Ang Alamat, Mito, at Kasaysayan ni Palaris: Higante at Rebolusyonaryo, sa Nobelang ‘Si Mabayani ya Palaris’

Abstract

ABSTRAK

Kinatha sa kuwentong bayan ang tungkol sa kabayanihan ni Pantaleon “Palaris” Perez. Ipinasa ng taumbayan sa mga susunod na salinlahi ang kadakilaan ng lider ng rebolusyong 1762 sa Binalatongan (ngayo’y siyudad ng San Carlos), Pangasinan. Sa nobela ni Juan Villamil na “Si Mabayani ya Palaris” (Ang Kabayanihan ni Palaris), hinabi ng manunulat ang tala ng kasaysayan tungkol sa lider-rebolusyonaryo, at ang alamat na pumalibot sa bayaning nakilala sa kaniyang pambihirang liksi at mala-higanteng laki. Inakda ni Villamil ang nobela nang nakasandig sa kaakuhan sa kinagisnang lupa, bilang pagtatangkang umukit muli ng lokal na kasaysayan at makapag-ambag sa pambansang kamalayan. Sa nobela, sinubaybayan ang makasaysayan, mala-alamat, at mitolohikal na katauhan ni Palaris - mula sa pagturing sa kaniyang anak ng higante na pinaglihi sa ipo-ipo tungo sa kaniyang kabayanihan sa paglulunsad ng “gelew” o pag-aalsa laban sa mga mapang-alipustang Kastila. Sa huli, si Palaris ay nagbaguntao bilang higante sa nobela upang nakawin ang gintong kampana ng Binalatongan at tagapaghasik ng lindol upang angkinin ang naudlot na gelew. Nagsilbi sa nobela ang alamat ng bayani at higanteng si Palaris bilang puntong lunsaran upang talakayin ang makasaysayan niyang papel sa pambansang danas ng lalawigang Pangasinan.

ABSTRACT

The tale of Pantaleon “Palaris” Perez and the 1762 revolution he waged in the old town of Binalatongan, now San Carlos city has been passed down from generations to generations in Pangasinan. In Juan Villamil’s novel “Si Mabayani ya Palaris” (The Heroism of Palaris), the Binalatongan native writer weaves together historical facts and myth and legends about the revolutionary hero, Palaris, known for his skills in sword fight, arrow, and cyclone-like speed that are characteristics innate of the people’s tales about him as the child of a giant. Villamil writes the novel to find his roots in his home province’s history, an attempt to form Pangasinan’s local history and memory and place the province in the national history and consciousness. In the novel, Villamil traces the historical, legendary, and mythological backdrop of the narrative from his mythological origins of being a giant’s child who was borne out of a tornado, to his heroic exploits in leading the Pangasinan natives in a revolution against the abusive Spaniards. The novel takes into account the legend, mythology, and history of Palaris and elevates the role of this native hero as a symbolic appropriation of the 1762 revolution. The fabled Binalatongan bell figures as a war artifact that Palaris stole to claim victory in the fight against the abusive Spaniards. In Villamil’s novel, folklore serves as a point of entry to this turbulent but revolutionary turning point in Pangasinan identity.