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Inscriptions |
The Oblation is also the major rallying point for all kinds of dissent, protest actions, and social criticism, as well as expressions of public service, nationalism, and patriotism. For the autonomous units and all the campuses of the University of the Philippines, the Oblation is the enduring symbol of their unity in mission, vision and traditions.
The Oblation, a masterpiece of Filipino sculptor Guillermo E. Tolentino, was commissioned in 1935 by President Rafael Palm, first Filipino president of the University. His order was for Professor Tolentino to translate the second stanza of Rizal�s Last Farewell into a monument which would be the identifying landmark of the University.
Filipino
Ang nangasa digmaang dumog sa paglaban
Handog din sa iyo ang kanilang buhay;
Hirap ay di pansin, at di gunamgunan
Ang pagkaparool o pagtatagumpay.
Bibtaya�t madlang mabangis na sakit
pakikibakang lubhang mapanganib;
Pawang titiisin kung ito ang nais
Ng bayang tahanang pinakaiibig.
-Salin ni Pedro Gatmaitan
English
In barricades embattled;
fighting with delirium,
others donate you their lives
without doubts, without gloom,
The site doesn�t matter;
cypress, laurel or lily;
gibbet or open field,
combat or cruel martyrdom,
are equal if demanded
by country and home.
-Translated by Nick Joaquin
The monument, which was fashioned out of concrete but painted to appear like bronze, cost P2,000 representing contributions of students, officials, alumni, and employees of the University raised during a two-month fund campaign. Here, in Professor Tolentino�s own words, is the symbolism of the Oblation:
The completely nude (the fig leaf was added to the nude figure upon suggestion of President Jorge Bocobo) figure of a young man with outstretched arms and open hands, with tilted head, closed eyes and parted lips murmuring a prayer, with breast forward in the act of offering himself, is my interpretation of the sublime stanza. It symbolizes all the unknown heroes who fell during the night. The statue stands on a rustic base, a stylized rugged shape of the Philippine archipelago, lined with big and small hard rocks, each and everyone of which represents an island.Excerpts of �1997 The Oblation Calendar, University of the Philippines� were furnished by the Office of the Vice-President for Public Afffairs.The katakataka is really a wonder plant. It is called siempre vivo (always alive) in Spanish. A leaf or a piece of it thrown anywhere will sprout into a young plant. Hence it symbolizes the deep-rooted patriotism in the heart of our heroes. Such patriotism continually and forever grows anywhere in the Philippines.
The 3.5 meter height of the statue stands for the 350 years of Spanish rule in the Philippines. The rocks on the base of the relic were taken from Montalban (Rizal) gorge, site of the fierce fighting between Filipino guerillas and the Japanese army during the Second World War.
