Lopena, Maria Isabelle L.

BN-1B
Content and Contextual Analysis: Kartilya ng Katipunan
1. Author’s Background: Emilio Jacinto
2. Historical Background of the Document
Kartilya ng Katipunan
 Born on December 15, 1875 and died on April 6, 1899 because of Malaria.
 Was the only son of Mariano Jacinto and Josefa Dizon.
 Joined the Katipunan at the age of 20, and became the organization’s secretary and the chief
advisor on fiscal matters of the secret organization.
 Known as the “Utak ng Katipunan” by the Katipunan and was written under the pseudonym
“Dimasilaw” when writing for the newspaper.
 In charge of writing the guidebook for members of the Katipunan which was called the
“Kartilya ng Katipunan” and continued fulfilling Andres Bonifacio’s wishes after he died.
 During the writing of the document, the Philippines were still under the control of the
Spaniards.
 Andres Bonifacio, Teodoro PLata and Valentin Diaz formed the Katipunan, a secret
revolutionary organization/society.
 The Katipunan had the goal of gaining independence from Spain with a revolution.
 The members had to have the utmost secrecy and had to obey by the rules established by the

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3. Content Analysis:
3.1 Understanding the Historical Information
3.2 Identify and describe the content of the
primary source.
secret organization.
 The organization had it’s own rules and morals and this was found in the document, Kartilya
ng Katipunan.
 It is the guidebook for new members and people who wanted to join and commit themselves
to these principles before joining the society.
3.1 After reading the document, it has come to my understanding that the document showcases
the main teachings for those who wanted to join the society and execute these rules
wholeheartedly. If someone is successful in joining, he shall renew his habits and completely
submit to the ordinance of the group. And if someone wishes to join for the title or simply for the
gold/financial support, then he will not be permitted to join even if he may be a good of a speaker
because there will be a lot of observers to monitor the true intentions of an applicant.
3.2
 Payment of dues were required. - In order to keep the secret organization afloat, it also had to
be financially stable by acquiring funds. Members of the organization were given accounts
upon entry and each month.
1. A life that is not dedicated to a noble and divine cause is like a tree without a shade, if not, a
poisonous weed.- A purpose driven life must be lived out for them to grow, because if not, then
they will live out a poisonous and toxic life.
2. A deed that is motivated by self-interest or self-pity and done without sincerity lacks nobility. -
Doing things for the sake of self reasons then joining the society makes one shameless as the
group strictly implores that to be a part of the group, they have to do every task wholeheartedly
not for praise and titles.
3. True piety is the act of being charitable, loving one’s fellowmen, and being judicious in
behavior, speech and deed.- Being a part of this group, one must fruitfully live out the teachings
of God by loving their brothers and sisters and living out the life like the God has written in the
Bible.
4. We are all equal, regardless of the color of their skin; while one could have more education,
wealth or beauty than the other, none of them can overpass one’s identity.- Even if people may
be higher in terms of position, knowledge, money or appearance, at the end of the day, each and
everyone have their own identity and no one is ever above that.
5. A person with a noble character values honor above self-interest, while a person with a base
character values self-interest above honor.- This means that a Katipunero must know what honor
means for them and what it actually holds as their integrity.
6. To a man with a sense of shame, his word is inviolate. - A Katipunero must be a man of his
word and not empty or false promises. Whatever he says, he must live up to that.
7. Do not waste your time; lost wealth can be retrieved, but time lost is lost forever. - Money or
such material things may be replaceable, but lost time cannot be brought back. Which means a
Katipunero must give importance to time.
8. Defend the oppressed and fight the oppressor. - This highlights that one must be able to stand
for what is right and defend for what is just.
9. A wise man is someone who is careful in all that he says; Learn to keep the things that need to
be kept secret. - Since this group was kept a secret, whatever happens in the group stays within
them and must not spread to protect the group which leads the importance to trust for this
principle.
10. In the thorny path of life, the man leads the way and his wife and children follow; if the
leader goes the way of evil, so do the followers. - To be a Katipunero, they must be able to lead
the family. Whichever path they choose, the family must be able to follow suit.
11. Never regard a woman as an object for you to trifle with; rather you should consider her
as a partner and a friend in times of need; Give proper considerations to a woman’s frailty and
never forget that your own mother, who brought you forth and nurtured you from infancy,
is
herself as a person. - They were already slowly empowering the importance of women -the
 respect that they should have for them and a reminder of their mother who were responsible of
bringing them here on Earth.
12. Do not do to the wife, children and brothers and sisters of others what you do not
want others to do to your wife, children and brothers and sisters. - For every action and decisions
they make, they must remember that they also have to face the consequence.
13. A (person’s) worth is not measured by his/her status in life, neither by the length of his nose
nor the fairness of skin, and certainly no 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, a
(person) 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. - This principle is about having the right character
and at the end of the day, everyone is still equal.
14. When these teachings shall have been propagated and the glorious sun of freedom begins to
shine on these poor islands to enlighten a united race and people, then all the loves lost, all the
struggle and sacrifices shall not have been in vain. - The author, Jacinto, expresses his desire for
the followers as to why they had to live out their lives with strict moral values.
4. Contextual Analysis: The author wrote the document mainly because of the fact that they were a secret
What are the factors that could have organization and they had to be on a look out. There were a lot of them and Jacinto wanted them
influenced the author in the writing of the to be aware of the lifestyle that they were going into before joining the group. So each
document? Explain.
5. What is the relevance/contribution of the
document in Philippine History?
6. What are the author’s main arguments?
Katipunero will be equipped with the principles, ideologies and values that served as a guide for
them and may the principles be implanted deeply for the members into their minds and hearts.
And it may also written to inspire the followers to intentionally do things for the love of the
country and to free the country from the colonizers.
This document reminds us that the ordinance of their lives and good morals that the
Katipuneros had should be executed to accomplish the affairs, love, respect and concern for our
country. It has highlighted the importance of equality of races, origin, the educated and religion.
The Kartilya ng Katipunan has helped Filipinos to understand the Katipuneros’ moral and
intellectual principles which needed to be embodied and reflected in their actions in order to join
the organization. It has also opened up a new perspective, allowing readers to grasp how this
document has been instrumental in shaping the country in present circumstances. It is also
worth noting that it has also helped us in understanding the temperament of the Filipino people
back then, at time of writing, as they fought in countless movements in attempt to win back
Philippine independence from Spanish colonizers.
His main argument was to make sure the members or the applicants had the right mindset and
intention in joining. For a true Katipunero, he had to be loyal, respectful, honorable, selfless,

7. Your own overall observation and insights
on the primary source.
charitable, courageous, generous, diligent, love for God and patriotic. He has also mentioned in
the last tenet that it may take a lot of sacrifices for them to follow and truly implement the
principles, the sacrifices will never be in vain and will pay off in the end.
I have observed that the rules and morals that were presented in this document were the
epitome of the characteristics of a Katipunero. It showed that in order to be a part of the secret
society, you had to be sure of what you wanted, what your purpose both in life and joining was
and the essence of being a Filipino. The document also promotes the equality of people, and
gives importance to both men and women. Especially the start of the empowerment and
importance of women during that time. But most importantly, the principles are interdependent
with each other that I have understood one goal, and that is to achieve independence for the
nation and practice the commitment. And because this was a secret society, the members had to
be meticulous with their life to not only protect the society but for themselves as well, but they
are also not afraid to make sacrifices for the nation.