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Chapter 1 Lesson 2: Concept of Hero

Rizal is widely considered a Filipino hero today, though the concept of a hero has evolved over time. In early Philippine societies, a hero or bayani was simply a brave warrior who protected the community. Later, Spanish colonizers promoted saints as heroes, while Americans propagated soldiers who died fighting Philippines independence as heroes. Now, criteria like sacrificing for one's country and influencing future generations are used to recognize national heroes. Rizal meets these criteria through his writings and martyrdom, which established him as a symbol of Philippine nationalism despite being selected initially to support American colonial aims. He remains one of the most honored heroes in the Philippines.

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GARAS, JOYLYN JANE M.
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3K views20 pages

Chapter 1 Lesson 2: Concept of Hero

Rizal is widely considered a Filipino hero today, though the concept of a hero has evolved over time. In early Philippine societies, a hero or bayani was simply a brave warrior who protected the community. Later, Spanish colonizers promoted saints as heroes, while Americans propagated soldiers who died fighting Philippines independence as heroes. Now, criteria like sacrificing for one's country and influencing future generations are used to recognize national heroes. Rizal meets these criteria through his writings and martyrdom, which established him as a symbol of Philippine nationalism despite being selected initially to support American colonial aims. He remains one of the most honored heroes in the Philippines.

Uploaded by

GARAS, JOYLYN JANE M.
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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CHAPTER 1 LESSON 2

CONCEPT OF HERO
LESSON OUTCOMES
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
• Trace the Filipino concept of hero/bayani through times;
• Analyze the criteria set by the nation in recognizing
heroes; and
• Assess the heroism of Rizal using the definitions and
criteria of heroes
INTRODUCTION
• People tend to misconstrue the title “hero” as an award given to dead people.
Doing great things is likewise misinterpreted as something only heroes, like
Rizal, can achieve. Worse, as the popular Filipino adage “Mahirap
magpakabayani. Ang bayani ay binabril sa Luneta” implies, people become
individualistic, devoid of care for others. Such views, unfortunately, hinder
their sights on the various possibilities they can do for the country. This
lesson traces the concept of hero in the Filipino culture and history to assess
whether its traditional sense is confined only to the likes of Rizal, on one
hand, or may be applied, like the “millennials,” on the other hand.
Concept of Hero in Filipino Culture and History
• Hero is normally defined as illustruous man, often of divine descent, or
with distinguished valor or enterprise in danger, and fortitude in suffering,
who is supposed to be exalted after death. Being an extraordinary person
and individualistic is apparent.
• The Filipino concept of a hero, on the other hand , is a
much broader concept, albeit stripped of grandeur. Known
as Bayani, Bagani, Magani, or Wani in various Filipino ethno-
linguistic groups, a hero in early Philippine Societies was
just a normal warrior of the community. His simple tasks
were based on daily needs of the village .
• Pangangayaw or raidinig into unallied territory is an
example of this.
• According to William Henry Scott, pangangayaw was done
because of four reasons, namely: 1)to secure resources,
ranging from the occasional use goods or bounty to human
slaves; 2)to avenge a personal affront or family honor; 3)to
fulfil mourning requirements to which the life of enemies
must be sacrificed; and lastly 4)for personal prominence or
a mercenary reward.
• The characteristics of early Filipino heroes are worth
emulating. The Boxer Codex (1590), an ancient document
about the early Philippine societies, defines a Bayani as a
person with a high status and dignity.
• Pedro Serrano Laktaw, in his dictionary elaborates the
personality of a Bayani: a person who fears no one (walang
takot), courageous (matapang), firm(matibay),
bold(mapangahas), but quiet(tahimik) and calm(mahinahon).
• The concept of a Filipino Hero in early Philippine societies,
therefore,is not a posthumous award given to dead
people, but rather an honorific role and title in the society.
• Nevertheless, changes occurred when the Spaniards
conquered the Philippines. Instead of living role models,
the Spaniards had introduced the image of saints and
disciples whom the Filipinos had to imitate in order to
become good colonials.
• The Americans on the other hand, propagated a secular view
on heroes. Hero worshipping of American soldiers who died
during the Philippine-American War (then dubbed as
Philippine Insurrection) like Gen. Henry W. Lawton, Col. John
M. Stotsenburg and Col. Harry Egbert, was promoted
through monuments and annual commemoration rituals to
justify the need for American tutelage in the Philippines.
• A modern-day concept of the indigenous Bayani still exists today.
The Overseas Filipino Workers(OFW) are considered Bagong
Bayani (new heroes). Their work abroad is said to be a
continuation of the culture of pangangayaw. The word namayani,
meaning to prevail or triumph, has become well-known. The
concept of the Filipino Bayani is indeed embedded in the
blueprint of Filipino well-being.
Criteria for Recognizing Heroes
• A hero is a social construct. Since that is the nature of the
process, recognizing heroes is always subjective. To bridge
the gap, the National Historical Commission of the
Philippines (NHCP) released some of the criteria for
recognizing heroes, through their Project Saysay.
The criteria are listed below:
• 1. The extent of a person’s sacrifice for the welfare of the country
(Teodoro A. Agoncillo 1965);
• The motive and methods employed in the attainment of the ideal
(welfare of the country) (Teodoro A. Agoncillo 1965);
• The moral character of the person concerned (Teodoro A. Agoncillo
1965)
• The influence of the person concerned on his/her age and or the
succeeding age (Teodoro Agoncillo 1965);
• Those who have a concept of nation and thereafter aspire and
struggle for the nation’s freedom (Onofre D. Corpuz 1993);
• Those who define and contribute to a system of life of freedom and order for a
nation(Onofre D. Corpuz 1993);
• Those who contribute to the quality of life and destiny of a nation (Onofre D.
Corpuz 1993)
• A part of the people’s expression (Alfredo Lagmay 1995);
• Person who thinks of the future, especially the future generations (Alfredo
Lagmay 1995); and
• The choice of a hero involves not only the recounting of an episode or events
in history, but of the entire process that made this particular person a hero
(Alfredo Lagmay 1995).
RIZAL AS A FILIPINO HERO
• Jose Rizal as a Filipino Hero is state sponsored through the Republic Act
1425 (Rizal Law)
• Two years after Rizal’s death, the first commemoration was held on
December 30, 1898 when the President of the First Philippine Republic,
Emilio Aguinaldo, declared in Malolos Bulacan, a day of national mourning.
• The Americans, realizing the possibilities of a Rizal cult in their colonial
agenda, seized the opportunity and made Rizal the “national”hero of the
Philippines.
• Among the choices they had, three criteria were used in the
selection:

1) a hero who is not violent and militant and if


possible, preferred peaceful means like education
2)a hero who had no qualms on American
Imperialism
3) a hero who is already dead.
• In 1901, William H. Taft, President of the Second Philippine Commission,
had appointed Rizal to embody the brand of nationalism propagated by the
American Colonial government.
• However, there was no actual law during the American Regime that
explicitly declared Rizal the official hero of the country.
• Three steps were made by the American colonial government to promote
his heroism, namely: 1)the creation of Rizal Province; 2)the erection
of Rizal monument; and 3)the declaration of Rizal Day on
December 30 as a public holiday
• Since then, Rizal’s image as a hero of the Philippines
has become a viable enterprise for stamp, chart,
post-card makers, and other printed materials. This
was heightened when in 1956, the Rizal Law was
conceived, since books, textbooks, and modules
were necessary for educational purposes.
• In 1995, amidst the preparation of the nation for the upcoming centennial
celebration of the Philippine revolution and Philippine Independence Day, the
National Heroes Committee created by President Fidel V. Ramos released a list of
recommended national Heroes.These were as follows:
1. Jose Rizal
2.Andres Bonifacio
3. Emilio Aguinaldo
4.Apolinario Mabini
5. Marcelo H. Del Pilar
6. Sultan Dipatuan Kudarat
7. Juan Luna
8. Melchora Aquino
9. Gabriela Silang
• The aforementioned list is not yet approved. The website of
the National Commission of the Culture and Arts states that
“this might trigger a flood of requests for proclamations” and
might “trigger bitter debates involving historical
controversies about the heroes.
• Various laws honoring/commemorating Filipino historical
figure were instead passed into law.
• Today, there are four major national celebrations with Rizal as an
important subject: June 12(Independence Day), June 19(Birth
Anniversary),last week of August (National Heroes Week), and
December 30(Rizal Day).

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