The Philippine Nationalist Literature during the American Period

1

A Textual Nationalism:
The Philippine Nationalist Literature during the American Period
By Orestes C. Magdaraog

Introduction
One has probably never heard oI 'literary history, or a history that is based on
literature. To materialize the use oI culture as a historical source, I will make use oI literary
works oI the early nationalist writers and poets during the American period. The task is to
take a glimpse oI reality oI the country, Irom the perspective oI the Filipinos, upon the advent
oI colonization by the Americans. During the incipient phase oI the American rule in the
country, the Americans were successIul to have acquired a new colony in the Far East that is
the Philippines. The phase oI paciIication was characterized to be atrocious in the part oI the
Filipinos. The time they were Iinally subdued, the American inIluence and culture ushered in
to socially engineer, in Glenn May`s term, the Filipinos to American thinking and image. By
and large, there was an intention to deIilipinize the Filipinos during the American colonial
period. In all aspects, there was a wide-array oI American inIluence, like the political tutelage
oI the Americans to the Filipinos, the presence oI the American economic goods and
commerce in the country, and the socio-cultural modiIication to shed out the nationalism oI
every Filipino.
The paper seeks to answer what were the reactions oI the Filipinos, expressed through
their nationalist literary works, under the colonial period. Did Filipino nationalism also Iail to
survive due to the heavy miseducation oI the Americans? From the Iictitious elements and
The Philippine Nationalist Literature during the American Period

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characters oI the literary works this paper will study, we can derive at certain historical
knowing oI the Filipinos` reaction toward the American occupationparticularly directed to
the subject oI colonialism and imperialism. Literature, indeed, can be a 'text, to borrow Dr.
Hila`s word, oI contextualizing history.
In this paper, the discussion oI the nationalist literary works in an attempt to reIlect the
Filipino nationalism under American imperialism, I delimited the literary Iorms to poems and
dagli, or vignettes in English. A large chunk oI the poems and dagli came Irom Tagalog
periodicals during the American era (e,g, Muling Pagsilang), and the other selected poems are
Irom Iamous nationalists like Aurelio Tolentino and Juan Corazon De Jesus. In reIerence to
the use oI the selected literary works, there is a need Ior acknowledging the materials Irom
which I have gathered these pertinent primary materials: the edited book oI Rolando B.
Tolentino and Aristotle J. Atienza entitled, Ang Dagling Tagalog, which contains the Tagalog
dagli extracted Irom Tagalog periodicals Irom periods covering 1903-1936 and the
undergraduate thesis, Isang pag-aaral sa mga tulang inilimbag ng Muling Pagsilang, by
History graduates Irom DLSU, Erwin Roxas and Hanna Sanchez, who appended in their work
the copies oI Tagalog poems, in their original text, published by the Muling Pagsilang, which
were all taken Irom the National Library oI the Philippines.
Interweaving Culture, Literature, and History
Generally, there is a great shared aIIinity between history and culture. One cannot
Iully understand the history oI a nation without taking into account the culture their way oI
liIe, belieIs, and traditions oI its people. It is true that people`s culture mirrors their past. In
this post-modern time, the study oI culture has permeated the writing oI history. Upon doing
The Philippine Nationalist Literature during the American Period

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so, the writing oI history took a diIIerent Iorm as the perspective devolved directly to the real
experiences oI people, making history dynamic and vibrant.
The documents which were the main sources oI historical inIormation have been
regarded as passe. Instead oI calling it a source, and to keep intact with the ideals oI post-
modernism, Dr. Hila espoused the word 'text to appropriately label anything that embodies
historical signiIication. What is more, with this, all human activities are regarded as texts. The
advent oI this broadening oI historical inIormation, historians can Ireely put everything as a
historical text in his palette. Dr Hila once again stated in his lecture that music is a veritable
text or tells about the historicity oI a given period. Though music does not give greater scope
oI historical understanding, he added that music can still give a historical value iI studied in
the total context oI the historical period. ThereIore, Iusing the text (music) and the context
(history) can give a greater understanding oI the past.
1

Blending literature and history thereIore oIIers another historical delight Ior learning.
Like music oI Dr. Hila, literature can provide even more Iormidable understanding oI people
at a given period. For most people outside oI the idea oI new historicism, literature is seen as
a by-product oI the creative imagination oI humans. Literature is only given credit Ior its
aesthetic value. Teodoro Agoncillo reverted this mistaken notion about literature, and
creatively stated that, 'literature without history, is unthinkable, Ior literature, being liIe,
cannot exist apart Irom the times and circumstances in which it was conceived.
2
Reading
literary works gives more than just satisIying the reader`s pleasure, but, more importantly, an
inquiry arises why a novel, play, poem, or short story came into being, what circumstances

1
Antondio Hila, Ide Fixee: An Intertexual Fusion, a lecture.
2
Bernerdita Churchill. History and Culture, Language and Literature: Selected Essays oI Teodoro Agoncillo,
(Manila: University oI Santo Tomas Publishing House, 2003).
The Philippine Nationalist Literature during the American Period

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made the author to verbalize into Iiction his view oI reality. Thus, any piece oI literature must
be analyzed together with its historical milieu.
Generally, literature is a valid historical source iI its content is Iound to be near the
reality. It is suggested, on the other hand, Ior historians to be critical in accepting these
literary works. One must still be careIul as to what they extract Irom these Iictional works is
historically proven, or it conIorms to the actual condition or atmosphere oI a particular place
and time. This is to say that literature cannot solely reconstruct a true history. As said,
literature can only be a 'text, like how Dr. Hila described music, and being a text that
provides historical signiIicance, a context, particularly pertaining to historical context, must
suIIice the historical reconstruction. What is Iurther suggested by Teodoro Agoncillo is that
historians should not rely exclusively upon documentary evidences, but look more Ior other
cultural source oI inIormation like literature in recreating the atmosphere oI a particular event
at a particular time. Teodoro Agoncillo sees the Ilowering oI literature as history. He believes
that historians should breathe history not literally exhume it, shortly it means that history must
be contemporaneous
3
. Agoncillo Iurther added:
'The Iunction oI the historian is not merely to recite the events in their chronological
or logical order, but to make the past alive and vibrant and, iI possible, as colorIul as the
original events. Literature is thus an ally oI the historian in re-creating the past. With the aid
oI literature, the historian can re-live the past in this diIIicult undertaking, it is not enough that
the historian uses literary works as materials in the writing oI history; he must have the
literary ability to make the past live again Ior the readers. This aspect is another matter and
comes under the category oI history as literature.
4




3
Ibid

4
Ibid
The Philippine Nationalist Literature during the American Period

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Literature as History: The Philippine Reality from the Nationalist Literary Works
during the American Period
At the turn oI the 20
th
century, armed conquest had enabled the United States to
establish a civil hegemony, which they used political and cultural means Ior accomplishing
this purpose. The establishment oI the public school system with English as the medium oI
instruction and the oIIicial language, the election oI a Philippine Assembly, and the training
oI Filipinos here and abroad Ior the colonial bureaucracy indicated that triumph oI the cultural
assimilation process oI US hegemony in the country. Not only in the Iields oI culture and
political education, at the same time, various trade agreements guaranteed local markets Ior
US products and the supply oI raw materials Ior US Iactories. Philippine agricultural
economy had been tied up with the oppressive umbilical cord oI the American economy.
5

With this subjugation under a new colonial inIluence oI another ruler aIter a recent
one, literature would once again emerge as a liberating tool against Ioreign stranglehold.
Elmer Ordonez virtually deIined this trend in literature as 'emergent literature, which is
literature intertwined with the people`s struggle Ior national liberation. It is the literature oI
the marginalized and oppressed. It is the literature that sought to counter the hegemonic rule
oI the colonizer.
6
Despite the relentless gush oI Americanization oI Philippine cultural liIe,
the nationalist consciousness survived but did not solely crystallize in Iorms oI arm struggle,
Iorce, and shed oI blood, but also by the imaginative skills oI the nationalist writers,
playwrights, and poets through their literary pieces.

5
Renato Constantino. The Philippines: A Past Revisited (Quezon City: Tala Publishinh Services, 1975).
6
Elmer Ordonez, Emergent Literature (Quezon City: University oI the Philippines Press, 2003), p. 18
The Philippine Nationalist Literature during the American Period

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Much oI the nationalist literature was spawned by the writers and poets oI the Tagalog
editorials. They made history with their sizzling literary works against the American
imperialism and colonialism. The expression oI temper against the colonial master took the
Iorm oI what I call, 'textual nationalism, wherein nationalists in literature hopes to make
history by writing their struggle Ior liberation in their literary pieces. Agoncillo revealed that
large numbers oI historical studies about Filipino reaction to the early American regime relied
more on what the Americans thought was the Filipino response than believing more in these
Filipino literary works which expressed more emphatically the real response oI the Filipinos.
7

Tagalog poems and short stories oI this period indeed cover the Ieelings and thoughts oI the
Filipinos regarding the American intervention in the Philippines.
Most oI the poems Iloridly cried the yearning oI the Filipinos to liberate themselves
Irom the American rule. The poem, 'Ika 4 ng Pebrero
8
, by Pat Mariano describes the Iight oI
the Filipinos against the imperialism oI the Americans. Intrinsically, the title coincides the
same date oI the start oI the Philippine-American War, and two days aIter, on Febraury 6, the
timely outbreak oI hostilities urged the Americans to ratiIy the Treaty oI Paris. The
imperialists now had Iull control in the country. The poem opens with the Filipinos
witnessing their change oI colonial master aIter the decisive win against the Spaniards:
Ang Bayang nangaling sa pakikihamok
sa bangis ng leong sa kanya`y kumupkop,
muling nasalanta sa lakas ng dagok
ng mga metrallat punlong isinabog
ng naging katulong sa digmaang natapos


7
Bernerdita Churchill, History and Culture, Language and Literature: Selected Essays oI Teodoro Agoncillo,
(Manila: University oI Santo Tomas Publishing House, 2003).
8
'Ika 4 ng Pebrero, Muling Pagsilang, February 4, 1907.
The Philippine Nationalist Literature during the American Period

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The initially Iriendly relation between the Filipinos and Americans and their cavalierly
Iight against Spaniards inevitably led to the Americans colonizing the Filipinos. The poem
continues lamenting the bloody war oI the Filipinos with the much strongly armed Americans:
At ng isang gabi, nang ganitong araw
Nangyari ang unang pagkakaharapan
Ng isang malakas, malaki`t mayaman
At ng isang munting sa sandata`y kulang
At nasalanta pa sa digmaang nagdaan

At sa kakapalang lupa`t alabok
Ang mayamang dugo`y matuling umagos,
Nadilig ang bayan, nadilig ang bundok
At wala na yatang nalabi pang pook
Na hindi napigta sa dugong tagalog.


It also recounts countless oI deaths on the Filipino side in their struggle to repel the
imperialists, while the Americans were in the Iormidable decision oI completely paciIying the
whole country even by extreme measures. It must be remembered that the United States
passed various anti-nationalistic laws penalizing death or long prison sentences lest there be
Filipinos resisting to the American hegemony in their land. These laws were the Sedition
Law, the Brigandage act, the Reconcentration Act, and the Flag Law,
9
see the next stanza:
Hindi lamang libo ang nangasalanta,
Hindi lamang libo ang napanganyaya,
Hindi lamang libo ang matanda`t bata
Na nagulila ng dahil sa nasa
Na ang sintang Baya`y makitang malaya


The poem closes the tragic scene by the Americans triumphantly subduing his new
colony, the Philippines lost Ior another Iew decades oI colonialism:
Kaya`t ng mangyari sila`y mapipilan
Ng dahil sa lakas ng naging kaaway
Ay hindi nangyaring ito`y nakasigaw
Na siya`y nanalo`t nagtamong tagumpay
Pagka`t ang naapi`y wala nang panglaban

9
Renato Constantino, The Philippines: A Past Revisited (Quezon City: Tala Publishinh Services, 1975), pg. 245.
The Philippine Nationalist Literature during the American Period

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Dito na nangyari ang kalagim-lagim
Na yaong bandilang may tatlong bituin
Ay muling natiklop at napailalim
Sa loob ng puso ng mailuging
Sa kanyang 'watawat ay di tumatakwil.
(Emphasis provided)

The rekindling oI the nationalist sentiment oI the Filipino people emerged as one oI
the Iocal themes in the poems oI the Muling Pagsilang. The Filipino youths were being
summoned in the poem entitled, Tumunton ng Landas,
10
by AlIredo J. Herrera. The author
grieved in his poem that it was already a perIect time Ior the Filipinos to stand together to
Iight Ior their mother country, see the stanzas:
Binatang tagalong, ngayo`y panahon nang
Ang mga mata`y imulat
Sa pagkakahimbing at di mo pagpuna
Sa matinding hirap ng giliw mong Ina:
Sintang Pilipinas
Hitik sa dalita`t salat sa ligaya!
Nasa iyo ang kanyang lubos na pag-asang
Sa lakas mong ingat,
Dangal niya`t puri iyong iaadya.

Hayo, ka-binata, huwag kang matalog
Sa panahong ito,
Pagka`t mapanganib ang dilim sa laot,
Pag siyang bumagsak ay kalunos lunos
Ang kapalaran mo,
Kaya magpuya ka`t magtilis magpagod
Humanap ng landas, tibayan ang loob
Sa paraang ito`t
Hantungan mong nasa`y iyong maaabot.


The poem entitled, Kasalukuyan,
11
by B. Sanciangko was also oIIered to the Filipino
youths that expressed that the time is nearing Ior them to be united. The stanzas oI the poem
convey that there was nothing much worse than to be slaved in their own country. The

10
'Tumunton ng Landas, Muling Pagsilang,
11
'Kasalukyan, Muling Pagsilang.
The Philippine Nationalist Literature during the American Period

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Filipinos were oppressed by a Ioreign ruler in their own soil, and on this dilemma that the
poem wants the people to ponder on, read the lines:
Sa mundo`y wala nang masaklap sa buhay
Wala nang mahapdi`t tandis, kahirapan,
Kundi ang lumaging
Tulad sa alipin; gaya ng nilakhang
Bayan kong sagana sa karalitaan.

Bagong lumalasap, bagong tumitikim
Noong kalayaang pamana sa atin ng mga nautas
Dahil sa pagsinta`t sa baya`y pag-giliw
Nguni`t kalayaang kakambal ng lagim.

Lubos ang pag-asang hindi na lalasap
Ng madlang pag ayop ang lahi kong liyag,
Batbat ng butuin ang kanyang watawat
Mahabaging tunay sa may pasang hirap.

Ang pagkabusabos na sakdal ng pait:
Yaong kalong kalong na dusang mabangis
Nitong Pilipinas
Di na guni-guning aaah! Pang tikis
At lalaging muli sa madlang panganib.

The poem also touched the point that the Filipinos were promised by the imperialist to
harness its resources Ior the country`s own purposes and exploitation, but rather the opposite
happened while the Filipinos were deprived in their own land, the Ioreigners were enjoying
the wealth oI the country:
Di ba nang ipadpad ng along malakas
Sa pangpanging ito iyang lahing bangsag
Sa katalinuhan,
Ay ipinangakong tayo`y itutulad
Sa sintang kapatid at hirang na anak?

At ang masaganang ating kayaman
Iimpukin anya`t ipagsasangalang;
Ngunit ngayo y bakit
Tayo an gpulubi, tayo ang dayupay
At tayo ang datay sa madlang ligamgam

O sinta kong lahing natangi sa madla!
Sa dunong sa pilak ikaw ay sagana:
Bakit kaya iba
Iyang sumisimsim at nagpapapsasa
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Samantalang ikaw ang api at dusta?

Sa pagkaalipin tayo ay tinubos
Ng bantog na lahing ngayo`y nagkukupkop
Sa katagalogan,
Datapwa`t kung bakit pawa rin himutok
Ang kasaliw saliw ng bayan kong irog.

In the dagli, 'Sa mga Bayang Mang-aalipin`
12
, by E. Florante, a direct parallelism
was used by the author to bewail his disappointment about the use oI reason and superiority oI
the imperialists like the United States in colonizing those who they perceived to be
uncivilized, read the excerpt line:
Ang panahon ay sumusulong at ang mga bayang mapalad, kung ganito ang masasabi
at nag-uunahang sa matayog na taluktok ng karapatan at kadakilaan. Ito`y siyang dapat pagkat
siyang talagang tadhana sa katauhan.

Na ang pamamalakad ng mga bayang bantog at matatalino ay nababatay sa katwiran?
Kimi akong mag-ulat ng tahasan na, ang mga bansang umabot sa tugatog ay pawang hidwa
ang layunin at pamahalaan, pagkat ang katotohanan ay may mga ilang nakakabatid, na ang
tao`y nabubuhay upang maglingkod sa katwiran.

Ang namamalas ng marami, kung hindi man ng lahat ay tila ang karunungan ng ilang
bayan ay ginagamit sa katustusan , katusuhang ibig ay manaig sa kapwa at kilalanin siyang
Diyos. (Emphasis provided)

In justiIying the expansionism oI the Americans, one kingpin reason was the
American concept oI maniIest destiny. It is an inexorable task Ior the Americans to bring their
superior culture to the Philippine whom they believed lacked thereoI. This will be correlated
by the concept oI Social Darwinism, explaining that the expansionism was a natural
phenomenon wherein the supreme culture will overrule the uncivilized. In the Benevolent
Assimilation Proclamation by President McKinley, expansionism was backed up by
humanitarian reasons to help the Filipinos, saying that, by quoting President McKinley, 'there
was nothing leIt Ior us to do but to take them all, and to educate the Filipinos, and upliIt and

12
'Sa mga bayang mang-aalipin, Muling Pagsilang, September 15, 1909.
The Philippine Nationalist Literature during the American Period

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civilize them, as our Iellow-men Ior who Christ also died.
13
The writer oI the dagling
precisely directed his grievance to this ethnocentric motivation oI the ruler to occupy the so-
called lower people.
The dagli ended the text by bubbling up the issue oI independence. II it Ior reasons
that justiIy the American sudden moves oI imperialism, the same was believed to apply to
their recognition oI the independence oI other countries. The Americans were known to be the
emancipators or liberators oI mankind. It is at this honeyed description that the Filipinos could
not decipher the coldness oI the Americans toward their Ireedom, see how the dagli ends:
Sinabi ko ang ganito, sanhi sa, kung tunay na ang mga bayang iyan ay talagang
matalino na ay labis na makikilala nila ang kanilang kalayaan, at kung ganito nga ay
makikilala ang kalayaan naman ng iba. Na ang kalayaan lamang nila ang nakikilala? Kung
gayon ay hindi sila tao, pagkat ang tunay na tao ay yaong gumagalang at umibiig sa kalayaan
ng lahat.


With a complete deviation to the cinematic adaptation in drama oI Kahapon Bukas at
Ngayon (1903), that storied the occupations oI diIIerent countries in the Philippines, the poem
version oI the same title by Aurelio Tolentino written in 1913 had a direct reIerence to the gap
with the United States.
14
Thematically composed, in the poem, Raha Lakbang Bayang was
helped by Haring Samuel against aggressors plotting to conquer their land. When asked what
payment could compensate their debt to him, Samuel humbly responded that the aid was out
oI virtue and responsibility, adding that he wanted equality among people to rule the world.
However, the king broke his promise and conquered the land, killing Raha Lakbang Bayan
and imprisoning his wiIe, Kalayaan.

13
Renato Constantino, The Philippines: A Past Revisited (Quezon City: Tala Publishinh Services, 1975),
14
Elmer Ordonez, Nationalist Literature. (Quezon City: University oI the Philippines Press, 1996), pg. 40.
The Philippine Nationalist Literature during the American Period

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The poem also mentioned the humanitarian mission oI the Americans in deciding to
annex the country. See how Tolentino made allegories to the White Man`s Burden and the
Benevolent Assimilation
15
:
Ang tunay kong nais ay turuan
Ng pamamahala nitong inyong bayan
Saka pagkatapos sa inyo`y ibigay
Ang pagsasarili ng malayang buhay

Ang buong lakas ko ay pag-uubusin
Upending mapalaya ang inyong lupain
Lahat ninyong yaman ay pasisibulin
Upang ang buhay ninyo`y magluningning


With all the grandiose pronouncements Irom the colonizer, Kalayaan seeks Ireedom oI
her land. Though in a Iorm oI request, it is clear that the poem addressed the issue oI
separation Irom the control oI the Americans, hear how the queen voices out her wish Ior
emancipation:
Aking hinihiling itong aking baya`y
Iyong palayain
Panbayaan akong gumawa ng aming
Mga kautusang sukat kailanganin

A very satirical way oI making allegories to a master-slave relationship between the
Americans and the Filipinos was Ieatured in the dagli entitled, Napakatungak Ako',
16
which
came Irom an unknown author. The title can roughly mean, 'I was stupid! exclaimed by a
peasant aIter in a realization that he can still survive by himselI without his master. The dagli
opens with only two characters inhabiting an island amidst a wide ocean: one man who
assumes the status oI a master and a peasant who does all the work Ior their living. See the
next lines:

15
Edna Zapanta-Manlapaz, Aurelio Tolentino: selected writings. (Quezon City: University oI the Philippines
Library, 1975).
16
'Napakatungak Ako! Balagtas, April 20, 1907.
The Philippine Nationalist Literature during the American Period

13

'Ako ang bumubuhay sa iyo! anang ginoo sa magbubukid.

Ang magbubukid naman, na totoong napakaikling isip at siyang gumagawa, mula sa
umaga hanggang gabi, nghalos gawang kalabaw, na nagsasalat pa sa pagkain upang maiuwi
ang lahat ng masasarap sa kanyang panginoon ay sumasagot ditto ng sagot na may pagkilala
pang utang, pugay ang sambalilo at magpapahid ng pawis:

'Siya nga po, aniya. 'Panginoon ko! Ano ang mangyayari sa aking pamumuhay
kung hindi sa inyo.


The next episode showed the death oI his master, while the peasant surprisingly
discovered that he can still exist without bowing to his master and eat Iood he by his own
hands harvested, whereas beIore he would hand it Iirst to his master. The next line is where
the triggering line oI the peasant, 'napakatungak ako! Finally he reached the state oI mind
that he had Iooled himselI by believing he was in near extinction without a superior
companion. This is the signiIicant epiphany in the story. The anonymous writer makes
parallelism oI the two characters to the situation experienced by the Philippines and the
United States, an obvious attempt to simmer out the idea oI selI-governance.
The dagli entitled, ose Ri:al,
17
by Egmidio D. Ramos contains Iull oI rhetoric
devices like allusions and symbolisms, telling to Jose Rizal that what he had dreamt Ior the
country has yet to be achieved, see the stanza:
Rizal.sa iyong pagkahimlay riyan sa malamig na libongan ay mangyari laman na
sumandali kang magbangon at malasin mo`t pagmasdan ang kahabag-habag na ayos ng iyong
bayan.at mamamalas mong may luksa pa! Hindi pa nahahawi ang dilim. Hindi pa
nakakamtan ang iyong ikinapalungi. Alipin pa! Rizal!

The next lines cried out a more speciIic grieI to Rizal: the independence Ior the
country. AIter the patriotic death oI Rizal, the country was still Iar Irom achieving the nation
that is Iree Irom external manipulations. The Filipinos have not yet to relish the Iruition oI the
triumph over the past colonizer, but the transition was not a colony to an independent nation,

17
'Jose Rizal, Ang Republika, December 29, 1923.
The Philippine Nationalist Literature during the American Period

14

but rather a colony to still a colony under a new imperialist. The dagli obviously uses
symbolisms that made reIerence to an imperialist that oI course is the US, check the lines:
Hanngang ngayon wala pa kaming laya! Gapos pa ng naglalakihang tanikila ang
aming mga paa at kamay. Pati ng aming watawat ay hindi makawagayway ng malaya at
sumagap ng mabining simoy ng amihan na nagiisa, sinusubukang parati ng mabituing walang
awang bandila. Anong pait!
Minamalas mo rin, Rizal, na ang mga kalahi mo`y uhaw sa kalayaan, ngunit kay
saklap. Pumapayag sa 'Mabunying Agila ang ating mithiin na kay tagal nang pinagpaguran
at tuloy na ikinasawi ng ilang maraming mga sawing palad na nabuwal sa gitna ng dilim.

The phrases, mabunnying agila and mabituing walang awang bandila, obviously
made a parallelism to pertain to the United States. The mabituing walang awang bandila, or
in English that means a repressive Ilag Iull oI stars obviously described the American Ilag.
The Iirst phrase talks about the American eagle which had been a symbol Ior the
independence oI the United States, depicting the Ireedom and democracy that were always
identiIied with the Americans. However, the Filipinos were in deIiant to this Iallacious
metaphor as they Iell to being shackled under the wingspan oI the American regime. For the
Filipinos, emancipation was a no cause Ior the Americans. The dagli ends as it uses the
persona oI Rizal to convey its message that the Philippines under a ruler has been another
dark age Ior the country, to say the least, see how it Iinishes:
Rizal! Ako`y nalulungkot matamis pa ang ako`y mahimlay at manahan diyan sa bayang
payapa, kaysa sumagap ng hindi malayang hangin sa luntian na langit nitong Pilipinas. Kay palad mo,
Rizal. Tahimik ka na. Malaya at payapa ka pa kaysa amin. OO, Rizal kay palad mo! Sapagkat di mo
inabot pa ang kahabag-habag na kalagayan namin sa mga sandaling ito!

An economic nationalism was the dimension oI independence Iound in the dagli, Mga
Tanong ng Ipnaghihintay ng Sagot ng Lahat,
18
who also came Irom an unidentiIied author.

18
'Mga tanong na ipinaghihintay ng lahat, Ang Wika, November 16, 1920.
The Philippine Nationalist Literature during the American Period

15

The dagli advocates the support Ior the Filipino business. The main predicament here is the
economic entanglement oI the Philippines to the United States that resulted to the
backwardness oI the Iormer`s economic growth. All business activities were controlled by
aliens or Ioreigners, and much oI the exploitation oI the country`s resources were largely
enjoyed by these aliens. See how this Ioreign stranglehold oI the Philippine economy was
raised in the dagli:
Tinutukoy naming ang nangyayaring pagkabuhay ng mga tindahang dayuhan at ng
pagkamatay na madalas ng tindahang Pilipino. Di ba`t noon pang una-una`y binaka na ang
pangyayaring ang tindahang sarili ay dinadaanan lamang ng mga mamimili upang silang lahat
ay tumambad at halos mag-agawan sa isang tindahan ng dayuhang tulad ng Instik,
halimbawa? Di ba`t sa pahayagan ay inilantad na rin ang hamak at aping kalagayan ng isang
tindahang Pilipino sa harap ng isang tindahang dayuhan? Ito`s maliwanag at higit kaysa amin
ay kayong mga giliw naming mambabasas ang nakatatalos at nakadadama marahil, higit din
naman kaysa amin ay kayo ang nakakikilala ng gma sanhing pinagbubuhatan ng malungkto na
katotohanang tumataos sa kaibutaran n gaming mga puso.

The dagli gave questions at the latter part as to why Filipinos are Iar Irom
economically Iree Irom the presence oI the Ioreign businesses in the country, and ended with
a remark that hopes to stir the Filipino nationalism to love what is their own:
Bakit kaya nabubuhay ang kalakal ng dayuhan dito sa atin at namamatay na karaniwan ang
sariling atin?
Ano ang maliwanag na sanhi ng ganito?
Sa mga tanong na iyan ay binibigyan naming pangungusap ang lahat ng nakakikilala ng sanhi
upang kung ito`y maari pang lunasan ay magawa na hangganng may panahon.
Maaring makapaglahad ng lahat ng inaakalang pakikinabangan ng baying mambabasa at
makatugtog sa patay na damdamin ng maraming nakalilimot sa tungkuling pagmamahal sa sarili.


Another great anti-imperialist literature that questions the economic domination oI the
colonizers is the dagli entitled, strangheritis,
19
by Inigo Regalado, which was in a Iorm
dialogues by two Filipinos. Not only did the dagli reveal the realities oI penetration oI
colonial products in the country, which was a consequence oI the Iree trade oI colonialism, it

19
'Estrangheritis, Lipang Kalabaw, October 5, 1907.
The Philippine Nationalist Literature during the American Period

16

also described the Iractured colonial mentality oI the Filipinos. Watch how the conversations
oI the two characters run:
'Hola chico!...san ka galling?
'Sa Hotel Metropole.
'Napakapananghali ka napa ala? Eh saan naman ang iyong tungo niyan?
' Sa Casino Espanola.
'At doon ka pala nagbibilyar! Magara mahusay na lana yang trahe mo, saan ba binili iyan, ha?
'Sa Paris Manila.
'At san mo ipinatahi?
'Sa White House.
'Parang lintik ang sapatos mo. Saan ba iyan?
'Sa American Shoes.
'Eh yang sombrero mo?
'Kay Juan Seiboth.


The conversations oI the two end by the astonished Filipino ridiculing his colonized
Iriend that he is no longer a Filipino anymore, but an 'estrangeretis or a stranger in his own
land. Witness the Iinishing lines:
'Eh kalian ka uuwi roon sa inyo?
'Saan pa ako uuwi ay di ba`t taga rito rin ako sa Maynilang kamukha mo?
'Ah siya nga pala! Mangyari eh, nabaguhan na ang tingin ko at akala sa iyo. Ang isip ko, sa
mga sinabo mo, at ganap na taga Europa ka na, o taga Amerika, dahil sa lahat-lahat ng iyong
ginagamit, kinakain, binibinsyo, at inaamo at taganas na hindi taga rito, kundi taga roon sa
inyo sa Estranghero.
Sinasalbahe mo na yata ako eh.
'Hindi naman. Ang lagay lang eh nakasisikip ka rito sa ating bayan. Nakikinabang ka`y hindi
ka mapakinabangan. Mabuti pa`y doon ka na tumira sa Estranghero.


By and large, the dagli that stories the colonial mentality oI the Filipinos wants to
depict how Filipinos are colonially cultured. With the heavy miseducation oI the Americans,
the Filipinos were socially engineered to be an Americanized Filipino people, and thus
deIilipinzed to put it in another way. The dagli is so satirical in rendering this message, but it
cuts through when it transcends the problem oI colonial mentality oI the Filipinos. Not only is
it culturally relevant, but also to some extent psychologically talks about the Filipino
mentality, as their thinking was reanimated to be conducive to American goods. During the
The Philippine Nationalist Literature during the American Period

17

American period, the Philippine market was almost tied with the American oppressive
economy. The Filipinos were in Iull access oI the American goods that were in large surplus
to supply the Philippine market. At the mindset level, Filipinos were colonially cultured to
perceive that anything imported comes with better quality and greater satisIaction. That
colonial mentality has undeniably remained across decades, with the American pop culture
continues to be an inIluential propaganda by the Americans to colonize the Filipinos even at
this post-colonial time.
The call Ior the bagong tao (new people) is the Iocal theme in the dagli, Ang mga
Taong Bago,
20
by Man. Agauinaldo. The people were reIerred to as the Filipinos who would
establish a nation similar to that oI its colonizer (symbolized by a gem in the dagli) that is
rich, Iree, and great. Read the lines:
Sa alinmang bauan ng sanglupalop, maliban ang nagsisihimbing pa sa kamulalaan ay
may mga taong bago na pinakabayani ng katubusan, mga taong magtatayo ng isang bayang
kauri ng mahalangang hiyas, baying lubhang malusog, malaya at dakila.


The dagli Iollowed by promoting the nationalist writings oI the Tagalog editorials to
know more oI what they call the bagong tao:
Kung gayon ay tunghayan ang mga handog ng mga panulat sa paanan ng bayan.
Ibig nating malaman ang laman ng panulat na iyan?
Kung gayon ay tunghan natin ang mga pitak ng pahayagang mapanuligsa sa mga
nakaririmarim na dumi ng bayan


Similar to the other editorials, the dagli also concluded with a strong statement calling
Ior a nationalist liberation:
Kung gayon ay bumalikwas tayo, huwag mangilag sa matatalim na kislap ng lintik, sa
ugong at lakas ng kulog at sa dako roon ay may makikitang nagsisialunga sa matatarok na
bundok at nagsisilusong sa malalalim na bangin, na taglay ang bandila ng pagbabagong buhay.


20
'Ang mga taong bago, Muling Pagsilang, September 3, 1909.
The Philippine Nationalist Literature during the American Period

18

There was also a part loathing the Filipinos who collaborated with the Americans.
They were called the opposite oI the bagong tao, who instead oI aspiring Ior the Ireedom oI
the country chose to side with the colonizers to selIishly upliIt their lives. See the next lines:
Kaaway ng mga pandungong pamahiin, ng mga ubaning paniwala ng sari-saring
pagbabalatkayo. Kaaway ng mga taong nasisilaw sa kinang ng hiyas, ng mga mapaghari-
hariang duwag, ng mga may hidwaang pananalig. Kaaway ng mga nag-iibig diyusin ng bayan,
ng mga mapagmataas at mapagbunyi sa sarili, ng mga pangsagabal sa pagsulong ng bayan.

The call Ior the perpetuation Ior the revolt that saw the triumph oI the Filipinos over
the Spaniards was the theme oI the dagli entitled, Magpatuloy ka, Bayan'
21
by E.T. Bigay-
Ilaw. The author oI the dagli attempts to make a call Ior uniIication by reliving the past
glorious victory oI the Filipinos over the oppressive Spaniards years ago. He argues that iI it
was successIul Ior them to have driven oII an imperialist nation, why would it be diIIerent
now that they are Iaced with another imperialist that sought to vessel the same colonial
relation as what it had been beIore. The dagli starts oII by mentioning the eight provinces that
were Iirst to initiate moves against the Spaniards, read the lines:
Buhay sa walong lalawigang Pilipinong una-unang sinikatan at pinagtitinginan ng walong
manigning na sinag ng Araw ng Pagbabangong-pui ay lumaganap sa sangkapilipinuhan ang wagas na
damdamin ng kalayaa`t pagsasarili. Ang walong lalawigang yaong nasa gitna ng pulo ng Luzon ay
nakikilala sa mga pangalang Maynila, Cavite, Batangas, Tayabas, Morong, Laguna, Bulacan, at Nueva
Ecija; ang mga lalawigang ito`s siyang pinanginduyanan ng maluwalhatingg paghihimagsik ng lahing
Pilipino laban sa mapanginis na kapangyarihan ng Kastila.

The dagli continues by mentioning names that emerged Irom these provinces and all
had the same motivation: a revolution. The names like Andres BoniIacio, Plaridel, Mabini,
Edilberto Evangelista, Aguinaldo, and Noriel were just a Iew Irom the list oI Filipino
revolutionaries that aimed to sever Irom a colonial relationship. The historical revisit oI the

21
'Magpatuloy ka, Bayan! Muling Pagsilang, August 10, 1906.
The Philippine Nationalist Literature during the American Period

19

dagli hopes to reenact the same revolution to continue Iighting Ior a nation that is Iree, read
how the dagli ends:
Sa paggugunam-gunam sa mga kabayanihan n gating mga kababayang nanaguyod sa
paghihimagsik, sa araw-araw ay lumalayo at lumulusog ang katutubong damdamin sa kalayaan at
pagsasarili. Sanhi rin doo`y pinakamimithi ng kakapalang Pilipino ang ngayon din.Ang bayang
nagbangon ng paghihimagsik ng 1896, ay siyang mag-uutos at lalakad ng ikapagkakaisa ng tanan.
Samantala`y uulitin ko ang sigaw ng marami, na anila`y 'Magpatuloy ka, Bayan!

A heated propaganda towards a colonial separation was expressed in the dagli entitled,
Amerika. Basahim Mo Ito,
22
authored by Konde A. De Lardo. The paragraphs in the dagli
bluntly stressed what the Filipinos petitioned with regard to the grant oI independence Irom
the US. There was no rhetoric devices used to hide the intention and the motive by the writer
in his writing to mechanize his anti-imperialist outlook under the radar oI the US. The words
were direct that even the title already explicitly revealed the anti-imperialist sentiment oI the
literary work. The dagli kicks oII its remark by revealing the double-Iaced attitude oI the
Americans concerning the independence and Ireedom oI the Filipinos. It shrewdly put the
Americans to thinking that iI they were really an adherent oI Ireedom and democracy and the
Iact that they too had been a colony once, why could not they understand the Filipinos` desire
to rule their own country, see the lines:
Sa kasalukyan, ang tronong kinaluluklukan mo ang siyang lalong dakila sa
sandaigdig. Sa paanan mo ay nasasabugan ka ng lalong mababangong bulaklak ng papuri at
paghanga ng ibang mga bansa; sa noo mo`y nagniningning ang karangalang ipinagmamalaki
ng iyong anak; at sa dibdib mo`y iyong sapupo ang isang kasaysayang basa pa halos sa dugo
ng mga bayani mong anak na namatay dahil sa sangkatauhan.

Samantalang nasa ganyan kang kalagayan sandaling huminto ka sa pagdidli-dili ng
mga mithiing matayog at pagbalikan mo ng kasaysayan ng iyong kahaponnoong ikaw ay
alipirin pa rinat katulad naming namamanginoon pa sa ibang bansa. Damdamin mo and
damdaming mo noon, at iukol mo sa aming mga Pilipino bago pagkatapos ay itanong mo sa
iyong saring budhi kung matuwid kaya ang ginagawa mo sa amin, itanong mo sa sarili mong

22
'Amerika: Basahin Mo Ito, Dalaga, August 30, 1925.
The Philippine Nationalist Literature during the American Period

20

budhi kung sa paghingi naming ng kasarinlan ay dapat ka pa kayang mag-atubili ng
pagbibigay sa amin.


The dagli ends as it directly asks Ior independence:

At kung ikaw ay ginagambala naming ngayon, kung ang trono mo ay inuuga ng aming
mga kinatawan, kung kami ay nagsama-sama sa pagbubuo ng isang sigaw na malakas at
makapangyarihan kung sa buong daigdig ay iwinawatawatnamin ang mapasamin ang kalayaan
na siyang hanganan n gaming mga mithiin
Ang paglaya naming mga Pilipino ay siyang patakaran n gaming buhay at kapalaran.
Hindi kami titigil hanggang di matamo ito kaya`t sa lalong ikaniningning ng iyong karangalan
ay ibigay mo na sa amin ang aming kasarinlan.


Conclusion
The literary texts above are just a Iew oI the voluminous literatures that espouse the
ideal oI 'Textual Nationalism. It is evident that by just reading content oI these literatures,
we can suIIiciently imagine the historical milieu where these poems and dagli came Irom.
Literature being an appendage oI cultural inIormation can thus be considered a historical
source. The warm and emphatic Ieeling oI these literary texts renders a more truthIul
responsiveness that the Filipinos instigated as to the imperialism oI the US in the country.
Independence is a copious theme among these literatures cited indicating that the Filipinos as
early as the Iormative phase oI the American rule already had a matured aspiration Ior a Iree
nation. The nationalism oI the Filipinos was evidently not hampered by the heavy
miseducation oI the Americans by controlling the pedagogy in education that had been a
signiIicant apparatus oI the Americans in their colonization. In short, the burning Philippine
nationalism did not literally Ian out as the Americans prompted their propaganda oI
deIilipinizing the Filipinos. Literature undisputedly encapsulates into words and prose the
nationalist struggle oI the Filipinos during this period.

The Philippine Nationalist Literature during the American Period

21

ReIerences:

Primary Sources
Aguinaldo, Man. Ang mga taong bago, Muling Pagsilang, September 3, 1909.
Anonymous. 'Napakatungak Ako! Balagtas, April 20, 1907.
Anonymous. 'Mga tanong na ipinaghihintay ng lahat, Ang Wika, November 16, 1920.
Bigay-Ilaw, ET. 'Magpatuloy ka, Bayan! Muling Pagsilang, August 10, 1906.
De Lardo, Konde A. 'Amerika: Basahin Mo Ito, Dalaga, August 30, 1925.
Florante, E. 'Sa mga Bayang Mang-aalipin, Muling Pagsilang, September 15, 1909.
Herrera, AlIredo. 'Tumunton ng Landas, Muling Pagsilang, February 7, 1909.
Mariano, Pat. 'Ika 4 ng Pebrero, Muling Pagsilang, February 4, 1907.
Ramos, Egmidio. 'Jose Rizal, Ang Republika, December 29, 1923.
Regalado, Inigo. 'Estrangheritis, Lipang Kalabaw, October 5, 1907.
Sanciangko, B.'Kasalukyan, Muling Pagsilang, January 5, 1908

Secondary Sources
Churchill, Bernardita. History and Culture, Language and Literature: Selected Essays oI
Teodoro Agoncillo, Manila: University oI Santo Tomas Publishing House, 2003.
Constantino, Renato The Philippines: A Past Revisited. Quezon City: Tala Publishing
Services, 1975.
Hila, Antonio. Ide Fixee: An Intertexual Fusion. Lecture.
Ordonez, Elmer. Emergent Literature. Quezon City: University oI the Philippines Press, 2003.
Zapanta-Manlapaz, Edna. Aurelio Tolentino: selected writings. Quezon City: University oI
the Philippines Library, 1975.