Rizal as an Anthropologist

1. The ANTHROPOLOGIST

3. Anthropology
• Anthropology is the "science of humanity.“
• Anthropology is a ‘four-field’ discipline,
encompassing archaeology, social and
cultural anthropology, biological
anthropology, and even linguistics.
An anthropologist is a person with an
extensive knowledge of anthropology who
uses this knowledge in their work, typically to
solve anthropological problems.

4. Rizal’s Dapitan correspondence displays his
seemingly boundless curiosity and the wish to
write on all topics, even anthropology.

5. • He attended some lectures
in the University of Leipzig
and befriended Professor
Friedrich Ratzel, a famous
German historian, and Dr.
Hans Meyer, German
anthropologist.

6. • Dr. Feodor Jagor,
author of Travels in the
Philippines, a book that
Rizal admired because
of its keen observances
in the Philippine
setting, introduced
Rizal to Dr. Rudolf
Virchow, famous
German anthropologist,
and also to the latter’s
son, Dr. Hans
Virchow, professor of
Descriptive Anatomy.
Dr. Rudolf Virchow

7. • At
Dresden,Rizal met
Dr. Adolph Meyer,
the director of the
Zoological,
Anthropological
and
Ethnolographic
Museum in
Dresden. He stayed
only two days in
the city.

8. Rizal in Germany
• He was offered membership in these
organizations on condition that he present
an original research work on any subject.
In perfect German, he wrote a treatise on
Tagalog verse, the Taglische Verkunst
(Tagalog Metrical Art). This received great
praise from all the members, particulary,
the President.

9. Rizal in Germany
• Rizal became a member of the Berliner
Gesellschaft für Anthropologie,
Ethnologie und Urgeschichte or Berlin
Society for Anthropology,
Ethnology and Prehistory founded
1869 by Dr. R. Virchow upon the
recommendation of Dr. Jagor and Dr.
Meyer in 1887.

12. Rizal was the first Asian
to be recognized by
Europe’s scientists.
Only Asian member of
Berlin Anthropological
Society.
Oscar Almgren
Richard Andree
Ferdinand Leopold von Andrian-Werburg
Bernhard Anchorman
Paul Friedrich August Ascherson
Karl Ernst von Baer
Adolf Bastian
Robert Behla
Heinrich Ernst Beyrich
Franz Boas
Official List of Members
Berlin Anthropological Society
Gustav Nachtigal ,
Richard Neuhauss ,
Gotthard Neumann ,
Georg von Neumayer ,
Hans Never man ,
Carsten Niemitz ,
Peter II ,
Georg Pfeffer,
Rudolph Amandus Philippi ,
Konrad Theodor Preuss ,
Nathanael Pringsheim ,
Gustav Radde ,

13. Rizal as an Anthropologist
• Once he wrote Meyer:
“Ianxiously await my liberty so that I can
live for a few weeks among the Subanons,
the mountaineers, and the Moros of this
island [Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte]. I
am convinced that there is still much to be
studied [here. You can] count on a good
remittance of heads for anthropology.”

14. San Francisco,
California
30 April 1888
Dear Friend:
We are anchored in this port under
quarantine. We don't know how long it will
last although there are no sick passengers
aboard and the ship did not come from a
filthy port. The reason for this is that we
have 643 Chinese passengers and, as
elections are approaching, the government
wants to be in the good graces of the
people. We protest, but it is useless for,
as the Spaniards say, it is like exercising
the right to kick.
The voyage from Yokohama has been fine; I
did not get seasick. On board are many
Englishmen, some Japanese and three
Filipinos.
I see that many folklorists and future
anthropologists are appearing in Ilocos.
Here is Mr. Deloserre(1) with whom you
have had some dealings. There is
something that attracts my attention: In
view of the fact that the majority of
Filipino folklorists are Ilocanos and they
use the epithet Ilocano, anthropologists
will classify authentic Filipino customs and
usages as Ilocano; but that is our fault. I
have Isabelo's works and from Europe I
will bring to your attention his
There is something that attracts my
attention: In view of the fact that the
majority of Filipino folklorists are Ilocanos
and they use the epithet Ilocano,
anthropologists will classify authentic
Filipino customs and usages as Ilocano; but
that is our fault. I have Isabelo's works and
from Europe I will bring to your attention
his observations. He has committed some
errors because he does not speak Tagalog
well.
Letter to Blumentritt, San Francisco, California, 30 April 1888

15. Rizal as an Anthropologist
• Rizal was a profound student of
anthropology and ethnology. He was
driven to master these studies by the boorish
behavior of the colonial Spaniards, who
treated Filipinos as though they were by
nature inferior.
• The new discipline of anthropology was of
special interest to him; he was committed to
refuting the friars' stereotypes of Filipino
racial inferiority with scientific arguments.

16. Rizal as an Anthropologist
• While studying Psychology in Leipzig
University in Germany, He rented a cheap
room there and studied Anthropology
and Entomology.

17. Virchow’s farewell message to Rizal
• At the annual general meeting of the
Berlin Society for
Anthropology, Ethnology and Pre-history
in 1897, no less a personage than Professor
Rudolf Virchow, world-famous founder of
cellular pathology, spoke in memory of the
"highly esteemed ordinary member, Dr.
José Rizal from Luzon, Philippines", taken
by death from the Society for
Anthropology. Virchow in his obituary:

18. • "Don José Rizal was one of our members 10 years ago. He spoke at the
meeting on 23 April 1887 on the art of Tagalog poetry. Although already a
doctor of medicine, he was completely filled with patriotic ideas. The
unhappy fate of his homeland under the rule of the Spaniards and the
oppression of an all-powerful clergy made up the content of his literary
products, mostly dressed in the garb of belles lettres. When, after a
lengthy voluntary exile, he returned home, he accordingly became the
object of incessant persecution. The growing discord in the Philippines
and the ultimate outbreak of the revolution, not yet quelled even now,
were largely ascribed to him. He was finally arrested and interned in
Mindanao; when he was brought back from there to Manila,
simultaneously with the replacement of the Governor, regarded as too
lenient, by General Camilio de Polavieja, the direst rumours immediately
began to spread as to the fate awaiting him. This concern was converted
all too soon into reality: on 30th December, without judicial sentence
and apparently without proof of guilt, as public opinion has it, he was
shot.
• On the night before his death Rizal wrote his "last farewell" in prison. I
received a copy of this beautiful poem. Both the original text and the
excellent metrical translation by Mr. E. Seler will be appended to this
meeting report. The high poetic quality of this writing, and in particular
its patriotic and humane vivacity will contribute to the preservation of
the memory of this highly gifted, noble martyr.
• Mr. Ferdinand Blumentritt published in the International Archives for
Ethnography 1897, X, an account based on authentic information of the
development, goals and essential nature of Rizal. From this may be
added here in conclusion that he was born at Calamba, a small town in
the province of La Laguna de Bay on the island of Luzon. His parents
were Tagalogs. Although originally destined for the priesthood, he soon
turned to medicine, which he studied in Manila and Madrid, where he
was awarded his doctorate of medicine and philosophy. His further
studies led him to Paris, Heidelberg, Leipzig and Berlin. From here he
returned home and wrote his novel Noli me tangere, later to become
famous, but whose emphasis on freedom attracted the hatred of the old-
style Spaniards, obliging him to emigrate. He then lived successively in
Japan, North America, England, France and Belgium, where he wrote his
second political novel El Filibusterismo. For a time he then practiced as
a doctor in Hong Kong, where he married an Englishwoman; later he
went to British Borneo, where he intended to found a Filipino farming
colony. From there he gained permission to visit his homeland again, but
he was arrested there and interned in Dapitan. When the revolt broke
out in the Philippines he was accused of initiating it. He was tried three
times and the third time he was condemned to death.
• In the penetrating psychological analysis of the man by Mr. Blumentritt
there is mention of Rizal's sensitivity as an artist, Mr. Blumentritt being
the possessor of three terracotta statues: Prometheus bound, the victory
of death over life and the triumph of the intellect over death.
• We are losing in Rizal not only a faithful friend of Germany and German
scholarship but also the only man with sufficient knowledge and
resolution to open a way for modern thought into that far-off island
world."
"Don José Rizal was one of our
members 10 years ago. He spoke at the
meeting on 23 April 1887 on the art of
Tagalog poetry. …
…We are losing in Rizal not only a
faithful friend of Germany and German
scholarship but also the only man with
sufficient knowledge and resolution to
open a way for modern thought into
that far-off island world."

19. He embraced the good parts of his own
culture and saw what, in his mind, was
that which was less than good. In fact he
gave much of his life to what we might
today call anthropology or ethnic studies.

20. • “What moral right has white man
to look down on the men who have
similar thoughts, studies and abilities
as they just because their skin is
brown or their nose is flat?.”

21. The ZOOLOGIST

22. Zoology
• Zoology or animal biology, is the branch of
biology that relates to the animal kingdom,
including the structure, embryology,
evolution, classification, habits, and
distribution of all animals, both living and
extinct
• Zoologist
• a specialist in zoology.

23. Interest in Zoology at
an early age
• As a small boy, Rizal loved
animals including birds,
fish, insects, and other
specimens of animal life.
Fowls, rabbits, dogs, horses,
and cats constituted his
favorites.
• In his childhood, he would
return to the orchard after
study, where the study of
insects and birds held his
interest.

24. His records at Ateneo 1872-1877

25. Interest in Zoology in other Places
• He traveled to Frankfurt where he visited
magnificent buildings like the Städel
Institute, the Opera House, Zoological
Garden, and various coffee shops where he
enjoyed reading the newspaper.
Modern-Day
Zoologischer Garten
In Frankfurt, Germany

26. Museums he went to
• Colombo’s Museum
Along with 4 spaniards, he saw stuffed
sharks, saw fishes sword fishes, giant
turtles, skeletons, of two elephants, and
two live Peacocks.
• British Musem in London
• Vienna Museum in Austria with Professor
Nordmann

27. • One would see how inquisitive Jose Rizal was, his love
for biology and taxonomy ever growing. Take note that
he used English to communicate to the people he met
in Singapore:
• Dated May 10, 1882: “I met there a Malay who could
not understand me. I went out looking for mammals,
for I believed there were some and I found only a kind
of cage-storehouse where I saw in different
compartments two superb peacocks, an eagle, two
marabous, turkeys, and Guinea hens, blue birds
similar to the hoopoe in plumage, wild pigeons,
cockatoos, and other birds whose names I didn’t know.
I met another Malay and as he could not understand
me, I drew a cow and showed it to him and he replied:
Tadar. Tired of looking for it, I approached an
Englishman who was playing with his dog. I greeted
him and asked him for the zoological garden. He
replied that there was none. I went away then, looked
for a coach, and went back."

28. • This is a sketch Rizal made to depict the stingray as he
remembered it when he was visiting the Botanical Garden at
Singapore in 1882.

29. Rizal, the Zoologist in Dapitan
• He corresponded with his scientist friends,
exchanging ideas on the fauna of Dapitan.
One of these friends was Dr. Adolph B.
Meyer,
• For his part Meyer did not fail to
acknowledge that Rizal’s help was
indispensable to his work, asking him “not to
stop gathering specimens [for] one always
finds something valuable”. whom he met in
Dresden in 1886.

30. Specimens in exchange of books
• He was a regular contributor of specimens
of reptiles, mammals, birds, fish, insects,
crustaceans and other invertebrates to The
director of the Royal Zoological and
Anthropological Museum in
Dresden, Saxony, Doctor Karl von
Heller, and Dr. Adolf B. Meyer, who was a
great friend and admirer of Doctor Rizal.

31. Specimens in exchange of books
Rizal was paid for these specimens by scientific books and material.
109-110
Aeschylus
113-116
Sophocles
164-165
Ossians gedichte
50
Furgenjew (Iwan) Vater and Sohn
64
Furgenjew Rauch
1-3
V Serie Bismarck als Redner
Furgenjew (Iwan)Neoland
Rnazewsy (T.T.) Der Dichter and die Welt
The complete works of Gogol (in German) Valadimer Korolenko
Danilewsky

32. Dapitan, 8 June 1893
Dr. A. B. Meyer
Dear Doctor,
I have just received your letter dated 24
March and I agree heartily to your
"Petition'' that I prepare for you
scientific specimens. Only that as I am
a deportee here, I am not free to go
everywhere or use a rifle, etc. [01] In
spite of this, I shall do everything
possible to serve you. All the birds,
reptiles, etc. that I can buy, I shall
keep for you; I also know a little about
their preservation. However, I should
like to know if Dr. Schadenberg will
accept any kind of animals, reptiles, and
skulls, for you may already have the
kind that are here. I would prefer that
you send me a catalogue with prices so
that I may not pay too much for them.
I have just received your letter dated 24
March and I agree heartily to your "Petition''
that I prepare for you scientific specimens.
Only that as I am a deportee here, I am not
free to go everywhere or use a rifle, etc. In
spite of this, I shall do everything possible to
serve you. All the birds, reptiles, etc. that I can
buy, I shall keep for you; I also know a little
about their preservation. However, I should
like to know if Dr. Schadenberg will accept
any kind of animals, reptiles, and skulls, for
you may already have the kind that are here. I
would prefer that you send me a catalogueRizal, Dapitan, 8 June 1893 || To Dr. Adolph B. Meyer

33. • Rizal sent specimens of “45 reptiles, 9
mammals, 13 birds, 9 fishes, and 68
crustaceans”. These were apart from his
346-species shell collection.
Some of the
specimens
gathered by Dr.
Jose Rizal and
Dr. Francisco
Paula de
Sanchez, his
teacher in
literary, in the
Jesuit Museum

34. Dapitan, 24 October 1893
Dr. A. B. Meyer
My dear Friend,
Through the kindness of Dr. Schadenberg I have the
pleasure to send you a little collection of reptiles,
crustaceans, coleopteran [an order in the beetle
family - rly], etc. that you will find named on the
labels of the jars. I had a larger collection, I had a
tortoise, gledes (Weigh?), Weihen (Meyer) birds,
etc. but for lack of suitable containers they were
eaten by rats. The expense of this remittance is
more or less twelve pesos on account of the
difficulty here of obtaining alcohol and jars. I have
to get the alcohol from the drugstore and it is still
of poor quality. I have written to Dr. Schadenberg
asking him for alcohol and jars for they certainly
cost less at Manila and in that way the cost of
remittance would be very cheap. I should like to know
if you want the skeletons of the mammals mounted or
joined.
I have also my own collection of seashells of more than
200 species, already classified and arranged. Do you
want it? How much would they give me for it? They
are all shells of the district of Dapitan. I have no
rifles yet.
With many regards to friend Blum, command at any time
your servant and friend who kisses your hand,
Through the kindness of Dr. Schadenberg I have the pleasure
to send you a little collection of reptiles, crustaceans,
coleopteran [an order in the beetle family - rly], etc. that you
will find named on the labels of the jars. I had a larger
collection, I had a tortoise, gledes (Weigh?), Weihen (Meyer)
birds, etc. but for lack of suitable containers they were eaten
by rats. The expense of this remittance is more or less twelve
pesos on account of the difficulty here of obtaining alcohol
and jars. I have to get the alcohol from the drugstore and it is
still of poor quality. I have written to Dr. Schadenberg asking
him for alcohol and jars for they certainly cost less at Manila
and in that way the cost of remittance would be very cheap. I
should like to know if you want the skeletons of the mammals
mounted or joined.
I have also my own collection of seashells of more than 200
species, already classified and arranged. Do you want it? How
much would they give me for it? They are all shells of the
Rizal, Dapitan, 24 October 1893 || To Dr. Adolph B. Meyer
*pertains to Dr. Alex Schadenberg, German

35. • He also sent shells to Dr. A. B. Meyer,
Director of the Royal Saxony Ethnographical
Institute, in exchange for much-needed
books.
Rizal’s Collection of Shells
displayed in the Jose Rizal
Museum, Intramuros
A part of Jose Rizal’s shell
collections while in exile in
Dapitan.

36. Dapitan, 20 November 1893
Dr. A. B. Meyer
My very esteemed Doctor,
By the mail boat of last
month I sent you a box
of preserved animals
through Dr.
Schadenberg at Manila
in accordance with your
suggestion. The animals
I sent you were the
following: Three snakes,
talig-bilao (Dupog), 1
sagita volans, 1 sea-
horse, 2 scorpions, 2
ascarides, various
coleoptera, 1 boa
constrictor, 1 iho, 1 Iwo,
1 ataybia, (serpent), 1
kalasagan, 1 tipuso, 1
inagudlog, 1 kabankaban.
As their cost is very little
and the remittance of
small sums is difficult, I
beg you not to bother
about it and in exchange
just send me the
following works in the
Spemann collection at 1
mark a bound volume:
50
Furgenjew (Iwan) Vater and
Sohn
64
Furgenjew Rauch
1-3
V Serie Bismarck als Redner
Furgenjew (Iwan)Neoland
Rnazewsy (T.T.) Der Dichter
and die Welt
The complete works of Gogol
(in German) Valadimer
Korolenko
Danilewsky
I would prefer that all the
books be bound. If
there should be any
other work of some
Russian writer that I do
not know, I would
appreciate it if you
would send it to me.
Without anything more for
the present, many
regards and thanks in
advance from your
attentive servant who
kisses your hand.
José Rizal
By the mail boat of last month I sent you a box of preserved
animals through Dr. Schadenberg at Manila in accordance
with your suggestion. The animals I sent you were the
following: Three snakes, talig-bilao (Dupog), 1 sagita
volans, 1 sea-horse, 2 scorpions, 2 ascarides, various
coleoptera, 1 boa constrictor, 1 iho, 1 Iwo, 1 ataybia,
(serpent), 1 kalasagan, 1 tipuso, 1 inagudlog, 1 kabankaban.
Rizal, Dapitan, 20 November 1893 || To Dr. Adolph B. Meyer

37. Rare specimens he sent
• A list of rare specimens he sent to Dr.
Adolf B. Meyer of Dresden and Dr.
Napoleon M. Kheil of Prague were:
1. A green snake (Deudrophilis) which lives
on trees. Dr. Meyer considered it non-
poisonous.
2. A fish known locally as Kumi (Echenesis).
This fish clings to ships.
3. Triburon, a parasitic fish belonging to the
seahorse species.

38. Rare specimens he sent
1. 1 Sagita Volons
2. 1Hipocampus
3. 2 Alacranes
4. 2 Ascarides
5. 1 Iho
6. 1Staybia
7. 1 Kalasagan
8. 1 Tipuso
9. 1 Magudlog
10. 1 Hao
11. 1KabanKaban
12. 1 Boa Constrictora
13. 3 Culebras(Talig-Bilao)(Dupog)
14. Tortuga Karey
15. Milanos
16. Birds of Prey
17. 3Pajaros (Sparrow)
18. Jabali
19. Mariposas
1. 8 Phos Senticosus L.
2. 1 Triton (Persona) anus. L.
3. 4 Ranella Rana. L.
4. 10 Nassa Arcularia L.
5. 4 Nassa (Niotha) Genunulata.
6. 4 Nassa (Niotha) Verrucosa
7. 25 Nassa (Arcularia) Thersites.
8. 5 Nassa (Alectryon) Monile
9. 2 Nassa (zeuxis) Taenia.
10. 6 Pyramidella Terebellum.
11. 4 Cancellaria Asperella
12. 2 Cancellaria Crenifera
13. 4 Cancellaria Lamellosa
14. 1 Natica ala-papilionis
15. 1 Natica (neverita)
16. 5 Cerithium Vertagus. L.
17. 1 Cerithium Obeliscus Brug.
18. 2 Potamides Fluvialitis Pot.
19. 1 Potamides Sulcatus Brug.
20. 1 Cassis Areola L.
21. 2 Cassis Pila. Reeve
22. 5 Dolium Variegatum
23. 2 Dentalium
24. 1 Tapes Textris
25. 1 Anaitis Calophylla.

39. Rizal has shown interest in Ichthyology when he
drew sketches of different species of fish along with
a baroto (sailboat).

40. Animals named in honor of Dr.
Rizal
• During his Dapitan exile, Rizal collected
specimens: sea shells, butterflies, flora,
fauna, and other artifacts that he sent to
scientists in Europe. Which explains why
Rizal’s name appears in the classification
for a winged lizard (dracorizali), a frog or
toad (rachophorusrizali) and a bug or
beetle (apogoniarizali).

41. Racophorus Rizali
• A rare frog which was sent to Frankfurt was christened
Racophorus Rizali (Harlequin Tree Frog) by the
famous German Amphibiologist Proffessor Oskar
Boettger in honor of Rizal, which is a species of a toad
once found in the forests of Mindanao.

42. Apogonia Rizali
• Another distinguished German zoologist, Dr. Carl.
M. Heller, classified a small beetle belonging to the
species coleoptera as Apogonia Rizali, a flying
beetle less than an inch, in 1897.

43. Draco Rizali
• The third specie, bearing the name Draco Rizali (Philippine
Gliding Lizard) named in 1893 by a biologist named Benno
Wandolleck, a flying Dragon, again in honor of the late Dr.
Jose Rizal. [Critically Endangered]

46. Spatholmes Rizali
• Some points to reference a fourth specie
named after Dr. Jose Rizal, the Spatholmes
Rizali which is a specie of Fungus Beetle.

47. • Dr. Meyer in return sent Rizal surgical
instruments, and instrument for measuring the
skull and books written by distinguished men like
Gogol, Turgeniew, Danilewsky, Bismark,
Sophokles and Aischylusete.

48. Did you know?
• He played a key role in the
identification of the
Philippine snail that harbors
the parasite that causes
schistosomiasis, or snail
fever, a deadly disease
plaguing some areas in
Eastern Visayas?

49. • The Philippine snail, which carries the parasite
that causes schistosomiasis, is known as
Oncomelania Hupensis Quadrasi. This was
named after a certain Mr. Cuadrasi, a renowned
naturalist based in Manila, to whom Rizal sent his
specimen of insects and animals for identification.

50. Is really Rizal an established
Zoologist?
• While collecting did not automatically
categorize Rizal as a bona fide botanist or
zoologist, his efforts to promote the study
of Philippine plants and animals, though
focused only on Dapitan, were
acknowledged by European and Filipino
scientists.

51. At Dapitan, Rizal showed the importance of
valuing life in all its forms and our
country’s natural riches. Neither injustice
nor despair could stop him from living a
full life that was offered alone to his
country, simultaneously seeking nature’s
beauty and his country’s freedom, through
her “treasures yet undiscovered”.

52. • “My country can offer him
treasures yet undiscovered. There are
many species still unknown in zoology
and botany, judging by the
discoveries that are being made.”

53. • “My country can offer him
treasures yet undiscovered. There are
many species still unknown in zoology
and botany, judging by the
discoveries that are being made.”