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Jose Rizal's Early Childhood
Jose Rizal's Early Childhood
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
treaten him that the aswang, the nuno, the tigbalang, 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
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 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:
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