Rizal’s Childhood (Jose Rizal’s Childhood Days Summary)
Rizal’s childhood is fun to learn, especially that Jose Rizal, especially during the so-called “Rizal childhood,” was none less than a phenom. This article also provides the Rizal’s childhood days summary.
This free lecture also tackles about other related keywords: Rizal childhood, Rizal early childhood, childhood of Rizal, Jose Rizal childhood, and Rizal childhood and early education. (Read: Rizal Early Education (and Jose Rizal Educational Background))
Rizal’s childhood
The first memory of Jose Rizal, in his infancy, was his happy days in their family garden when he was three years old.
Their courtyard contained tropical fruit trees, poultry yard, a carriage house, and a stable for the ponies.
Since Jose Rizal (nicknamed Pepe) in his childhood was a weak, sickly, and undersized, he was given the fondest care by his parents. In fact, his father, Don Francisco Mercado Rizal built a Nipa cottage for Pepe to play in the daytime.
Read: Jose Rizal: The First Filipino Phenom
Rizal childhood memories
Memory of ‘Rizal childhood’ included the nocturnal walk in the town, especially when there was a moon. Jose Rizal also recalled the ‘aya’ (nurse maid) telling stories to the Rizal children some fabulous stories, like those about the fairies, tales of buried treasure, and trees blooming with diamonds.
Another childhood memory was the daily Angelus prayer in their home. Rizal recorded in his memoir that by nightfall, his mother would gather all the children in their home to pray the Angelus. At the early age of three, he started to take a part in the family prayers.
Grief during ‘Rizal early childhood’
When Rizal’s sister Concha died of sickness in 1865, Jose mournfully wept at losing her.
He later wrote in his memoir, “When I was four years old, I lost my little sister Concha, and then for the first time I shed tears caused by love and grief” (“Memoirs of a Student in Manila,” n.d.).
Related: The Colorful Love Affairs of Dr. Jose Rizal by Jensen DG. Mañebog
Rizal childhood and early education
At the age of five, the young Pepe learned to read the Spanish family Bible, which he would refer to later in his writings.
Rizal himself remarked that perhaps the education he received since his early childhood was what has shaped his habits (“Memoirs of a Student,” n.d., para. 3).
An important part of Rizal childhood and early education is his unforgettable experience when his mother was once teaching him values. For the interesting details, read: The Story of the Moth, Jose Rizal, and his Mother
Rizal’s childhood days summary
During Rizal’s childhood, he would love to go to the chapel, pray, participate in novenas, and join religious processions.
In his hometown Calamba, one of the men he esteemed and respect was the scholarly Catholic priest Leoncio Lopez, the town priest. He used to visit him and listen to his inspiring opinions on current events and thorough life views.
Jose Rizal, at age five started to make pencil sketches and mold in clay and wax objects which attracted his fancy. When he was about six years old, his sisters once laughed at him for spending much time making clay and wax images.
Initially keeping silent, he then prophetically told them “All right laugh at me now! Someday when I die, people will make monuments and images of me.”
Read: The Interesting Tales of the Jose Rizal Family
Rizal childhood experiences
When Jose was seven years old, his father provided him the exciting experience of riding a ‘casco’ (a flat-bottomed boat with a roof) on their way to a pilgrimage in Antipolo. The pilgrimage was to fulfill the vow made by Jose’s mother to take him to the Shrine of the Virgin of Antipolo should she and her child survive the ordeal of delivery which nearly caused her life.
From Antipolo, Jose and his father proceeded to Manila to visit his sister Saturnina who was at the time studying in the La Concordia College in Sta. Ana.
Rizal childhood pets
From his father, the child Rizal received a pony named ‘Alipato’ as a gift (Bantug & Ventura, 1997, p. 23). During his childhood, he loved to ride this pony or take long walks in the meadows and lakeshore with his black dog named ‘Usman.’
Jose Rizal’s Mother, Doña Teodora Alonzo also induced Jose to love the arts, literature, and the classics. Before he was eight years old, he had written a drama (some sources say ‘a Tagalog comedy’) which was performed at a local festival and for which the municipal captain rewarded him with two pesos. (Some references specify that it was staged in a Calamba festival and that it was a gobernadorcillo from Paete who purchased the manuscript for two pesos.)
Misinformation about childhood of Rizal
However, contrary to the ‘former’ common knowledge, Rizal did not write the Filipino poem ‘Sa Aking Mga Kababata/Kabata’ (To My Fellow Children). The poem was previously believed to be Rizal’s first written poem at the age of eight and was said to have been published posthumously many years after Rizal’s death.
In his book, Prof. Jensen DG. Mañebog explains how the poem could not be Rizal’s authorship. He states that Jose had a preserved correspondence (letters) with his brother Paciano admitting that he (Jose) had only encountered the word “kalayaan” when he was already 21 years old.
But lo and behold, the term (‘kalayaan’) was used not just once in the poem ‘Sa Aking Mga Kababata/Kabata.’ (For more details concerning this matter, read the article, “Did Jose Rizal Write the Poem ‘Sa Aking Mga Kabata’?” in OurHappySchool.com).
Checkout: Jose Rizal’s Collaborations with Other Heroes
Rizal’s childhood influences
During Rizal’s childhood, Jose was also interested in magic. He read many books on magic. He learned different tricks such as making a coin disappear and making a handkerchief vanish in thin air.
Other influences of Rizal’s childhood involved his three uncles: his Tio Jose Alberto who inspired him to cultivate his artistic ability; his Tio Manuel who encouraged him to fortify his frail body through physical exercises; and his Tio Gregorio who intensified Rizal’s avidness to read good books.
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For other free lectures like this (especially for students), visit Homepage: The Life and Works of Jose Rizal
Related: The Colorful Love Affairs of Dr. Jose Rizal
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