Wenceslao Retana’s “El Indio Batangueño,” a Translation [Part I]

Beginning with this post, Batangas History, Culture and Folklore shall serialize translations of El Indio Batangueño, written by Wenceslao Emilio Retana. The book, published in 1887, is a short but dense ethnographic sketch that attempts to characterize the people of Batangas — their habits, temperament, social organization, and perceived intellectual capacities — as observed by a Spanish official in the field. Published for a readership that included both colonial administrators and European scholars, it forms part of a broader effort to systematize knowledge about the Philippines during the late Spanish period.

Wenceslao Emilio Retana (1862–1924) was a Spanish colonial official, journalist, and later a noted bibliographer whose work would come to occupy a lasting, if contested, place in Philippine historiography. Born in Boadilla del Monte, near Madrid, Retana entered government service at a young age and was assigned to the Philippines in 1884. Like many peninsular Spaniards of his generation, he arrived as part of the colonial administrative machinery, yet he would distinguish himself by developing a deep—though not always sympathetic—interest in the peoples and cultures under Spanish rule.

During his years in the archipelago, Retana served in various bureaucratic capacities and spent time in Batangas, where he began observing and documenting what he perceived as the social and cultural characteristics of the Batangueños. At the same time, he engaged in journalism and literary work, contributing to Spanish‑language publications that catered to colonial readers. His position afforded him both access and authority, allowing him to write not merely as a casual observer but as a representative of the colonial state whose interpretations carried intellectual weight in metropolitan and insular circles alike.

Retana’s early writings — including El Indio Batangueño, published in 1887 — emerged from this intersection of administration, journalism, and what was then considered ethnographic inquiry. The work reflects the intellectual climate of late 19^th‑century Europe, when the study of colonized peoples was often framed within hierarchical and racialized assumptions. Although presented as descriptive and analytical, such writings frequently imposed rigid classifications upon entire populations, interpreting cultural differences through a lens that privileged European norms. Retana was very much a participant in this tradition, and his work must be understood within that broader scholarly and ideological context.

It is worth noting that Retana’s intellectual trajectory did not remain fixed. In later years, particularly after his return to Spain, he would revise some of his earlier positions and gain recognition for his bibliographic contributions to Philippine studies. His 1907 work on José Rizal marked a significant shift in tone, demonstrating a more measured and respectful engagement with Filipino intellectual life. Nevertheless, his earlier writings — including El Indio Batangueño — remain essential not only for what they claim to describe, but also for what they reveal about the assumptions and attitudes embedded in colonial knowledge production.

Below, the tranlation of the book, which is in the public domain, begins with the Prologue, which was written by Manuel Sastrón. The entire book may sound condescending by today’s standards, but we include the translation in this web site, nonetheless, for its historical value, not least about the eyes with which the Spaniards looked at the average Filipino and Batangueño.

El Indio Batangueño¹
by Wenceslao Emilio Retana

An AI-Assisted Translation
Third Edition, corrected
Manila, 1887

It is said that Father Blanco, a man endowed with rare intelligence and a spirit of observation superior to anything that could be described, kept on one of his shelves a large volume whose spine bore only these words: The Indio. He never showed this volume to anyone. When Father Blanco — glory and honor of the Augustinian province — died, many curious individuals rushed toward the coveted manuscript; and what astonishment and surprise seized them all when, after leafing through it from beginning to end, they did not find a single written word. Silence, at times, says more than thousands of speeches: the wise Augustinian wished to make the curious understand that the native of the Philippines is an indefinable being, a blank book.

Long ago, when we had not even dreamed of sending to press any work of the nature of the present one, we had the occasion to glance quickly through several extensive manuscripts written by the hands of various Religious. What little we were able to read in each of them has already faded from memory; nevertheless, we still recall that in some there were remarkable pages whose content—fruit of observation — added to the earlier ones, would have given them greater novelty and livelier color.

Superstitions, like primitive customs, are known by all to be more deeply rooted and to prevail for a greater number of centuries in a people the more backward that people is, and the stronger its tendency toward isolation. Time, contact with educated persons, the light of Religion and of instruction, and so on, contribute greatly to the notable modification of individuals.

Not only ideas, but even the innate manner of being — least inclined to variability — change. And yet, the illustrious Thiers considered the barbarians of civilization more fearsome than the barbarians of barbarism. Extremes meet.

In the Philippines, where the spirit of modern culture is still in its infancy among the majority of the children of the people — who, moreover, have much of the “big child,” as a certain Englishman once said — the number of original characters must, from some points of view, be rather limited. Considered psychologically, so to speak, the indios, like the rest of the inhabitants of the universe, may have some qualities in common, but not many, and certainly not all, as someone has claimed. To affirm that all the men of a people, whatever their origin, are indistinguishable is to limit thought, to place shackles on the soul; such pretensions are very much like trying to grasp the sky with one’s hands.

To outline a collective group is work of far less merit; and even then, if the writer restricts himself to a small number of persons, he will inevitably fall into gross errors. For do all individuals — though united by the same Religion and the same or very similar customs — think, act, and feel in the same way?

Many writers, when they say “I am going to make a study of the indios,” are not content with examining the principal habits and customs of the native. They want more. Their main desire is to touch and stir all the springs of the indio’s heart, to see through his soul his principal sentiments, and through his brow his natural instincts. To this end, they carefully observe half a dozen natives, focusing mainly on the most striking traits of the manner of being of the white individuals who are the subjects of their observations; and having done this, the writer proclaims at the top of his voice: “Such is the indio.”

In our humble opinion, to discourse on the indio is an arduous and painful task, and above all, one that offers many incentives to error. Without leaving the province of Batangas, we see that the enterprising spirit of the man of Taal is not found in the son of Lemery, whom only a bridge separates from his brother. Is this due to the environment, to a greater struggle with natural obstacles, or perhaps to traces of another race, as some observers claim? If many natives of Batangas stand out for certain hints of learning and pedantry, almost all those of Lipa are distinguished by their scant education and profound humility. The man of Bauan is often reflective and prudent; the man of Balayan calculating and meddlesome. If many of those of Lipa are fond of dressing elegantly and wearing jewelry, those of Tuy go about slovenly and are perfectly content that way.

But why continue, when many of our readers already know that the indio of Manila resembles very little the indio of the provinces, who, as a rule, is all the more “pure” the farther he lives from the town center?

The Filipino Indio is paradox personified: it rains, and he goes out into the street or to the batalan of his house to joyfully receive the water the clouds send him. He shows an excessive eagerness to wash his skin; yet once dressed in dry clothes, a single drop of water falling from a jar irritates him. He is not cleanly in his manner of living. Out of sheer curiosity, he often sins by indiscretion; and yet he is indifferent to certain matters truly worthy of awakening human curiosity.

These and other qualities common among ninety‑eight percent of the indios are not enough, in our view, to define them. And it seems unnecessary to warn that our field of observation consists mainly of the humblest social classes; for instruction, education above all, and wealth transform the manner of being of individuals and of races, or at least greatly modify their characteristics.

We, then — without leaving the region that is the object of the present study — shall attempt to portray the native as we believe he is, considered from every point of view.

Shall we incur inaccuracies?

There will be no shortage of those who say so; for if our work had none, it would be the only one of its kind. Semper, Jagor, Virchow, Wallace, and so many other men of scientific reputation have committed gross errors; consequently, no one should be surprised that we, lacking their credentials, should commit them as well.

In any case, we shall do all that is possible on our part; and although it is true that we are far from being great artists of observation, before God and in our conscience we are very close to saying sincerely what at all hours we have seen, heard, and felt, joined to our impartial judgment of all that we have felt, seen, and heard at all hours.