Si Tonying at ang Mahiwagang Aklat ng Kasaysayan

This is the title of the play I watched last Wednesday, October 24, 2012, about 6:30 pm with a couple of friends at the Teresita Yuchengco Auditorium, De La Salle University – Manila.  I think this is the second theater play I’ve watched so far.  I’m not sure about the first one.  My mind seemed to voluntarily forget the horror it entailed.  Si Tonying at ang Mahiwagang Aklat ng Kasaysayan was written by Jose Victor Z. Torres, a faculty member of the History Department under the College of Liberal Arts and performed by the ever-talented DLSU Harlequin Theater Guild.

At first, I did not have high hopes for a play wherein History is involved.  I easily dose off during History classes ever since Elementary.  The sight of the stage when I walked in was skillfully designed.  It was very surprising to discover as the play went on that the stage was a dynamic one.  There were secret holes, openings, and rearrangements as time went on.

The play began with a graceful interpretation of a song which repeatedly says “Daytayum”.  Everything was all right.  The elements of air, thunder, water, and sight were present.  In the play, Tonying is the next generation history writer of the land of Langit-langitan after the old and soon-to-retire Tata Lasi.  Tonying was entrusted the keys and the big bulk book of History.  Clea was a love interest of Tonying.  She was a fairy and somewhat-supposed-to-be a guidance counselor of the History Writer of Langit-langitan.  Tonying was busted for a good cause.  Tonying was supposed to fall in love with History rather than anything.  The Mirror of History is where the History Writer sees important events in history and records them in the book.  Unfortunately, another temptation came for Tonying.  Bruha, who came out of the Mirror of History, seduced him into touching the Mirror of History in order for her companions to come out of imprisonment.  The freed Mangmang tricked Tonying into surrendering the keys and the book of History.  The “Daytayum” song was sung in a Metal Rock style by Mangmang and his associates.  Alas, Tata Lasi came and was disappointed with the young History Writer.  There was an intense and funny battle between the Tata Lasi and the freed Mangmang.  Mangmang was equipped with a long-ranged weapon – a gun.  Tata Lasi lost.  There was an instance when Mangmang was weakened when he was asked about important events in history.   Langit-langitan was in chaos and several important characters in Philippine History were seen wandering in Langit-langitan like Jose Rizal, Gabriela Silang, and Andres Bonifacio.  There were distinct differences between Andres and Pepe in how they dealt with the ladies.  There was also a peculiar battle between the Spaniards and the natives of Cebu.  At first, the natives lost, but in the end, there was a one-on-one battle between Magellan and Lapu-lapu which ended in a funny manner.  The Indian medicine was the play’s favorite way of ending a fight.  Most of the scenes were funny depictions of the Spanish, American, and Japanese occupation of the Philippines.  There was also an interpretative dance on these time periods. Eventually, Tonying, together with Clea, found Bruha and Kapre.  He somehow softened their hearts and dug down to their greatest desires, to protect their parents and be with their family.  Bruha confessed the location of the Kingdom of Mangmang.  Tonying confronted Mangmang,.  Bruha interrupted the confrontation and was killed by Mangmang because of her treachery.  In the long run, Tonying successfully obtained the keys and the book of History by using Mangmang’s weakness to his advantage – his ignorance of history.  There was great rejoicing and order once again in Langit-langitan.

Ignorance of history is ignorance of one’s self.  There were some inconsistencies in the course of historic events when Mangmang took over.  Lapu-lapu did not actually killed Magellan.  It was the natives that eventually rose up to the bullying of the Spaniards.  Andres and Jose Rizal were not really partners in crime.  They were associates in La Liga Filipina and other organizations, but they were not best friends as depicted in the play.  The dedication of the History Writers in the play symbolizes the critical thinking of Philippine History that KASPIL2 (History of the Philippines) encourages its students.  Without this dedication, the written history would just be a testament of a Philippines that does not exist.  We have to know ourselves, our heritage, and our ancestors in a detailed and factual manner.  The facts must be spot on, or else, we might be living a lie some skilled forger or imperialist propagated.

Myths were busted in our discussions of the peopling of the Philippines, the pre-Hispanic political system, the Asian trade the Philippines participated in with its neighbors, and importance of History document authentication and credibility.  Grave errors come from simple errors.  We might become the people we believed ourselves to be.

We must not accept things as others just told us.  We have to search the truth ourselves.

Once again, kudos to the writer and performers for this successful play.