Lecture 18
April 29, 2013
Makamisa
Jose Rizals probable Third Novel which is unfinished
Letters from Rizal to Blumentritt
September 22, 1891
o I am thinking of writing a third novel,
a novel in the modern sense of the
word. But this time, politics will not
occupy mush space in it. Ethics will
play the principal role. It will deal with
the mores and customs of the Filipinos;
there will be only two Spaniards. I want
to be witty, satirical and candid, I want
to cudgel and laugh, laugh amid tears,
that is to say, to cry bitterly.
o This letter, dated 22nd of September,
1891, states that Rizal was planning
to write a novel different from
El Filibusterismo, which had been
criticized by several of his peers,
including Blumentritt and del Pilar. It
would differ in terms of its focus on
Philippine culture and ethics, as well as
the language to be used( though the
latter was not stated in this letter)
October 1891
o Rizal states that he will complete the
third novel en route to Marseilles from
Hong Kong. Alternatively, he may also
have completed it while he was already
in Hong Kong.
April 20, 1892
o I have already given up the idea of
writing the third part in Tagalog, for it
would not be appropriate to write a
work in two languages as they would
be like the sermons of the friars. So I
am writing it now in Spanish.
o The better reason to write the novel in
Spanish may be his lack of skill to write
the whole work in Tagalog.
Makamisa is indeed the 3rd novel for it satisfies
the following requirements:
1. Written en route from Marseilles to Hong Kong
circa 1891
2. Initially written in Tagalog
3. Satirical and humorous
4. Changed from Tagalog to Spanish
Characteristics
The novel is described in many bibliographies
as light, ironic, satirical novel in contrast its
direct predecessor, El Filibusterismo. It is
believed that Rizal wrote in the satirical style of
his Noli rather than in the melodramatic style
of Fili after being criticized by his
contemporaries del Pilar and Ferdinand
Blumentritt.
It is a comedy through most of its narration,
making a parody of the Spanish-influenced
customs, especially those relate with the Mass
and Church festivals. It evokes in the reader a
vivid image of the comedic activities of a
simple Filipino town that submits to the rule of
the Spanish priest.
Characters
Padre Agaton
o Is the parish priest of the town of Pili
who has complete dominance over
townsfolk, even the rich families, who
line up at the convent after Sunday
mass just to kiss his hand. They all
submit to his commands, whether they
are related to church duties or
economic requirements. He also has
great influence over the people when it
comes to electing the towns
governadorcillo whichever candidate
he supports will inevitably be the
winner of election. He had the gall to
change his enemies, in order to take
their lands, relying on his fists, the
garrote, the law, and the towns
tribunals and judges, who obeyed his
every word.
o Also appears to be attracted to Cecilia,
Kapitan Panchongs daughter, whom he
tries to ask suggestively to prepare
flowers for the towns upcoming fiesta
and procession, during one of his
nightly visits to their household. He is
one of the only two Spaniards in town,
and in the whole story, reflecting the
fact that in many Philippine towns, the
friar was the only Spaniard to be seen
for miles.
Kapitan Panchong
o Sometimes called Panchitong, is the
towns incumbent governadorcillo,
whose family comes from the
principalia class. He is described as
small and obese, and his poor physical
condition causes him health problems
in the story. He always carries around a
tassled cane, more for show of his
authority and wealth to other
townsfolk, who are already sick of his
rule as governadorcillo. He submits
completely to Father Agaton, in order
to earn his support in upcoming
elections.
Kapitana Barang
o Is Kapitan Panchongs wife whos is
extremely superstitious and practices
traditional medicine employing the
use of hilot, medicinal plants and
spices, and even holy water in
attempting to cure Kapitan Panchongs
illness. She also has many
misconceptions about children and
their normal behaviors such as crying
and playing. Despite her ignorance,
she enjoys lecturing other people on
the right traditions and customs to
follow. When Andays daughter,
Felicidad, cried while Anday was
praying, she quickly concluded that the
child must have been possessed by the
devil, and that is why the priest was
not able to bless the child after the
Sunday mass.

Anday
o Is the servant of Kapitan Panchong and
Kapitana Barang; only 18 years old and
has a young daughter, Felicidad, from
the son of a previous master. She came
under the service of Kapitan Panchong
after the death of the old lady who
supported her after she was kicked out
by her first master. She is often the
target of Kapitana Barangs lectures on
child rearing and church going.
Cecilia
o Is the daughter of Kapitan Panchong
and Kapitana Barang; well known
among the residents of Pili. She is also
well known as the apple of Father
Agatons eye. Father Agaton likes to
have her sit near the front of the
church so that he can see her during
mass. She is a romantic person, and
daydreams about her ideal man, a
concept influenced by her Manila-
dwelling aunt, Donya Orang. She is in
love with Ysagani, the young clerk of
the tribunal but she does not yet dare
disclose her feelings for him. She is
also a perceptive girl and quickly sees
through Father Agatons sweet words
to his ulterior motive, different from the
dim-witted and complacent Maria Clara
of Noli and Fili.
Ysagani
o Is the nephew of an assistant priest;
serves as the clerk of the towns
tribunal. Most of the descriptions of
him come from Cecilias view point -
having valor, youth, generosity,
heroism, disinterest, as well as being
enigmatic, silent and
incomprehensible. Apparently, she
finds this mixtures of adjectives
completely irresistible.in the first three
chapters, though he does not yet play
any significant role, it is apparent that
he was being shaped up to be one of
the leading characters later on this
novel.
There are several minor characters or town
fixtures that help bring the story along.
Examples are Fura, an old gossip, Don Fermin,
a vulgar warehouse keeper, an old Clodio, the
towns resident heretic and aged cynic, Don
Tanukang, Kapitan Panchongs rival, his son,
Silvino, Cecilio, younger brother of Cecilia.
Summary of the Plot
The short three chapters focus mainly on
describing the towns events as they happen;
describing the vivid detail and imagery the
church based activities of the townsfolk that
Rizal apparently found funny enough to write a
parody about.
The first chapter, Makamisa discusses what
people do nang makamisa sila. The people, in
one large throng, noisily exit the church,
dipping their fingers in the holy water font and
Lecture 18
April 29, 2013
make the sign of the cross. Outside, the people
gather to gossip about the priests mysterious
behavior during the mass. He seemed to
hurriedly, in fact, the he pushed the missal
towards the end, and hastily exited the altar,
not even stopping to bless the children.
Among the townsfolk is Kapitan Panchong,
pacing back and forth, worried about the
priests bad mood; wondering what orders of
the curate they might have overlooked. He
then contemplates his election chances,
considering that the priest might suddenly
support his rival, Don Tanukang, after
mornings incident.
The principalia and nobles of the town line up
at the convent, as usual, to be blessed by
Father Agatons hand. However, after being
summoned by a servant boy, they are hastily
dismissed because they were late to respond
due to Panchongs needless worrying. They
decide to convene at the tribunal, but they are
unable to discuss anything of value. After a
long and useless morning, the all decide to
retire to their dwellings.
The second chapter, Panchongs Cure,
narrates about Kapitan Panchongs sudden
strange illness, characterized by abdominal
pain. Kapitana Barang refuses to call the town
doctor, and even stops the servant from doing
so. She attempts to cure Panchong using her
superstitious traditions, such as hilot, pouring
spices all over his body, as though cooking
adobo and finally making him drink holy water,
which cause him to vomit his breakfast.
They call Father Agaton to help cure Kapitan
Panchong; who brings holy water from River
Jordan, a believed cure for any ailment.
Meanwhile, Cecilia is looking out the balcony
and spies Ysagani walking below. They greet
each other and Cecilias mind suddenly
wanders, and she thinks up all sorts of
adjectives for Ysaganis wonderful,
gentlemanly traits.
As the servants fuss about Kapitan Panchong,
Father Agaton goes over to Cecilia and asks
her, with saccharine words, to prepare
decorations for the Domingo de Ramos
procession.
With suggestive words and a mischievous look
on his face, Father Agaton speaks of Cecilias
flowers and asks how they have been
brought to bloom so beautifully. Cecilia, much
smarter than any Maria Clara, immediately
sees through his gentlemanly conversation and
refuses the job. Father Agaton then offers to
pay a large amount of money-Kapitan
Panchong, suddenly completely cured, and
Kapitana Barang eagerly encourages her to
accept the offer-and finally, she hesitantly
accepts.
Domingo de Ramos, the third chapter, finally
arrives, and the town plaza is abuzz with
activity. It is explained here why the priest was
in such a bad mood: he had a headache during
the mass, but it was cured immediately after,

thanks to a portion of River Jordan water. The
procession takes place; the Stations of the
Cross all set, and of course, the cockfighting
and the Tuktukan are present.
Tuktukan is a game where two players hold a
chicken egg in their hand, smashing it against
the other, turn by turn, until an egg is broken.
The winner collects the losers broken eggshell.
In this game, Silvino, the son of Don Tanukang,
is swaggeringly challenging all the boys in the
plaza. Cecilio, the son of Kapitan Panchong,
meekly accepts the challenge. He loses the
first round, but then suddenly bets two pesos
on their second game. He wins, but Silvino
refuses to hand over the losing egg. Silvino
answers him by asking to see Cecilios winning
egg, but Cecilio refuses. They both conclude
that the other one is cheating, and they get
into a brawl, which starts to draw the attention
of all the townsfolk in the plaza.
Their fathers quickly come to the scene, and
Tanukang hits Cecilio, prompting Panchong to
withdraw together with his son from the riot.
After the fight, Kapitan Panchong calls a doctor,
a lawyer and a telegraph to his household. The
lawyer says, regarding the rules of Tuktukan,
that as long as the competing egg has a shell,
it is considered an egg. The telegraph offers to
send a message to the governor about Silvinos
cheating. The doctor says something totally
different, about how celibacy is the reason why
Father Agaton gets irritable and everyone looks
at Cecilia.
Questions Regarding the Makamisa
The manuscript in question is written in
Spanish, with a bit in Latin, French and a
dialogue written in English. There are even
letters by Mariano Ponce.
After the first fifteen pages, the pagination
becomes distorted; with a lot of corrections and
some passages that are not relevant to the
story. It is speculated that Mariano Ponce may
have mixed them while arranging the
manuscript before possible publication but he
died before it can be done.
On 1957, the Tagalog Nobility or Tagalog
Ethics is believed to be the thirds novel of
Rizal and not the Makamisa. Written in
Malate in 1635, it deals with the traditional
ways of the Pilipinos but Ambeth Ocampo
contradicts this. He gives as reasons the facts
that it does not fit into what Rizal describes as
humorous (according to a September 22,
1981 letter); no curate and lieutenant of the
Civil Guard as characters. Ocampo arrives at
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April 29, 2013
this perspective when he sees the borador
(del Noli Me Tangere that was written beside it
which was done by a librarian at the National
Library.)
The librarian mistook the manuscript as
Borador Incompleto del Noli Me Tangere. This
was defended by Dr. Angel Hidalgo in 1961 but
Leoncio Lopez Rizal disputed it since not a
single character from Noli is mentioned.
There are copies of the manuscript of the
Makamisa at the National Library but it is not
easy to ask for permission just to even see it.
While looking for the drafts to the Noli Me
Tangere, at the National Library, Ambeth
Ocampo saw the file labeled as borrador. But
the manuscript is totally different since it does
not contain characters from the Noli. Among
the manuscript are several incomplete prose
works, including the drafts for Dos Trabajos
Literarios, Ang Dalawang Magkapatid, Un
Ramboso Gobernadorcillo, Costumbres
Filipinas, Los Animales de Suan, Una Vista del
Senora Filipinas , Dapitan, Tagalog Nobility,
Memorias de un Gallo and Makamisa, the
shorter Tagalog manuscript.
Proof of Existence (of Makamisa)
There are several proofs to the fact that
Makamisa was written by Rizal, and that it is
indeed by the third novel, sequel to the Noli
and Fili.
Biographical Evidence
1. Wenceslao Emilio Retana y Gamboas
Bibliografia Rizalina quotes Mariano
Ponce in saying that Makamisa is the
title of a single chapter in Rizals
unfinished novel;
2. Rafael Palmas Biografia de Rizal saying
Makamisa is the tile of the
beginning of a novel in Tagalog, written
in light, ironic style.
3. The Jose Rizal National Centennial
Commissions Bibliografia de los
escritos de Rizal describing
Makamisa as incomplete novel,
written in Tagalog, in an ironic style. It
continues to describe only two
chapters, and possible times and
places of writing, including the
following:
Dapitan, 1894 according to
Vicente Elio
Hong Kong within Rizals
January 31, 1892 letter to
Blumentritt.