Blue Blood of the Big Astana

“Although the heart may care no more, the mind can always recall.” Ibrahim Jubaira started with that. The main character, Jafaar, recalled all the bittersweet memories he had with the blue blooded girl of the big astana, whom he loved a long time ago. The story tells us the life of a Muslim when this short story is written because of the different symbols used in the story like the blue blood and the big astana, the bittersweet memories of Jafaar and the appearance of the Christian Government. These symbols used in the story define the life of a Muslim in 1941 on the eve of World War II where Christians migrated to Mindanao.

(“Blue Blood of the Big Astana”, 5)The blue blood and the big astana are used to define the life of a Muslim. The Muslim community is showed in the story because of the appearance of the words usually associated to the Muslims like Ramadan, Quran, and Mohammedan. In my reading, the blue blood represents the superiority of the Muslims before the migration of the Christian Society. In the text, it says that the daughter of the datu has blue blood and the datu is the leader of the society. He is the superior of the Muslims at that time.

While the big astana represents the community of the Muslims. The astana shows that the Muslims have their own community and they consider themselves as an individual or separated from the others. One text in the story when the astana was made bigger by the time that Dayang-Dayang, the daughter of the datu, was married shows that the Muslims widen their community and they wanted to spread their religion.These symbols show how independent the Muslims were before the Christians went to Mindanao to migrate.

Another thing showed in the story is the rich traditions of the Muslims like the wedding of Dayang-Dayang and the young datu. It showed how they give importance to their traditions and culture. We can say that their way of celebrating occasions is different from the Christians showing their independence and being separated. (“Muslim Wedding Ceremony”, 5)The bittersweet memories of the main character, Jafaar, made the body of the story.

In my reading, these memories represent the history of the Muslim’s independence in their own land. It showed the life of a Muslim before they accommodated the Christians to their land. It showed how joyful they were in their own land. The sweet memories showed their emotions when they were still independent.

The bitter memories showed what happened to them after the Christians made their own government on the land of the Muslims. The Muslims were not able to defend themselves that is why they decided to accommodate the Christians. It was showed when the husband of Dayang-Dayang did not favor the Christian Government. All of their lands were taken and only a little part of it was given to them for them to have a simple and normal life. The superiority of the Muslims to their land was gone because of the Christians. They considered the Muslims their enemy not realizing that the Muslims are their own countrymen.

(Mr. Victor, 5)The part in the story where Jafaar was asked if he will be happy to stay with the datu represents the Christians asking the Muslims if they are happy to live with them. Jafaar answered the datu yes even though he doesn’t want to go and stay with them. The yes symbolizes the answer of the Muslims accepting that they will live with the Christians being superior to them against their will. Jafaar said yes because he knows that it was the best form him.

The Muslims know that it was the right decision because they know that they cannot defend themselves from the Christians.Another important thing in the story is the appearance of the Christian Government. Like all that was said, when the Christian Society came to the land of the Muslims, the independence of the Muslims was gone because the Christian Government already ruled their land even though they were countrymen. Muslims were not in favor of this, like the husband of Dayang-Dayang.

They became poor because they opposed the government of the Christians.At the end of the story, Jaffar became rich yet he wasn’t able to find again a lovely Blue Blood. In my reading, Jafaar wasn’t able to see the superiority of the Muslims because of the Christian Government established in their land. He became rich because of his hardwork and because he was able to accept the Christians even though he it was against his will. Not being on the top is not bad at all times because it can also help you to gain success that you want.Overall, the story discussed the life of the Muslim before it accommodated the Christian community.

It used different symbols representing the Muslims life. Symbols were so important in this story because without the symbolism, it will just show a simple love story.Ibrahim Jubaira made a very good story representing the Muslim lives. Being a Tausug, he made this story according to what was experienced by his fellow Muslim people.

This story shows the History of the Philippines. The story was published in 1941, on the eve of World War II. Independence of the Philippines was not formalized until 1946, and the great migration of Christian Filipinos to Mindanao did not get underway until the 1950s. He knew that accommodating the Christian Community to their land will help them secure from the World War II that happened by the time this book was published. (“Blue Blood of the Big Astana”, 5)