“NOLI ME TANGERE: At

A Synopsis” the

BY MANOLO O. VAÑO

[Taken from The Essential Rizal: Patriot, Thinker and Believer

Quezon City: Giraffe Books, 1997 pp. 27-31]

Crisostomo Ibarra, son of a wealthy landlord in San cemetery in San Diego, Crisostomo was enraged upon
Diego, learning from the grave-digger that the corpse of Don
returned to Rafael was removed from the cemetery by order of the
his country parish priest. When he met Padre Salvi, the new
after seven Franciscan priest of San Diego, Crisostomo pounced on
years of the priest and demanded an account for desecrating his
study in father’s remains, but the latter told him that Padre
Europe. Dámaso was the parish priest when that happened.
On Knowing that his father was dedicated to the uplift of his
October people through education, Crisostomo decided to put
31, a aside his plans for revenge in
banquet
was given
in his order to secure approval from the Spanish authorities in
honor at a Manila for the establishment of a town school for the
house in children of San Diego. In the house of Don Filipo Lino
Binondo, and his wife, the “philosopher” or the “lunatic” named
Manila by Tasio was telling the couple that the idea of purgatory was
Capitan Tiago (Santiago de los Santos), friend of not taught by Christ nor by the early Christians.
Crisostomo’s father Rafael and the reputed father of the
beautiful María Clara to whom Crisostomo was betrothed That night, while a thunderstorm was raging, the head
from early youth. The dinner was attended by Padre sexton and the priest took turns beating a boy named
Dámaso, a fat Franciscan friar, who had been a parish Crispin to make him confess that he had stolen money.
priest of San Diego; Padre Sybila, a young Dominican The boy died of physical injuries but his older brother
priest of Binondo; Señor Guevara, elderly lieutenant of named Basilio was able to escape from the church tower
the Guardia Civil; Don Tiburcio de Espadaña, a fake although he was hit by a shot from the guardia civil.
physician, lame and henpecked husband of Doña Their mother named Sisa had prepared a dinner for her
Victorina; and several ladies. After the dinner, Ibarra sons but her wandering do-nothing husband came and ate
returned to his hotel. all their food. When Basilio came, she nursed his wound
in the forehead. On the following day, when she went to
On the way, the kind Lieutenant told Crisostomo how the convent, she was told that her sons had run away with
his father had died. Defending a helpless boy from the the stolen money. She knew her sons would never do such
brutality of an illiterate Spanish tax collector, Don Rafael a thing. While she was looking for Crispin, the soldiers
pushed the latter and accidentally arrested her and compelled her
killed him. He died in jail, as a to walk under the heat of the
free thinker who stopped going to sun to the barracks. The poor
Confession, was denied Christian mother, although released by
burial by Father Dámaso. order of the lieutenant, became
Crisostomo vowed to find out the insane.
truth about his father’s death. On Capitan Tiago, his cousin
the following morning, he visited Isabel and María Clara arrived
María Clara, his childhood at their house in San Diego.
sweetheart. The girl jokingly said During a picnic given by Ibarra
that he had forgotten her because at the lake, María Clara was
the girls in Germany were obliged to sing her favorite song
beautiful. Crisostomo assured her as she played the harp. While
that he had never forgotten her. they were fishing, the strong and mysterious pilot named
Elias jumped into the water to grapple with a crocodile

59

Ibarra and Pilosopo Tasio

which was caught in the fish trap owned by Capitan Tiago
and which had eaten all the fish in it, but the crocodile
struggled furiously and almost killed him. Ibarra jumped
into the water and killed the crocodile in the presence of
Aunt Isabel, María Clara and her friends, Ibarra’s friends,
Albino and others, thereby saving Elias. After the
luncheon was served, Ibarra and Capitan Basilio played
chess while María Clara and her friends played the
“Wheel of Chance.” Ibarra received a telegram notifying
him of the approval of his donation of a school house, his
gift to María Clara.
The next day Ibarra visited old Tasio the Philosopher
to consult him on his pet project. Tasio was pessimistic
about the project but reminded his visitor to consult the
priest always. As the fiesta in honor of the patron saint
was being celebrated, Padre Dámaso gave the long
sermon and Padre Salvi, who was very much attracted to
María Clara, officiated the Mass. Elias quietly approached
Ibarra, who was kneeling and praying by María Clara’s
side, and warned him of a plot to kill him. Later, during
the laying of the cornerstone of the schoolhouse attended
by a big crowd, the derrick collapsed. Elias pushed Ibarra
aside and the derrick crushed instead the yellowish man
who had built it.
At the sumptuous dinner that night, Padre Dámaso
insulted the memory of Ibarra’s father. The young man
jumped from his seat, knocked down the fat friar and
could have killed him with a knife had not María Clara
tenderly held his arm. Automatically excommunicated for
his attack on the priest, Ibarra was forbidden to see María
Clara again and Padre Damaso arranged for her marriage
to his Spanish relative, Linares. When the liberal-minded
governor-general visited the town, he persuaded Capitan
Tiago to accept Ibarra as his son-in-law and promised to
see the Archbishop of Manila to lift the
excommunication. When María Clara became sick, she
was treated by Don Tiburcio de Espadaña, although she
became well due to the medicines given to her by
Crisostomo. In the forest, Elias came to see Capitan Pablo
whose daughter was raped by a priest and whose sons
were tortured by the Constabulary.
Padre Salvi’s head sacristan recruited the desperate
and the oppressed in San Diego to attack the barracks of
the Guardia Civil in the name of its alleged mastermind
and financier Ibarra. Denounced on time by Padre Salvi to
the alferez, the attack was foiled and the young liberals in
the town with Ibarra as their head were seized and
charged with rebellion. There was no proof against Ibarra
except some letters of dubious loyalty which Ibarra had
written from abroad to María Clara and María Clara was
persuaded to surrender to Padre Salvi in exchange for two
letters from her late mother to Padre Dámaso which she
had written in remorse before she died. The letters
proved that her real father was Padre Dámaso, not Capitan
Tiago.
60
Elias burned all the papers that might incriminate
Ibarra and helped the latter to escape from prison. When
the boat carrying them reached the landing of a house on
the river bank, Crisostomo went up to the porch where he
met María face to face. He said he came to forgive her for
surrendering his letters to the priest and to free her from
her pledge to him. She told him that she came to know
who her real father was from her mother’s letters given to
her in exchange of his letters and assured him that she
belonged only to him and to no one else. She kissed his
lips again and again, embraced him and then pushed him
away. He jumped and boarded the boat. From the boat,
Elias gave her a deep bow.
As they paddled up the river to the lake, the Guardia
Civil on board a patrol boat pursued them. Having told
Ibarra to hide under the zacate in the boat, Elias jumped
into the water. The Guardia Civil, thinking he was Ibarra,
fired at Elias and hit him but they could not find his body
where they saw him sink and where blood made the water
red. Seriously wounded, Elias staggered into the forest
where he met a boy, Basilio, who was weeping over the
dead body of Sisa, his mother. Elias told him that he too
was dying and instructed him to put their dead bodies on
the firewood which he had gathered and set the wood on
fire.
On the following day, María Clara told Padre Dámaso
that she agreed to marry Linares because she planned to
run away soon afterwards to join her lover, but the news
of Crisostomo’s death made her to decide to go to the
nunnery. Padre Dámaso explained that he could not bear
the thought of her becoming the wife of a native, without
privileges, without rights. When she threatened to kill
herself he gave in to her wish.
One stormy night, a young nun who was as beautiful
as the Virgin was seen on top of the roof of the convent of
St. Clair, her arms stretched out to the sky and her face
turned pleadingly upward. Padre Dámaso was later found
dead in his bed. Capitan Tiago became an opium addict.