CHAPTER 2

NATION AND NATIONALISM

The previous chapter stated that one of the major reasons behind the
passage of the Rizal Law was the strong intent to instil nationalism in the
hearts and minds of the Filipino youth. This chapter will now focus on nation
and nationalism in the Philippine context. It will explain the concepts of nation,
state, and nation-state as a precursor to understanding nationalism and the
projects that lead to it. Likewise, the discussion will touch on some of Rizal’s
works that deal with nation and nationalism.
The chapter also aims to reflect on nation-building in the Philippines
which is a major force behind the passage of the Rizal’s Law.

bayan/banua – indigenous Filipino concepts of community and territory that

may be related to nationalism
nation – a group of people with a shared language, culture , and history
nation-building – a project undertaken with the goal of strengthening the
bond of the nation
nation-state – a state ruling over a nation
patriotism – a feeling of attachment to one’s homeland
sovereignty – the authority to govern a polity without external
interference/incursions

Nation, State, Nation-State

To better understand nationalism, one must learn first the
concepts of nation and nationhood as well as state and nation-state.
Refer to the following summary:
 Nation Nation-State State

A group of
people that
shares a
common A state A political entity
culture, history, governing a that wields
language, and nation sovereignty over
other practices a defined
like religion, territory
affinity to a
place, etc.

Social scientist have fleshed out the nuances of nation, state, and
nation-state. A nation is a community of people that are believed to share a
link with one another based on cultural practices, language, religion or belief
system, and historical experience, to a name a few. A state, on the other hand,
is a political entity that has sovereignty over a defined territory. States have
laws, taxation, government, and bureaucracy basically, the means of regulating
life within the territory. This sovereignty needs diplomatic recognition to be
legitimate and acknowledge internationally. The state’s boundaries and
territory are not fixed and change across time with war, sale, arbitration and
negotiation, and even assimilation or secession.
The nation-state, in a way, is a fusion of the elements of the nation
(people/community) and the state (territory). The development of nation-states
started in Europe during the periods coinciding with the enlightenment. The
“classical” nation-states of Europe began with the Peace of Westphalia in the
seventeenth century. Many paths were taken towards the formation of the
nation-states. In the “classical” nation-states, many scholars posit that the
process was an evolution from being a state into a nation-state in which the
members of the bureaucracy (lawyers, politicians, diplomats, etc.) eventually
moved to unify the people within the state to build the nation-state. A second
path was taken by subsequent nation-states which were formed from nations.
In this process, intellectuals and scholars laid the foundations of a nation and
worked towards the formation of political and eventually diplomatic recognition
to create a nation-state. A third path taken by many Asian and African people
involved breaking off from a colonial relationship, especially after World War II
when a series of decolonization and nation-(re)building occurred. During this
time, groups initially controlled by imperial powers started to assert their
identity to form a nation and build their own state from the fragments of the
broken colonial ties. A fourth path was by way of (something violent) secessions
by the people already part of an existing state. Here, a group of people who
refused to or could not identify, and demanded recognition. In the
contemporary world, the existing nation-states continuously strive with
projects of nation-building especially since globalization and transnational are
progressing.

Nation and Nationalism

As mentioned, one major component of the nation-state is the nation.
This concept assumes that there is a bond that connects a group of people
together to form a community. The origin of the nation, and concomitantly
nationalism, has been a subject of debates among social scientist and scholars.
In this section, three theories about the roots of the nation will be presented.
The first theory traces the root of the nation and national identity to
existing and deep - rooted features of a group of people like race, language,
religion, and others. Often called primordialism, it argues that a national
identity has always existed and nations have "ethnic cores”. In this essentialist
stance, one may be led to conclude that divisions of "us" and "them” are
naturally formed based on the assumption that there exists an unchanging
core in everyone. The second theory states that nation, national identity, and
nationalism are products of the modern condition and are shaped by
modernity. This line of thinking suggests that nationalism and national
identity are necessary products of the social structure and culture brought
about by the emergence of capitalism, industrialization, secularization,
urbanization, and bureaucratization. This idea further posits that in pre -
modern societies, the rigid social hierarchies could accommodate diversity in
language and culture, in contrast with the present times in which rapid change
pushes statehood to guard the homogeneity in society through nationalism.
Thus, in the modernist explanation, nationalism is a political project.

The third theory - a very influential explanation about nation and nationalism
maintains that these ideas are discursive. Often referred to as the
constructivist approach to understanding nationalism, this view maintains
that nationalism is socially constructed and imagined by people who identify
with a group. Benedict Anderson argues that nations Del are "imagined
communities" (2003). He traces the history of these imagined communities to
the Enlightenment when European society began challenging the supposed
divinely ordained dynastic regimes of the monarchies. This idea was starkly
exemplified by the Industrial Revolution and the French Revolution. The nation
is seen as imagined because the people who affiliate with that community have
a mental imprint of the affinity which maintains solidarity, they do not
necessarily need to see and know all the members of the group. With this
imagined community comes a "deep, horizontal comradeship" that maintains
harmonious co-existence and even fuels the willingness of the people to fight
and die for that nation. Anderson also puts forward the important role of mass
media in the construction of the nation during that time. He underscores that
the media (1) fostered unified fields of communication which allowed the
millions of people within a territory to " know each other through printed
outputs and become aware that many others identified with the same
community; (2) standardized languages that enhanced feelings of nationalism
and community; and (3) maintained communication through a few languages
widely used in the printing press which endured through time.

Nation and Bayan

In the Philippines, many argue that the project of nation building is a

continuing struggle up to the present. Considering the country's history,
historians posit that the nineteenth century brought a tremendous change in
the lives of the Filipinos, including the actual articulations of nation and
nationhood that culminated in the first anti - colonial revolution in Asia led by
Andres Bonifacio and the Katipunan. Furthermore, scholars note the important
work of the propagandists like Rizal in the sustained efforts to build the nation
and enact change in the Spanish colony. These themes will be discussed in the
succeeding chapters. As you continue to familiarize yourselves with the
concepts of nation and nationalism, it would be worthwhile to look at how
these ideas have been articulated in the past as well as how scholars locate
these efforts in the indigenous culture. Many Filipino scholars who
endeavoured to understand indigenous/ local knowledge have identified
concepts that relate to how Filipinos understand the notions of community
and, to an extent, nation and nation - building. The works of Virgilio Enriquez,
Prospero Covar, and Zeus Salazar, among others, attempted to identify and
differentiate local categories for communities and social relations. The
indigenous intellectual movements like Sikolohiyang Pilipino and Bagong
Kasaysayan introduced the concepts of kapwa and bayan that can enrich
discussions about nationalism in the context of the Philippines. Kapwa is an
important concept in the country's social relations. Filipino interaction is
mediated by understanding one's affinity with another as described by the
phrases " ibang tao " and " ' di ibang tao. " In the formation and strengthening
of social relations, the kapwa concept supports the notion of unity and
harmony in a community. From this central concept arise other notions such
as " pakikipagkapwa, " " pakikisama, " and " pakikipag - ugnay, " as well as the
collective orientation of Filipino culture and psyche. In the field of history, a
major movement in the indigenization campaign is led by Bagong Kasaysayan,
founded by Zeus Salazar, which advances the perspective known as Pantayong
Pananaw. Scholars in this movement are among the major researchers that
nuance the notion of bayan or banua. In understanding Filipino concepts of
community, the bayan is an important indigenous concept. Bayan/ Banua,
which can be traced all the way to the Austronesian language family, is loosely
defined as the territory where the people live or the actual community they are
identify with. Thus, bayan/banua encompasses both the spatial community as
well as the imagined community. The cocept of bayan clashed with the
European nation of nacion during the Spanish colonialism. The proponents of
Pantayong Pananaw maintain the existence of a great cultural divide that
separated the elite (nacion) and the folk/masses (bayan) as a product of the
colonial experience. This issue brings the project of nation-building to a
contested terrain.

Through Philippine history, the challenge of building the Filipino nation

has persisted, impacted by colonialism, violent invasion during World War II, a
dictatorship, and the perennial struggle for development. The succeeding
chapters will look into the life and works of Jose Rizal and through them, try to
map how historical events shaped the national hero’s understanding of the
nation and nationalism.

Concept Map

Make a concept map summarizing:

 the major points in relation to nation and nationalism;

 the definitions of nation and nationalism, and their relationship to state
and nation-stare; and
 the development and explanatory models of the origins of state and
nation-state
Rubric for Rating:
Needs
Excellent Outstanding Satisfactory improvement Student
4 3 2 1 score
 Well organized  Thoughtfully  Somewhat  Choppy and
 Logical format organized organized confusing
 Contains main  Easy to  Somewhat  Contains a
concepts follow most incoherent limited
 Contains a of the time  Contains number of
appropriate  Contains only a few concepts
Organization

number of most of the of the

concepts main main
 Map is “tree- concepts concepts
like” and not  Contains an
stingy adequate
 Follows number of
standard map concepts
conventions  Follows the
standard
map
conventions
 Linking words  Linking  Linking  Difficult to
demonstrate words are words are follow
superior easy to follow clear but  No links
Content

conceptual but at times present a

understanding ideas are flawed
 Links are unclear rationale
precisely  Links are not  Links are
labeled precisely not
labeled labeled
Adopted from: National Computational Science Education Consortium. (n.d.). Rubrics for concept map.
Available from www.ncsec.org/team11/RubricConceptMap.doc

Articulations of Nation and Nationalism

Enrich your understanding by looking at how nationalism is espoused by

other historical figures. Read the Excerpts from the writings of another
important thinker in the nineteenth century, Emilio Jacinto, and answer the
question that follows;
Excerpts from Emilio Jacinto’s Kartilya ng katipunan and Liwanag at
Dilim.

Kartilya ng Katipunan:
Sa May Nasang Makisanib Sa Katipunang Ito

Sa pagkakailangan, na ang lahat na nagiibig pumasuk

sa katipunang ito, ay magkaroon ng lubos na pananalig
at kaisipan sa mga layong tinutungo at mga kaaralang
pinaiiral, minarapat na ipakilala sa kanila ang mga bagay
na ito, at ng bukas makalawa'y huag silang magsisi
at tuparing maluag sa kalooban ang kanilang mga tungkulin.

Ang kabagayang pinag - uusig ng katipunang ito ay lubos na dakila at

mahalaga; papagisahin ang loob at kaisipan ng lahat ng tagalog (*) sa
pamagitan ng isang mahigpit na panunumpa, upang sa pagkakaisang ito'y
magkalakas na iwasan ang masinsing tabing na nakabubulag sa kaisipan at
matuklasan ang tunay na landas ng Katuiran at Kaliwanagan.

(*) Sa salitang tagalog katutura’y ang lahat nang tumubo sa Sangkapuluang

ito; sa makatuid, bisaya man, iloko man, kapangpangan man, etc., ay tagalog
din.
Dito'y isa sa mga kaunaunahang utos, ang tunay na pag ibig sa bayang
tinubuan at lubos na pagdadamayan ng isa't isa.

Liwanag at Dilim
" Ang alinmang katipunan at pagkakaisa ay nangangailangan ng isang
pinakaulo, ng isang kapangyarihang makapagbibigay ng ayos,
makapagpapanatili ng tunay na pagkakaisa at makapag aakay sa hangganang
ninanais, katulad ng sasakyang itinutugpa ng bihasang piloto, na kung ito'y
mawala ay nanganganib na maligaw at abutin ng kakila - kilabot
na kamatayan sa laot ng dagat, na di na makaaasang
makaduduong sa pampang ng maligaya at payapang
kabuhayang hinahanap. Ang pinakaulong ito ay
tinatawag na pamahalaan.

“ Ang kadahilanan nga ng mga pinuno ay ang bayan, at

ang kagalingan at kaginhawahan nito ay siyang tanging
dapat tunguhin ng lahat nilang gawa at kautusan.
Tungkol nila ang umakay sa bayan sa ikagiginhawa,
kailan pa ma't maghirap at maligaw ay kasalanan nila.

“[ A ]ng alinmang kapangyarihan upang maging tunay

at matuwid ay sa Bayan lamang at sa kanyang mga
tunay na pinakakatawan dapat na manggaling. Sa
madaling salita, di dapat nating kilalanin ang pagkatao
ng mga pinuno na mataas kaysa madla. Ang pagsunod
at pagkilala sa kanila ay dahil sa kapangyarihang
ipinagkaloob ng bayan, samakatuwid, ang kabuuan
ng kapangyarihan ng bawat isa. Sa bagay na ito,
ang sumusunod sa pinunong inilagay ng bayan ay
dito sumusunod at sa paraang ito'y nakikipagisa sa
kalahatan.”

Questions
1. How does the Katipunan understand/make sense of the following?
a. State and Government
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b. Leadership
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2. How does the Katipunan understand/make sense of the Filipino nation?
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3. What are your reflections on these writings about some important ideas
of the Katipunan?
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________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
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As stated in the first chapter, the imperative of instilling nationalism in

the minds of the youth was a major factor behind the passage of the
Rizal Law. To have a basic grasp of nationalism, the concepts of nation,
state, and nation-state must be examined. This chapter explained the
basic definitions of nation (a community of people), state (a political
entity), and nation-state (a fusion of the previous two) and traced the
development of the nation-state. It tackled the various ways by which
social scientist made sense of the concepts of nations and nationalism,
their origins, and development. Discussed were the primordialist,
modernist, and social constructionist approaches as lenses in which
nationalism could be viewed. The chapter ended with a brief discussion
about nationalism in the context of the Philippines, particularly how
indigenous knowledge could be used to examine how Filipinos
understand the concepts of nation and nationalism.
As you study the life of Jose Rizal, it is important to remind
yourself of the municipality of ideas during his time and beyond that will
affect your understandings of nation and nationalism.