i belong to the people of maharlika
why do we seem to have a dna-programming to leave the country? mr. de quiro of the philippine inquirer explains that we have no sense of country, and that we have no national pride. he’s right.
every time i say "i'm a filipino," i'm repeating a shameful identity--consciously or unconsciously. i'm saying that my personal story is part of a bigger story of a people who have been defeated and have been offered as a gift to a king of spain named felipe. thus, i have not much pride about my story as filip-ino who comes from a country called filip-inas.
the late dictator marcos tried to change our name to maharlika. despite the etymological imperfection of the term, i'd rather be called a maharlikan than a filipino. maharlika refers further back to my proud malay story and identity before the spanish colonial power raped and abused my ethnic pride and identity. true, being a filipino is part of my story. but i am a maharlikan first before i am a filipino.
is this just a matter of linguistics? i don't think so. the national pride of my sisters and brothers in mindanao is based on their collective sense of history. they refused to be called filipinos; they are the bangsa moro people. they look beyond our colonial identity. no wonder they have sustained their resistance to be part of their christianized, culturally-defeated brothers and sisters in the north. perhaps, we should listen to what our muslim brothers and sisters have been trying to tell us for more than 100 years.
i'm one of those who left our country and became a citizen of another affluent, giant country. yes, i ran away from my filipino story because it's embarrassing. i'm back now here in manila after many years of being a diaspora. deep within me, i see my story beyond our colonial name.
i belong to the people of maharlika. i have an identity beyond my colonial shame. i believe and i am proud of my people's story past beyond the 1500s. i believe that we can endure the present struggles--economic, social, political, environmental, etc.--because somehow, the people of diaspora will get tired of wandering around, and will get a new appreciation of their history.
now, i believe in our future as a people. i have transcended my colonial identity. like the wandering jews who saw their history beyond their shame under the romans in 70 ce, the maharlikan diaspora will learn to say, "next year in manila..." even if it takes us 2000 years to see its fulfillment.
this is my new sense of country. this is my new basis of optimism in this land.
every time i say "i'm a filipino," i'm repeating a shameful identity--consciously or unconsciously. i'm saying that my personal story is part of a bigger story of a people who have been defeated and have been offered as a gift to a king of spain named felipe. thus, i have not much pride about my story as filip-ino who comes from a country called filip-inas.
the late dictator marcos tried to change our name to maharlika. despite the etymological imperfection of the term, i'd rather be called a maharlikan than a filipino. maharlika refers further back to my proud malay story and identity before the spanish colonial power raped and abused my ethnic pride and identity. true, being a filipino is part of my story. but i am a maharlikan first before i am a filipino.
is this just a matter of linguistics? i don't think so. the national pride of my sisters and brothers in mindanao is based on their collective sense of history. they refused to be called filipinos; they are the bangsa moro people. they look beyond our colonial identity. no wonder they have sustained their resistance to be part of their christianized, culturally-defeated brothers and sisters in the north. perhaps, we should listen to what our muslim brothers and sisters have been trying to tell us for more than 100 years.
i'm one of those who left our country and became a citizen of another affluent, giant country. yes, i ran away from my filipino story because it's embarrassing. i'm back now here in manila after many years of being a diaspora. deep within me, i see my story beyond our colonial name.
i belong to the people of maharlika. i have an identity beyond my colonial shame. i believe and i am proud of my people's story past beyond the 1500s. i believe that we can endure the present struggles--economic, social, political, environmental, etc.--because somehow, the people of diaspora will get tired of wandering around, and will get a new appreciation of their history.
now, i believe in our future as a people. i have transcended my colonial identity. like the wandering jews who saw their history beyond their shame under the romans in 70 ce, the maharlikan diaspora will learn to say, "next year in manila..." even if it takes us 2000 years to see its fulfillment.
this is my new sense of country. this is my new basis of optimism in this land.
posted by Luis Daniel Alba Pantoja @ 10:06 PM
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