A Surprise Treasure
from the Katipunan
By Kamalaysayan Features
AS EARLY as taking their elementary-grade Philippine History subject, Filipinos are likely to have come across the title, “Kartilya ng Katipunan,” written by KKK leader Emilio Jacinto. In the pre-martial law days we even had a representation of this in our old twenty-peso bill, showing it as a thick book with that title in the cover.
Some books carry the lessons, from an English translation published by Epifanio de los Santos, but scarcely were these ever discussed in class, save perhaps the mention of the title itself, the only thing that somehow stuck in our minds. It never altered our image of the Katipunan as simply a brave fighting force willing to kill and die for the attainment of our freedom from Spanish rule.
Before the 1992 founding centennial of the Katipunan, history researcher and antiques collector Emmanuel Encarnacion was able to buy an original surviving copy of the Kartilya from the Epifanio de los Santos collection. He got this for a seven-digit amount from a private collector who had earlier refused to let its contents be photographed or copied. Encarnacion could not afford the other precious document, then also in the hands of that private collector, the Jacinto Notebook, but he was nonetheless glad for he could afford to pay for the Kartilya and bring it home in ecstasy .then also in the hands of that private collector, the Jacinto Notebook, but he was nonetheless glad for he could afford to pay for the Kartilya and bring it home in ecstasy.
He immediately called the National Historic Institute to send its official reporters over to finally reveal its contents to the nation.
A few immediate surprises greeted NHI and the general public.
The Kartilya is not the thick book that was being shown in the old 20-peso bill, it is not even officially titled “Kartilya.” It is a very thin pamphlet of seven small pages, the last one of which is an application form to join the Katipunan. And its actual title is long: Sa May Nasang Makisanib sa Katipunang Ito.
The footnote on page one also bore a surprise, a gift to national unity. It clarified for one and all that whenever the Katipunan used the term “Tagalog,” the official reference was to “all who were born and and raised in this One-archipelago; therefore be one a Visayan, an Ilocano, a Pampango, etc., one is a Tagalog just the same.
This has belied the earlier and even .stubbornly-persisting opinions that Bonifacio’s consciousness and the revolution that he led focused only on the region we now call Tagalog.
And then, the biggest surprise of all. The spirit of the Katipunan enshrined in the “Kartilya” was not exactly the way we thought it would be –fighting spirit, wrath and bravery and killing the enemy even at the risk of getting killed. Emphasis was on how the Tagalogs (referring to the native Filipinos) ought to live — in honor and in unity.
The Kampanya para sa Ka-malayan sa Kasaysayan (Kamalaysayan) immediately saw it fit to help publicize far and wide the Kartliya’s contents. Considering the consiousness context, the message emphasized the pleasant surprise element by starting with a teaser, something like this:
“Having known Andres Bonifacio and the Katipunan mainly for their bravery and their love for country, most Filipinos would perhaps be predisposed to guess that most of the points in that Kartilya would pertain to anger and bravery. Out of the Kartilya's 14 lessons, how many, if any, would be about matters aside from anger, fighting and bravery? What's your own guess?
“Let's check out what really is the proportion, by reading the following points from the Kartilya, Try to see also whether there would be any points deserving to be adopted as your own guides in life...
= = = = = = =
Scarcely were the ‘Kartilya’ lessons ever taken up in class.
Only a title somehow stuck in our minds.
= = = = = = =
(This would be followed by a slow reading of the 14 lessons of the Kartilya in Tagalog; later on also as translated into English by the now-departed Paula Carolina Sanyos-Malay, as follows…)
"A life that is not dedicated to a noble cause is like a tree without a shade or a poisonous weed.
"A deed lacks nobility if it is motivated by self-interest and not be a sincere desire to help.
"True piety consists of being charitable, loving one's fellowmen, and being judicious in behavior, speech and deed.
..."All (persons) are equal, regardless of the color of their skin. While one could have m.o.r.e schooling, w.e.a.l.t.h o.r beauty than another, all that does not make one more human than anybody else.
"A person with an noble character values honor above self-interest, while a person with a base character values self-interest above honor.
"To a (person) of honor, his/her word is a pledge.
"Don't waste time; lost wealth can be retrireved, but time lost is lost forever.
"Defend the oppressed and fight the oppressor.
"The wise man is careful in all he has to say and is discreet about things that need to be kept secret.
"In the thorny path of life, the man leads the way and his wife and children follow. If the leader goes the way of perdition, so do the followers. (The first part is an observation of the relationship of husband and wife during the time of the Katipunan; for the present, the equivalent is to say that the parents lead the way and the children follow, then proceed to the main point about responsible leadership.)
"Never regard a woman as an object for you to trifle with; rather you should consider her as a partner and helpmate. Give proper considerations to a woman's (physical) frailty and never forget that your own mother, who brought you forth and nurtured you from infancy, is herself such a person.
"Don't do to the wife, children and brothers and sisters of others what you do not want done to your wife, children and brothers and sisters.
"A (person's) worth is not measured by his/her station in life, neither by the height of his nose nor the fairness of skin, and certainly not by whether he is a priest claiming to be God's deputy. Even if he is a tribesman/tribeswoman from the hills and speaks only his/her own tongue, one is honorable if he/she possesses a good character, is true to his /her word, has fine perceptions and is loyal to his/her native land.
..."When these teachings shall have been propagated and the glorious sun of freedom begins to shine on these poor islands to enlighten a uni- ted race and people, then all the lives lost, all the struggles and sacrifices shall not have been in vain."
Then Kamalaysayan founder and (then) executive director Ed Aurelio Reyes would ask the people in the gathering:
“How many points on anger and bravery were you able to count? Which point here do you like best? What is the relevance of that specific point to your own life? Please pass on the word about the entire Kartilya to others, to all Filipinos within the reach of your personal influence.”
...It is no less than a precious treasure unearthed for the guidance of present generations of this heroic race, a pleasant surprise to all who had thought they really knew what was there to know about Katipunan and our people’s history.
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