TLA1: The Philippines: A Look Back

Expected Output: Comparative Essay of Rizal and Morgas's View of Pre Colonial Filipino Culture

Instruction: Make a comparison of Rial and Morga's view of pre-colonial Filipino Culture. . Using this
link:https://kahimyang.com/kauswagan/articles/966/dr-jose-rizals-annotations-to-morgas-1609-philippine
-history for your suggested reading. Then, write a 200-to-300 word essay on these comparisons.

As we look back on our beloved country’s history, traditional Filipino and Spanish Catholic
traditions have been incorporated into the culture of the Philippines. The perspectives of Rizal and Morgas
on pre-colonial Filipino society and culture demonstrate their commitment to and neutrality toward the
country's established community, way of life, and society. However, differences are notable in their
perspectives.

In Morga’s perspective, he seems to be referring to the Roman Catholic faith, which he promised
to uphold in the Philippines with fire and sword, as the Christian religion. However, in other countries,
particularly in Flanders, these methods failed to retain the church's power structure, uphold its authority,
or even hold its subjects. Moreover, Dr. Morga stated that the Filipinos’ daily menu consists of:
morisqueta, which is made from cooked lice smashed in wooden pillars; cooked fish, which they have in a
basket; pig, venison, beef, mountain buffaloes (which they refer to as carabaos). To add on, another of
the stereotypes that Spaniards, like many other cultures, have is Morga's claim that the Filipinos prefer
fish better when it is starting to become rotten. When Morga lived in the Philippines, silk was exported to
Japan, where it is today produced in its highest quality. Also, according to Morga, cotton was widely
farmed on almost all of the islands, and the locals sold it to Chinese and other foreign traders as thread
and woven garments. Morga also addressed the possibility that among the civilized indigenous, there
were no Filipino provinces or towns that opposed conversion or did not want it. However, among the
mountain tribes, the opposite was actually true. On the other hand, Rizal annotated that Christianity
served as a tool for the economic and political exploitation of the native people. He further annotated that
those who have eaten and tasted bagoong, a salted and fermented fish or shrimp paste used as a
condiment in Filipino cuisine, know that the fish Morga mentions is not rotten and should not be until it
starts to decay. Moreover, Morga must have meant sinamay, according to Rizal. It was created using
abaca thread, which is derived from the banana trunks rather than the leaves.

As you can see, the Morga history demonstrates how much progressed the pre-Spanish Filipino
culture was in terms of daily responsibilities. Rizal caught all of Morga's errors. Morga misspelled
numerous native place names, animal and plant names, and other social class names, which Rizal
rectified. Therefore, to prove that the Philippines is a developed country prior to the Spanish conquest,
Rizal had the work reissued with additions illustrating the Philippines' developed civilization.