Mga Ibong Mandaragit
Encyclopedia
Mga Ibong Mandaragit or Mga Ibong Mandaragit: Nobelang Sosyo-Politikal (literally, Birds of Prey: A Socio-Political Novel) is a novel
written by the Filipino
writer and social activist, Amado V. Hernandez in 1969. Mga Ibong Mandaragit was described as Hernandez's masterpiece about the neocolonial dependency and revolt in the Philippines
. Also reflected in Mga Ibong Mandaragit was Hernandez's experience of being a guerrilla intelligence officer when the Philippines was under the Japanese occupier
s from 1942 to 1945.
. Upon the arrival of the middle of 1944 in the Philippines
, the armed forces of the Japanese Empire was already weakening. The Japanese would soon be losing in the Second World War in Asia
.
The novel had a connection with Jose Rizal
's Noli Me Tangere
and El filibusterismo
. There was a part in the novel wherein the protagonist Mando Plaridel was tested by Tata Matyas, an old revolutionary, on his knowledge about Rizal and Rizal's novels. The pattern of Hernandez's Mga Ibong Mandaragit also had a similarity to Rizal's novel, wherein the main character looked at the Philippines from the outside by traveling to Europe then coming back. Hernandez's novel also tackled the lead character's search for Simoun's treasure, showing it as a continuation of Rizal's El Filibusterismo
. It further tackled the state of the citizenry upon the onset of industrialization brought forth by the Americans in the Philippines. Mga Ibong Mandaragit had been translated into English
and Russian
.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
written by the Filipino
Filipino people
The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....
writer and social activist, Amado V. Hernandez in 1969. Mga Ibong Mandaragit was described as Hernandez's masterpiece about the neocolonial dependency and revolt in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. Also reflected in Mga Ibong Mandaragit was Hernandez's experience of being a guerrilla intelligence officer when the Philippines was under the Japanese occupier
Japanese occupation of the Philippines
The Japanese occupation of the Philippines was the period in the history of the Philippines between 1942 and 1945, when the Empire of Japan occupied the previously American-controlled Philippines during World War II....
s from 1942 to 1945.
Description
Through the narrative, Hernandez yearned for change and the elevation of the status of Philippine society. The book narrated the living conditions and livelihood of the Filipino peopleFilipino people
The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....
. Upon the arrival of the middle of 1944 in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, the armed forces of the Japanese Empire was already weakening. The Japanese would soon be losing in the Second World War in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
.
The novel had a connection with Jose Rizal
José Rizal
José Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda , was a Filipino polymath, patriot and the most prominent advocate for reform in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era. He is regarded as the foremost Filipino patriot and is listed as one of the national heroes of the Philippines by...
's Noli Me Tangere
Noli Me Tangere (novel)
Noli Me Tangere is a novel by Filipino polymath José Rizal and first published in 1887 in Berlin, Germany. Early English translations used titles like An Eagle Flight and The Social Cancer, but more recent translations have been published using the original Latin title.Though originally written in...
and El filibusterismo
El filibusterismo
El filibusterismo , also known by its English alternate title The Reign of Greed, is the second novel written by Philippine national hero José Rizal. It is the sequel to Noli Me Tangere and like the first book, was written in Spanish. It was first published in 1891 in Ghent, Belgium...
. There was a part in the novel wherein the protagonist Mando Plaridel was tested by Tata Matyas, an old revolutionary, on his knowledge about Rizal and Rizal's novels. The pattern of Hernandez's Mga Ibong Mandaragit also had a similarity to Rizal's novel, wherein the main character looked at the Philippines from the outside by traveling to Europe then coming back. Hernandez's novel also tackled the lead character's search for Simoun's treasure, showing it as a continuation of Rizal's El Filibusterismo
El filibusterismo
El filibusterismo , also known by its English alternate title The Reign of Greed, is the second novel written by Philippine national hero José Rizal. It is the sequel to Noli Me Tangere and like the first book, was written in Spanish. It was first published in 1891 in Ghent, Belgium...
. It further tackled the state of the citizenry upon the onset of industrialization brought forth by the Americans in the Philippines. Mga Ibong Mandaragit had been translated into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
.
External links
- Hernandez, Amado V. Mga Ibong Mandaragit: Nobelang Sosyo-Politikal (1969), PDF copy from AseanInfoNet.org, Tagalog language, National Library, Filipiniana section (call number FIL 899.2113 H43i 1982), and International Graphic Service, Quezon City, 416 pages (book)/216 pages (PDF file) – complete novel: PDF copy, retrieved on: March 5, 2008