Chapter 13: Presagios de tempestad (Signs of Storm)

SALIENT POINTS

Crisostomo Ibarra and a servant arrive at the San Diego cemetery to look for the grave of his father, Don
Rafael Ibarra.  After failing to locate the grave, his servant asks the gravedigger for help.  The
gravedigger replies that he had dug up the body of the don and planned to bury it in the Chinese
cemetery, as instructed by Padre Damaso.  Since it was raining, however, he says, he threw the body
into the river.  Ibarra leaves the cemetery in anger, sees Padre Salvi and aggressively confronts him,
mistaking Salvi for the curate that had ordered his father’s exhumation. Salvi reveals it was not he, but
his predecessor, Padre Damaso.

REAL TIME HAPPENINGS DURING RIZAL’S TIME

In this moment, the gravedigger evokes his orders from the head priest, as if they justify his actions. This
is significant because it demonstrates the efficacy of the friars: in order for the friars to maintain their
authority, the people of San Diego must also believe in it, and clearly they do. The gravedigger doesn’t
feel guilty about exhuming Don Rafael’s body because he believes he had to follow the priest’s orders.

Considering how much the towns people—like, for instance, the gravedigger—are afraid of disobeying
the friars, Ibarra’s aggressive actions toward Father Salví are rather unprecedented. Indeed, by forcing
Salví to bend to the ground, Ibarra asserts his dominance over arguably the most powerful person in
town. As the novel progresses and Ibarra and Salví interact in other contexts, it’s important to
remember that their relationship began in this hostile moment when Ibarra subverts the town’s
previously established power dynamics.

ITO ANG BUOD NG IKA-LABING TATLO NA KABANATA

Dumating si Crisostomo Ibarra at isang utusan sa sementeryo ng San Diego upang hanapin ang puntod
ng kanyang ama na si Don Rafael Ibarra. Matapos mabigong mahanap ang libingan, humingi ng tulong
ang kanyang lingkod sa sepulturero. Sumagot ang sepulturero na hinukay niya ang bangkay ng don at
binalak itong ilibing sa sementeryo ng mga Intsik, ayon sa utos ni Padre Damaso. Dahil umuulan,
gayunpaman, aniya, itinapon niya ang bangkay sa ilog. Nagalit nang marinig ang ulat, umalis si
Crisostomo. Sa tarangkahan ng sementeryo, nakasalubong niya si Padre Salvi at inatake ang Kura, na
napagkakamalan niyang si Padre Damaso.

Chapter 14: Tasio: El loco ó el filósofo (Tasio: Lunatic or Sage?)

SALIENT POINTS

We are introduced to Tasio, an old man who had been a philosophy student whose mother convinced
him to abandon his education because she feared he would forget God. Soon after leaving school to be
married, both Tasio’s wife and mother died, and he soon returned to his books and neglected the rest of
his life.

After leaving the cemetery, Don Anastacio or Tasio the Sage by the cultured, or Tasio the Lunatic by the
ignorant, wanders about the street aimlessly.  He first encounters the gobernadorcillo whom he
reproaches for purchasing a church bell which could attract lightning and therefore be dangerous in a
storm. In church, he sees two sacristans he is acquainted with. He lets them know that their mother
prepared dinner. But the boys aren’t allowed to leave until eight. Don Filipo invites Tasio to his house,
and a discussion on the existence of purgatory follows.  Tasio thinks that the place called purgatory does
not exist since neither the bible nor Jesus Christ mentions it.

REAL TIME HAPPENINGS DURING RIZAL’S TIME

Tasio represents pure freedom of thought in a world that refuses to accommodate ideas that go against
prevailing power structures (like the Catholic church or the Spanish government).

The fact that two young boys trying to make a meager living must put themselves in danger by mounting
the bell tower in a lightning storm further reinforces the idea that the church doesn’t have the
townspeople’s best interests in mind. Tasio, on the other hand, shows concern for the boys’ safety. In
this way, Rizal invites readers to side with this secular old man, showing him capable of empathy in a
way the friars are not. As such, Rizal endorses rational thinking over the power-hungry religious zeal
promoted by the Catholic church.

All Souls’ Day commemorates deceased people living in purgatory. As these souls wait, they must repent
for the sins they didn’t repent for on earth. The friars of San Diego take advantage of this by selling
plenary indulgences to churchgoers. The priests claim that buying indulgences shortens the length of
time a soul languishes in purgatory. This is what Tasio refers to when he says that “Christian piety
permits robbery” on All Souls’ Day, because he doesn’t believe such economic transactions have any
effect on how long a soul must stay in purgatory. In addition, readers also see in this moment yet
another instance in which the government yields to the church, as Tasio points out that the government
sanctions the church’s greediness in the name of this holiday.

ITO ANG BUOD NG IKA-LABING APAT NA KABANATA

Pagkalabas ng sementeryo, si Tasio na pantas ay gumagala sa kalye nang walang patutunguhan. Nakita
niya ang dalawang batang lalaki na may edad sampu at pito, at sinabi sa kanila na ang kanilang ina ay
naghanda ng pagkain para sa kanila na dadalhin sa kanilang pag-uwi. Inaanyayahan ni Don Filipo si Tasio
sa kanyang bahay, at sumunod ang isang talakayan tungkol sa pagkakaroon ng purgatoryo. Iniisip ni
Tasio na wala ang lugar na tinatawag na purgatoryo dahil hindi ito binanggit ng bibliya o ni Jesu-Kristo.

Chapter 15: Los sacristanes (The Sacristans)

SALIENT POINTS

Crispin and Basilio are sacristans of the church at San Diego. They only get two pesos’ salary for a month
for working in the church. As the rain rages outside, seven-year-old Crispin and his brother, ten-year-old
Basilio ring the church bells. Both boys talked about the parish priest's lost coins. The two are worried
since the Sacristan Mayor and the Curate has accused Crispin of stealing two gold coins, since their
father is a drunkard and gambler and he was to remain in the church until the money is returned.  All
they want is to go home to take their supper. Crispin also complains about being starved and the
frequent beating and whipping that he receives.  He begs his brother to pay, but Basilio explains to him
that it is impossible to pay for it with his meager wages. While Crispin fantasizes about what two gold
coins could have bought, Sacristan mayor proceeds to drag Crispin out of the bell tower, despite Basilio’s
pleading. The Sacristan Mayor beats Crispin to make him confess his crime. Basilio hears his brother’s
anguished cries in the distance. Basilio uses the bell ropes to scale down the bell tower. Shortly after,
two shots are heard in the night.

REAL TIME HAPPENINGS DURING RIZAL’S TIME

Rizal was inspired by the two brothers, Basilio and Crispin, in the story of the Crisostomo brothers of
Hagonoy in real life. Townsfolk in San Rafael, Bulacan believed that this story was an actual and real
happening. They also believed that Bayan ng San Diego was in fact San Rafael.

On the other hand, Spaniards considered themselves as the highest in the social hierarchy and the
Spanish penal code was stricter to Filipinos. When Crispín says that the accusations heaped upon him by
the church make him wish he actually did steal, he hits upon the idea that sometimes unreasonable
rules and regulations actually lead to the very misbehavior they aim to prevent. Spaniards because of
their social standing, they were able to get away with crimes while Filipinos had their penalties.

Human rights were denied to Filipinos; The Filipinos were denied of basic human rights such as freedom
of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of association, and the like. The symbolic “Cry of Pugadlawin”
was a way to refute the oppression of the Spaniards because cedula was the manifestation of their
tyranny in the country. Since Noli Me Tangere is a political novel concerned with examining the impact
of oppressive power structures on Filipino citizens, this is an important notion to bear in mind.

ITO ANG BUOD NG IKA-LABING LIMA NA KABANATA

Sina Crispin at Basilio ay mga sakristan ng simbahan sa San Diego. Nag-aalala ang dalawa dahil
inakusahan ng Sakristan Mayor at ng Curate si Crispin na nagnakaw ng dalawang piraso ng ginto at
mananatili siya sa simbahan hanggang sa maibalik ang pera. Inirereklamo din ni Crispin ang madalas na
pambubugbog at latigo na natatanggap niya. Matapos ang pagtunog ng mga kampana ng simbahan,
binugbog ng Sakristan Mayor si Crispin para ipagtapat ang kanyang krimen.