Module 1: LEARNING HISTORY

1. Introduction

Context analysis considers the time and place the historical document was written as
well as the situation or the circumstances during the time. Works pertaining to events in the past
are analyzed by also taking into account the author of the document, his/her biographical
background, role in the event, and the intern for writing the document.

What is History?

  What is History? To make sense of history, it is necessary to first understand what it is all
about. Many people think that history is merely lists of names, dates, places and “important”
events. However, history or the study of history is more than just knowing and memorizing facts.
It is a historian’s duty to draw insights from the ideas and realities that have shaped the lives of
men and women and the society. And in understanding these ideas, a historian (or, in fact, a
student of history) can comprehend how situations happened, identify their elements, and think
of how these situations can solve today’s pre-dicaments and help plan for the future. The study
of history, therefore, is the study of the beliefs and desires, practices, and institutions of human
beings. With this definition, history becomes an active factor in the study of Philippine society. It
also includes a look into the development of Philippine culture through time especially with the
influences of the colonial period that would eventually shape the present Philippine identity.
Why Study History? An examination of the past can tell us a great deal about how we came to be
who we are. It means looking at the roots of modern institutions, ideas, values, and problems.
Studying history allows us to gain valuable perspectives on the problems of our modern society.
Many problems, features, and characteristics of modern Philippine society can be traced back to
historical questions on our colonial past, as well as our pre-colonial [Link] 31,2017 Looking
at the past teaches us to see the world through different eyes － appreciating the diversity of
human perceptions, beliefs, and cultures. Different and/or new perspectives will enable us to
analyze critically the present contexts of society and beings.
Meaning of “History”

Excerpts from Understanding History: A Primer of Historical Method by Louis Gottschalk

(1950, New York: Knopf, p. 17)

  The English word history is derived from the Greek noun istoia, meaning learning. As
used by the Greek philosopher Aristotle, history meant a systematic account of a set of natural
phenomena, whether or not chronological factoring was a factor in the account…. In the course
of time, however, the equivalent Latin word scientia (English, science) came to be used more
regularly to designate non-chronological systematic accounts of natural phenomena; and the
word history was reserved usually for accounts of phenomena (especially human affairs) in
chronological order.  By its most common definition, the word history now means, “the past of
mankind.”…
 Module 2: UNDERSTANDING SOURCES
1. Introduction

This section discusses the basic difference between primary source and secondary source
materials, and their importance in getting a better picture of what really transpired in Philippine
history. It also identifies kinds of primary source and possible repositories.

What is Sources?

 
In his work, Understanding History, Gottschalk (1950) discusses the importance of
sources for the historian’s work:

The historian, however, has to use many materials that are not in books. Where these are
archeological, epigraphical, or numismatical materials, he has to depend largely on museums.
Where there are official records, he may have to search for them in archives, courthouses,
government libraries, etc. Where there are private papers not available in official collections, he
may have to hunt among the papers of business houses, the muniment rooms of ancient castles,
the prized possessions of autograph collectors, the records of parish churches, etc. Having some
subject in mind, with more or less definite delimitation of the persons, areas, times, and
functions (I.o, the economic, political, intellectual, diplomatic, or other occupational aspects)
involved, he looks for materials that may have soe bearing upon those persons in that area at the
time they function in that fashion. These materials are his sources. The more precise his
delimitation of persons, area, time and function, the more relevant his sources are likely to be.
(52－53)

It is from historical sources that our history is studied and written. But in analyzing them,
several methodologies and theories were used by historians to properly study history and glean
from the sources what is, for them, a proper way of writing history to enhance and disseminate
national identity.

Primary sources are materials produced by people or groups are either participants or

eyewitnesses to the event. These sources range from eyewitness accounts, diaries, letters, legal
documents, official documents (government or private), and even photographs.

 
Examples primary sources: 

1.           Photographs that may reflect social conditions of historical realities and everyday life

2.           Old sketches and drawings that may indicate the conditions of life of societies in the
past

3.           Old maps that may reveal how space and geography were used to emphasize trade
routes, structural build-up, etc.

4.           Material evidence of the prehistoric past like cave drawings, old syllabaries, and ancient
writings 

5.           Statistical tables, graphs, and charts

6.           Oral history or recordings by electronic means of accounts of eyewitnesses or

participants: the recordings are then transcribed and used for research.

7.           Published and unpublished primary documents, eyewitness accounts, and other written
source

Secondary Sources

Gottschalk simply defines secondary sources as “the testimony of anyone who is not an
eyewitness－that is of one who was not present at the event of which he tells” (p. 53). These are
books, articles, and scholarly journals that had interpreted primary sources or had used them to
discuss certain subjects of history

 
 Module 3 - Magellan’s Voyage Around the World
1. Introduction/Overview

UNDERSTANDING PERSPECTIVE

Historical sources are written by various authors with different perspectives.

                   Perspectives refers to the point of view of the said writer who was a witness to  the
event. Though historical sources are important in the writing of history, the historian is careful in
using these sources as the writer may example, missionary chronicles or narratives that were
written by the religious missionaries who came to the Philippines to spread Christianity in the
islands usually referred to the early Filipinos as barbarians or uncivilized. This, of course, is not
true as it is known that Filipinos already had a form of civilization and had contact with Asian
neighbors before the Spaniards arrived.

Different participants who also wrote their accounts can also give varied opinions and
statements about a single event. For example, the Philippine Revolution of 1896 can be read
from the point of view of the Filipinos and from the side of the Spaniards. The same event can be
viewed from the lens of foreigners who were in the Philippines at that time and were just passive
observers. In any case, reading a historical event from the points of view of all side will enable
us to form our own studies about the said event.

Historical Context

One of the benefits that the Europeans gained from the Crusades was the discovery of
some products that were not available in their home country. These included porcelain, silk,
incense, herbs, perfumes, fabrics, carpets, spices, and other oriental products. Of all these Asian
products, spices became the most expensive and in-demand commodity among Europeans
because of their numerous uses such as food preservation, flavor enhancement, and even
medicine. Since spices were a very lucrative commodity, many merchants aspired to monopolize
their supply and distribution in the European markets.

Asian goods reached Europe either via the Silk Road or the Arabian-Italian trade route.
Both routes were expensive and oftentimes disrupted by wars, natural calamities, and bandits.
The closing of the land route of the Spice Trade with the conquest by the Ottoman Empire of
Contantinople (present-day Turkey and the “gateway to the West” then) in 1453 forced European
kingdoms to look for ways to purchase spices directly from the source. They decided to explore
the oceans to look for a way to the famed Spice Islands.

Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal put up a maritime school that trained sailors who
would later discover an eastern route going to the Spice Island (the modern-day Moluccas
Islands) and other islands in Southeast Asia via the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean. This
route enabled them to trade directly with the producers of spices and other Oriental goods. The
numerous economic benefits it gave to Portugal made other monarchs envious and prompted
them to search for a new trade route to Asia. This led to the discovery of many territories
previously unknown to the Europeans, though inhabited already and known to other races.

The marriage of Queen Isabella of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon (1469)
coupled with the victory of the Catholic monarchs over the Moors in the Battle of Granada
(1492) resulted in the rise of Spain as a world power. With the domestic problems already under
control, Spain started to explore their economic options outside the Iberian Peninsula. Inspired
by the success of Portugal, they aspired to have a fair share in the spice trade. They financed the
trans-Atlantic voyages of Christopher Columbus (1492 to 1502) which resulted in the discovers
of the territories on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. Decades later, the Spanish monarch also
supported the plan of Ferdinand Magellan to go to the Easy by sailing westward, a proposal that
Portugal refused to finance.

The Magellan-Elcano expedition left the port of Sanlucar de Barrameda in Seville on

August 20, 1519 with around 270 men of different nationalities. One of its main objectives was
to search of a new maritime path to the Spice Islands that would not violate Spain’s treaty with
Portugal. Along the way, the expedition suffered natural and man-made challenges and out of the
five ships that left Spain only three reached the Philippines were marked with hospitality and
cordial exchanges of goods. The local inhabitants traded with them and some were even
converted to Christianity. Lapu-lapu, the chieftain of Mactan, refused to trade with the Spaniards
and when Magellan learned this, he waged war with him. Despite their superiority in term of
arms and training, the Spaniards lost the battle and one of the casualties was Magellan himself.
When the survivors returned to Cebu, they were also treacherously attacked by their former
allies. This prompted them to leave the island. By that time, their number was just enough to man
two ships, the Victoria (now under the command of Juan Sebastian Elcano) and the Trinidad The
expedition finally reached the Spice Islands and Managed to purchase a large amount of spices
before leaving. Unfortunately the Trinidad and her crew were captured by the Portuguese on
their journey back.

On September 7, 1522, Elcano and 17 survivors arrived in Spain aboard the

ship Victoria. One of them was Antonio Pigafetta, the assistant of Magellan who kept a journal
that became the main source of what we know about the first encounter of the Spaniards and the
Filipinos.

About the Author 

Antonio Pigafetta (1491-c.1534), born around 1490 in the town of Vicenza, Venice, Italy
was the eldest son of Goivanni Pigafetta to second wife Angela Zoga. He studied astronomy,
geography, and cartography and during his younger years worked in the ships owned by the
Knights of Rhodes. 

His biographers described him as a well-educated young man possessing an avid

curiosity of the world around him. He joined the delegation of Monsignor Francesco Chieregati
when the latter was assigned as Papal Nuncio to Spain in 1519. It was during this time when
Pigafetta became acquainted with the lucrative spice trade and heard the news of the voyage to
be undertaken by Ferdinand Magellan. After getting the approval of the Spanish sovereign, he
left Barcelona and went to Seville. He presented his credentials to Magellan and to the Casa de la
Contratacion, the office in charge of voyages to the New World. He was admitted as one of
the sobresalientes (supernumeraries), or men coming from prominent families who will join the
trip for the love of adventure and for the advancement of military service. Pigafetta survived the
challenges and catastrophes that the expedition encountered along the way, including being
wounded in the Battle of Mactan. He was among the 18 survivors who returned to Spain on
September 6, 1522 aboard the Victoria with Juan Sebastian Elcano.

From Seville, Pigafetta reported to his Majesty King Carlos V and gave him a
handwritten account of what happened to them during the journey before returning to his native
Italy. Very little is known as to what happened to him during the latter part it of his life except on
some accounts that he joined the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem in its battle against the Turks.
He died sometime in 1534.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Pigafetta kept a detailed journal of what happened to them from the time they left Seville
in 1519 until they returned to Spain three years after. When he returned to Italy, many of his
associates asked him to write a formal account of the Magellan expedition and have it published.
He followed their advice and, after doing it, he presented his draft to Pope Clement VII, Philippe
de Villiers L'Isle-Adam (grandmaster of the Knights of Rhodes) and to Louis of Savoy (mother
of King Francis I of France), hoping that they would help him finance its publication.
Unfortunately, he was unable to find a financier who would pay the deposit required by the
printer because by that time, the accounts of Maximilianus Transylvanus and Peter Martyr were
already out and interest on Magellan expedition had died down. Sometime in 1536, a condensed
version of his manuscript was published in Venice by Jacques Fabre.

The original journal of Pigafetta did not survive time. What was handed down to us are
copies of the manuscript that were never printed in his lifetime. Three of them were in French
and two are kept in the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris. The third one was originally owned by
British collector Sir Thomas Phillipps. Later, Beinecke Rare Book bought it and it is now kept in
the Manuscript Library of Yale University in New Haven. The fourth copy was written in mixed
Italian, Spanish, and Venetian languages and could be found in the Ambrosian Library in Milan.
In 1800, Carlo Amoretti published an Italian version and the following year a French version
came out in Paris. An English version was published in 1819. James Alexander Robertson made
his own English version of the Ambrosian copy and it appeared in The Philippine Islands opus
(Volume 33) as well as in a separate edition.

Of the four known primary sources that dealt with the Magellan expedition, Pigafetta's
account is the longest and most comprehensive. It recounted the individual fates of the five ships
(Trinidad, San Antonio, Concepcion, Santiago, and Victoria) that comprised the Magellan
expedition. It narrated lucidly how they gallantly survived the unforeseen problems and
challenges, such as shortage of food, various types of diseases, the crew's lack of confidence in
Magellan's leadership, and the hostile attitude of the people they encountered during the journey.
Pigafetta's account also included maps, glossaries of native words, and geographic information
and descriptions of the flora and fauna of the places they visited.

Pigafetta's travelogue contributed immensely to the enrichment of Philippine

historiography. His writing provided us a glimpse of the political, economic, and social
conditions of the islands in the Visayan region during the 16th century. He described vividly the
physical appearance, social life, religious beliefs, and cultural practices of the people they
encountered in the islands of Samar, Leyte, and Cebu. His account also contains data about the
economic activities of the local folks and the goods they offered for trade. He got all this
information through the help of Magellan's slave/interpreter, Enrique de Malacca. Pigafetta
likewise gave us an eyewitness account of the death of Magellan in the Battle of Mactan.

The report of Pigafetta is quite long and is not presented here in its entirety. The excerpts
are limited to the narration of what happened to the expedition upon reaching the Philippines—
front the time they landed on Homonhon up to the Battle of Mactan. Since Pigafetta and Enrique
de Malacca were not natives of the Visayan region, there were inaccuracies in the information
about and the spelling of the names of places they visited. Thus, the correct equivalent and
translation are provided in this book to make the excerpts understandable to contemporary
students.

Excerpts from Magellan's Voyage Around the World

At dawn on Saturday, March sixteen, 1521, we came upon a high land at a distance of
three hundred leagues from the islands of Latroni—an island named Zamal [i.e., Samar]. The
following day, the captain-general desired to land on another island which was uninhabited and
lay to the right side of the above-mentioned island, in order to be more secure, and to get water
and have some rest. He had two tents set up on the shore for the sick and had a sow killed for
them. On Monday afternoon, March 18, we sawa boat coming toward us with nine men in it.
Therefore, the captain-general ordered that no one should move or say a word without his
permission. When those men reached the shore, their chief went immediately to the captain-
general... seeing that they were reasonable men, ordered food to be set before them, and gave
them red caps, mirrors, combs, bells, ivory, bocasine, and other things. When they saw the
captain's courtesy, they presented fish, a jar of palm wine which they call uraca [i.e., arrack],
figs more than one palmo long [i.e., bananas], and others which were smaller and more
delicate, and two cocoanuts [coconuts]. They had nothing else then...but rice, and cocoanuts
and many articles of food within four days.

Cocoanuts are the fruit of the palm tree. Just as we have bread, wine, oil, and vinegar, so
those people get everything from that tree. They get wine in the following manner. They bore a
hole into the heart of the said palm at the top called palmito [i.e. stalk], from which distils a
liquor which resembles white must [mist]. That liquor is sweet but somewhat tart, and [is
gathered] in canes [of bamboo] as thick as the leg and thicker. They fasten the bamboo to the
tree at evening for the morning, and in the morning for the evening. That palm bears a fruit,
namely the cocoanut, which is as large as the head or thereabouts. Its outside husk is green and
thicker than two fingers. Certain filaments are found in the husk, whence is made cord for
binding together their boats. Under that husk there is a hard shell, much thicker than the shell of
the walnut, which they burn and make therefrom a powder that is useful to them. Under that
shell there is a white marrowy substance one finger in thickness, which they eat fresh with meat
and fish as we do [with] bread; and it has a taste resembling the almond. It could be dried and
made into bread. There is a clear, sweet water in the middle of the marrowy substance which is
very refreshing. When that water stands for a while after having been collected, it congeals and
becomes like an apple. When the natives wish to make1 oil, they take that cocoanut, and allow
the marrowy substance to putrefy. Then they boil it and it becomes oil like butter. When they
wish to make vinegar, they allow only the water to putrefy, and then place it in the sun, and a
vinegar results like [that made from] white wine. Milk can also be made, from it, for we made
some. We scraped that marrowy substance and then mixed the scrapings with its own water
which we strained through a cloth, and so [we] obtained milk like goat's milk. Those palms
resemble date-palms, but although not smooth they are less knotty than the latter. A family of x
[10] persons can be supported on two trees, by utilizing them week about for the wine [by
utilizing one of them during one week and the other during the other 8 days for the wine]; for if
they did otherwise, the trees would dry up. They last a century.

Those people became very familiar with us. They told us many things. their names and
those of some of the islands that could be seen front that place. Their own island was called
Zuluan and it is not very large. We took great pleasure with them, for they were very pleasant
and conversable. In order to show them greater honor, the captain-general took them to his ship
and showed them all his merchandise—cloves, cinnamon, pepper, ginger, nutmeg, mace, gold,
and all the things in the ship. He had some mortars fired for them, whereat they exhibited great
fear, and tried to jump out of the ship. They made signs to us that the abovesaid articles grew in
that place where we were going. When they were about to retire they took their leave very
gracefully and neatly, saying that they would return according to their promise. The island
where we were is called Humunu [Homonhon]; but inasmuch as we found two springs there of
the clearest water, we called it Acquada da li buoni Segnialli (i.e., "the Watering-place of good
Signs"), for there were the first signs of gold which we found in those districts. We found a great
quantity of white coral there, and large trees with fruit a trifle smaller than the almond and
resembling pine seeds. There are also many palms, some of them good and others bad. There
are many islands in that district, and therefore we called them the archipelago of San Lazaro, as
they were discovered on the Sabbath [Sunday] of St. Lazarus. They lie in x degrees of latitude
toward the Arctic Pole, and in a longitude of one hundred and sixty-one degrees from the line of
demarcation.

At noon on Friday, March 22, those men came as they had es promised us in two boats
with cocoanuts, sweet oranges, jar of palm-wine and a cock, in order to show us that there were
fowls in that district. They exhibited great signs of pleasure at seeing us. We purchased all those
articles from them. Their seignior an old man who was painted [i.e., tattooed]. He wore two
gold earrings [schione] in his ears, and the others many gold armlets on their arms and
kerchiefs about [on] their heads. We stayed there one week, and during that time our captain
went ashore daily to visit the sick, and every morning gave them cocoanut water from his own
hand, which comforted them greatly. There are people living near the island who have holes
[earrings] in their ears so large that they can pass their arms through them. Those people are
caphri, that is to say, heathen. They go naked, with a soft cloth woven from the bark of a tree
about their privies, except some of the chiefs who wear cotton cloth embroidered with silk at the
ends by means of a needle. They are dark, fat, and painted. They anoint themselves with
cocoanut and with beneseed oil, as a protection against the sun and wind. They have very black
hair that falls to the waist, and use daggers, knives, and spears ornamented with gold, large
shields, fascines, javelins, and fishing nets that resemble rizali [a fine thickly woven net used for
fishing]; and their boats are [just] like ours.

*****

Next day, holy Friday, the captain-general sent his slave, who acted as our interpreter,
ashore in a small boat to ask the king if he had any food to have it carried to the ships; and to
say that they would be well satisfied with us, for he [and his men] had come to the island as
friends and not as enemies. The king came with six or eight men in the same boat and entered
the ship. He embraced the captain-general to whom he gave three porcelain jars covered with
leaves and full of raw rice, two very large orade [dorado] and other things. The captain-general
gave the king a garment of red and yellow cloth made in the Turkish fashion, and a fine red cap;
and to the others (the king's men), to some knives and to others mirrors. Then the captain-
general had a collation spread for them, and had the king told through the slave that he desired
to be casi casi with him, that is to say, brother. The king replied that he also wished enter the
same relations with the captain-general. Then the captain showed him cloth of various colors,
linen, coral [ornaments], and many other articles of merchandise, and all the artillery, some of
which he had discharged for him, whereat the natives were greatly frightened.

*****

Pieces of gold, of the size of walnuts and eggs, are found by sifting the earth in the island
of that king who came [whom I led] to our ships. All the dishes of that king are of gold and also
some portion of his house, as we were told by that king himself. According to their customs he
was grandly decked out [molto in ordine], and the finest looking man that we saw among those
people. His hair was exceedingly black, and hung to his shoulders. He had a covering of silk on
his head, and wore two large golden earrings fastened in [to] his ears. He wore a cotton cloth
all embroidered with silk, which covered him from the waist to the knees. At his side hung a
dagger, the haft of which was somewhat long and all of gold, and its scabbard of carved wood.
He had three spots of gold on every tooth, and his teeth appeared as if bound with gold. He was
perfumed with storax and benzoin. He was tawny and painted [i.e., tattooed] all over. That
island of his was called Butuan and Calagan [Caraga]. When those kings wished to see one
another, they both went to hunt in that island where we were. The name of the first king is Raia
Colambu, the second Raia Siaui.

Early on [in] the morning of Sunday, the last of March and Easter-day, the captain-
general sent the priest with some men to prepare the place where the Mass was to be said;
together with the interpreter to tell the king that we were not going to land in order to dine with
him, but to say mass. Therefore the king sent us two swine that he had had killed. When the hour
for mass [had] arrived, we landed with about fifty men, without our body armor, but carrying
our other arms, and dressed in our best clothes. Before we reached the shore with our boats, six
pieces were discharged as a sign of peace. We landed; the two kings embraced the captain-
general, and placed him between them. We went in marching order to the place consecrated,
which was not far from shore. Before the commencement of [the] mass, the captain sprinkled the
entire bodies of the two kings with musk water. The mass was offered up [During the Mass, we
made our offerings]. The kings went forward to kiss the cross as we did, but made no offerings.
When the body of our Lord was elevated, they remained on their knees and worshipped Him with
clasped hands. The ships fired all their artillery at once when the body of Christ was elevated,
the signal having been given from the shore with muskets. After the conclusion of Mass, some of
our men took communion....Then he [they] had a cross carried in and the nails and a crown, to
which immediate reverence was made [to which they made immediate reverence]. He told the
kings through the interpreter that they were the standards given to him by the emperor his
sovereign, so that wherever he might go he might set up those tokens. [He said] that he wished
to set it up in that place for their benefit, for whenever any of our ships came, they would know
that we had been there by that cross, and would do nothing to displease them or harm their
property [property: doublet in original MS.]. If any of their men were captured, they would be
set free immediately on that sign being shown. It was necessary to set that cross on the summit of
the highest mountain, so that on seeing it every morning, they might adore it; and if they did
that, neither thunder, lightning, nor storms would harm them in the least. They thanked him
heartily and [said] that they would do everything willingly. The captain-general also asked them
whether they were Moros [Muslims] or heathen, or what was their belief. They replied that they
worshiped nothing [had no other worship] but that they raised their clasped hands and their
face to the sky, and that they called their god "Abba." There at the captain was very glad, and
seeing that, the first king raised his hands to the sky, and said that he wished that it were
possible for him to make the captain see his love for him. The interpreter asked the king why
there was so little to eat there. The latter replied that he did not live in that place except when he
went hunting and to see his brother, but that he lived in another island where all his family were.
The captain-general had him asked [asked him] to declare whether he had enemies, so that he
might go with his ships to destroy them and to render them obedient to him. The king thanked
him and said that he did indeed have two islands hostile to him, but that it was not then the
season to go there. The [That]captain told him that if God would again allow him to return to
those districts, he would bring so many men that he would make the king's enemies subject to
him by force. He said that he was about to go to dinner, and that he would return afterward to
have the cross set up on the summit of the mountain. They replied that they were satisfied, and
then forming in battalion and firing the muskets, and the captain having embraced the two kings,
we took our leave.

After dinner we all returned clad in our doublets, and that afternoon went together with
the two kings to the summit of the highest mountain there. When we reached the summit, the
captain-general told them that he esteemed highly having sweated for them, for since the cross
was there, it could not but be of great use to them. On asking which port was best to get food,
they replied that there were three, namely, Ceylon [Leyte], Zubu [Cebu], and Calaghann
[Calagan], but that Zubu was the largest and the one with most trade. They offered of their own
accord to give us pilots to show us the way. The captain-general thanked them, and determined
to go there, for so did his unhappy fate will. After the cross was erected in position, each of us
repeated a Pater Noster and an Ave Maria, and adored the cross; and the kings did the same.
Then we descended through the cultivated fields, and went to the place where the balanghai was.
The king had some cocoanuts brought in so we might refresh ourselves. The captain asked the
kings for pilots, for he intended to depart he following morning, and [said] that he would treat
them as if they were the kings themselves, and would leave one of us as hostage. The kings
replied every that every hour he wished the pilots were at his command, but that night the first
king changed his mind, and in the morning when we were about to depart, sent word to the
captain-general, asking him for love of him to wait two days until he should have his rice
harvested, and other trifles attended to. He asked the captain-general to send him some men to
help him, so that it might be done sooner; and said that he intended to act as our pilot himself.
The captain sent him some men, but the kings ate and drank so much that they slept all the day.
Some said to excuse them that they were slightly sick. Our men did nothing on that day, but they
worked the next two days.

*****

Those people were heathens, and go naked and painted. They wear a piece of cloth
woven from a tree about their privies. They are heavy drinkers. Their women are clad in tree
cloth from their waist down, and their hair is black and reaches to the ground. They have holes
pierced in their ears which are filled with gold. These people are constantly chewing a fruit
which they call areca, and resembles a pear. They cut that fruit into four parts, and then wrap it
in the leaves of their tree which they call betre [i.e., betel]. Those leaves resemble the leaves of
the mulberry. They mix it with a little lime, and when they have chewed it thoroughly, they spit it
out. It makes the mouth exceedingly red. All the people in those parts of the world use it, for it is
very cooling to the heart, and if they ceased to use it they would die. There are dogs, cats, swine,
fowls, goats, rice, ginger, cocoanuts, figs [i.e., bananas], oranges, lemons, millet, pancium,
sorgo, wax, and a quantity of gold in that island. It lies in a latitude of nine and two-thirds
degrees toward the Arctic Pole, and in a longitude of one hundred and sixty-two degrees from
the line of demarcation. It is twenty-five [leagues] from the Acquada, and is called Mazaua
[Limasawa].

We remained there seven days, after which we laid our course toward the northwest,
passing among five islands, namely Ceylon, Bohol, Canighan, Baybai, and Gatighan. In the last-
named island of Gatighan, there are bats as large as eagles. As it was late we killed one of them,
which resembled chicken in taste. There are doves, turtle-doves, parrots, and certain black birds
as large as domestic chickens, which have a long tail. The last.-mentioned birds lay eggs as
large the goose, and bury them under the sand, through the great heat of which they hatched out.
When the chicks are born, they push up the sand, and come out. Those eggs are good to eat.
There is a distance of twenty leguas (leagues] from Mazaua to Gatighan. We set out westward
from Gatighan, but the king of Mazaua could not follow us (closely]; and consequently, we
awaited him near three islands; namely Polo [Poro], Ticobon [Pasijan], and Pozon [Pason].
When he caught up with us he was greatly astonished at the rapidity with which we sailed. The
captain-general had him come into his ship with several of his chiefs at which they were pleased.
Thus did we go to Zubu from Gatighan, the distance to Zubu being fifteen leguas.

At noon on Sunday, April seven, we entered the port of Zubu, passing by many villages,
where we saw many homes built upon logs. On approaching the city, the captain-general
ordered the ships to fling their banners. The sails were lowered and arranged as if for battle,
and the artillery was fired, an action which caused great fear to the people. The captain sent a
foster-son of his as ambassador to the king of Zubo with the interpreter. When they reached the
city, they found a vast crowd of people together with the king, all of whom who were frightened
by the mortars. The interpreter told them that that was our custom when entering into such
places, as a sign of peace and friendship, and that we had discharged all our mortars to honor
the king of the village. The king and all of his men were reassured, and the king had us asked by
his governor what we wanted. The interpreter replied that his master was a captain of the
greatest king and prince in the world, and that he was going to discover Malucho; but that he
had come solely to visit the king because of the good report which he had heard of him from the
king Mazaua, and to buy food with his merchandise. The king told him that he was welcome
[literally: he had come at a good time], but that it was their custom for all ships that entered
their ports to pay tribute, and that it was but four days since a junk from Ciama [i.e., Siam]
laden with gold and slaves had paid him tribute. As proof of his statement, the king pointed out
to the interpreter, a merchant from Ciama, who had remained to trade the gold and slaves. The
interpreter told the king that, since his master was the captain of so great a king, he did not pay
tribute to any seignior in the world, and that if the king wished peace he would have peace, but if
war instead, war. Thereupon, the Moro merchant said to the king "Cata raia chita"; that is to
say, "Look well, sire. These men are the same who have conquered Calicut, Malaca, and all
India Magiore [i.e., India Major]. If they are treated well, they will give good treatment, but if
they are treated evil, evil and worse treatment, as they have done to Calicut and Malaca." The
interpreter understood it all and told the king that his master's king was more powerful in men
and ships than the king of Portogalo, that he was the king of Spagnia [Spain] and emperor of all
the Christians, and that if the king did not care to be his friend he would next time send so many
men that they would destroy him. The Moro related everything to the king who said thereupon
that he would deliberate with his men, and would answer the captain on the following day. Then
he had refreshments of many dishes, all made from meat and contained in porcelain platters,
besides many jars of wine brought in. After our men had refreshed themselves, they returned and
told us everything. The king of Mazaua, who was the most influential after that king and the
seignior of a number of islands, went ashore to speak to the king of the great courtesy of our
captain-general.

Monday morning, our notary, together with the interpreter, went to Zubu. The king,
accompanied by his chiefs, came to the open square where he had our men sit down near him.
He asked the notary whether there were more than one captain in that company, and whether
that captain wished him to pay tribute to the emperor, his master. The notary replied in the
negative, but that the captain wished only to trade with him and no others. The king said that he
was satisfied, and that if the captain wished to become his friend, he should send him a drop of
blood from his right arm, and he himself would do the same [to him] as a sign of the most
sincere friendship. The notary answered that the captain would do it [so]. Thereupon, the king
told him that all the captains who came to that place were wont to give presents one to the other
[i.e., mutual presents between the king and the captain], and asked whether our captain or he
ought to commence. The interpreter told the king that since he desired to maintain the custom,
he should commence, and so he did.

*****

On Wednesday morning, as one of our men had died during the previous night, the
interpreter and I went to ask the king where we could bury him. We found the king surrounded
by many men of whom, after the due reverence was made, I asked it. He replied, "If I and my
vassals all belong to your sovereign, how much more ought the land." I told the king that we
would like to consecrate the place, and to set up a cross there. He replied that he was quite
satisfied and that he wished to adore the cross as did we. The deceased was buried in the square
with as much pomp as possible, in order to furnish a good example. Then we consecrated the
place, and in the evening buried another man. We carried a quantity of merchandise ashore
which we stored in a house. The king took it under his care as well as four men who were left to
trade the goods by wholesale. Those people live in accordance with justice, and have weights
and measures. They love peace, ease, and quiet. They have wooden balances, the bar of which
has a cord in the middle by which it is held.

At one end is a bit of lead, and at the other marks like quarter-libras [quarter-pounds],
third-libras [third-pounds], and libras [pounds]. When they wish to weigh they take the scales
which has three wires like ours, and place it above the marks, and so weigh it accurately. They
have very large measures without any bottom. The youth play on pipes made like ours which
they call subin. Their houses are constructed of wood and are built of planks and bamboo,
raised high from the ground on large logs, and one must enter them by means of ladders. They
have rooms like ours; and under the house they keep their swine, goats, and fowls. Large sea
snails [corniolli], beautiful to the sight, are found there which kill whales. For the whale
swallows them alive, and when they are in the whale's body, they come out of their shells and eat
the whale's heart. Those people afterward find them alive near the dead whale's heart. Those
creatures have black teeth and skin and a white shell, and the flesh is [are] good to eat. They are
called laghan [a shellfish].

On Friday we showed these people a shop full of our merchandise, at which they were
very much surprised. For metals, iron and other large merchandise they gave us gold. For the
other smaller articles they gave us rice, swine, goats, and other food. Those people gave us x
pieces of gold for xiiii libras [14 pounds] of iron (one piece being worth about one and one-half
ducados [ducats]). The captain-general did not wish to take too much gold, for there would have
been some sailors who -would have given all that they owned for a small amount of gold and
would have spoiled the trade for ever. On Saturday, as the captain [king] had promised the king
[captain] to become a Christian on Sunday, a platform was built in [on] the consecrated square,
which was adorned with hangings and palm branches for his baptism. The captain-general sent
men to tell the king not to be afraid of the pieces that would be discharged in the morning, for it
was our custom to discharge them at our greatest feasts without loading [them] with stones.

On Sunday morning, April fourteen, forty men of us went ashore, two of whom were
completely armed and preceded the royal banner. When we reached land all the artillery was
fired. Those people followed us hither and thither. The captain and the king embraced. The
captain told the king that the royal banner was not taken ashore except with fifty men armed as
were those two, and with fifty musketeers; but so great was his love for him that he had thus
brought the banner. Then we all approached the platform joyfully. The captain and the king sat
down in chairs of red and violet velvet, the chiefs on cushions, and the others on mats. The
captain told the king through the interpreter that he thanked God for inspiring him to became
[become] a Christian, and that [now] he would more easily conquer his enemies than before.
The king replied that he wished to become a Christian, but that some of his chiefs did not wish to
obey, because they said that they were as good as men as he. Then our captain had all the chiefs
of the king called, and told them that unless they obeyed the king as their king, he would have
them killed, and would give their possessions to the king. They replied that they would obey him.
The captain told the king that he was going to Spagnia, but that he would return again with so
many forces that he would make him the greatest king of those regions, as he had been the first
to express a determination to become a Christian. The king, lifting his hands to the sky, thanked
the captain, and requested him to let some of his men remain [with him], so that he and his
people might better be instructed in the faith. The captain replied that he would like to take two
of the children of the chiefs with him, so that they might learn our language, who afterward on
their return would be able to tell the others the wonders [cose] of Spagnia. A large cross was set
up in the middle of the square. The captain told them that if they wished to become Christians as
they had declared on the previous days, that they must burn all their idols and set up a cross in
their place. They were to adore that cross daily with clasped hands, and every morning after
their [i.e., the Spaniards '] custom, they were to make the sign of the cross (which the captain
showed them how to make); and they ought to come hourly, at least in the morning, to that cross,
and adore it kneeling. The intention that they had already declared, they were to confirm it with
good works. The king and all the others wished to confirm it thoroughly. The captain-general
told the king that he was clad in all white to demonstrate his sincere love toward them. They
replied they could not respond to his sweet words. The captain led the king by hand to the
platform while speaking these good words in order to baptize him. He told the king that he
would call him Don Carlo, after his sovereign the emperor; the prince, Don Fernando, after the
emperor's brother; the king of Mazaua, Johanni; a chief, Fernando, after our chief, that is to say
the captain; the Moro, Christoforo; and then the others, now one name, and now another. Five
hundred men were baptized before mass. After the conclusion of mass, the captain invited the
king and some of the other chiefs to dinner, but they refused, accompanying us, however, to the
shore. The ships discharged all the mortars; and embracing, the king and chiefs and the captain
took leave of one another.

After dinner the priest and some of the others went ashore to baptize the queen, who
came with forty women. We conducted her to the platform, and she was made to sit down upon a
cushion, and the other women near her, until the priest should be ready. She was shown [I
showed her] an image of our Lady, a very beautiful wooden child Jesus, and a cross. Thereupon,
she was overcome with contrition and asked for baptism amid her tears. We named her Johanna,
after the emperor's mother; her daughter, the wife of the prince, Catherina; the queen of
Mazaua, Lisabeta; and the others, each children, [with] their [distinctive] names. Counting
men, women, and children, we baptized eight hundred souls. The queen was young and
beautiful, and was entirely covered with a white and black cloth. Her mouth and nails were very
red, while on her head she wore a large hat of palm leaves in the manner of a parasol, with a
crown about it of the same leaves, like the tiara of the Pope; and she never goes any place
without such a one. She asked us to give her the little child Jesus to keep in place of her idols;
and then she went away. In the afternoon, the king and queen, accompanied by numerous
persons, came to the shore. Thereupon, the captain had mans tromps of fire and large mortars
discharged, by which they were most highly delighted. The captain and the king called one
another brothers. That king's name was Raia Humabon. Before that week had gone, all the
persons of that island, and some from the other islands, were baptized. We burned one hamlet
which was located in a neighboring island, because it refused to obey the king or us. We set up
the cross there for those people were heathen. Had they been Moros, we would have erected a
column there as a token of our greater hardness, for the Moros are much harder to convert than
the heathen.

The captain-general went ashore daily during those days to hear mass, and told the king
many things regarding the faith. One day the queen came with great pomp to hear Mass. Three
girls preceded her with three of her hats in their hands. She was dressed in black and white with
a large silk scarf, crossed with gold stripes thrown over her head, which covered her shoulders;
and she had on her hat. A great number of women accompanied her, who were all naked and
barefoot, except that they had a small covering of palm-tree cloth before their privies, and a
small scarf upon the head, and all hair flowing free. The queen, having made the due reverence
to the altar, seated herself on a silk embroidered cushion. Before the commencement of the mass,
the captain sprayed her and some of her [the] women with musk rosewater, for they delighted
exceedingly in such perfumes. The captain, knowing that the queen was very much pleased with
the child Jesus, gave it to her, telling her to keep it in place of her idols, for it was a memory of
the son of God. Thanking him heartily, she accepted it.

*****

One day, the captain-general asked the king and the other people why they did not burn
their idols as they had promised when they became Christians; and why they sacrificed so much
flesh to them. They replied that what they were doing was not for themselves, but for a sick man
who had not spoken now for four days, so that the idols might give him health. He was the
prince's brother, and the bravest and wisest man in the island. The captain told them to burn
their idols and to believe in Christ, and that if the sick man were baptized, he would quickly
recover; and if that did not so happen they could behead him [i.e., the captain] then and there.
Thereupon, the king replied that he would do it, for he truly believed in Christ. We made a
procession from the square to the house of the sick man with as much pomp as possible. There
we found him in such a condition that he could neither speak nor move. We baptized him and his
two wives, and x girls. Then the captain had him asked [asked him] how he felt. He spoke
immediately and said that by the grace of our Lord he felt very well. That was a most manifest
miracle [that happened] in our times. When the captain heard him [the man] speak, he thanked
God fervently. Then he made the sick man drink some almond milk, which he had already made
ready for him. Afterward he sent him a mattress, a pair of sheets, a coverlet of yellow cloth, and
a pillow. Until he recovered his health, the captain sent him [every day] almond milk, rosewater,
oil of roses, and some sweet preserves. Before five days the sick man began to walk. He had an
idol that certain old women concealed in his house burned in the presence of the king and all the
people. He had many shrines along the seashore destroyed, in which consecrated meat was
eaten. The people themselves cried out "Castiglia!" "Castiglia!" and destroyed those shrines.
They said that if God would lend them life, they would burn all the idols they could find, even if
they were in the king's house. Those idols are made of wood, and are hollow, and lack the back
parts. Their arms are open and their feet turned up under them with the legs open. They have a
large face with four huge tusks like those of the wild boar; and are painted all over.

There are many villages in that island. Their names and those of their chiefs are as
follows: Cinghapola and its chiefs, Cilaton, Ciguibucan, Cimaningha, Cimatichat, and
Cicanbul; one, Mandaui and its chief, Apanoaan; one Lalan, and its chief, Theteu; one, Lalutan,
and its chief, Tapan; one Cilumai; and one, Lubucun. All those villages rendered obedience to
us, and gave us food and tribute. Near that island of Zubu was an island called Matan [Mactan],
which formed the port where we were anchored. The name of its village was Matan, and its
chiefs were Zula and Cilapulapu [Lapu-lapu]. That city [village] which we burned was in that
island and was called Bulaia

*****

On Friday, April twenty-six, Zula, chief of the island of Mactan, sent one of his sons to
present two goats to the captain-general, and to say that he would send him all that he had
promised, but that he had not been able to send it to him because of the other chief, Cilapulapu,
who refused to obey the king of Spagnia. He requested the captain to send him only one boatload
of men on the next night, so that they might help him and fight against the other chief. The
captain-general decided to thither with three boatloads. We begged him repeatedly not to go, but
he, like a good shepherd, refused to abandon his flock. At midnight, sixty men of us set out
armed with corselets and helmets, together with the Christian king, the prince, some of the chief
men, and twenty or thirty balanghais. We reached Matan three hours before dawn. The captain
did not wish to fight then, but he sent a message to the natives by the Moro to the effect that if
they would obey the king of Spagnia, recognize the Christian king as their sovereign, pay us our
tribute, he would be their friend; but that if they wished otherwise, they should wait to see how
our lances wounded. They replied that if we had lances they had lances of bamboo and stakes
hardened with fire. [They asked us] not to proceed to attack them at once, but to wait until
morning, so that they might have more men. They said that in order to induce us to go in search
of them; for they had dug certain pitholes between the houses in order that we might fall into
them. When morning came, forty-nine of us leaped into the water up our thighs, and walked
through water for more than two crossbow flights before we could reach the shore. The boats
could not approach nearer because of certain rocks in the water. The other eleven men remained
behind to guard the boats... When they saw us, they charged down upon us with exceeding loud
cries, two divisions on our flanks and other two on our front. When the captain saw that, he
formed us into two divisions, and thus did we begin to fight. The musketeers and crossbowmen
shot from a distance for half an hour, but uselessly for the shots only passed through the shields
which were made of thin wood and the arms [of the bearers]. The captain cried to them, "Cease
firing! Cease firing!" but his order was not all heeded. When the natives saw that we were
shooting our muskets to no purpose, crying out, they [were] determined to stand firm, but they
[and] redoubled their shouts. When our muskets were discharged, the natives would never stand
still but leaped hither and thither, covering themselves with their shields. They shot so many
arrows at us and hurled so many bamboo spears (some of them tipped with iron) at the captain-
general, besides pointed stakes hardened with fire, stones, and mud, that we could scarcely
defend ourselves. Seeing that, the captain-general sent some men to burn their houses in order
to terrify them. When they saw their houses burning, they were roused to greater fury. Two of
our men were killed near the houses, while we burned twenty or thirty houses. So many of them
charged down upon us that they shot the captain through the right leg with a poisoned arrow.
On that account, he ordered us to retire slowly, but the men took to flight, except six or eight of
us who remained with the captain. The natives shot only at our legs, for the latter were bare;
and so many were the spears and stones hurled at us, that we could offer no [Link]
mortars in the boats could not aid us as they were too far away. So we continued to retire for
more than a good crossbow flight from the shore, always fighting up to our knees in the water.
The natives continued to pursue us, and picking up the same spear four or six times, hurled it at
us again and again. Recognizing the captain, so many turned upon him that they knocked his
helmet off his head twice, but he always stood firmly like a good knight, together with some
others. Thus did we fight for more than one hour, refusing to retire farther [further]. An Indian
hurled a bamboo spear into the captain's face, but the latter immediately killed him with his
lance, which he left in the Indian's body. Then, trying to lay hand on sword, he could draw it out
halfway because he had been wounded in the arm with [by] a bamboo spear. When the natives
saw that, they all hurled themselves upon him. One of them wounded him on the left leg with a
large cutlass, which resembles a scimitar, only being larger. That caused the captain to fall face
downward, when immediately they rushed upon him with iron and bamboo spears and with their
cutlasses, until they killed our mirror, our light, our comfort, and our true guide. When they
wounded him, he turned back many times to see whether we were all in the boats. Thereupon,
beholding him dead, we, wounded, retreated, as best as we could to the boats which were
already pulling off. The Christian king would have aided us, but the captain charged him before
we landed, not to leave his balanghai, but to stay to see how we fought. When the king learned
that the captain was dead, he wept. Had it not been for that unfortunate captain, not a single one
of us would have been saved in the boats, for while he was fighting, the others retired to the
boats. I hope through [the efforts of] your illustrious Lordship that the fame of so noble a
captain will not become effaced in our times. Among other virtues which he possessed, he was
more constant than ever in the greatest adversity. He endured hunger better than all the others,
and more accurately than any man in the world did he understand sea charts and navigation.
And that this was the truth seen openly, for no other had had so much natural talent nor the
boldness to learn how to circumnavigate the world, as he had almost done. That (The] battle
was fought on Saturday, April twenty-seven, 1521. The captain desired to fight on Saturday,
because it was the day especially holy to him. Eight of our men were killed with hint in that
battle, and four Indians, who had become Christians and who had come afterward to aid us,
were killed by the mortars of the boats. Of the enemy, only fifteen were killed, while many of us
were wounded.
Module 4 - Customs of the Tagalogs

 
1. Introduction/Overview

This section shows the different practices and customs, transcribed by Fray Juan De Plancencia
in his account, Customs of the Tagalogs. The Tagalogs had long been practicing these even prior
to the coming of the Spaniards practices only prove that Filipinos already lived with political,
economic, and cultural systems before the Spanish colonization in the Philippines.

HISTORICAL CONTENT

During the first century of Spanish rule, the colonial government had difficulty in running local
politics because of the limited number of Spaniards who wanted to live outside of Intramuros.
This situation forced Spanish officials to allow Filipinos to hold the position of gobernadorcillo.
To ensure that the gobernadorcillos would remain loyal to the Crown, the friars assigned in the
parishes were instructed to supervise and monitor the activities of the former. Hence, the friars
ended up performing the administrative duties that colonial officials should have been doing at
the local level. They supervised the election of the local executives, helped in the collection of
taxes, were directly involved in educating the youth, and performed other civic duties.
Consequently, the friars became the most knowledgeable and influential figure in the pueblo.

The friars who were assigned in mission territories were required periodically to inform their
superiors of what wasr happening in their respective areas. They prepared reports on the number
of natives they converted, the people's way of life, their socio-economic situation, and the
problems they encountered Some of them submitted short letters while others who wrote long
dispatches. On top of the regular reports they submitted, they also shared their personal
observations and experiences. Plasencia's Relacion de las Costumbres de Los Tagalogs (Customs
of the Tagalogs, 1589) is an example of this kind of work. It contains numerous information that
historians could use in reconstructing the political and socio-cultural history of the Tagalog
region. His work is a primary source because he personally witnessed the events and his account
contained his observations.

There were other friars and colonial officials who also wrote about the Filipinos which could
further enrich our knowledge of Philippine history during the early part of the Spanish period.
For example, Miguel de Loarca, an encomendero of Panay wrote his Relacion de las Islas
Filipinas (1582) and described the Filipinos' way of life in the Western Visayas area. Lieutenant
Governor Antonio de Morga wrote Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas which provides information
about the state of the Philippines in the latter part of the 16th century. The other Spanish
missionaries who continued the historiographical tradition were jeuan Fr Pedro Chirino S.J.
(Relacion de las Islas Filipinas, 1604), Fr. Juan Delgado S.J. (Historia General, 1751), Fr.
Francisco Colin S.J. (Labor Evangelica, 1663), and Fr. Francisco Ignacio Alcina S.J. (Historia
natural de sitio, fertilidad y calidad de las Islas e Indios de Bisayas, 1668). Most of what we
know about Philippine history during the first century of the Spanish period were derived from
the accounts of the Spanish friars.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Fray Juan de Plasencia (Joan de Portocarrero, real name) was a member of the Franciscan Order
who came together with the first batch of missionaries to the Philippines in 1578. He and a
fellow, Franciscan Fray Diego de Oropesa, were assigned to do mission works in the Southern
Tagalog area. Plasencia also helped in the foundation and organization of numerous towns in
Quezon, Laguna, Rizal, and Bulacan. His continuous interaction with the people he converted to
Christianity enabled him to write a work titled Relacion de las Costumbres de Los Tagalogs
(Customs of the Tagalogs, 1589) where he vividly described the political, social, economic, and
cultural practices of the Filipinos before they were introduced Catholisism.

Plasencia did not limit himself to the task of administering the sacraments and baptizing new
converts. He believed that catechism or explaining the basic tenets of Catholic faith is another
very important function of a missionary. His biggest challenge at that time was how to make the
articles of faith comprehensible to people who have never heard of Christ or the Catholic
Church. He wrote the Doctrina Christiana en Lengua Española y Tagala which later became the
first printed book in the Philippines in 1593. He used it as reading material for those Filipinos
who wished to deepen their faith in the newly-accepted religion. Plasencia died in Liliw, Laguna
in 1590.

ABOUT THE TEXT

The original document of Customs of the Tagalogs is currently kept in the Archivo General de
lndias (A.G.I.) in Seville, Spain. A duplicate copy of it is kept in the Archivo Franciscano lbero-
Oriental (A.F.I.O.), in Madrid, Spain. An English translation appeared in Volume VII of the
Blair and Robertson's The Philippine Islands. Another English translation was published as part
of the volume for precolonial Philippines in the second series of the Filipiniana Book Guild. The
excerpts presented below is from the latter version.

Excerpts from Customs of the Tagalogs

This people always had chiefs, called by thorn  datos, who governed them and were captains in
their wars, and whom they obeyed and reverenced. The subject who committed any offense
against them, or spoke but a word to their wives and children, was severely punished.

  These chiefs ruled over a few people; sometimes as many as a hundred houses, sometimes even
less than thirty. This tribal gathering is called in Tagalog a  barangay. It was inferred that the
reason for giving themselves this name rose from the fact (as they are classed, by their language,
among the Malay nations) that when they came to this land, the head of the barangay, which is a
boat, thus called—as is discussed at length in the first chapter of the first ten chapters—became
the dato. And so, even at present day, it is ascertained that the barangay in its origin was a
family of parents, children, relations and slaves. There were many of these barangays in each
town, or at least, on account of wars, they did not settle far from one another. They were not,
however, subject to one another, except in friendship and relationship. The chiefs, in their
various wars, helped one another with their respective barangays.

In addition to these chiefs, who corresponded to our knights, there were three castes: nobles,
commoners, and slaves. The nobles were the freeborn whom they call maharlica. They did not
pay tax or tribute to the  dato, but must accompany him in war, at their own expense. The chief
offered them beforehand a feast, and afterward they divided the spoils. Moreover, when
the dato went upon the water those whom he summoned rowed for him. If he built a house, they
helped him, and had to be fed up for it. The same was true when the whole barangay went to
clear up his lands for tillage. The lands which they inhabited were divided among the whole
barangay, especially the irrigated portion, and thus each one knew his own. No one belonging to
another barangay would cultivate them unless after purchase or inheritance. The lands on
the tingues, or mountain ridges, are not divided, but owned in common by the barangay.
Consequently, at the time of the rice harvest, any individual of any particular barangay,
although he may have come from some other village, if he commences to clear any land may sow
it, and no one can compel him to abandon it. There are some villages (as, for example, Pila de
Laguna) in which these nobles, or maharlicas, paid annually to the dato a hundred gantas of
rice. The reason of this was that, at the time of their settlement there, another chief, upon his
arrival, bought with his own gold; and therefore the members of his barangay paid him for
arable land, and he divided it, among those whom he saw fit to reward. But now since the advent
of the Spaniards, it is not so divided.

*****

  The commoners are called aliping namamahay. They are married, and serve their master,
whether he be a dato or not, with half of their cultivated lands, as was agreed upon in the
beginning. They accompanied him wherever he went beyond the island, and rowed for him. They
live in their own houses, and are lords of their property and gold. Their children inherit it, and
enjoy their property and lands. The children, then, enjoy the rank of their fathers, and they
cannot be made slaves (sa guiguilir) , nor can either parents or children be sold. If they should
fall by inheritance into the hands of a son of their master who was going to dwell in another
village, they could not be taken from their own village and carried with him; but they would
remain their native village, doing service there and cultivating the sowed lands.

The slaves are called aliping sa guiguilir. They serve their master in his house and on his
cultivated lands, and may be sold. The master grants them, should they see fit, and providing
that he has profited through their industry, a portion of their harvests, so that they may work
faithfully. For these reasons, servants who are born in the house of their master are rarely, if
ever, sold. That is the lot of captives in war, and of those brought up in the harvest fields....

The difference between the  aliping namamahay and the aliping sa guiguilir, should be noted;
for, by a confusion of the two terms, many have been classed as slaves who really are not. The
Indians seeing that the alcaldes-mayor do not understand this, have adopted the custom of
taking away the children of the  aliping namamahay, making use of them as they would of aliping
sa guiguilir, as servants in their households, which is illegal, and if the aliping
namamahay should appeal to justice, it is proved that he is an alipin as well as his father and
mother before him and no reservation is made as to whether he is aliping namamahay or aliping
sa guiguilir. He is at once considered an  alipin, without further declaration. In this way he
becomes a  sa guiguilir, and is even sold. Consequently, the alcaldes-mayor should be instructed
to ascertain, when anyone asks for his alipin, to which class he belongs, and to have the answer
put in document that they give him. 

In these three classes, those who are maharlicas on both father's and mother's side continue to
be so forever; and if it happens that they should become slaves, it is through marriage, as I shall
soon explain. If these maharlicas had children among their slaves, the children and their
mothers became free; if one of them had children by a slave-woman of another, she was
compelled, when pregnant, to give her master half of the gold tael, because of her risk of death,
and for her inability to labor during the pregnancy. In such case half of the child was free—
namely, the half belonging to his father, who supplied the child with food. If he did not do this,
he showed that he did not recognize him as his child, in which case the latter was wholly a slave.
If a free woman had children by a slave, they were all free, Provided he were not her husband.

If two persons married, of whom one was a  maharlica and the other a slave,
whether namamahay or sa guiguilir, the children were divided; the first, whether male or
female, belonged to the father, as did the third and fifth; the second, the fourth, and the sixth fell
to the mother, and so on. In this manner, if the father were free, all those who belonged to him
were free; if he were a a slave, all those who belonged to him were slaves; and the same applied
to the mother. If there should not be more than one child he was half free and half slave. The
question here concerned the division, whether the child were male or female. Those who became
slaves fell under the category of servitude which was their parent's, either namamahay or sa
guiguilir. If there were an odd number of children, the odd one was half free and half slave. I
have not been able to ascertain with certainty when or what age the division of children was
made, for each one suited himself in this respect. Of these two kinds of slaves the  sa
guiguilir could be sold, but not the namamahay and their children, nor could they be
transferred. However, they could be transferred from the barangay by inheritance, provided they
remained in the same village. 

The  maharlicas  could not, after marriage, move from one village to another, or from one
barangay to another, without paying a certain fine in gold, as arranged among them. This fine
was larger or smaller according to the inclination of the different villages. running from one to
three each and a banquet to the entire barangay. Failure to pay the fine might result in a war
between the barangay where the person left and the one which he entered. This applied equally
to men and women except that when one married a woman of another village, the children were
afterwards divided equally between the two barangays. This arrangement kept them obedient to
the dato, or chief, which is no longer the case—because if the dato is energetic and commands
what the religious fathers enjoin him, they soon leave him and go to other villages and
other datos, who endure and protect them and do not order them about. This is the kind
of dato that they now prefer, not him who has the spirit to command. There is a great need of
reform in this, for the chiefs are spiritless and faint-hearted.

Investigations made and sentences passed by the dato must take place in the presence if those in
his barangay. If any of the litigants felt himself aggrieved, an arbiter was unanimously selected
from another village or barangay, whether he were a dato or not; since they had for this
purpose some reasons, known as fair and just men, who were said to give true judgment
according to their customs. If the controversy lay between two chiefs, when they wished to avoid
war, they also convoked judges to act as arbiters; they did the same if the disputants belonged to
two different barangays. In this ceremony they always had to drink, the plaintiff inviting the
others.

They had laws by which they condemned to death a man of low birth who insulted the daughter
or wife of chief; likewise witches of the same class.

They condemned no one to slavery, unless he merited the death penalty. As for the witches, they
killed them, and their children and accomplices became slaves of the chief, after he had made
some recompense to the injured person. All other offenses were punished by fines in gold, which,
if not paid with promptness, exposed the culprit to serve, until the payment should be made, the
person was aggrieved, to whom the money was paid. This was done in the following way: Half
the cultivated lands and all their produce belonged to their master. The master provided the
culprit with food and clothing, thus enslaving the culprit and his children until such time as he
might amass enough money to pay the fine. If the father should by chance pay his debt, the
master then claimed that he has fed and clothed his children, and should be paid therefor. In this
way he kept possession of the children if the payment could not be met. This last was usually the
case, and they remained slaves. if the culprit had some relative or friend who paid for him, he
was obliged to render the latter half his service until he was paid—not, however, service within
the house as aliping sa guiguilir, but living independently, as alipin namamahay. If the creditor
were not served in this wise, the culprit had to pay double of what was lent him. In this way
slaves were made by debt; either sa guiguilir, if they served the master to whom the judgment
applied; or aliping namamahay, if they served the person who lent them wherewith to pay.

****.

Dowries are given by the men to the women's parents. If the latter are living, they enjoy use of it.
At their death, provided the dowry has not been consumed, it is divided like the rest of the estate,
equally among the children, except in the case the father should care to bestow something
additional upon their daughter. If the wife, at the time of her marriage, has neither father,
mother; nor grandparents, she enjoys her dowry—which in such a case, belongs to no other
relative or child. It should be noticed that unmarried women can own no property, in land or
dowry, for the result of all their labors accrues to their parents.

In the case of a divorce before the birth of the children, if the wife left the husband for the
purpose of marrying another, all her dowry and an equal additional amount fell to the husband;
but if she left him, and did not marry another, the dowry was returned. When the husband left his
wife, he lost half of the dowry, and the other half was returned to him. If he possessed children at
the time of his divorce, the whole dowry and the fine went to the children, and was held for them
by their grandparents or other responsible relatives. 

In the matter of marriage dowries which fathers bestow upon their sons when they are about to
be married, and half of which is given immediately, even when they are only children, there is a
great deal more complexity. There is a fine stipulated in the contract, that he who violates it
shall pay a certain sum which varies according to the practice of the village and the affluence of
the individual. The fine was heaviest if, upon the death of the parents, the son or daughter should
be unwilling to marry because it had been arranged by his or her parents. In this case the dowry
which the parents had received was returned and nothing more. But if the parents were living,
they paid the fine, because it was assumed that it had been their design to separate the children.

II

Worship of the Tagalogs

In all the villages, or in other parts of the Filipinas Islands, there are no temples consecrated to
the performing of sacrifices, the adoration of their idols, or the general practice of idolatry. It is
true that they have the simbahan, which means a temple or place of adoration; but it is because,
formerly, when they wished to celebrate a festival, which they called pandot or "worship," they
celebrated it in a large house of a chief. There they constructed, for the purpose of sheltering the
assembled people, a temporary shed on each side of the house, with a roof called sibi, to protect
people from the wet when it rained. They so constructed the house that it may contain people—
dividing it after the fashion of ships, into three compartments. On the posts of the house they set
small lamps, called sorihile, in the center of the house they placed one large lamp, adorned with
leaves of the white palm, wrought into many designs. They also brought together many drums,
large and small, which they beat successively while the feast lasted, which was usually four
days. During this time the whole barangay, or family, united and joined in the worship which
they called nagaanitos. The house, for the above-mentioned period of time, was called a temple.

Among their many idols there was one called Bathala, whom they especially worshipped. The
title, seems to signify "all powerful," or "maker of all things." They also worshipped the sun,
which, on account of its beauty, is almost universally respected and honored by the heathens.
They worshipped too, the moon, especially when it was new, at which time they had great
rejoicings, adoring it and bidding it welcome. Some of them also adored the stars, although they
did not know them by then names, as the Spaniards and other nations know the planets—with the
exception of the morning star they called Tala. They knew, too, the "seven little goats" [The
Pleiades]—as wee call them—and, consequently, the change of seasons, which they
call  Mapolon; and Balatic, which is our Greater Bear. They Possessed many idols called lic-ha,
which were images with different shapes; and at times they worshipped any little trifle, in which
they adored, as did the Romans, some particular dead an who was brave in war and endowed
with special faculties, to whom they commended themselves for protection in their tribulations.
They had another idol called  Dian Masalanta, who was the patron of lovers and of generation.
The idols called Lacapati and Idianale were patrons of the cultivated lands and of husbandry.
They paid reverence to water-lizards called by them buaya or crocodiles, for fear of being
harmed by them. They were even in the bait of offering these animals a portion of what they
carried in their boats, by throwing it into the water, or placing it upon the bank.

They were, moreover, very liable to find auguries in things they witnessed. For example, if they
left their house and met on the way a serpent or rat, or a bird called tigmamanuguin which was
singing in the tree, or if they chanced upon anyone who sneezed, they returned at once to their
house, considering the incident as an augury that some evil might befall them if they should
continue their journey—especially when the abovementioned bird sang. This song has two
different forms: in the one case it was considered an evil omen; in the other, as a good omen,
and then they continued their journey. They also practiced divination, to see whether weapons,
such as dagger or knife, were useful and lucky for their possessor whenever occasion should
offer. 

These natives had no established division of years, months, and days; these are determined by
the cultivation of soil, counted by moons, and the different effect produced upon the trees when
Yielding flowers, fruits, and leaves: all this helps them in making up a year. The winter and
summer are distinguished as sun-time and water-time--the latter term designating winter in
those regions, where there is no cold, snow, or ice.

*****

Their manner of offering sacrifice was to proclaim a feast, and offer to the devil what they had
to eat. This was done in front of an idol, which they anoint with fragrant perfumes, such as musk
and civet, or gum of the storax-tree and odoriferous woods, and praise it in poetic songs sung by
the officiating priest, male or female, who is called catolonan. The participants made responses
to the song, beseeching the idol to favor them with those things of which they were in need, and
generally, by offering repeated healths, they all become intoxicated. In some of the idolatries
they were accustomed to place a good piece of cloth, doubled, over the idol, and over the cloth a
chain or large gold ring, thus worshipping the devil without having sight of him. The devil was
sometimes liable to enter into the body of the catolonan, and, assuming her shape and
appearance, filled her with so great arrogance—he being the cause of it—that she seemed to
shoot flames from her eyes; her hair stood on end, a fearful sight to those beholding, and she
uttered words of arrogance and superiority. In some districts, especially the mountains, when in
those idolatries the devil incarnated himself and took on the form of his minister, the lane, had to
be tied to a tree by his companions, to prevent the devil s his infernal fury from destroying him.
This, however, happened but rarely. The objects of sacrifice were goats, fowls, and swine, which
were flayed, decapitated, and laid bare before the idol. They performed another ceremony by
cooking a jar of rice until the water was evaporated. After which they broke the jar, as the rice
was left as an intact mass which was set before the idol and all about it, at intervals, were
placed a few buyos—which a small fruit scrapped in a leaf with some lime, a food generally
eaten in these regions—as well as fried food and fruits. All tin above-mentioned articles were
eaten by guests at the feast; the heads [of animals], after being "offered," as they expressed it,
were cooked and eaten also.

The reasons for offering this sacrifice and adoration in addition to whatever personal matters
there might be, the recovery of a sick person, the prosperous voyage of those embarking on the
sea, a good harvest in the sowed lands, a propitious result in wars, a successful delivery in
childbirth, and a happy outcome in married life. If this took place among people of rank, the
festivities lasted thirty days. 

The distinctions made among the priests of the devil were as follows: The first, called catolonan,
as above stated, was either a man or woman. This office was an honorable one among the
natives, and was held ordinarily by people of rank, this rule being general in all the islands.

The second was called mangagauay, or witches who deceived by pretending to heal the sick.
These priests even induced maladies by their charms, which in proportion to the strength and
efficacy of witchcraft, are capable of causing death. In this way, if they wished to kill at once
they did so; or they could prolong life for a year by binding to the waist a live serpent, which
was believed to be the devil, or at least his substance. This office was general throughout the
land. The third was called  manyisalat, which is the same as mangagauay. These priests had the
power of applying such remedies to lovers that they would abandon and despise their own wives,
and in fact could prevent them from having intercourse with the latter, lithe woman, constrained
by these means, were abandoned, it would bring sickness upon her; and on account of the
desertion she would discharge blood and matter. This office was also general throughout the
land. 

The fourth was called mancocolam, whose duty it was to emit fire from himself at night, once or
oftener each month. This fire could not be extinguished; nor could it be thus emitted except as
the priest wallowed in the ordure and filth which falls from the houses; and he who lived in the
house where the priest was wallowing in order to emit this fire from himself fell ill and died.
This office was general.

The fifth was called hocloban, which is another kind of Witch, of greater efficacy than
the mangagauay. Without use of medicine, and by simply saluting or raising the hand, they killed
whom they chose. But if they desired to heal those whom they, made ill by their charms, they did
so by using other charms. Moreover, if they wished to destroy the house of the same Indian
hostile to them, they were able to do so without instruments. This was in Catanduanes, an island
off the upper part of Luzon. 

The sixth was called silagan, whose office it was, if they saw anyone clothed in white, to tear out
his liver and eat it, thus causing his death. His, like the preceding, was in the island of
Catanduanes. Let no one, moreover, consider this a fable; because in Calavan, they tore out in
this way through the anus all the intestines of a Spanish notary, who was buried in Calilaya by
father Fray Juan de Merida. 
The seventh was called magtatangal, his purpose was to show himself at night to many persons,
without his head or entrails. In such wise the devil walked about, carried, or pretended to carry,
his head to different places; and, in the morning, returned it to his body—remaining as before,
alive. This seems to be a fable, although the natives affirm that they have seen it, because the
devil probably caused them to believe. This occurred in Catanduanes.

The eighth they called osuang, which is equivalent to "sorcerer," they say that they have seen
him fly, and that he murdered men and ate their flesh. This was among the Visayas Islands;
among the Tagalogs these did not exist.

The ninth was another class of witches called mangagayoma. They made charms for lovers out
of herbs, stones, and wood which would infuse the heart with love. Thus did they deceive the
people, although sometimes, through the intervention of the devil, they gained their ends.

The tenth was known as  sonat, which is equivalent to "preacher." It was his office to help one
die, at which time he predicted the salvation or condemnation of the soul. It was not lawful for
the function of this office to be fulfilled by others than people of high standing, on account of the
esteem in which it was held. This office was general throughout the islands. 

The eleventh,  pangatahojan, was a soothsayer, and predicted the future. This office was general
in the islands.

The twelfth, bayoguin, signified a "cotquean," a man whose nature inclined toward that of a
woman.

Their manner of burying the dead was as follows: the deceased was buried beside his house;
and, if he were a chief, he was placed beneath a little house or porch which they constructed for
this purpose. Before interring him, they mourned him for four days; and afterward laid him on
boat which served as a coffin or bier, placing him beneath the porch, where guard kept over him
by a slave. In place of rowers, various animals were placed within the boat, each one being
assigned a place at the oar by twos—male and female of each species being together—as for
example two goats, two deer, or two fowls. It was the slave's care to see that they were fed. If the
deceased hod been a warrior, a living slave was tied beneath his body until in this way he died.
In course of time, all suffered decay; and for many days the relatives of the dead man bewailed
him, singing dirges, and praises of his good qualities, until they weaned of it. This grief was
accompanied by eating and drinking. This was a custom of the Tagalogs....

These infidels said that they knew that there was another life of rest which they called maca,  just
as if we should say “paradise," or, in other words, “village of rest.” They say that those go to
this place are the lust, and the valiant. and those who lived without doing harm, or who
possessed moral virtues. They said also, that in the other life and mortality, there was a place of
punishment, grief, and affliction called  casanaan, which was a “place of anguish," they also
maintained that tie would go to heaven, where there only dwelt Bathala, "the maker of all
things," who governed from above. There were also other pagans who confessed more clearly to
a hell, which they called, as I have said, casanaan; they said that all the wicked went to that
place, and there dwelt the demons, whom they called sitan.
*****

There were also ghosts, which they called vibit; and phantoms, which they called tigbalaang.
They had another deception—namely, if any woman died in childbirth, she and the child suffered
punishment; and that, at night, she could be heard lamenting. This is called patianac. May honor
and glory be to God our Lord, that among the Tagalogs not a trace of this is left; and that those
who are now marrying do not even know what it is, thanks to the preaching of the holy gospel,
which has banished it.

 
Module 5: The Kartilya of the Katipunan
1. Introduction/Overview

This module explains Emilio Jacinto’s “Kartilya ng Katipunan” which cites the
guidelines that new members of the Katipunan have to follow. “The Kartilya served
as the guide of the Katipunan. It contains thirteen “teachings” that the members were
required to adhere to.

 HISTORICAL CONTEXT

The first move towards independence began on July 7.1892 when the Katipunan was
established by Andres Bonifacio. This was a result of the failure of the Reform Movement in
Spain in which Filipinos attempted to demand reforms for the Philippines from the Spanish
government. Bonifacio saw the futility of the efforts of the Filipino propagandists and
organized an underground movement against Spain.

FIGURE [Link] flag of the Katipunan

  The Kataastaasang Kagalang-galangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan or KKK was a
revolutionary society that espoused independence and freedom for the Philippines through
force of arms. Its main objective was separation of the Philippines from Spain and, at the
same time, the development of the Filipinos as citizens of their own nation once
independence was achieved. The latter was done through the written works by Bonifacio
and fellow Katipunero, Emilio Jacinto, who wrote a number of poems and essays for the
society members.

The recruitment process of the Katipunan followed the Masonic initiation rites while its
structure was said to be based on Rizal's aborted reformist organization, the La Liga
Filipina. The new members of the society were indoctrinated with the Katipunan rules and
its teachings that emphasized the value of the love of one's country and fellow Filipinos.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 
 FIGURE 6. Emilio Jacinto
 About the Author

 Emilio Jacinto was born on December 15, 1875 in the district of Trozo in Tondo,
Manila. He was the son of Mariano Jacinto, a bookkeeper, and Josefa Dizon. Living a
life of poverty, Jacinto still managed to get a good education. He finished his
elementary education in a private school then took up his secondary education at the
Colegio de San Juan de Letran. He later studied law at the University of Santo Tomas
where he developed a love of reading and improved his skills in Spanish.
Unfortunately, he had to stop his studies when the Philippine Revolution began in
1896.

Jacinto joined the Katipunan in 1894 at the age of 18 and took the symbolic
name Pingkian. It was during this time that he developed his nationalistic ideals.
Through his enthusiasm and ideas, Jacinto became a guiding light to the members of
the society. He wrote the Kartilya as well as the oath of the Katipuneros. He also
edited the Katipunan newspaper, Kalayaan, and was the author of several literary
writings using the pen-name "Dimas Ilaw." He served the Katipunan in different
capacities such as secretary, fiscal, editor, and later was appointed General by
Bonifacio in 1897. He also served as an adviser appointed the Supremo.

 After the death of Bonifacio in Cavite in 1897, Jacinto continued the fight against the
Spaniards even after the following the Pact of Biak-na-Bato. He was wounded in a
battle against Spaniards in Magdalena, Laguna and was captured. Upon
investigation, Jacinto was released after he managed to convince the Spanish
soldiers he was a spy in their service when he showed them a military pass issued to
a man he killed several months ago. Jacinto quickly went into hiding in Manila. There
he sent a letter to Apolinario Mabini in Malolos, Bulacan stating his plan to continue
his law studies at the newly-established Literary University of the Philippines. But
this plan was discontinued when Jacinto had to go back to Laguna to lead his fellow
patriots in the war against the new enemy, the Americans. He established his
headquarters in the town of Majayjay where he, unfortunately, contracted malaria. He
died on April 6, 1899.

 ABOUT THE TEXT

In his study of the Katipunan history and its documents, Jim Richardson said that “the
Kartilya is the best known of all Katipunan texts” and that it is “the only document of any
length set in print by the Katipunan prior to August 1896 that is known to be still extant.” The
Kartilya was printed as a small pamphlet that was derived from the Spanish cartilla which
the primer used for grade schools during the Spanish period. And like the cartillas, this
document served as the primary lessons for the members of the Katipunan.

FIGURE 7. First page of the Kartilya

The Kartilya presents not only the teachings for the neophyte Katipunero but also the
guiding principles of the society. These teachings are expected from the members even
after the attainment of freedom from the colonizers. The Kartilya ends with a document of
affirmation by the member to the society’s teachings.

            The Kartilya was not just a document for the Katipunan. Its importance today is
predicated on the teachings that embodied the moral and nationalistic principles of a nation
that fought for independence. These principles are relevant as the sense of nationhood still
holds true when the cultural and historical values of every Filipino are threatened by the
onslaught of foreign influences brought about by today’s globalization.

Kartilya ng Katipunan

Tagalog Text

KATIPUNAN NANG MANGA

A.N.B.

SA MAY NASANG MAKISANIB SA KATIPUNANG ITO

Sa pangangailangan na ang lahat na nag-iibig pumasok sa katipunang ito ay magkaroon ng

lubos na pananalig at kaisipan sa mga layong tinutungo at mga kaaralang pinaiiral,
minarapat na ipakilala sa kanila ang mga bagay na ito at nang bukas makalawa’y huwag
silang magsisi at tuparing maluwag sa kalooban ang kanilang mga tutungkulin.
            Ang kalagayang pinag-uusig ng katipunang ito ay lubos na dakila at mahalaga;
papag-isahin ang loob at kaisipan ng lahat ng Tagalog1 sa pamamagitan ng isang mahigpit
na panunumpa upang sa pagkakaisang ito’y magkalakas na iwasak ang masinsing tabing
na nakabubulag sa kaisipan at matuklasan ang tunay na landas ng Katwiran at
Kaliwanagan.
            Dito’y isa sa mga kauna-unahang utos ang tunay na pag-ibig sa bayang tinubuan
at lubos na pagdadamayan ng isa’t isa.

           Maralita, mayaman, mangmang, marunong, lahat dito’y magkakapantay at tunay

na magkakapatid.
            Kapag karakang mapasok dito ang sinuman, tatalikdang pilit ang buhalhal na
kaugalian at paiilalim sa kapangyarihan ng mga banal na utos ng katipunan.
            Ang gawang lahat na laban sa kabanalan at kalinisan, dito’y kinasusuklaman;
kaya’t sa bagay na ito’y ipinaiilalim sa masigasig na pakikibalita ang kabuhayan ng
sinumang nag-iibig makisanib sa katipunang ito.
            Kung ang hangad ng papasok dito’y ang tumalastas lamang ng mga kalihiman
nito, o ang ikagiginhawa ng sariling katawan, o ang kilalanin ang mga naririto’t nang
maipagbili sa isang dakot na salapi, huwag magpatuloy sapagkat dito’y bantain lamang ay
talastas na ng makapal na nakikiramdam sa kanya at karaka-rakang nilalapatan ng
mabisang gamut na laan sa mga sukaban.
            Dito’y gawa ang hinahanap at gawa ang tinitingnan; kaya’t hindi dapat pumasok
ang di makagagawa, kahit magaling magsalita.
            Ipinauunawa din na ang mga katungkulang ginaganap ng lahat ng napaaanak sa
katipunang ito ay lubhang mabibigat, lalong lalo na kung gugunitain na di mangyayaring
maiiwasan at walang kusang pagkukulang na di aabutin ng kakila-kilabot na kaparusahan.
            Kung ang hangad ng papasok dito ay ang siya’y abuluyan o ang ginhawa’t
malayaw na katahimikan ng katawan, huwag magpatuloy sapagkat mabigat na mga
katungkulan ang matatagpuan, gaya ng pagtangkilik sa mga naaapi at madaluhong na pag-
usig sa lahat ng kasamaan. Sa bagay na ito ay aabutin ang maligalig na pamumuhay.

            Di kaila sa kangino pa man ang mga nagbalang kapahamakan sa mga Tagalog
na nakaisip nitong mga banal na kabagayan (at hindi man) at ang mga pahirap na
ibinibigay ng naghaharing kalupitan, kalikuan, at kasamaan.
            Talastas din naman ng lahat ang pangangailangan sa salapi na sa ngayo’y isa sa
mga unang lakas na maaasahang magbibigay-buhay sa lahat. Sa bagay na ito,
kinakailangan ang lubos na pagtupad sa mga pagbabayaran – piso sa pagpasok at sa
buwan-buwan ay sikapat. Ang salaping ito’y ipinagbibigay-alam ng nag-iingat sa tuwing
kapanahunan, bukod pa sa mapagsisiyasat ng sinuman kailanma’t ibigin. Di makikilos ang
salaping ito kundi pagkayarian ng karamihan.
            Ang lahat ng ipinagsaysay ay dapat gunitain at mahinahong pagbulay-bulayin
sapagkat di magagnap at di matitiis ng isang walang tunay na pag-ibig sa tinubuang lupa at
tunay na adhikaing tangkilikin ang Kagalingan.
            At nang lalong mapagtimbang ang sariling isip at kabaitan, basahin ang
sumusunod na

MGA ARAL NG KATIPUNAN NG MGA A.N.B

Ang kabuhayang hindi ginugugol sa isang malaki at banal na kadahilanan ay kahoy na

walang lilim kundi man damong makamandag.

Ang gawang magaling na nagbubuhat sa pagpipita sa sarili at hindi sa talagang nasang

gumawa ng kagalingan ay di kabaitan.

Ang tunay na kabanalan ay ang pagkakawanggawa, ang pag-ibig sa kapwa, at ang isukat
ang bawat kilos, gawa’t pangungusap sa talagang Katwiran.

Maitim man o maputi ang kulay ng balat, lahat ng tao’y magkakapantay; mangyayaring ang
isa’y higtan sa dunong, sa yaman, sa ganda, ngunit di mahihigtan sa pagkatao.
 Ang may mataas na kalooban, inuuna ang puri kaysa pagpipita sa sarili; ang may hamak
na kalooban, inuuna ang pagpipita sa sarili kaysa puri.

Sa taong may hiya, salita’y panunumpa.

Huwag mong sayangin ang panahon: ang yamang mawala’y mangyayaring magbalik,
ngunit ang panahong nagdaan na’y di na muling magdadaan.

Ipagtanggol mo ang inaapi at kabakahin ang umaapi.

Ang taong matalino’y ang may pag-iingat sa bawat sasabihin; at matutong ipaglihim ang
dapat ipaglihim.

Sa daang matinik ng kabuhayan, lalaki ay siyang patnugot ng asawa’t mga anak; kung ang
umaakay ay tungo sa sama, ang patutunguhan ng inaakay ay kasamaan din.

Ang babae ay huwag mong tingnang isang bagay na libangan lamang kundi isang
katuwang at karamay sa mga kahirapan nitong kabuhayan; gamitin mo nang buong
pagpipitagan ang kanyang kahinaan at alalahanin ang inang pinagbuhata’t nag-iwi sa iyong
kasanggulan.

Ang di mo ibig gawin sa asawa mo, anak, at kapatid ay huwag mong gagawin sa asawa,
anak, at kapatid ng iba.

Ang kamahalan ng tao’y wala sa pagkahari, wala sa tangos ng ilong at puti ng mukha, wala
sa pagkaparing kahalili ng Dios, wala sa mataas na kalagayan sa balat ng lupa. Wagas at
tunay na mahal na tao kahit laking-gubat at walang nababatid kundi ang sariling wika;
yaong may magandang asal, may isang pangungusap, may dangal at puri; yaong di
napaaapi’t di nakikiapi; yaong marunong magdamdam at marunong lumingap sa bayang
tinubuan.

Paglaganap ng mga aral na ito ay maningning na sumikat ang araw ng mahal na Kalayaan
dito sa kaabang-abang Sangkatauhan at sabugan ng matamis niyang liwanag ang
nangagkaisang magkalahi’t magkakapatid ng ligayang walang katapusan, ang mga ginugol
na buhay, pagod, at mga tinis na kahirapa’y labis nang natumbasan.

Kung ang lahat ng ito’y matarok na ng nag-iibig pumasok at inaakala niyang matutupad ang
mga tutungkulin, maitatala ang kanyang ninanasa sa kasunod nito.

Note: The teachings are followed by a form to be filled out with name, hometown, age,
occupation, status, and address. The Kartilya concludes with a brief undertaking to be
signed by the person who intends to join the association.

English Translation

ASSOCIATION OF
 THE SONS OF THE PEOPLE

To Those Who May Desire to Affiliate with this Association

In order that those who wish to join this Association may have a thorough knowledge of its
purposes and of its existing regulations, it is necessary that these be published, to the end
that they may not to-morrow or the day after repent, and that they may perform their duties
cheerfully.

This Association pursues a very high and great object: the union in ideas and purpose of
the Filipinos, by means of a strong oath, in order that this union may become the force that
shall tear the dense veil which obscures intelligence, and may find the path of Reason and
Light.

One of the first rules here is: true patriotism and genuine mutual aid.

Poor, rich, ignorant, wise: all are equal and are true brethren.

Once in the Association, the member will abandon all disorderly life and place himself under
the orders and rules of the Association.

All acts incompatible with dignity and involving moral turpitude are repugnant here, hence
the antecedents of the applicant will first be submitted to a searching investigation.

If the applicant merely wishes to know the secrets of the Association, or joins from personal
bravado or in order to become acquainted with the members and sell them for a mess of
pottage, he will not prosper: the mere attempt at treachery will be frustrated by the many
who are watching him, and he will immediately receive the deserved punishment meted out
to traitors.

Here only acts are demanded and taken into account, hence no one must join who is not
willing to act, however willing he may be to talk.

It is also announced that the duties to be performed by the members are exceedingly hard,
especially if one remembers that their performance cannot be evaded and that there will be
no violation, knowingly committed, to which a rigorous penalty will not be applied.

If the applicant merely desires relief or wishes to lead an easy life, let him desist, because
he will encounter very exacting duties, such as the protection and defense of the oppressed
and the most tenacious effort to investigate and prosecute all that is evil: for this reason he
will lead a life of hard work and constant worry and distress.

Nobody is unaware of the evils with which are threatened the Filipinos who thought out
things so sacred (and even those that are not), and the suffering prepared for them by the
predominating cruelty, error, and criminality.

A matter of public knowledge is also the need of ready money, in our days the principal
factor of general prosperity; for this reason the punctual payment of the dues is required:
one peso as admission fee and twelve and a half centimos monthly dues. The custodian of
the funds will from time to time render an account to the members, besides the right of each
member to examine and revise the accounts, should he so desire, at any moment. These
funds can be expended only by resolution of the majority.

All this must be considered and thought over well, as it cannot be performed or patiently
borne by any person not a true patriot and a real defender of the Good.

And for a better understanding, read the following:

Teachings of the Katipunan of the Sons of the People

The life that is not consecrated to a lofty and reasonable purpose is a tree without shade, if
not a poisonous weed. -

To do good for personal gain and not for its own sake is not virtue.

It is rational to be charitable and love one's fellow-creature, and to adjust one's conduct,
acts, and words to what is in itself reasonable.

Whether our skin be black or white, we are all born equal: superiority in knowledge, wealth,
and beauty are to be understood, but not superiority by nature.

The honorable man prefers honor to personal gain, the scoundrel, gain to honor.

To the honorable man his word is sacred.

Do not waste thy time: wealth can be recovered, but not the time lost.

Defend the oppressed and fight the oppressor before the law or in the field.

The prudent man is sparing in words and faithful in keeping secrets.

On the thorny path of life, man is the guide of woman and of the children, and if the guide
leads to precipices, those whom he guides will also go there.

Thou must not look upon woman as a mere plaything, but as a faithful companion who will
share with thee the penalties of life; her weakness will increase thy interest in her and she
will remind thee of the mother who bore thee and reared thee.

What thou dost not desire done unto thy wife, children, brothers and sisters, that do not
unto the wife, children, brothers, and sisters of thy neighbor.

Man is not worth more because he is a king, because his nose is aquiline and his color
white, nor because he is a priest, a servant of God, nor because of the high prerogative that
he enjoys upon earth, but he is worth most who is a man of proven and real value, who
does good, keeps his word, is worthy and honest; he who does not oppress, nor consent to
being oppressed, he who loves and cherishes his fatherland, though he be born in the
wilderness and know no tongue but his own.

When these rules of conduct shall be known to all and the longed-for sun of Liberty shall
rise brilliant over this most unhappy portion of the globe and its rays shall diffuse everlasting
joy among the confederated brethren of the same race, the lives of those who have gone
before, the fatigues and the well paid suffering will remain. If he who desires to enter has
informed himself of all this and believes he will be able to perform what will be his duties, he
may fill out the following application for admission."

Sources:

Emilio Jacinto by Epifanio delos Santos, The Philippine Review, June 1918, Volume 3,
Number 6
Module 6: The Act of Proclamation of Independence of the
Filipino People (Acta de la Proclamation de la
Independencia Del Pueblo Filipino)
 Done
Lesson 1: Title

1. Introduction/Overview

The first phase of the Philippine Revolution a stalemate between the Spaniards and the
Filipino rebels. In December 1897, a truce was declared between the two forces with the
Filipino leaders, led by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, agreeing to be exiled to Hong Kong while the
Spaniards paid an indemnity for the damages caused as a result of the conflict Aguinaldo.
The truce, however, lasted for only a few months before it collapsed. The renewed conflict
would have been disastrous for the Filipinos if not for the deteriorating diplomatic relations
between Spain and the United States over the another revolution in Cuba. This eventually
led to the Spanish-American War in 1898 and the arrival of a new colonizer to the
Philippines—the Americans.

 Even before the Battle of Manila in 1898, Aguinaldo had already been meeting with the
Americans in Singapore. He talked with consul E. Spencer Pratt regarding US-Filipino
collaboration against the Spaniards before he went back to Hong Kong to meet up with
Commodore George Dewey, commander of the Asiatic Fleet. Unfortunately, Dewey had
already left for the Philippines to attack the Spanish fleet following America's declaration of
war against Spain in April.

Aguinaldo remained in Hong Kong and met with the American consul general Rounseville
Wildman. He paid Wildman a total of N17,000 to purchase rifles and ammunition. A first
shipment worth £50,000 was made but the other half was never delivered. Wildman never
returned the money given to him.

 On May 19, 1898, Aguinaldo finally returned to the Philippines on board the U.S.
cruiser McCulloch. Aguinaldo conferred with Dewey on Philippine conditions and was
supplied with arms captured from the Spaniards. From his headquarters in Cavite,
Aguinaldo announced the resumption of the revolution against the Spaniards, thus
beginning the second phase of the revolution. The Filipinos immediately flocked to the
province to loin the army. By the end of May, Aguinaldo was in command of an army of
12,000 troops.

 On May 28, the Filipino forces won their first victory in AlaPan, Imus. The newly-made
Filipino flag was hoisted in AlaPan then later unfurled at the Teatro Caviteño in Cavite
Nuevo (now Cavite City) in front of the Filipinos and captured Spanish soldiers. A group of
American officers and soldiers also witnessed the ceremony.

 Earlier, on May 24, Aguinaldo announced the creation of the dictatorial government. The
formation of this type of rule was a necessity because the growing nation needed a strong
leader. He emphasized that the dictatorship was only temporary as it would be a prelude to
the establishment of a republican form of government.

 On June 12, 1898, Aguinaldo declared Philippine independence from Spanish rule at a
ceremony in his house in Kawit, Cavite. Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista read the declaration
that was later signed by 177 persons, including an Armerican military officer. The Philippine
National Anthem, then known as “Marcha Nacional Filipina,” composed by Julian Felipe,
was played by the Banda de San Francisco de Malabon and the Philippine flag was again
unfurled.

AUTHOR'S BACKGROUND

(Although the actual author of the proclamation was Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista, the
initiator of Philippine independence that led to the making of the proclamation was Gen.
Emilio Aguinaldo.) 

Emilio Aguinaldo was born on March 22,1869 in Kawit, Cavite (Cavite el Viejo), the second
to the youngest of eight children of Carlos Aguinaldo and Trinidad Famy. The Aguinaldos
were a wealthy and influential family with Carlos being  gobernadorcillo for several terms.
Following his father’s death in 1883, Emilio assisted his mother in the family business and
worked to help earn the family income.   Aguinaldo followed to his father's footsteps and
was chosen capitan municipal of Kawit in 1894. Months later, he joined the Katipunan
choosing the name Magdalo, a name that was also given to another branch of the
Katipunan (the other was the Magdiwang) which he set up in his province,

When the revolution began in 1896, the Katipunan in Cavite succeeded in driving away the
Spaniards from the province. But territorial and logistical problems between the two groups
soon forced Aguinaldo to ask for help from Supremo Andres Bonifacio in settling the
conflict. Bonifacio's intervention, however, only worsened the situation and the only solution
the two factions saw was to create a revolutionary government.

FIGURE 8. Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo

 Elections for a pamahalaang panghihimagsik were held in Barrio Tejeros, San Francisco

de Malabon (now General Trias) on March 22, 1897. Aguinaldo was elected President with
Mariano Trias (Vice-President), Artemio Ricarte (Captain-General), Emiliano Riego de Dios
(Director of War), and Andres Bonifacio (Director of the Interior). But the elections were
disrupted following a protest over Bonifacio's educational qualification for such a position.
Bonifacio angrily declared the result of the elections null and void and walked out. The
Magdalos, however, considered the election binding and the new government was founded.
When Bonifacio tried to put up his own government with an armed group, he was arrested
and tried for sedition. Found guilty, the Supremo and his brother Procopio were executed on
May 10, 1897.

The internal dissent caused by Bonifacio's death weakened the Katipunan further. The
Spanish troops regained momentum and Aguinaldo was forced to retreat to the mountains
of Biak-na-Bato. But the Spaniards soon realized that going after the rebels in their
mountain hideout was futile. A stalemate ensued that was broken only by a truce proposal
to which the rebels agreed. In exchange for an indemnity, amnesty, and colonial reform,
Aguinaldo and his officers went into exile in Hong Kong in December 1897.

FIGURE 9. Declaration of Philippine Independence

 The Spanish-American War in 1898 eventually changed Philippine history. After the
Americans won the Battle of Manila Bay in 1898, Aguinaldo returned to the Philippines with
their help and announced the resumption of the revolution against Spain. After winning
several victories against the Spaniards, he declared Philippine independence on June 12,
1898.

But the Filipinos soon realized that the Americans were to become their new colonizers.
After the Spanish defeat in 1898, the United States began to send fresh troops to the
Philippines. In 1899, Aguinaldo convened a Congress in Malolos, Bulacan in which the
delegates wrote a Constitution and established the Philippine Republic with Aguinaldo as
President in January 1899.

Three weeks later, the continuing friction with the Americans erupted into a conflict in
February 1899. The Philippine-American War eventually ended in 1901 with the capture of
Aguinaldo. Soon after, he pledged allegiance to the United States and for a time was back
in the limelight when he ran for the presidency of the Philippine Commonwealth but lost to
Manuel L. Quezon.

During World War II, Aguinaldo was charged by the Japanese with collaborating with the
Americans but was later freed in a general amnesty. As a private citizen, he devoted his
time to the cause of veteran revolucionarios until his death at the age of 94 on February 6,
1964.

CONTEXT ANALYSIS

On June 10, 1896 Gen Emilio Aguinaldo issued a one-sentence decree appointing his
Auditor General of War, Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista, as a "special commissioner' to write
the Act of the Declaration of the Independence. The result was a sixteen-page document
that contained the aspirations of freedom from Spanish rule, the sacrifices made, and the
revolution that resulted from it. It was the text of this declaration that was read in Kawit in
the afternoon of the celebration of the declaration of independence. Copies of the document
were made and distributed. However, there was a problem in determining how many
witnesses really signed the declaration. The copies classified under Philippine
Revolutionary Papers (PRP) in the National Library had varying numbers. Later research by
historian-writer Jim Richardson placed the total number of signees at 177.
 The Act of Proclamation of Independence of the Filipino People

In the town of Cavite-Viejo, Province of Cavite, this 12th day of lune 1898:

Before me, Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista, War Counselor and Special Delegate designated
to proclaim and solemnize this proclamation of Independence by the Dictatorial
Government of the Philippines, pursuant to, and by virtue of a Decree issued by Dictator
Don Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy,

The undersigned assemblage of military chiefs and others of could not attend, as well as
the representatives of the various towns,

Taking into account the fact that the people of this country are already tired of bearing the
ominous yoke of Spanish domination,

Because of arbitrary arrests and abuses of the Civil Guards who cause deaths in
connivance with and even under the express f orders of their superior officers who at times
would order the shooting of those placed under arrest under the pretext that they attempted
to escape in violation of known Rules and Regulations, which abuses were left unpunished,
and because of unjust deportations of illustrious Filipinos, especially those the instigation
decreed by General Blanco at the instigation of the Archbishop and the friars interested in
keeping them in ignorance for egoistic and selfish ends, which deportations were carried
out through processes more execrable than those of the Inquisition which every civilized
nation repudiates as a trial without hearing,

Had resolved to start a revolution in August 1896 in order to regain the independence and
sovereignty of which the people had been deprived by Spain through Governor Miguel
Lopez de Legazpi who, continuing the course followed by his predecessor Ferdinand
Magellan who landed on the shores of Cebu and occupied said Island by means of a Pact
of Friendship with Chief Tupas, although he was killed in battle that took place in said
shores to which battle he was provoked by Chief Kalipulako of Mactan who suspected his
evil designs, landed on the Island of Bohol by entering also into a Blood Compact with its
Chief Sikatuna, with the purpose of later taking by force the Island of Cebu, and because
his successor Tupas did not allow him to occupy it, he went to Manila, the capital, winning
likewise the friendship of its Chiefs Soliman and Lakandula, later taking possession of the
city and the whole Archipelago in the name of Spain by virtue of an order of King Philip II,
and with these historical precedents and because in international law the prescription
established by law to legalize the vicious act of private property is not recognized, the
legitimacy of such revolution cannot be put in doubt which was calmed but not completely
stifled by the pacification proposed by Don Paterno.  Don Emilio Aguinaldo as President of
the Republic established in Biak-na-Bato and accepted by Governor-General Don
Fernando Primo de Rivera under terms, both written and oral, among them being a general
amnesty for all deported and convicted persons; that by reason of the non-fulfillment of
some Squadron of the terms, after the destruction of the Spanish Squad by the North
American Navy, and bombardment of the plaza of Cavite, Don Emilio Aguinaldo returned in
order to initiate a new revolution and no sooner had he given the order to rise on the 31st of
last month when several towns anticipating the revolution, rose in revolt on the 28th, such
that a Spanish contingent of 178 men, between Imus and Cavite Viejo, under the command
of a major of the Marine Infantry capitulated, the revolutionary movement spreading like
wild fire to other towns of Cavite and the other provinces of Bataan, Pampanga, Batangas,
Bulacan, Laguna, and Morong, some of them with seaports and such was the success of
the victory of our arms, truly marvelous and without equal in the history .of colonial
revolutions that in the first mentioned province only the Detachments in Naic and Indang
remained to surrender; in the second, all Detachments had been wiped out; in the third, the
resistance of the Spanish forces was localized in the town of San Fernando where the
greater part of them are concentrated, the remainder in Macabebe, Sexmoan, and Guagua;
in the fourth, in the town of Lipa; in the fifth, in the capital and in Calumpit; and in the last
two remaining provinces, only in their respective capitals, and the city of Manila will soon be
besieged by our forces as well as the provinces of Nueva Eaja, Tarlac, Pangasinan, La
Union, Zambales, and some others in the Visayas where the revolution at the time of the
pacification and others even before, so that the independence of our country and
revindication of our sovereignty is assured.

And having as witness to the rectitude of our intentions Supreme Judge of the Universe,
and under the protection of the Powerful and Humanitarian Nation, the United states of
America, we do hereby proclaim and declare solemnly in the name and by authority of the
people of these Philippine Islands,

That they are and have the right to be free and independent. that they have ceased to have
any allegiance to the Crown of Spain; that all political ties them are and should be
completely severed and annulled; and that, like other free and independent States, they
enjoy the full power to make War and Peace, conclude commercial treaties, enter into
alliances, regulate commerce, and do all other acts and things which an Independent State
has a right to do,

And imbued with firm confidence in Divine Providence, we hereby mutually bind ourselves
to support this Declaration with our lives, our fortunes, and with our most sacred
possession, our Honor.

We recognize, approve, and ratify, with all the orders emanating from the same, the
Dictatorship established by Don Emilio Aguinaldo whom we revere as the Supreme Head of
this Nation, which today begins to have a life of its own, in the conviction that he has been
the instrument chosen by God, in spite of his humble origin, to effectuate the redemption of
this unfortunate country as foretold by Dr. Don Jose Rizal in his magnificent verses which
he composed in his prison cell prior to his execution, liberating it from the Yoke of Spanish
domination,

And in punishment for the impunity with which the Government sanctioned the commission
of abuses by its officials, and for the unjust execution of Rizal and others who were
sacrificed in order to please the insatiable friars in their hydropical thirst for vengeance
against and extermination of all those who oppose their Machiavellian ends, trampling upon
the Penal Code of these Islands, and of those suspected persons arrested by the Chiefs of
Detachments at the instigation or the friars, without any form nor semblance of trial and
without any spiritual aid of our sacred Religion; and likewise, and for the same ends,
eminent Filipino priests, Doctor Don Jose Burgos, Don Mariano Gomez, and Don Jacinto
Zamora were hanged whose innocent blood was shed due to the intrigues of these so-
called Religious corporations which made the authorities to believe that the military uprising
at the fort of San Felipe in Cavite on the night of January 21, 1872 was instigated by those
Filipino martyrs, thereby impeding the execution of the decree-sentence issued by the
Council of State in the appeal in the administrative case interposed by the secular clergy
against the Royal Orders that directed that the parishes under them within the jurisdiction of
this Bishopric be turned over to the Recollects in exchange for those controlled by them in
Mindanao which were to be transferred to the Jesuits, thus revoking them completely and
ordering the return of those parishes, all of which proceedings are on file with the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs to which they are sent last month of last year for the issuance of the proper
Royal Decree which, in turn, caused the growth of the tree of liberty in this our dear land
that grew more and more through the iniquitous measures of oppression, until the last drop
from our chalice of suffering having been drained, the first spark of revolution broke out in
Caloocan, spread out to Santa Mesa and continued its course to the adjoining regions of
the province where the unequalled heroism of its inhabitants fought a one-sided battle
against superior forces of General Blanco and General Polavieja for a period of three
months, without proper arms nor ammunitions, except bolos, pointed bamboos, and arrows.

Moreover, we confer upon our famous Dictator Don Emilio to enable him to discharge the
duties of Government, including the prerogatives of granting Pardon and amnesty,  

And, lastly, it was resolved unanimously that this Nation, already free and independent as
of this day, must design and colors the white triangle are found described in the attached
drawing, flag which up to now is being used, whose triangle signifying the distinctive
emblem of the famous Society of the "Katipunan" which by means of its blood compact
inspired the masses to rise in revolution; the three stars, signifying the three principal
Islands of this Archipelago—Luzon, Mindanao, and Panay where this revolutionary
movement started; the sun representing the gigantic steps made by the sons of the country
along the path of Progress and Civilization; the eight rays, signifying the eight provinces—
Manila, Cavite, Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Bataan, Laguna, and Batangas—which
declared themselves in a state of war as soon as the first revolt was initiated; and the colors
of Blue, Red, and White, commemorating the flag of the United States of North America, as
a manifestation of our profound gratitude towards this Great Nation for its disinterested
protection which it lent us and continues lending us.

And holding up this flag of ours, represent it to the gentlemen here assembled:

(The text is followed by the Signatures of the Witnesses)

Module 7: Speech of President Corazon C. Aquino Before
the Joint Session of the United States Congress,
September 18, 1986
 Done
Lesson 1: Title

1. Introduction/Overview

Introduction

President Corazon C, Aquino was invited tp deliver a Speech before the United States
Congress on September 18, 1986, in recognition of the peaceful EDSA revolution which
ousted former President Ferdinand Marcos and paved the way for Aquino to become the
president

Historical Context

During the 1986 snap presidential election which was announced by former President
Marcos, Philippine began to falter in the middle of accusations of corruption and bas
publicities by Marcos and his cronies. Rumors about the health condition of Marcos was
circulated in social media that he was sick and it was followed by the opinion of the U.S.
Government that he was losing the mandate of the Filipino people.

The opposition wanted to field their own candidates against Marcos but soon realized that
they would not stand a chance against Marcos if they would not unite and choose a
common candidate. It was decided that Ninoy’s widow, Corazon Aquino would run as
president with opposition leader, Salvador Laurel as her running mate. 

As a result Marcos won in the snap election and declared him the winner of the election. But
opposition believed that there would be cheating that resulted casualties of those who
joined the rallies and resulted many protest from the opposition.  

February 22, Marcos’ Defense Minister and Armed Forces of the Philippines Vice-Chief of
Staff announced their defection from the Marcos government. This led to what now known
as four-day People Power Revolution and Corazon became the President of the Philippines.

The People Power Revolution caught the imagination of the world. We are now heading to
the hands of our new leader. President Aquino began to lead the country and believed for a
big change in our country. In September 1986. She went on a state visit to the United
States where she spoke before the U.S. Congress to ask for financial aid to the Philippines
and conferred with then President Ronald Reagan. She also met American businessman to
convince them to invest in the Philippines. The nine-day visit was deemed a success by
Filipino and American newsmen.

Background of the Author

Maria Corazon “Cory” Aquino Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (January 25, 1933- August 1,
2009) became president of the Philippines because of the 1986 EDSA Revolution – the
nonviolent revolution that ousted President Ferdinand Marcos. She was the wife of the
assassination opposition figurehead during the martial law era, Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino. Jr.
She served as the 11th President of the Philippines and named by Time magazine as
“Woman of the Year” in 1986. In 1999. She was chosen by the Time magazine as one of
the 20 Most Influenced Asians of the 20th century. Prior to becoming the President, she had
not held any elective office. She died on August 1, 2009 due to colorectal cancer.
Module 8: Artworks
 Done
Lesson 1: Title

1. Introduction/Overview

Introduction 

Illustrations, drawings, and photographs play a large part in the study of history. These
sources have stories to tell and enable us to distinguish details that give us insights into
something beyond the texts. They are also a record of the past useful for historians.
Photographs and illustrations reflect social conditions of historical realities and everyday life
and indicate the situations of past societies. Editorial cartoons, on the other hand, are
sources of political expression or propaganda in the historical era in which they came out.

Editorial Cartoons

Editorial Cartoons

FIGURE 11. El Candidato Longino

 
The satirical cartoon from the July 27, 1907 issue of the Lipang-Kalabaw (Lipak-Kalabaw), a
weekly satirical magazine published in Manila, shows Philippine Assembly candidate
Dominador Gomez as the Roman centurion Longinus delivering the final spear blow to the
crucified freedom fighters (from left) Macario Sakay, Francisco Carreon, Julian Montalan,
and Lucio de Vega, who were all sentenced to death for banditry by the American
government. Gomez was instrumental in the surrender of Sakay and his men but the latter
were subsequently arrest' in spite of assurances of safe conduct by the government. Gomez
was later blamed for the death of Sakay and many believed that he betrayed the Filipino
rebels to the Americans.

FIGURE 12.  Popular Manifestation in Honor of the Triumphant Candidate of the Southern

District of  Manila, Fernando Ma. Guerrero, 11th of August, 1907
 A cartoon from the magazine Lipang-Kalabaw depicts the festivity or parade of Filipinos
celebrating the election of their popular candidate, Fernando Ma. Guerrero, who ran for the
Philippine Assembly held that month. The momentous occasion, however, had dire results.
Americans who witnessed the event were bothered by the massive show of support by
Filipino patriots and the singular display of the American flag amidst banners and Philippine
flags.

 Irked by the patriotic display, the Philippine Commission passed on August 23, 1907, Act
No. 1696 otherwise known as the Flag Law, which banned the public display of the
Philippine flag and other patriotic banners. When the Philippine Assembly opened at the
Manila Grand Opera House in September, only the American flag could be seen—an ironic
display for an otherwise Philippine legislative body.

 Other Illustrations/Cartoons

 The following illustrations or cartoons appear in the booklet Watch for the

Saboteurs sponsored by the League of Women Voters of the Philippines published in 1951.
Then President Elpidio Quirino wrote to the League saying that the booklet graphically
shows the defects of both the individual and the society. His letter which appears in the
booklet is reproduced below:

Letter of Pres. Elpidio Quirino theLeague of Women Voters of the Philippines

Cover pageof the booklet Watch for the Saboteurs
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