The real name of our beloved Dr.

Jose Rizal was Jose Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonzo

Realonda. Want to know the meaning of his name???

Doctor his profession (Ophthalmologist)

Jose Its San Joses festival when he was born (it came from San Jose)
Protacio It came from their calendar (also a saint)
Rizal means Racial it is their main occupation it means green fields
Mercado means market it indicates their Chinese merchant roots
Alonzo came from his mother
Realonda came from his auntie (ninang)

Knowing his real name how did he come up to Rizal not Mercado?
During the Spaniards time Mercado was a hot name from them because of the
history that Paciano has an encounter with. He changes his surname to protect his
identity. He chooses to use Rizal (middle name) as his surname because it means
illustrado during the Spanish era. Also, there is a law that indicates that Filipinos
should change their surname during that time.

QUEZON CITY (MindaNews/01 July) -- The painting with green color of Jose Rizals
historic house in Calamba, Laguna, by the National Historical Institute (NHI) brings
to fore an issue about the name of the Filipino national hero, particularly his
surname. According to the NHI, green was chosen as the color because the
surname Rizal is derived from the Spanish word for green fields, that is why the
house should be painted the color of rice fields.
How accurate is this view?
In April 2002, after a 30-day stint with the International Visitors Program, an
educational and cultural tour program of the United States, I visited Dr. Cesar Adib
Majul who was one of the leading specialists on Jose Rizal. He lived in the US after
his retirement from the University of the Philippines in 1980.

To my surprise, the man I long wanted to meet was very happy to see me. Despite
his old age, he went to fetch me at Oakland Airport and invited me to be with him
for two or three days, where I stayed most of the time at his residence conversing
and learning intently like a novice at the feet of his teacher.

That meeting started our late but intimate friendship almost a father-son relation as
shown through our letters and emails containing mostly his feelings and other
advices, including his sending of books, research materials and other rare
documents, personal writings, his calligraphies carved by himself, prayer books and
Qur'anic readings in cassette tapes and others that he entrusted to me and kept
sending until a few days before he passed away in San Pablo, California on October
11, 2003.

After exchanging salam and other pleasantries at the airport he reminisced his days
in the Philippines especially his research on Muslims in the Philippines, Apolinario
Mabini, Jose Rizal and many more. On our way to Pusod, a Filipino non-government
organization in Berkeley, I vividly remember to have asked him about the etymology
of the word rizal. And Dean Majul responded: there are two theories about it. The
one is, the word rizal comes from roz, Spanish and Arabic word for rice or from
Spanish ricial to mean green field. The other one is Arabic word rijl (men), which
is the plural form of rajul (man).

When I interjected that the word rizal must possibly be rijl, Majul gave a light
smile and snapped back: its understandable but either way beware in falling into
propaganda. It means that while Majul is probably more convinced of his second
theory, yet, because of his objectivity and sense of fairness, Majul provides space to
other assumptions. From his answer, I learned as much as Rizals etymology as the
value of objective scholarship in understanding Philippine history from one of the
countrys respected scholars.

It is known that the full name of Jose Rizal is Jos Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso
Realonda. The name Rizal was adopted as Joses surname when in 1849 GovernorGeneral Narciso Claveria ordered all Filipino families to choose new surnames from a
list of Spanish family names.

Accordingly, a Spanish provincial governor who was a friend of the family

suggested to Joses father, Francisco Mercado (originally Lam-co), to adopt the
surname Rizal which was originally Ricial, which means the green of young
growth or green fields.

Whether or not the name Rizal is in the list of Catlogo alfabtico de apellidos
which supposedly contained the family names and the imposition of the Spanish
naming system in the mid-19th century, the question is why of all names the word
rizal was suggested and why the Mercado family seemed to willingly accept it.
The rice or green field theory (roz or ricial) which apart from the green of young
growth or green fields also means growing again applying more to the after crop

of corn and cut green for the feed of cattle provides an idea that the word rizal
is Spanish as well as Arabic.

The question which language influenced another is irrelevant, except that Arabs
ruled Spain for more than 700 years before Ferdinand Magellan accidentally landed
in the Philippines in 1521.

Whether the word rizal comes from Arabic/Spanish roz or ricial, well, it is good
to know; but the value of both words in relating to rizal stops there. They cannot
be substantiated by clearer etymological and historical explanation a reason why
Dean Majul considered other etymology particularly the Arabic word rijl. Finally,
another Arabic term risla (message) also with similar root as rasl (messenger)
is not mentioned by Majul but instructive, too, as possible source of the word rizal.

These rich Arabic words as possible sources of rizal should not surprise people
because Tagalog language has many Arabic loan words particularly pertaining to
Filipino spirituality, places and expressions like kaluluwa (from Arabic ruh which
means soul or spirit), ala eh (Allh: God) simbahan (subha: praise), Manila
(amnillah: blessing from God), (mabalacat (barakah: grace), salamat (salam:
peace), hukom (hukm: judgment) mamatay (mawt: death) buhay (hay: life),
hence, the famous Tagalog expression mabuhay (There is indeed life!), and
thousands of more Arabic words in Philippine languages and dialects.

To say the least, despite centuries of Spanish colonialism, religious medievalism and
historical parochialism, these Arabic loan words with their underlying philosophy
and worldview continued to shape Filipino psyche, history and identity; they have
never been muted and weeded out of their essential significance. In his article, Our
Islamic Heritage, Michael Tan of the Philippine Daily Inquirer encapsulated this
point more clearly:

When the Spaniards arrived in the Philippines, Islam had already reached different
parts of the islands, including Manila. Catholicism eventually became the dominant
religion but, ironically, became another channel for Islamic influences. Spain, after
all, was once occupied by the Muslims or Moors, who left a strong influence in the
arts, from architecture to music. Alicia Coseteng writes in Spanish Churches in the
Philippines about the Muslim influence in churches in the provinces of Bohol and
Cebu. One church in Carcar, Cebu, even has those onion-shaped domes or cupolas
and four-cornered hat roofs that we usually associate with Islamic architecture.

The strength of Majuls second etymological theory on rizal as rijl is backed up

by history. The name Rijl was a famous name among Malays with the influence of
Islam and Arabic language in Southeast Asia since the 10th century. So that when
Miguel Lopez de Legazpi wrestled Manila from a budding Islamic sultanate on 17
May 1571, Manila was already under the sway of Brunei particularly the fifth sultan
of Brunei named Sultan Seifu r-Rijl (roughly translated as valiant king of men or
king of valiant men) who was related to Muslim chiefs namely Rajah Matanda of
Pasig, Rajah Sulayman of Manila, and Rajah Lakandula of Tanduh (corrupted later to
Tondo).

It is not therefore difficult to point out that apart from his Chinese blood, Rizals
indigenous lineage dated back to pre-Hispanic Manila. And knowing such lineage is
significant because as pointed out by Austin Craig the mother of Jose Rizal Teodora
Alonzo traced her root to Rajah Lakandula through Eugenio Ursua (Teodoras great
grandfather) and Atty. Manuel de Quintos (Teodoras grandfather).

Moreover, it is not impossible to consider that until the latter part of Spanish rule
the name Rijl (popularly known as Rizal) continues to ring a bell in Manila and the
rest of the Philippines, a reason probably why Jose and the Mercado family accepted
it. With Spanish ricial as a homonym of rijl it is not difficult for that Spanish
provincial governor to suggest the name Rizal as the Mercado familys new
surname.

It is not clear however whether that governor knew that the word rizal has
etymological affinity with Arabic or has historical antecedent with early Islamic
Manila. It can only be surmised that Spanish officials assigned to the Philippines in
the latter part of Spanish colonialism must have already been moderated unlike the
early wave of Conquistadores who carried strong antipathy against Islam. Through
time the situation has become even more different in Spain especially today.
Spanish government has been relentless in preserving Islamic legacy particularly
the majestic Alhambra Mosque in Granada and other Moorish architectural
masterpieces in Cordova and Seville and other areas. These places have been major
sources of tourism industry in Spain. It is ironic that while Spain has long embraced
back and preserved her Islamic past, the Philippines continued to run from it.

Anyhow, if rizal is rijl, how do we explain the fact that the Arabic rijl (men) is
actually plural form of rajul (man) which by grammatical construction the latter
should have been the more appropriate surname as it refers to single person?

If the name Seifu r-Rijl which was actually more of a title of the Brunei Sultan and
correctly constructed in Arabic grammar was probably popular among early Muslim

inhabitants of Manila, such title must have been thought as a persons name and
subsequently used by other people as such. Besides, Malays who are not fully
Arabic speaking people are least concerned with grammar, a reason why many
Indonesian and Malaysian and even some Filipinos today continue to carry Rizal as
their names.

What bears important to mention is that by changing the surname from Mercado to
Rizal the Spaniards thought they had extirpated the indigenous identity of Jose and
his family. Truth is, it made Jose Rizal even more closer to his Asian heritage making
him worthy of the title the pride of the Malay race. Except that, the NHI by
callously painting Jose Rizals house green using colonial interpretation of Philippine
history bordering on what Dean Majul referred to as propaganda, defiles such epic
contribution of the man to the formation of Asian heritage.

And no less than Jose Rizal himself was against such shallow understanding of
Philippine history exhorting his people to be inclusive with their past including most
certainly the struggle of his ancestors who like himself fought hard for freedom and
justice four centuries before he was born while reminding not to forget them. In the
conversation between Ibarra (or Elias?) and Basilio in the Noli Me Tangere, Rizal
wrote: Nothing will remain of meI die without seeing the sun on my country. You
who are to see the dawn, welcome it, and do not forget those who fell during the
night.

While, of course, this reminder by Jose Rizal applies to different circumstances and
to a different place and time and can be interpreted from different perspectives by
different people including Philippine Muslim themselves, this view should not create
an impression that the latter are simply hungry for recognition appearing, as it
were, that they are begging for a place in Philippine history. Never!

If Philippine Muslims and their history are not appreciated, its not their problem.
Besides, they have a different framework of history with separate tract of historical
line, their history remains largely in the making, and thus, its fulfillment relies not
on others but on themselves.

At the minimum, what is being demanded is for dominant interpreters of Philippine

history to be objective and inclusive of their historical appraisal not because other
people and their history demand it but no less than truth requires it. This way they
do not only enrich themselves but would avoid, too, in committing more flaks and
other idiosyncrasies. By being inclusive, they would fully know who they are.
(MindaViews is the opinion section of MindaNews. Julkipli Wadi is Associate Professor
of Islamic Studies at the University of the Philippines Diliman)

EARLY CHILDHOOD
In Calamba, Laguna
19 June 1861
JOSE RIZAL, the seventh child of Francisco Mercado Rizal and Teodora Alonso y
Quintos, was born in Calamba, Laguna.

22 June 1861
He was baptized JOSE RIZAL MERCADO at the Catholic of Calamba by the parish
priest Rev. Rufino Collantes with Rev. Pedro Casaas as the sponsor.

28 September 1862
The parochial church of Calamba and the canonical books, including the book in
which Rizals baptismal records were entered, were burned.

1864
Barely three years old, Rizal learned the alphabet from his mother.

1865

When he was four years old, his sister Conception, the eight child in the Rizal family,
died at the age of three. It was on this occasion that Rizal remembered having shed
real tears for the first time.

1865 1867
During this time his mother taught him how to read and write. His father hired a
classmate by the name of Leon Monroy who, for five months until his (Monroy)
death, taught Rizal the rudiments of Latin.

At about this time two of his mothers cousin frequented Calamba. Uncle Manuel
Alberto, seeing Rizal frail in body, concerned himself with the physical development
of his young nephew and taught the latter love for the open air and developed in
him a great admiration for the beauty of nature, while Uncle Gregorio, a scholar,
instilled into the mind of the boy love for education. He advised Rizal: "Work hard
and perform every task very carefully; learn to be swift as well as thorough; be
independent in thinking and make visual pictures of everything."

6 June 1868
With his father, Rizal made a pilgrimage to Antipolo to fulfill the vow made by his
mother to take the child to the Shrine of the Virgin of Antipolo should she and her
child survive the ordeal of delivery which nearly caused his mothers life.

From there they proceeded to Manila and visited his sister Saturnina who was at the
time studying in the La Concordia College in Sta. Ana.

1869
At the age of eight, Rizal wrote his first poem entitled "Sa Aking Mga Kabata." The
poem was written in tagalog and had for its theme "Love of Ones Language."

Jos Rizal was born in 1861 to Francisco Mercado and Teodora Alonso in the town of
Calamba in Laguna province. He had nine sisters and one brother. His parents were
leaseholders of a hacienda and an accompanying rice farm by the Dominicans. Both
their families had adopted the additional surnames of Rizal and Realonda in 1849,
after Governor General Narciso Clavera y Zalda decreed the adoption of Spanish
surnames among the Filipinos for census purposes (though they already had
Spanish names). Jos traced his patrilineal lineage back to Fujian in China through
Lam Co, a Chinese immigrant who came to the Philippines in the late 17th century
and was later baptized as a Christian and renamed Domingo.[12][13][note 1]

From an early age, Jos showed a precocious intellect. He learned the alphabet from
his mother at 3, and could read and write at age 5.[13] Upon enrolling at the Ateneo
Municipal de Manila, he dropped the last three names that make up his full name,
on the advice of his brother, Paciano and the Mercado family, thus rendering his
name as "Jos Protasio Rizal". Of this, he later wrote: "My family never paid much
attention [to our second surname Rizal], but now I had to use it, thus giving me the
appearance of an illegitimate child!"[14] This was to enable him to travel freely and
disassociate him from his brother, who had gained notoriety with his earlier links to
Filipino priests Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos and Jacinto Zamora (popularly known as
Gomburza) who had been accused and executed for treason.

Rizal's house in Calamba, Laguna.

Despite the name change, Jos, as "Rizal" soon distinguished himself in poetry
writing contests, impressing his professors with his facility with Castilian and other
foreign languages, and later, in writing essays that were critical of the Spanish

historical accounts of the pre-colonial Philippine societies. Indeed, by 1891, the year
he finished his El Filibusterismo, this second surname had become so well known
that, as he writes to another friend, "All my family now carry the name Rizal instead
of Mercado because the name Rizal means persecution! Good! I too want to join
them and be worthy of this family name..."