Third Novel