Sa Aking Mga Kabata Meaning Of The Poem & Lessons Learned
SA AKING MGA KABATA MEANING – There are several stanzas in Rizal’s poem “Sa Aking Mga Kabata”. In this article, we are going to discover the meaning and lessons of the poem.
Here is the interpretation and meaning taken from each stanza of the poem:
Kapagka ang baya’y sadyang umiibigSa langit salitang kaloob ng langitSanlang kalayaan nasa ring masapiKatulad ng ibong nasa himpapawid
In this stanza, Rizal gives emphasis that long at a very young age, he already held the importance of one’s mother tongue as important. Moreover, he expressed that a nation’s love for the native langue is directly related to its pursuit of liberty and likened it to a bird soaring freely.
Pagka’t ang salita’y isang kahatulan
Sa bayan, sa nayo’t mga kaharian
At ang isang tao’y katulad, kabagay
Ng alin mang likha noong kalayaan.
Here, language is compared to people who were born free. In his time, Filipinos were under the rule of the Spaniards with many of his countrymen made as slaves. However, Rizal believes that if a nation loved their native language, it could be a symbol of freedom and identity.
Pagka’t ang salita’y isang kahatulan
Sa bayan, sa nayo’t mga kaharian
At ang isang tao’y katulad, kabagay
Ng alin mang likha noong kalayaan.
This is one of Rizal’s most notable quotes as he thinks those who don’t love their language is worse than a smelly fish.
Ang wikang Tagalog tulad din sa Latin,
Sa Ingles, Kastila, at salitang anghel,
Sapagkat ang Poong maalam tumingin
Ang siyang naggagawad, nagbibigay sa atin.
In this line, Rizal emphasized that Tagalog is equal to English, Latin, or even the language of the angels. This meant the people shouldn’t look at their language as inferior to others. Which directly relates to his earlier sentiments about language and freedom.
Ang salita nati’y tulad din sa iba
Na may alfabeto at sariling letra,
Na kaya nawala’y dinatnan ng sigwa
Ang lunday sa lawa noong dakong una.
With these last lines, Rizal might have talked about the Philippines’ ancient writing system the “Alibata”. He finds the system unique and unlike any other. Meanwhile, he holds Tagalog as similar to other “elite tongues”.
However, Rizal says the waves of influence from the country’s captors washed away the culture of the Filipino as the Alibata slowly faded into the depths.