 Noli Me Tangere Characters (Main Characters)  Captain General

 Juan Crisostomo Ibarra y Magsalin (Ibarra)  Tarcilo Alasigan

 Maria Clara  Bruno Alasigan
 Elias  Lucas
 Captain Tiago (Don Santiago de los Santos)  Captain Pablo
 Father Damaso Verdolagas  Nol Juan
 Father Salvi  Don Pedro Eibarrimendia
 Don Rafael Ibarra  Don Saturnino
 Pilosopo Tasyo  Iday
 Doña Victorina de los Reyes de Espadaña  Sinang
 Don Tiburcio de Espadaña  Andeng
 Sisa  Victoria
 Basilio  Neneng
 Crispin  Don Primitivo
 Doña Consolacion  Tinchang
 The Ensign (The Alferez)  Captain Basilio, Captain Tinong, and Captain Valentin
 Father Sibyla  Captain Maria
 Noli Me Tangere Characters (Minor Characters)  Albino
 Aunt Isabel  Andong
 Linares  Balat
 Doña Pia Alba  Carlicos
 Lt. Guevara  Leon
 The Schoolmaster  Hermana Rufa
 Don Filipo  The Chief Sexton
 The Mayor  The Gravedigger
 The Yellow Man
See also: Noli Me Tangere Summary of the Entire Novel
Noli Me Tangere Characters (Main Characters)
Here’s a list of the most important characters in Noli Me Tangere.
They are the characters who had significant contributions to the
narrative of the novel.
Juan Crisostomo Ibarra y Magsalin (Ibarra)
Crisostomo Ibarra in Noli Me Tangere is generally considered to be
one of the most memorable characters in the narrative.
This young man is shown as one of the Filipinos who are wealthy and
successful in completing his education outside of the country.
In contrast to the people of his country, he is sophisticated, highly
esteemed, possesses idealistic beliefs, has a liberal mind, and is quite
outspoken.
Ibarra intends to construct a school in San Diego to fulfill his father’s
aspirations and ideals, but he becomes caught in church issues and is
forced to flee the city by the deceitful Father Salvi.
In contrast to his more radical friend Elias, Ibarra generally wants to
work within systems to reform the Philippines, rather than overthrow
them, but he shifts towards Elias’s beliefs as the novel progresses.
Crisostomo Ibarra was a shining example of the ideal that Jose Rizal
wanted to see realized in the lives of young people in the Philippines
during his lifetime.
Maria Clara
Maria Clara in Noli Me Tangere is a well-respected woman who is
believed to be the daughter of Captain Tiago and the goddaughter
of Father Damaso. In reality, she is Father Damaso’s biological
daughter. She was born as a result of a scandalous affair that took
place between the elderly priest and the captain’s wife.
This beautiful young lady is the girlfriend of Crisostomo Ibarra.
Leonor Rivera, who was Jose Rizal’s childhood sweetheart, served as
an inspiration for her character. Maria Clara is portrayed as a
trustworthy young woman, one who is both a loyal friend and a
respectful daughter.
During that era in the Philippines, Maria Clara exemplified the
qualities that should have been present in an ideal lady. Rizal wanted
to make the point that the society of that time period valued
obedience, therefore he chose to focus on her exemplary display of
that quality.
Even though she was loved and cared for by everyone her whole life,
Maria Clara never lost her childlike innocence. She also shows her
love for Ibarra in the most unassuming way possible, preventing her
thoughts from becoming tainted with anything unworthy. She
exemplifies the virtue and innocence of a Filipina who has lived a
sheltered life.
Elias
Elias in Noli Me Tangere is Ibarra’s mysterious friend and master
boater. At one point in time, he was given the title of “the pilot”. He
rose up the ranks to become one of the most sought criminals in San
Diego. He intends to start a new revolution in his nation.
Ibarra’s grandfather found Elias’ grandfather guilty of setting fire to a
warehouse, which led to Elias’ status as a wanted fugitive. He does
not trust other people’s opinions and places his faith in the will of
God above all else. Elias, in contrast to Ibarra, favors the idea of
starting a war or a revolution over implementing reforms.
Elias is one of the characters in Noli Me Tangere who represents the
average Filipino. He knows that his countrymen have been treated
unfairly and wants to free them from their oppressors.
This is one of the reasons why Elias is such an important character in
the novel. It has been suggested that he is comparable to the well-
known Andres Bonifacio.
Captain Tiago (Don Santiago de los Santos)
Capitan Tiago in Noli Me Tangere is an uncommon individual in that
he is a wealthy Filipino who is native-born and lives in Binondo.
He maintains tight relationships with high-ranking members of the
Catholic Church, despite the fact that he has absolutely no respect
for religion, and he blatantly participates in others’ racial remarks
directed toward his own people.
His number one priority is to marry off his daughter, Maria Clara, to a
wealthy guy who comes from a well-respected family.
When Ibarra is accused of being rebellious, he is ready to put off his
loyalty to the young man. Because of his preference for socially
favorable pairings, he is ready to agree that Linares could be a
suitable new marriage for his daughter.
Father Damaso Verdolagas
Father Damaso in Noli Me Tangere is an elderly Franciscan priest
who has lived among the Filipinos for nearly two decades. He wants
power and is obviously corrupt, and he is known for having no
shame.
In spite of the fact that he has spent all that time among them, the
years have not done anything to endear him to them or build any
sort of affection in him for his “flock”.
He is totally racist, as well as petty and hateful, and he has no
reservations about using his immense authority to ruin the lives of
those who have disrespected him, regardless of how insignificant the
insult may have been. He is a tyrant.
Father Damaso was responsible for the murder of Don Rafael Ibarra.
He openly mocked Don Rafael’s son, the younger Ibarra. Crisostomo
Ibarra fights him when he publicly insults Ibarra’s father, and as a
result, the priest excommunicates Ibarra from the church.
In addition to serving as Maria Clara’s godfather, he is also Maria’s
biological father, therefore he is in a position to exercise some
measure of influence over the relationship that Maria maintains with
Ibarra.
Father Salvi
Father Salvi in Noli Me Tangere is a younger, more cunning Spanish
priest who assumes control over Father Damaso’s post as friar curate
of San Diego.
He is in many ways more dangerous than his predecessor since he is
a more brilliant strategist who exploits his religious function for
political influence as well as personal vendettas.
He frequently fights with the town’s ensign for power. His most
significant role in the novel comes through his plot to ruin Ibarra
who is engaged to Maria Clara.
Father Salvi has a secret admiration for Maria Clara.
Don Rafael Ibarra
Don Rafael Ibarra is Crisostomo Ibarra’s father. The book makes
reference to him after he has already passed away.
Father Damaso was jealous of Don Rafael Ibarra because he was so
rich. In addition to this, the Don criticizes the bad things that the
Spanish friars did.
As a result of his actions, the harsh Father Damaso becomes enraged
with him and charges him with both heresy and sedition. He dies in
prison before his name can be cleared.
Even though his body is already buried in the Catholic cemetery in
San Diego, Father Damaso tells a gravedigger to dig it up so it can be
moved to the Chinese cemetery because he thinks he was a heretic.
Pilosopo Tasyo
Pilosopo Tasyo, whose full name is only known as Don Anastasio, is a
famed Noli Me Tangere character.
Even though he is an old man with a background in philosophy, most
of the people in his town think he is crazy.
Ibarra is respectful of him, and the old man provides him with sound
advice. He also assisted Ibarra’s father in the past.
Tasyo is a member of a wealthy family. He has a tendency to be
pessimistic and has poor trust in the selflessness of other people. In
addition, he is not a follower of the religious extremism that was
commonplace during his time.
He communicates his beliefs to the government in a very obtuse way
in the hope that they will adopt some of his ideas.
Tasyo used a secret alphabet that looked like hieroglyphs and Coptic
symbols. He did this so that “future generations may be able to
decipher it.”
He did this because he was aware of the brutality and oppression
that the invaders had committed.
Pilosopo Tasyo is a symbol of the educated Filipinos who once loved
the culture of the Spanish colonial authority.
They gradually lost their sense of wonder after returning to the
Philippines and witnessing the striking contrast in terms of the
treatment experienced by the Filipinos by their colonists. This led to
their disillusionment.
Paciano Rizal, who was Jose Rizal’s older brother, was the model for
Tasio, one of the characters in the book that Jose Rizal can relate to.
Doña Victorina de los Reyes de Espadaña
Doña Victorina is an ambitious Noli Me Tangere character.
She thinks she is of Spanish heritage and pretends to be a Spanish
woman by putting on a lot of makeup and making her face look like
that of a Spanish woman.
Doña Victorina’s younger days are recounted in the story.
She had a lot of suitors, but none of them were from Spain, so she
didn’t marry any of them.
In later years, she met with and wed Don Tiburcio de Espadaña, a
customs employee. On the other hand, they do not have any children
together.
She is very keen to marry off her nephew, Linares, to Maria Clara, and
the most likely reason for this is so that she can further increase her
social rank.
Doña Victorina symbolizes those who have a distorted view of their
identity. This way of thinking is often called “colonial mentality.”
Don Tiburcio de Espadaña
Don Tiburcio is the Spanish husband of Doña Victorina who is limp
and submissive to his wife.
At the get-together thrown by Capitan Tiago to welcome Crisostomo
Ibarra, he was introduced as one of the guests that had been invited
by Tiago.
This individual, who calls himself Doctor Tiburcio de Espadaña, is a
con artist and a fraud.
It turned out that he was a customs officer, but he was removed from
his position not long after he arrived in the Philippines.
After receiving encouragement from his wife, he now travels about
the countryside posing as a doctor and demanding exorbitant prices
for his so-called services, despite the fact that he does not have any
prior training in the medical field.
When his patients found out about his scams, he was compelled to
move to a new location where he is virtually unknown there.
He eventually makes his way to San Diego, where he starts up his
bogus medical practice once again.
The entirety of his character is a caricature of the ignorance of
Filipinos during the time of the Spanish colonial rule in the
Philippines when the Spaniards caused chaos in the regions.
Sisa
Sisa in Noli Me Tangere is another Noli Me Tangere character in a
real-life setting. Her character is portrayed as the typical Filipina wife.
She is a mistreated wife who puts up with her husband’s beatings
and the fact that he is irresponsible, yet she continues to regard him
as a “god” despite all of this.
She’s the mother of Crispin and Basilio, whom she regarded as her
only treasure. She would eagerly anticipate their return from the
church so that she could prepare the meals that were their favorites.
She is seen wandering the streets, her hair untidy and her clothing in
tatters as she cries out for her sons. When she actually does meet
Basilio, she cannot recognize him.
It is commonly believed that Sisa represented the motherland at the
time when it was going through a difficult time, just as her character
did when she lost her children.
The terrible occurrences that devastated her life were symbolic of the
mistreatment that her country endured at the hands of her
colonizers.
Basilio
Basilio in Noli Me Tangere is one of Sisa’s sons and Crispin’s older
brother. He and his younger brother work as a sexton. Basilio makes
a hasty escape for their home the night Crispin is pulled away. The
next day he tries to locate his younger brother, but his efforts to do
so are useless.
The following day, members of the Civil Guard arrive at his home in
search of both him and his brother. When he realizes that his life is in
danger, he flees to the nearby forest and goes into hiding there.
There, he is taken in by a friendly family and stays with them until
Christmas Eve.
When he finally finds Sisa, he finds out that she has lost her mind
and is unable to recognize him as her son because of her mental
state.
He then follows her into the forest, where she has a momentary
regaining of consciousness before succumbing to the shock and
passing away.
In the last chapter of the book, Elias tells Basilio that he wants him to
burn him to death in exchange for a treasure box that can be found
where he was buried.
Basilio will later play a major role in El Filibusterismo.
Crispin
Crispin in Noli Me Tangere is the younger brother of Basilio. They
were introduced in Chapter 15 as one of the Noli Me Tangere
characters. Just like his brother, Crispin is also a sexton.
The senior sexton had accused him of stealing two pieces of gold
from their collection.
Even though he had pleaded with his older brother to pay for the
specified amount, his older brother refused to do so on the grounds
that their mother would be left without food.
He had not been eating and he had not been able to visit his mother
in quite some time because he had not been able to return home.
After he had rung the bells, his last known whereabouts were him
being dragged away from his brother. It is said that he ran away
when his mother came to visit him.
Crispin is a symbol of people who have been falsely accused of
committing a crime when in reality they are innocent.
The injustice that they endured at the hands of the authorities during
their time has been hushed up as a result of their deaths and the
cover-ups that have followed them.
Doña Consolacion
Doña Consolacion is the quarrelsome wife of The Ensign. She is an
elderly Filipina woman who is ashamed of her origin and pretends
that she is unable to speak Tagalog, which is her own mother tongue.
At one point in her life, she worked as a laundress in the town of The
Ensign. She became very rich as a result of her marriage to a
Spaniard. The elderly woman looks silly in her outfit and her husband
is embarrassed to be seen with her in public.
Doña Consolacion thought of herself as more beautiful than Maria
Clara. She is proud of herself and expects others to respect her,
despite the fact that she has been called extremely unattractive, has a
filthy mouth, and has a nasty attitude.
She is most famously recognized for the cruel treatment she handed
out to Sisa.
The Ensign (The Alferez)
He is the Chief of the Guardia Civil in the town of San Diego, but no
one knows his name. He has a drinking problem and is married to
Doña Consolacion, with whom he has regular arguments.
The Ensign is a man of Spanish heritage who is a mortal enemy of
the priests for the power in San Diego to control the city.
Because he enforces curfews, it will be very hard for residents of San
Diego to attend mass at the appropriate time.
Father Sibyla
Hernando de la Sibyla, also known as Father Sibyla, is a Catholic
priest who is the curate of the Binondo district in the city of Manila.
He acts as a counterpoint to the otherwise mostly corrupt Father
Damaso and the perverse Father Salvi due to the fact that he is
rational and peaceful.
At Ibarra’s return celebration, the skilled and clever orator Father
Sibyla enjoys provoking the pompous Father Damaso, and it is clear
that he derives great pleasure from doing so.
He is a representation of the liberal friar, but he prefers to remain in
the background so as not to draw the ire of the other priests who are
in control.
Even though he is aware of the injustices that have been committed
against the Filipino people, he will not take any action to correct the
situation because the only thing that concerns him is elevating his
congregation to a position of authority.
Additionally, he is described as being small and having fair skin, and
he is said to be secretly monitoring Ibarra’s activities.
Noli Me Tangere Characters (Minor Characters)
These are the other characters that appear in Noli Me Tangere. They
might not be as important as the main characters, but they still play a
significant role in the overall development of the story.
Aunt Isabel
She is a cousin of Captain Tiago. After Maria Clara’s mother passed
away from an untimely death, she took care of Maria Clara as if she
were her own child.
Linares
Linares is a distant nephew of Don Tiburcio de Espadaña. He is a
young respectable Spaniard. Along the same lines as his uncle, he
has falsified his credentials with the aim of advancing his social
standing. Linares is the would-be fiance of Maria Clara.
Doña Pia Alba
Doña Pia Alba is the religious mother of Maria Clara and the wife of
Captain Tiago. She passed away shortly after giving birth to Maria
Clara.
Maria Clara’s mother is a symbol of the women who, after suffering
abuse at the hands of members of the priesthood, kept their
experiences to themselves out of shame.
Lt. Guevara
He is a morally upright man of Spanish origin who has a great deal of
respect for both Crisostomo Ibarra and Don Rafael, who passed away
some time ago. In addition to that, Guevara holds the position of
lieutenant in the Civil Guard.
Lt. Guevara is one of the few people who support the Ibarra family
and is loud about his distaste for Father Damaso’s control.
Crisostomo Ibarra receives an explanation from Lt. Guevara on the
events that transpired with his father and the role that Father
Damaso had in those events.
The Schoolmaster
He is a teacher that Don Rafael helped out by finding him a place to
live and providing him with the resources he needed to do his work
properly.
Ibarra is informed by the Schoolmaster of the poor conditions
surrounding education in San Diego, which pose a significant barrier
to learning for the town’s pupils.
Because the current classroom is located in the parish home, the
teaching is subject to close scrutiny by the minister in charge.
Ibarra hears from the schoolmaster about the difficulties he faced
when attempting to teach during the time that Father Damaso
served as the town’s friar.
During this time, Damaso prevented him from teaching students in
Spanish, despite the fact that the government had issued written a
decree mandating that all students must learn the language.
Ibarra initially discusses his intention to establish a new institution of
higher learning that is separate from the friars in the course of their
conversation with this individual.
Even while the schoolmaster is appreciative of Ibarra’s assistance, he
is pessimistic about the likelihood that Ibarra will be more successful
in building a powerful secular academy than either he or anybody
else has been in the past.
Don Filipo
Don Filipo Lino, also referred to simply as Don Filipo, currently holds
the position of vice mayor in the city.
He is a leader of a younger generation of San Diego’s movers and
shakers who are less constrained by religious doctrine than previous
generations.
He despises the idea of lavishly spending large sums of money on
the several feast days that mark the liturgical calendar because he
sees it as both a waste of money and a hardship for the people who
live there.
His remarks, on the other hand, are rendered meaningless due to the
fact that he is only the deputy mayor, and the mayor, himself, is a
fervent believer in the Catholic church and serves as the political
puppet of the church.
As a result, no one pays attention to what the deputy mayor has to
say.
This renders Don Filipo virtually incapable of actually bringing about
change, which means that the power structures of the town continue
to be strongly attached to the church.
The Mayor
The mayor of San Diego, who remains nameless, is a staunch
traditionalist who shows an amount of respect to the religious
authorities in charge in the town.
Due to the mayor’s self-delusion that he is a religious man, he allows
himself to be manipulated by the church. Anyone who is accused of
heresy is consequently held in contempt not only by the church but
also by the government.
Don Filipo, the deputy mayor, feels resentment toward the mayor for
blindly following the orders given by the friars.
The Yellow Man
He is a hired assassin who has been given the mission to kill
Crisostomo Ibarra. His plot to murder the young man is thwarted by
the cunning Elias.
The yellow man helps with the construction of the school by creating
a large stone that he intends to drop at Ibarra on the day of San
Diego’s fiesta. When the time comes, the large stone that was
supposed to kill Ibarra ends up killing him instead.
He was named the yellow man because he has a skin tone that is
always yellow and jaundiced.
Captain General
He is the unnamed representative of Spain and holds the position of
Captain General in the Philippine government, making him the
highest official in the country. He has a strong disdain for corrupt
public officials and secular priests, and he is Crisostomo Ibarra’s
friend.
The members of the Civil Guard, the townspeople, and the friars all
hold a profound respect for him and defer to his judgment. All three
groups compete vigorously for his favor.
Ibarra is fortunate in that the Captain General is not a fervent
supporter of the church and its bloated power. The Captain General
believes that the friars have been given too much power in Filipino
society.
Despite this, he is aware of the power that the church possesses and
makes no attempt to undermine it; however, he does exert some
influence in order to have Ibarra’s ex-communication lifted following
the young man’s argument with Father Damaso at the dinner party.
In spite of the fact that he is on board with the plan to construct a
school, he is powerless to lend a hand when Father Salvi frames
Ibarra as a heretic and subversive.
Tarcilo Alasigan
An individual whose father was put to death by members of the Civil
Guard.
Tarsilo and his brother Bruno, are persuaded by Lucas to launch an
assault on the military barracks by telling them that Ibarra is the one
organizing the rebellion.
After the attack, the ensign seizes Tarsilo and subjects him to
torturous interrogation. However, Tarsilo refuses to provide any
information and instead claims that he has never been in contact
with Ibarra. He died when the ensign drowned him in a well.
Bruno Alasigan
Tarsilo Alasigan’s brother, Bruno Alasigan, was among those killed on
the night of the barracks attack. Just before he passes away, Bruno
reiterates what Lucas has conveyed to him, that Ibarra is the leader of
the rebellion.
Lucas
Lucas is the Yellow Man’s brother. Wanting revenge on Crisostomo
Ibarra, he conspires with Father Salvi to make the young man look
like the mastermind behind the attack on the military barracks.
Captain Pablo
He is the leader of the “persecuted” men’s rebel group that is out for Sinang is Maria Clara’s joyful friend. She is the daughter of Captain
vengeance against the Civil Guard. The Spaniards were responsible Basilio.
for the death of his family.

Andeng
Elias has a meeting with Captain Pablo, during which he asks Pablo
to delay his plan to attack civilization, and he also tries to persuade She is Maria Clara’s godsister, and in addition to that, she is a good
Pablo that it would be in their best interest to have Ibarra represent cook.
them so that they can achieve their objectives in a nonviolent
manner.
Victoria

Nol Juan Maria Clara’s quiet friend who also happens to be Albino’s girlfriend.

He supervises the building of Crisostomo Ibarra’s school and was in

charge of its construction. Neneng

One of Maria Clara’s friends. She is modest and deep in thought.

Don Pedro Eibarrimendia

Crisostomo Ibarra’s grandfather. He was the cause of the great Don Primitivo
misfortune of Elias’ ancestors.
An old man who knows how to reason and likes to speak Latin. He is
Tinchang’s cousin and Captain Tinong’s advisor.
Don Saturnino

Ancestor of Crisostomo Ibarra. Tinchang

A woman who is easily frightened and is Captain Tinong’s wife.

Iday

Maria Clara’s beautiful and talented friend who plays the harp. Captain Basilio, Captain Tinong, and Captain Valentin

Some of the captains in the town of San Diego.

Sinang

Captain Maria
The only female patriot who sided with Ibarra in his defense of his He’s an individual who is responsible for taking care of the church.
father’s memory.

The sexton basically obeys Father Salvi’s orders by carrying out his
Albino dirty work, such as beating Crispin or hanging Lucas after the assault
on the barracks.
He’s a former seminarian who went on a picnic at the lake. He is
Victoria’s boyfriend.
The Gravedigger

Andong A worker at the cemetery who, on the instructions of Father Damaso,

exhumes Don Rafael’s body. Crisostomo Ibarra takes this man in for
Accused of being a filibuster. questioning because he is desperate for information about his father.

Balat

The uncle of Elias who went on to become a bandit.

Carlicos

He is Father Damaso’s brother-in-law who lived in Spain.

Leon

Iday’s girlfriend who noticed a crocodile in the lake.

Hermana Rufa

She sided with Father Damaso and her allegiance was with him.

The Chief Sexton