Filipino nationalist Marcelo H. del Pilar is one of the most prominent personalities in the Philippine propaganda movement. Although his excellence and achievements have been regularly overshadowed by José Rizal’s, Plaridel (his pen name) was considered by friends and foes alike as a force to be reckoned with: He was deemed far superior than Rizal, so much so that Governor General Ramon Blanco, the Spanish governor general in the Philippines from 1893 to 1896) touted him as the ‘true soul of the independence movement…‘ Plaridel was more feared than loathed by the Spaniards for his intelligence, appeal, clout, and political prowess. He wielded words in the way a marked swordsman wields a blade–he impressed and inflicted damage.

Plaridel knew how to engage an audience so if he were alive today, no doubt he’d be behind a blog gone viral. His choice of Tagalog as the language of his writings is very telling. Tagalog was the language of the common folk back then, so his works were meant to be read by the everyday, average man on the street. Plaridel combined this with his acerbic humour and his masterful use of satire in order to expose and ridicule corrupt church practices and to also awaken and embolden those who submitted to the church’s abuses.

Dasalan at Tocsohan (D&T) is one of his most famour works, which The Lit Critter chose to translate as ‘Digs and Devotions’ instead of the more widespread translation, ‘Prayer and Mockeries’ or ‘Prayers and Teasings’ to give it a more contemporary and catchy vibe, as Plaridel may have intended it to be. D&T is a parody of the Catholic prayer book and was published as a small booklet shortly before Plaridel left for Europe after being hounded by Spanish authorities in the Philippines. It was never meant to blaspheme the Catholic church or religion but as a means to expose the corrupt practices that ate through the very soul of the church and her believers. The booklet was distributed widely across the provinces , much to the ire of the Spanish clergy.

The Lit Critter’s Digs and Devotions is a contemporary English adaptation and translation of Plaridel’s work. As with previous works, this must not be taken as a literal translation.

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://thelitcritter.com/2021/04/03/digs-devotions/