The Social Cancer: A Complete English Version of Noli Me Tangere
rain and storm? Who was the timid maiden, the bride of Christ, who
defied the unchained elements and chose such a fearful night under the
open sky to breathe forth from so perilous a height her complaints
to God? Had the Lord abandoned his altar in the nunnery so that He
no longer heard her supplications? Did its arches perhaps prevent the
longings of the soul from rising up to the throne of the Most Merciful?
The tempest raged furiously nearly the whole night, nor did a single
star shine through the darkness. The despairing plaints continued to
mingle with the soughing of the wind, but they found Nature and man
alike deaf; God had hidden himself and heard not.
On the following day, after the dark clouds had cleared away and the
sun shone again brightly in the limpid sky, there stopped at the door
of the nunnery of St. Clara a carriage, from which alighted a man
who made himself known as a representative of the authorities. He
asked to be allowed to speak immediately with the abbess and to see
all the nuns.
It is said that one of these, who appeared in a gown all wet and torn,
with tears and tales of horror begged the man's protection against
the outrages of hypocrisy. It is also said that she was very beautiful
and had the most lovely and expressive eyes that were ever seen.
The representative of the authorities did not accede to her request,
but, after talking with the abbess, left her there in spite of her
tears and pleadings. The youthful nun saw the door close behind him
as a condemned person might look upon the portals of Heaven closing
against him, if ever Heaven should come to be as cruel and unfeeling
as men are. The abbess said that she was a madwoman. The man may
not have known that there is in Manila a home for the demented;
or perhaps he looked upon the nunnery itself as an insane asylum,
although it is claimed that he was quite ignorant, especially in a
matter of deciding whether a person is of sound mind.
It is also reported that General J---- thought otherwise, when the
matter reached his ears. He wished to protect the madwoman and asked
for her. But this time no beautiful and unprotected maiden appeared,
nor would the abbess permit a visit to the cloister, forbidding it
in the name of Religion and the Holy Statutes. Nothing more was said
of the affair, nor of the ill-starred Maria Clara.
GLOSSARY
_abá_: A Tagalog exclamation of wonder, surprise, etc., often used
to introduce or emphasize a contradictory statement.
_abaka_: "Manila hemp," the fiber of a plant of the banana family.
_achara_: Pickles made from the tender shoots of bamboo, green
papayas, etc.
_alcalde_: Governor of a province or district with both executive
and judicial authority.
_alferez_: Junior officer of the Civil Guard, ranking next below
a lieutenant.
_alibambang_: A leguminous plant whose acid leaves are used in cooking.
_alpay_: A variety of nephelium, similar but inferior to the Chinese
lichi.
_among_: Term used by the natives in addressing a priest, especially
a friar: from the Spanish _amo_, master.
_amores-secos_: "Barren loves," a low-growing weed whose small,
angular pods adhere to clothing.
_andas_: A platform with handles, on which an image is borne in
a procession.
_asuang_: A malignant devil reputed to feed upon human flesh, being
especially fond of new-born babes.
_até_: The sweet-sop.
_Audiencia_: The administrative council and supreme court of the
Spanish régime.
_Ayuntamiento_: A city corporation or council, and by extension
the building in which it has its offices; specifically, in Manila,
the capitol.
_azotea_: The flat roof of a house or any similar platform;
a roof-garden.
_babaye_: Woman (the general Malay term).
_baguio_: The local name for the typhoon or hurricane.
_bailúhan_: Native dance and feast: from the Spanish _baile_.
_balete_: The Philippine banyan, a tree sacred in Malay folk-lore.
_banka_: A dugout canoe with bamboo supports or outriggers.
_Bilibid_: The general penitentiary at Manila.
_buyo_: The masticatory prepared by wrapping a piece of areca-nut
with a little shell-lime in a betel-leaf: the _pan_ of British India.
_cabeza de barangay_: Headman and tax collector for a group of about
fifty families, for whose "tribute" he was personally responsible.
_calle_: Street.
_camisa_: 1. A loose, collarless shirt of transparent material worn
by men outside the trousers.
2. A thin, transparent waist with flowing sleeves, worn by women.
_camote_: A variety of sweet potato.
_capitan_: "Captain," a title used in addressing or referring to the
gobernadorcillo or a former occupant of that office.
_carambas_: A Spanish exclamation denoting surprise or displeasure.
_carbineer_: Internal-revenue guard.
_cedula_: Certificate of registration and receipt for poll-tax.
_chico_: The sapodilla plum.
_Civil Guard_: Internal quasi-military police force of Spanish officers
and native soldiers.
_cochero_: Carriage driver: coachman.
_Consul_: A wealthy merchant; originally, a member of the _Consulado_,
the tribunal, or corporation, controlling the galleon trade.
_cuadrillero_: Municipal guard.
_cuarto_: A copper coin, one hundred and sixty of which were equal
in value to a silver peso.
_cuidao_: "Take care!" "Look out!" A common exclamation, from the
Spanish _cuidado_.
_dálag_: The Philippine _Ophiocephalus_, the curious walking mudfish
that abounds in the paddy-fields during the rainy season.
_dalaga_: Maiden, woman of marriageable age.
_dinding_: House-wall or partition of plaited bamboo wattle.
_director, directorcillo_: The town secretary and clerk of the
gobernadorcillo.
_distinguido_: A person of rank serving as a private soldier but
exempted from menial duties and in promotions preferred to others of
equal merit.
_escribano_: Clerk of court and official notary.
_filibuster_: A native of the Philippines who was accused of advocating
their separation from Spain.
_gobernadorcillo_: "Petty governor," the principal municipal official.
_gogo_: A climbing, woody vine whose macerated stems are used as soap;
"soap-vine."
_guingón_: Dungaree, a coarse blue cotton cloth.
_hermano mayor_: The manager of a fiesta.
_husi_: A fine cloth made of silk interwoven with cotton, abaka,
or pineapple-leaf fibers.
_ilang-ilang_: The Malay "flower of flowers," from which the well-known
essence is obtained.
_Indian_: The Spanish designation for the Christianized Malay of the
Philippines was _indio_ (Indian), a term used rather contemptuously,
the name _Filipino_ being generally applied in a restricted sense to
the children of Spaniards born in the Islands.
_kaingin_: A woodland clearing made by burning off the trees and
underbrush, for planting upland rice or camotes.
_kalan_: The small, portable, open, clay fireplace commonly used
in cooking.
_kalao_: The Philippine hornbill. As in all Malay countries, this bird
is the object of curious superstitions. Its raucous cry, which may
be faintly characterized as hideous, is said to mark the hours and,
in the night-time, to presage death or other disaster.
_kalikut_: A short section of bamboo in which the _buyo_ is mixed;
a primitive betel-box.
_kamagon_: A tree of the ebony family, from which fine cabinet-wood
is obtained. Its fruit is the _mabolo_, or date-plum.
_kasamá_: Tenants on the land of another, to whom they render payment
in produce or by certain specified services.
_kogon_: A tall, rank grass used for thatch.
_kris_: A Moro dagger or short sword with a serpentine blade.
_kundíman_: A native song.
_kupang_: A large tree of the Mimosa family.
_kuriput_: Miser, "skinflint."
_lanson_: The langsa, a delicious cream-colored fruit about the size
of a plum. In the Philippines, its special habitat is the country
around the Lake of Bay.
_liam-pó_: A Chinese game of chance (?).
_lomboy_: The jambolana, a small, blue fruit with a large stone.
_Malacañang_: The palace of the Captain-General in Manila: from the
vernacular name of the place where it stands, "fishermen's resort."
_mankukúlan_: An evil spirit causing sickness and other misfortunes,
and a person possessed of such a demon.
_morisqueta_: Rice boiled without salt until dry, the staple food of
the Filipinos.
_Moro_: Mohammedan Malay of southern Mindanao and Sulu.
_mutya_: Some object with talismanic properties, "rabbit's foot."
_nakú_: A Tagalog exclamation of surprise, wonder, etc.
_nipa_: Swamp-palm, with the imbricated leaves of which the roots
and sides of the common Filipino houses are constructed.
_nito_: A climbing fern whose glossy, wiry leaves are used for making
fine hats, cigar-cases, etc.
_novena_: A devotion consisting of prayers recited on nine consecutive
days, asking for some special favor; also, a booklet of these prayers.
_oy_: An exclamation to attract attention, used toward inferiors
and in familiar intercourse: probably a contraction of the Spanish
imperative, _oye_, "listen!"
_pakó_: An edible fern.
_palasán_: A thick, stout variety of rattan, used for walking-sticks.
_pandakaki_: A low tree or shrub with small, star-like flowers.
_pañuelo_: A starched neckerchief folded stiffly over the shoulders,
fastened in front and falling in a point behind: the most distinctive
portion of the customary dress of the Filipino women.
_papaya_: The tropical papaw, fruit of the "melon-tree."
_paracmason_: Freemason, the _bête noire_ of the Philippine friar.
_peseta_: A silver coin, in value one-fifth of a peso or thirty-two
cuartos.
_peso_: A silver coin, either the Spanish peso or the Mexican dollar,
about the size of an American dollar and of approximately half
its value.
_piña_: Fine cloth made from pineapple-leaf fibers.
_proper names_: The author has given a simple and sympathetic touch
to his story throughout by using the familiar names commonly employed
among the Filipinos in their home-life. Some of these are nicknames
or pet names, such as Andong, Andoy, Choy, Neneng ("Baby"), Puté,
Tinchang, and Yeyeng. Others are abbreviations or corruptions of
the Christian names, often with the particle ng or ay added, which
is a common practice: Andeng, Andrea; Doray, Teodora; Iday, Brigida
(Bridget); Sinang, Lucinda (Lucy); Sipa, Josefa; Sisa, Narcisa; Teo,
Teodoro (Theodore); Tiago, Santiago (James); Tasio, Anastasio; Tiká,
Escolastica; Tinay, Quintina; Tinong, Saturnino.
_Provincial_: Head of a religious order in the Philippines.
_querida_: Paramour, mistress: from the Spanish, "beloved."
_real_: One-eighth of a peso, twenty cuartos.
_sala_: The principal room in the more pretentious Philippine houses.
_salabat_: An infusion of ginger.
_salakot_: Wide hat of palm or bamboo and rattan, distinctively
Filipino.
_sampaguita_: The Arabian jasmine: a small, white, very fragrant
flower, extensively cultivated, and worn in chaplets and rosaries by
the women and girls--the typical Philippine flower.
_santol_: The Philippine sandal-tree.
_sawali_: Plaited bamboo wattle.
_sinamay_: A transparent cloth woven from abaka fibers.
_sinigang_: Water with vegetables or some acid fruit, in which fish
are boiled; "fish soup."
_Susmariosep_: A common exclamation: contraction of the Spanish,
_Jesús, María, y José_, the Holy Family.
_tabí_: The cry of carriage drivers to warn pedestrians.
_talibon_: A short sword, the "war bolo."
_tapa_: Jerked meat.
_tápis_: A piece of dark cloth or lace, often richly worked or
embroidered, worn at the waist somewhat in the fashion of an apron:
a distinctive portion of the native women's attire, especially among
the Tagalogs.
_tarambulo_: A low weed whose leaves and fruit pedicles are covered
with short, sharp spines.