JOSE RIZAL’S EARLY

CHILDHOOD

“ I used to win in the competitions, for nobody happened to be better than I. Of

these successes I made the most. In spite of the reputation I had of being a
good boy, rare were the days when the teacher did not call me up to receive
five or six blows on the hand….. How it hurts!”
 Rizal’s Early Childhood Memories
 The first memory of Rizal, in his infancy, was his happy days in the family
garden.
 Because he was frail, sickly, and undersized child, he was given the most
tender care by his parents.
 His father built a nipa cottage in the garden for him to play in the daytime.
 Another childhood memory was the daily Angelus prayer.
 By nightfall, Rizal related, his mother gathered all the children at the house
to pray the Angelus.
 With nostalgic feeling, he also remembered the happy moonlit nights at
the azotea after the rosary.
 The aya related stories to Rizal children many stories about fairies; tales of
buried treasure and trees with blooming diamonds, and other fabulous
stories
 Rizal’s Early Childhood Memories
 Sometimes, when he did not like to take his supper, the aya would
threaten him that the aswang, the nuno, the tikbalang, or a terrible
bearded Bombay would come to take him away if he would not eat
his supper.
 Another memory of his infancy was the nocturnal walk in the town,
especially when there was a moon.
 Recounting this childhood experience, Rizal wrote:
“Thus my heart fed on sombre and melancholy thoughts so that
even still a child, I already wandered on wings of fantasy in the high
regions of the unknown.”
 The Hero’s First Sorrow
 The Rizal children were bound together by the ties of love and
companionship. Their parents taught them to love one another, to
behave properly in front of elders, to be truthful and religious, and
to help one another.
 They affectionately called their father Tatay, and mother Nanay.
 Jose was jokingly called Ute by his brother and sisters. The people
in Calamba knew him as Pepe or Pepito.
 Of his sisters, Jose loved most little Concha (Concepcion). He was
one year older than Concha. He played with her, and from her, he
learned the sweetness of brotherly love. Unfortunately, Concha
died of sickness in 1865 when he was 3 years old
 Jose, who was very fond of her, cried bitterly to lose her.
 First Education from Mother

Jose’s first teacher was his mother.

At the age of 3, Jose learned the alphabet and
prayers from her.
Seeing Rizal had a talent for poetry, she encouraged
him to write poems. She gave her all her love and all
that she learned in college.
 The Story of the Moth

 Of the story told by Dona Teodora to

Jose, it was that of the young moth
made the profoundest impression on
him.
 The tragic fate of the young moth,
which died a martyr to its illusions, left
a deep impress on Rizal’s mind.
 Rizal’s Three Uncles
 There were 3 uncles, brothers of his mother, who played a great
part in the early education of Rizal.
 Uncle Gregorio was a lover of books. He instilled into the mind of
his nephew a great love for books. He taught him to work hard, to
think for himself, and to observe life keenly.
 Uncle Jose, who had been educated at Calcutta, India, was the
youngest brother of Dona Teodora. He encouraged his nephew to
paint, sketch, and sculpture.
 Uncle Manuel was a big, strong, and husky man. He looked after
the physical training of his sickly and weak nephew. He encourage
Rizal to learn swimming, fencing, wrestling, and other sports, so
that in later years Rizal’s frail body acquired agility, endurance, and
strength.
A Group of Sketches by Rizal
 Artistic Talents
 Since early childhood Rizal revealed his God-given talents for the
arts.
 He drew sketches and pictures on his books of his sisters, for which
reason he was scolded by his mother. He carved figures of animals
and persons out of wood. Even before he learned to read, he could
already sketch pictures of birds, flowers, fruits, rivers, mountains,
animals and persons.
 Jose had a soul of a genuine artist.
 He loved to ride on a spirited pony ( which his father bought for him)
or take long walks in the meadows for him) or take long walks in the
meadows and lakeshore with his big black dog named Usman.
 In his room, he kept many statuettes which he made out of clay and
wax.
 At one time, his sisters teased him: “Ute, what are you doing with so
many statuettes?” He replied:
“ Don’t you know that people will erect monument and statues in my
honor for the future?”
Rizal’s Early Writings
 In 1868, before he was eight years old, he wrote a Tagalog drama.
This drama was staged in Calamba in connection with the town
fiesta.
 At an early age when children usually begin to learn ABC, he was
already writing poems.
 The first known poem that he wrote was a Tagalog poem entitled
Sa Aking Mga Kababata (To My Fellow Children).
 His mother was a strong influence upon his education and helped
develop his early interest in poetry, music, and European literature.
 Readings in Tagalog poetry and daily assignments in Philippine
History by his mother inculcated in him a sense of the Filipino
culture.
 Rizal’s deep love for his mother was expressed in the poem
“Mother’s Birthday”
 “Sa Aking mga Kabata”
Kapagka ang baya'y sadyang umiibig
Sa kanyang salitang kaloob ng langit, Ang wikang Tagalog tulad din sa Latin
Sanlang kalayaan nasa ring masapit Sa Ingles, Kastila at salitang anghel,
Katulad ng ibong nasa himpapawid. Sapagka't ang Poong maalam tumingin
Ang siyang naggawad, nagbigay sa atin.
Pagka't ang salita'y isang kahatulan
Sa bayan, sa nayo't mga kaharian, Ang salita nati'y huwad din sa iba
At ang isang tao'y katulad, kabagay Na may alfabeto at sariling letra,
Ng alin mang likha noong kalayaan. Na kaya nawala'y dinatnan ng sigwa
Ang lunday sa lawa noong dakong una.
Ang hindi magmahal sa kanyang salita
Mahigit sa hayop at malansang isda,
Kaya ang marapat pagyamaning kusa
Na tulad sa inang tunay na nagpala.
 “Mother’s Birthday”
Why falls so rich a spray
of fragrance from the bowers
of the balmy flowers
upon this festive day?
Why from woods and vales
do we hear sweet measures ringing
that seem to be the singing
of a choir of nightingales?
Why in the grass below
do birds start at the wind's noises,
unleashing their honeyed voices
as they hop from bough to bough?
Why should the spring that glows
its crystalline murmur be tuning
to the zephyr's mellow crooning
as among the flowers it flows?
Why seems to me more endearing,
more fair than on other days,
the dawn's enchanting face
among red clouds appearing?
The reason, dear mother, is
they feast your day of bloom:
the rose with its perfume,
the bird with its harmonies.
And the spring that rings with laughter
upon this joyful day
with its murmur seems to say:
'Live happily ever after!'
And from that spring in the grove
now turn to hear the first note
that from my lute I emote
to the impulse of my love.
 RIZAL’S EARLY EDUCATION

 As Jose grew older, his parents employed private tutors to

give him lessons at home.
 The first was Maestro Celestino and the second, Maestro
Lucas Padua. Later, an old man named Leon Monroy, a
former classmate of Rizal’s father, became the boy’s tutor.
This old teacher lived at the Rizal home and instructed Jose
in Spanish and Latin. Unfortunately, he did not live long. He
died five months later.
 After Monroy’s death, the hero’s parents decided to send
their gifted son to a private school in Biñan.
 Jose Goes to Biñan

 One Sunday afternoon in June , 1869, Jose, after kissing the hands
of his parents and a tearful parting from his sister, left Calamba for
Biñan. He was accompanied by Paciano , who acted as his second
father.
 They proceeded to their aunt’s house, where Jose was to lodge. It
was almost night when they arrived, and the moon was about to
rise.
 That same night, Jose, with his cousin named Leandro, went
sightseeing in the town. Instead of enjoying the sights, Jose became
depressed because of homesickness.
"In the moonlight, I remembered my home town, my idolized mother,
and my solicitous sisters. Ah, how sweet to me was Calamba, my own
town, in spite of the fact that it was not as wealthy as Biñan."
 First Day in Biñan School
 The next morning (Monday) Paciano brought his younger
brother to the school of Maestro Justiniano Aquino Cruz.
 Paciano knew the teacher quite well because he had been a
pupil under him before. He introduced Jose to the teacher,
after which he departed to return to Calamba. Immediately,
Jose was assigned his seat in the class. The teacher asked
him:

"Do you know Spanish?"

"A little, sir," replied the Calamba lad.
"Do you know Latin?"
"A little, sir."
 First Day in Biñan School
 The boys in the class, especially Pedro, the teacher’s son
laughed at Jose’s answers. The teacher sharply stopped all
noises and begun the lessons of the day.
 Jose described his teacher in Biñan as follows:
"He was tall, thin, long-necked, with sharp nose and a body
slightly bent forward, and he used to wear a sinamay shirt,
woven by the skilled hands of the women of Batangas. He knew
by the heart the grammars by Nebrija and Gainza. Add to this
severity that in my judgement was exaggerated and you have a
picture, perhaps vague, that I have made of him, but I remember
only this."
 First Day in Biñan School

In academic studies, Jose beat all Biñan boys.

He surpassed them all in Spanish, Latin, and
other subjects.
Some of his older classmates were jealous of his
intellectual superiority. They wickedly squealed
to the teacher whenever Jose had a fight
outside the school, and even told lies to
discredit him before the teacher’s eyes.
Consequently the teacher had to punish Jose.
 RIZAL’S EARLY RELIGIOUS FORMATION
 Young Rizal was a religious boy. A scion of a Catholic clan,
born and bred in a wholesome atmosphere of Catholicism,
and possessed of an inborn spirit, Rizal grew up a good
Catholic
 At the age of 3, he began to take part in the family prayers.
When he was five years old, he was able to read haltingly the
family bible.
 He loved to go to church to pray, to take part in novenas, and
to join the religious processions. It is said that he was so seriously
devout that he was laughingly called Manong Jose by the
Hermanos and Hermanas Terceras.
 One of the men he esteemed and respected in Calamba
during his boyhood was the scholarly Father Leoncio Lopez, the
town priest.
 On June 6, 1868, Jose and his father left for Calamba to go on
a pilgrimage to Antipolo, in order to fulfill his mother’s vow
which was made when Rizal was born.
 RIZAL’S EARLY RELIGIOUS FORMATION

 It was the first trip of Jose across Laguna de Bay and

his pilgrimage to Antipolo.
 He was thrilled, as a typical boy should, by his first
lake voyage. He did not sleep the whole night as
the casco sailed towards the Pasig River because he
was awed by “ the magnificence of the watery
expanse and the silence of the night.
 After praying at the shrine of the Virgin of Antipolo,
Jose and his father went to Manila.
Influences on Hero’s
Boyhood
In the lives of all men there are
influences which cause some to be great
and others not. In the case of Rizal, he
had all favorable influences, which no
other child in our country enjoyed.
Hereditary Influence

According to biological science there are inherent

qualities which a person inherits from ancestors and
parents.
From Malayan ancestors, Rizal evidently, inherited
his love for freedom, his innate desire to travel and
his indomitable courage.
From Chinese ancestors he derived his serious
nature, frugality, patience and love for children.
From Spanish ancestors he got his elegance of
bearing, sensitivity to insult and gallantry to
ladies.

From his father he inherited a profound sense of

self-respect, the love for work and the habit of
independent thinking.

And from his mother his religious nature, the

spirit of self-sacrifice and the passion for arts
and literature
Environmental Influence
 According to psychologists, environment as well as heredity
affects the nature of a person. It includes places, associates
and events.
 The beautiful scenic 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 awakened his interest in
folklore and legends.
Father Leoncio Lopez a parish priest in
Calamba fostered Rizal’s love for
scholarship and intellectual honesty.

The sorrows in his family such as death

of Concha in 1865 and the
imprisonment of his mother in 187-74
contributed to strengthen his character,
enabling him to resist blows adversity
in later years.
The Spanish abuses and cruelties which he
witnessed in his boyhood such as brutal acts of
the lieutenant of the Guardia Civil and the
alcalde, the unjust tortures inflicted on innocent
Filipinos and the execution of Fathers Gomez,
Burgos and Zamora in 1872 awakened his spirit
of patriotism and inspired him to consecrate his
life and talents to redeem his oppressed people.
Aid of Divine Providence

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 ne cannot attain greatness
in the annals of the nation.

Rizal was providentially destined to be the

pride and glory of his nation.

God had endowed him with the versatile gifts

of a genius, the vibrant spirit of a nationalist
and the valiant heart to sacrifice for a noble
cause.