Over
these many years, I have on my own undertaken the unwanted task of tracing our family’s
lineage, which is part and parcel of the Neri Genealogy of Mindanao.
This
I did for a couple of reasons. Growing up,
parents and most grown-ups were quite cavalier about blood relationships. Most everybody you met was declared as your
relative, with typically nary an explanation or reason why. So I grew up confused who my true relatives
were, apart from those I closely interacted with. So learning this part of the past would not
only be exhilarating but satisfying in unraveling one’s confusion about
relations.
Secondly,
if I was confused I can only imagine how much more confused my children would
be, especially because they have essentially very little contact with even very
close relatives. So again, tracing
lineage would be to their benefit.
With
the formidable task undertaken, one has then become privy to and in possession
of certain facts, not known then and especially those that run counter to what
local myths have in the meantime been allowed to propagate and prosper.
Sensing
that to this day some myths, unproved legends, or even untruths are allowed to
be made public without challenges, the following is undertaken to dispel them and
enlighten members about what we can claim with some certainty about our
genealogy and heritage.
First
off, and I may be touching delicate grounds here, the Neri-Chaves Genealogy is
not the Neri Genealogy, the former being only a branch, a branch typical in
size, of the whole tree. The whole tree
as known and confirmed to this day is composed of other branches, some
identified only informally while others more formally. If Neri-Chaves is one, others would be the
Neri-San Jose, the Neris of Bohol, Neri-Velez which has split into smaller
branches, Neri-Fernandez, and maybe even the Neris of Tagoloan. We even have the case of a Chinese national
who was naturalized and took on the last name of one of his patrons who was a
Neri. That branch if we can call it that
produced Pedro “Oloy” Neri Roa who is known far and large for his great wealth and
selfless government service.
The
hyphenated names of the branches came about because in their instances a set of
siblings married another set of siblings to form a truly much closer and
special relationships with the offspring.
This was true with the Neri-Chaves, true also with Neri-San Jose, and so
forth
As to our likely beginnings, the jury is still out on this.
Our
earliest claim had been that we descended from some Moslem tribe (Samporna) who
came to our place in Northern Mindanao, intermarried with a local and converted
to Christianity. A certain parish priest
named Rev. Pedro de Santa Barbara officiated and assigned the name Neri to
those so given the sacrament. And this
happened in 1779 and Church record does show that during that time the parish
priest was indeed one Fr. De Santa Barbara.
Still we cannot point to any historical record whether written or oral
confirming all this.
But
of recent times, we had been reliably informed that there is historical record
written as an eye-witness account by a Jesuit historian named Pablo
Pastells. He narrated that sometime in
July of 1879, a Datu Samporna and companions formalized their admission to the
Spanish crown in Cagayan, via conversion by christening.
The
two accounts are separated a 100 years apart!
But we do show that in 1879, we already had Neris living in Cagayan de
Oro, as ancestors of current-day descendants.
One of them was Juan Neri (1807-1857) who was married to Anastacia
Chaves. He started the Neri-Chaves line.
It
is wise to note also that with regard to our Moslem roots, we in the same vein
also have to accept our lumad or native roots, since the alleged Moslem who
intermarried did so with a lumad or native since their kind were then
inhabiting our place. No mention or
reference is found that the Moslem married any daughter of the Spanish
conquerors.
There
is no known crest, coat of arms, or logo for the Neri Clan. The coat of arms
one may spot in some postings was created during the 1985 gathering that I
believe was for lack of a better term officially called the Neri-Chaves First
Grand Reunion. It was created for that reunion and is similarly identified as
that of the Neri-Chaves Clan.
One
can easily glean from that reunion that the intent of the organizing group was
for the entire Neri Clan to organize and for the first time, commit to writing
their particular ancestors. Thus, we had
entries from all the Neri branches then known, and not only from the
Neri-Chaves branch. Why the name was not
then changed to reflect the greater scope, one can only surmise.
But
through the little study I had done, we are discovering the revealing facts
about the Neri Genealogy.
Interested
members of the entire clan ought to continue the task of uncovering more facts
of the genealogy, so that our claims to heritage and lineage can be gradually
moved from the heights of legend or myth, to the solid ground of facts and
historical record.
