Andres Bonifacio (attrib.

)
Ritual for the initiation of a Bayani, c.1894

Source: Archivo General Militar de Madrid, Caja 5677, leg.1.40

This document sets out the ritual to be followed when a KKK member
with the rank of Soldier (Kawal) is to be elevated to the rank of Patriot
(Bayani).

The system of ranks or grades within the Katipunan changed over

time.  When the statutes were initially drafted in January 1892 a five-tier
hierarchy was envisaged, ascending from Follower (Campon) up through
Hand (Camay), Prop (Suhay)and Pillar (Haligue) to President (Pangulo). 
The redraft in August 1892, which structured the KKK in triangles, makes no
mention of grades, but when the triangle structure was discarded in 1894 a
new three-tier hierarchy is said to have been adopted.  According to Isabelo de
los Reyes, the three grades were Associate (Katipon), Soldier (Kawal) and
Patriot (Bayani), and this same information is repeated in many subsequent
accounts.1 Contemporary KKK documents, however, including the document
transcribed below, indicate that members below the rank of Kawal were
known as Companions (Akibat).  The word Katipon is found in some
documents, but seems to be a general term used to refer to members of all
grades.  Finally, in November 1895, the KKK Supreme Assembly agreed that
the grade of Bayani should be abolished, and that henceforth there should be
just two grades - Akibat and Kawal.

Like the rituals devised for new recruits, this ritual tests the courage
and commitment of the postulant Bayani by submitting him to “trials”
(subok). He is blindfolded, bound with rope, and led to a “gallows,” from
which he is only rescued at the last moment. Later, he is given a “poisoned
dagger,” and asked to “execute” a KKK member who has betrayed the society’s
secrets to the enemy.

Presiding over the ritual, the Most Respected President (presumably

Bonifacio himself) reflects on the martyrdom of the priests Burgos, Gomez
and Zamora - a great wrong, he says, that tore aside the veil that had covered
the eyes of the Tagalogs. Tracing the Katipunan’s political lineage a little
further back, he also alludes to the movement for reforms that preceded the
Cavite mutiny, mentioning specifically the newspaper El Eco Filipino, which
was founded by Manuel Regidor (the brother of Antonio Ma. Regidor),
Federico de Lerena (the brother-in-law of José Ma. Basa) and other liberal
Filipinos in Madrid in 1871.  Copies were sent to Manila but soon began to be
intercepted, and people found in possession of the paper were liable to be
arrested.2  

Bonifacio then describes the persecution that reformists and suspected

filibusters continued to suffer, dwelling in particular on the pain caused by
separation – the separation of the patriots sentenced to execution,
imprisonment or deportation from their wives, children and aged parents.

1
His evocation of this distress, such as that of “the disconsolate mother down
whose cheeks flow the marks of her affliction,” prefigures a passage in the
famous essay “Ang dapat mabatid ng mga tagalog,” published in Kalayaan in
1896.    

I have attributed this document to Bonifacio on the basis of the

handwriting, and do so with some confidence, but his penmanship here lacks
its customary neatness.  He was evidently writing in haste, deleting and
amending as he dashed along.   This has made it difficult in places to decipher
the text, as have the thinness of the paper and the resulting seepage of ink
from one side of a page to the other.  Some words are illegible, and others
open to doubt, which has obviously exacerbated the normal problems of
translation. 

›››››››››››››››››››››

Tagalog text

Kxxx na Pangxxx: Manga minamahal na Kapxxx ang Kawxxx na si N.... sa ngayoy

na sa silid na panilayan at ipapasok dito sa atin, ng mangangad sa kabuniang
Bayxxx.. Sa bagay na ito ipinamamanhik ko, mga minamahal na Kap xxx, na
pakirandamang mahinahon, na kong ang Kapxxx na ito, nagtataglay ng lahat ng
mga karapatan na kinakailangang dapat taglain ng lahat ng Bay xxx sa mga
sagot, na sa kanyng tatangapin sa mga tanong na ating gagawin at sa mga
kilos na sa kanyng mamasnasdan sa mga subok na ating gagawin. Baga mat,
lahat ay nababatid na hindi rin magiging kalabisan ang sa inyoy ipaalaala, na
bago papakiaalamin sa ating mga mataas na kalihiman ay lubos na
kinakailangan, matatap natin tunay na tunay, na kung mahal, matapang,
tapat, matiaga at lubos na daluhong sa pag titiis ng mga karalitaang at mga
kapighatiaan na aabutin sa kakilakilabot na pag lalaban na lagi nang tatayoan
sa ating mga kaaway.

Kxxx na Mabxxx Mabxxx ipasok ang Kawxxx dito sa Kxxx na Karxxx at sa harap
nitong Pinang unluhan.

(Ang Kxxx na Mabxxx gaganapin ang utos ng Kxxx na Pangxxx)

Kxxx na Pangxxx: Minamahal kong Kapxxx na .... naririto kayo ngayon sa Kxxx na
Karxxx na pinagpupulungan ng mga Bayani nitong Sangxxx bayang... ....sa pag
aalaala niyaong di malilimot na araw na kasakitsakit na gunitain ng tagsilin ng
buong kadwagang pagpatain yaong tatlong nagkasakit sa pag ibig sa bayang
tinubuan na sina Bxxx Gxxx Zxxx

Inibig niniyong masok dito sa Kxxx na Karxxx at minarapat sa bagay na

ito ang mga katotohan inyong ipinakilala na katiyagaan, kamahalan at tapang
buhat sa kabuhayang Kawxxx. Ngayoy, tantoin, na ang nagkakaumpok dito sa
Kxxx na Karxxx hinihiling sa inyo ang isang tapat at mahal na puso isang
kaloobang walang bahit dungis at isang lubos na pagdaluhong na di masisira.
¿Iniong na pag isip na mabuti minamahal na Kapxxx ang kabigatan ng bagay na

2
ito? ¿May kaisipan kayo sa hagbang na totoong mapanganib na inyong
gagawin?

(Sasagot ang Kawxxx.)

Kxxx na Pxxx: ¿Di na lalagim ang inyong isip at di nanglolomo ang inyong
kalooban?

(Sasagot ang Kawxxx.)

Kxxx na Pxxx: ¿At kayoy nag tataglay ng malabis na tapang na pailalim sa mga
subok na lalong kagulat gulat na kailan may di sukat magunita?

(Sasagot ang Kawxxx)

Kxxx na Pangxxx: Kung gayo’y pakingan, ang ating bayang tinubuan

itinatangis ng buong kapaitan, ang katakotakot na naging hanga niyaong
napanganyaya ng kalupitang lakas ng mga Fraile; at hinihingi sa kanyan mga
anak ang isang pag susumakit na..[?]lang likat na ikatatayo ng isang
pagkakaisa malakas at matibay, labis na ilapat ang matuid at bag[illegible] na
kaparusahan sa katakotakot na mga Sukaban.

Ang kamalian minimahal kong Kapxxx na ginawa niyaong tatlong

marapat na mga Bayxxx niyaong malabis ng Dunong at ng ang isang kamay na
mapangahas at sukaban tigpasin ang kanilang mga mahalagang buhay liban
sa mga sumusunod.

Ang mga mababait at malabis na kulang palad na mga tagalog na sina

B G Zxxx kalakip ang ibang mabubuting kababayan, [illegible] kapootan sa
x
x x
x
x x
di mabilang na mga pagpatay, pagnanakaw at paginis na labis ng kapusongan
at kahamakan di sukat magunita, na ginawa at magpahangan ngayon niyang
nga ganit na kaaway ng katotohanan, ng katuiran at ng mga mahihina, laban
sa kulang palad na bayang tagalog di ikinagulat ang mga panganib na kanilang
kapapahamakan, pinagkaisahan simulan sa ating bayan ang pag lalathala ng
mga mataas na akala sa pag ibig sa bayan, simulan [?] sa pag papatanyag sa
isang periodico pinanganlan “Eco Filipino” na itinayo sa España, ng
matatapang na mga kasulatan, na matuid at maningas na paghadlang laban sa
mga pag lapastangan sa katuiran, laban sa nakaririmarim na kasinungalingan
sa tapat na kaisipan, laban sa walang subong pag api sa mahihina, laban sa
kasuklamsuklam na pag kalakal sa mga mangmang at laban sa lahat ng mga
masasama [?] na pinili itinangi pagsalin ang ating Bayang tinubuan. Hiningi
rin naman sa Gobierno ng España, na ipaiiral ang mga utos na ipinatupad at
ipinagbawal din nila.

Mamasdan ito ng mga Fraile, lumalang ng isang makamandak na

kataksilan ng pagka fraile, laban sa ating kaawaawang mga Kababayan.

Ginawa sa bagay na yaon, papagalsahin ang guarnicion tanod sa Kabite

sa ngalan nila at ng ibang karamihan namamayan sa Maynila at ibang mga
bayan at di na [illegible] siyang pag putong [?] ng kamatayang pag aalsa sa
Kabite. Kapagkatapos na masunod ang kalaitlait na gawa siyang pag akiat sa

3
bibitayan, waring nga [?] tunay at kasuklamsuklam na mga tampalasan, yaong
mga pinahirapan na ilinagmog ng Kalupitan at kapusongan, niaong ang bagay
[?] kinakailangang ang kanilang malalaking mga puso at ng kanilang mga
tigas [?] katalinuhang. Ang mga Alopong na nagkasilong sa kadumaldumal
nilang kublihan, na tinatawag na mga convento inantababayanan ang
magkadaang sumibasib sa kanilang mga pinagtagsil, pinagalaw na
dumaluhong at ikinalat ang kamandag na lubhang malimit na kapukaban ni
[?] mga sumbong at paratang. Ipinagbibilango at itinapon sa ibang bayan, at
sa bagay na ito, namasdan sa mga mababait na mga magulang na nanga hiban
sa dagat ng sakit, ng pag susungaban at pagniting walang awa sa yakap ng
kahabaghabag na asawa at sa halik ng mga walang malay na mga anak,
namasdan ang matandang ama humagulgol na nag hihinagpis sa kasawiang
palad ng iniibig niya sa buhay na kapilas ng kanyang puso, kaginhawan at
tungkod niya sa katandaan; namasdan din naman ang kapatid na nag ngalit sa
di masawatang kagalitan sa maaga at di marapat ukol na pagkamatay ng
kapatid; at nakita namang ng pag hihinagpis ng ina na ang mga pisngi
namumulta sa pighati, lapastanganin ang Dios at ng mga tawong nag hiwalay
sa anak na karugtong ng hininga, ng iniibig niyang lalo sa lahat.

¡ Mga kulang palad nangalayo sa kanilang lupang tinubuan at sa

kanilang minamahal sa buhay, itinapon at isinadlak sa malalayong pasigan na
may walang awang na kapagkakasakit na singaw, dooy sa paglagaslas ng mga
luhang dugo kung minsay ikinayayamot na ang di pagkalagot ng buhay.
Nagbuhos ng dugo, maraming dugo ng walang malay, lumagaslas ng luha,
maraming mamapait na luha, na nakihalo sa malungkod na na pagsasaliwan
ng putok ng mga fusil ng mga nagpapapatay; ang daing ng mga na
panganyaya, at itong matasulay na ugong, ay siyang tanging nakikisaliw sa
ynyong katahimikan ng kamatayan.

Isang mapait na pagka aninaw sa kasukaban ang siyang nag wasak ng

masinsing tabing na tumatakip sa paningin ng mga tagalog at [illegible] ng
kakilakilabot ang kasuklamsuklam na kabulukan, namalas na nangag
galawgalaw sa kanya ang kadumaldumal na mga uod [?] na sa nakalalasong
nilang laway nakakamandagan [?] ang [?] kabuhayan nang mga bayang
tagalog.

Mga Kxxx Kxxx ¡ lagi ng palaitlaitin ang mga nakamatay !

Ang lahat: Palaitlaitin sila.

Kxxx na Pxxx: Minamahal kong Kapxxx ¿Kayoy makapag titiis na gaya ng

kanilang kinasapitan na mamatay sa pag ibig sa bayang tinubuan?

(Sagagot ang Kawxxx)

Kxxx na Pxxx: Yniyong kakatawanin ang na pagsapid niyaong tatlong martires.

¿Tumatalaga kayong gawin?

Kxxx na Pxxx: Ginoong N... Ang Gobierno ng Kastila kayoy binibiglang

kasalanang nag tagsil sa bayang Kastila, sapagkat kayoy nakisanib sa isang

4
katipunan tinatawag nilang filibusteros. ¿Ano ang itututol ninyo sa bagay na
ito? Sumagot.

(Sagagot ang Kawxxx)

Kxxx na Kalihim: Sa kasagutan na katatapos nating naringig sa tawong ito.

inaamin [?] ang katagsilan sa kanyay ibinubuhat.

Kxxx na Tagxxx: Sa pagkakitang ng katatapos isiniwalat ipinahahayag kong nag

kasala ng malaking katagsilan sa Gobierno ng Kastila (sasabihin sa Kaw xxx).
Sa inyoy aking babasahin ang kahatulan ng Consejo de Guerra na sa inyoy
ilalapat, mangyaring pakingan.

(Babasahin ang kahatulan.)

Kxxx na Tagausig: Kapxxx na Mabxxx ihatid ang Kawxxx sa Capilla. [Ang Capilla
nakalagay ng lubos na kaukulan at talagang kaugalian.3]

(Ang Kxxx na Mabxxx gaganapin ang utos ng Kapxxx na Tagausig.

Kapagkatapos ng mga kinakailangang gawin, ang Kapxxx. na Mabxxx.
ihahatid ang Kawxxx sa bibitayan at dooy bibitayin.)

Kxxx. na Pxxx[?]: Mga minamahal kong Kapxxx. isang Kawxxx. na ang nabibingit
sa kamatayan, ilalapat ng verdugo, at kayong nangagsipanumpang gugugol
ang inyong mga buhay sa pagtatangulan ng isa,t, isa makisanib kayo sa akin at
iligtas natin ang ating kapatid.

Titindig ang Kagalangalang na Pangulo na susundan ng lahat ng mga

Kapxxx at aalisan ang Kawxxx ng kanyang mga tali. Kapagkatapos ang Kapxxx
na Mabxxx yaoy ihahatid sa isang silid at dooy aalisan ng kapucha.

Kxxx. na Pxxx: Minamahal kong mga kapatid ating tangapin sa palatandaang

Kawxxx. ang ating Kap..... na ating na ayaw sa mga kuko ng ating mga kaaway.

(Lahat titindig at lalagay sa kaayusang Kawxxx at ang Kapxxx na Mabxxx yaoy

ipapasok na may takip ang mga mata.)

Kxxx na Pxxx: Inyong natapos na kinatawan ang kabuhayang napagsapid

niyaong mga napahamak at mga mahal na mga mapag tangkilig sa bayan.

¿Ano ang akala niyo sa bagay na yan?

(Sasagot ang Kawxxx.)

Kxxx. na Pxxx: Minamahal kong Kapxxx na .... lahat ng inyong katatapos

naramdaman at tiniis ay ipinakikilala sa inyo, ang kataksilan at kababaan
ginamit doon sa ating mga kababayan na malungkot at kakilakilabot na
gunitain dapat ipag alab ng puso ng lahat ng mabubuting tagalog, isang volkan
nag naglalagaplapat [?] babaya na dapat na bumuga [?] ng walang tila at di
masawatang unos ng kagalitan at pag hihiganti. Silay nag gawat din naman sa
inyo ng lubos na pag papakilala ng katuiran, pag ibig sa bayang tinubuan at

5
tapang, na ang kanilang mga mukha nagag [?] sipanngitin at kakilakilabot sa
umiipit at tumatapos na lakad [?] at ng nasa pinto na ng isang pilit na
kamatayang at sa pag hihimutok at sa pagalaw [?] at buhat [?] sa isang
kakilakibot na pag hihingalo, ipinahatid sa kahulihulihang pag hinga ang
isang maningas na pag asa sa ikaliligtas ng ating bayan at sa pag tatagumpay
ng ating mga mataas na akala. Gayon din naman suyoy ipinakilala na
inaantay kayo ng gayon ding hanga, ang araw na ang KKK xxx ay matuklasan ng
ating mga kaaway (marahan).

K xxx na P xxx: At di kayo kinikalabutan Kxxx na .... sa [illegible] nanga kita

ninyo na sa isang araw mangyarin gawin sa inyo ang sa kaniyay ginawa?

(Sasagot ang Kaw xxx)

Kxxx na Pxxx: Sa inyong mga tiniis at sa tapang ng inyong pagpapailalim sa

mga subok, kami ay nagkaroon ng kaunting paniniwala na kayoy mayroon
tunay na pag daluhong na kahit ikalagot ng buhay sa pag tatangkakal ng ating
KKKxxx. Sa bagay na ito itong Katipunan napangayagang tinangap sa kanyan
sinapupunan ang isang tawo, na bukal na kasamaan, gumamit ng kataksilang
isiniwalat ang ating mga lihim sa ating mga kaaway. Ang taksil naroroon
ngayon may gapos at may takip ang bibig sa isang silid. Ang nag kaisang
KKKxxx minarapat na kayoy inihalal na magtarap[?] sa puso ng sukab ng punal
na may lason ¿Tinatangap ninyo ang katungkulan iginagawak sa inyo ng
kalahatan minamahal kong Kapatid?

(Sasagot ang Kawxxx)

Kxxx na Pxxx: Kapxxx na Mabxxx ganapin ang inyon tungkol.

(Ang Kxxx na Mabxxx ihahatid ang Kawxxx sa silid na kinalalagian ng taksil at

ibibigay ang punal. Kapagkatapos, na ang Kawxxx maiharap ang punal, ang
Kxxx na Mabxxx muling ipapasok sa Kxxx na Karurukan.)

Kxxx na Mabxxx: Kxxx na Pxxx: ang Kapxxx na Kawxxx sinapat [?] ng buong tapang
ang katungkulang sa kanyay iginawad ng K.K.Kxxx.

Kxxx na Pxxx: Kapxxx na Kawxxx Kayoy nag handog ng malaking pag lilingkod sa
KKKxxx at tatangapin ninyo ngayon din ang palang na sa inyoy nararapat (sa
Kapxxx na Mabxxx) Kapxxx na Mabxxx igawad sa Kapxxx na Kawxxx ang paso ng
tubig, na ipaghuhugas ng mga kamay na nabalikan [?] ng dugo niyaong
kulang-palad.

(Ang Kapxxx na Mabxxx gaganapin ang utos ng Kxxx na Pxxx)

Kxxx na Pxxx: Bago suotan kayo ng kabunyiang ng Kataastaasang Bayani sa

inyoy aking babasahin ang Katibayang na inyong tatalaan.

(Pagbasa ng Katibayan na nasusulat ng ganito.)

6
 “Akoy si N. N. na ipinahaha [?] ng buong katahimikan ng isip na siyang
pumatay sa kay.... wala akong kaalam, at di sa udiok ng sino pa man,
kundi sa talagang sariling kalooban.

Maynila, ika... ng 18....

Tatatalaan ng tunay na pangalan

Kxxx na Pxxx: ¿Tunay na tumatalaga kayong maghandog [?] ng mahalagang

sumpa na sa mga panganib at na [?] pakahirapan katungkulan na inyong
mapapakisaniban?

(Sasagot ang Kawxxx)

Kxxx na Pxxx: Magagsitindig at sumaayos minamahal kong mga kapatid at

kayo Kapxxx na Kawxxx tumayo at sumunod sa akin.

“Ako si... iniulit ko ang panunumpang iginawad ng pagka Akibat at pag

Kaw xxx na nanunumpa sa harap ng bayan at sa harap ng K.K.K xxx ng
mga [?] ng pagtatapat, kalihiman at kasipagan. Nanunumpa naman,
mamatay, makipaglaban, igugol ko ang lahat at mawala ang lahat sa ika
liligtas ng Katagalugan.”

Kxxx. na Pxxx: Kung mabaon kayo sa putik ng kasamaan, sirain ninyo ang
sumpang ito, ang inyong buhay lumagi na sa walang papatid na nakatakotakot
na paghihirap at kasakitan walang katapusan, na [illegible] kayong lumasap
kailan man ng kahit sandaling katahimikan at kaginhawahan, buong katawan
ninyoy laganapin ng sakit na leprang nakasusuklam, mabaho at nakahahawa,
ilagan kayo ng lahat na gaya ng pag ilag sa makamandag na ganit, lahat ay
mabasa sa inyong noo - ang wikang Proditor na mag isang nakahahamak tatak
na palatandaan ng kawalang puri at kaayu...

›››››››››››››››››››››

English translation

Most Esteemed President: Beloved brothers: the Soldier N is now in the

chamber of reflection, and will come to us here with the ambition of being
elevated to the distinguished rank of Patriot. For this purpose, I beg you, my
beloved Brothers, to consider calmly whether this Brother possesses all the
qualities that every Patriot needs – in his answers, in the manner he reacts to
the questions we shall ask, and in the way he responds to the trials we shall
set. Nevertheless, whatever may be observed is not as important as
remembering the need, before we divulge our high secrets, to be absolutely
certain that he will be honorable, brave, loyal and diligent; that he will be
fearless in dealing with the hardships and anguish that must be endured,
above all when we stand before our enemies in fearsome battle.

Brother Terrible: Let the Soldier enter the Respected Lodge and appear
before this Presidium.

7
 (The Brother Terrible will comply with the order of the Most Esteemed
President.)

Most Esteemed President: My beloved Brother [N]: You are now here in the
Respected Lodge in which are gathered the Patriots of this Popular Council ….
in remembrance of that unforgettable day of painful memory which saw the
treacherous, cowardly execution of B., G. and Z, martyred for their love of the
native land.

It is your wish to enter this Respected Lodge and to apply the qualities
you have learnt as a Soldier – diligence, nobility and valor. Today, therefore,
we who are gathered together in the Respected Lodge ask you to manifest an
honest and noble heart, a character without blemish and a fervor that cannot
be stilled. Have you reflected deeply, beloved Brother, on the gravity of this
matter? What are your thoughts about this truly dangerous step you are about
to take?

(The Soldier will respond.)

Most Esteemed President: Is your mind not fearful; is your resolve not
wavering?

(The Soldier will respond.)

Most Esteemed President: And will you be brave enough to endure the trials
that are too horrific to contemplate?

(The Soldier will respond.)

Most Esteemed President: If that is so, then please listen. The land of our
birth is weeping bitterly, still suffering under the cruel tyranny of the Friars,
and she beseeches her children to support her by tirelessly forging a unity that
is firm and strong, so as to wreak just and proper vengeance upon the dreaded
Deceivers.

My beloved Brother, a great wrong was committed against those three

loyal, most learned Patriots. An audacious and perfidious hand cut short their
estimable lives. And yet…

The decent and most unfortunate Tagalogs B., G. and Z., together with
other fine compatriots, were outraged by the numberless killings and thefts.
They were appalled by the arrogance and disdain with which the intransigent
enemies of truth, justice and of the weak treated - and still treat - the
unfortunate Tagalog people. Not frightened by the dangers or the terrible fate
that might befall them, they together proclaimed to the people their high
patriotic ideals. As a start, the renowned journal “Eco Filipino” was founded
in Spain, a brave publication which directed forthright, fiery attacks against
the irreverent twisters of truth, against the sickening lies against true reason,
against the flagrant oppression of the weak, against the loathsome
exploitation of the ignorant and against all the diverse evils inflicted on our

8
native land. They also asked the Spanish Government to implement the laws
and prohibitions that had been approved.

The friars took notice of this, and in a poisonous betrayal of their status
as friars they sought to fight our pitiable Compatriots.

Towards that end, they incited the garrison guard in Cavite to stage an
uprising in their own name, and on behalf of many other citizens of Manila
and other towns. The doomed uprising in Cavite was suppressed almost as
soon as it broke out. Immediately there came that vile act, the erection of the
scaffold, and truly sickening cruelties. They had to face great pain and
suffering, for which they needed their brave hearts and steadfast minds. The
despicable Cobras in their shabby abodes, which are known as conventos,
wanted to halt the campaign against their treacheries, their incitements and
agitations, and their constant scattering of venomous accusations and
denunciations. There came imprisonments and deportations to foreign lands.
Witness the good parents who became demented in a sea of suffering, struck
down by misery, embraced by their disconsolate spouses and kissed by
innocent children. Witness the elderly father, sobbing and groaning at the
misfortune of his loved ones, those who were his comfort and support in his
old age. Witness also the brother, seized by an uncontrollable rage at the
premature and unjust death of his brother, and see too the disconsolate
mother, down whose cheeks flow the marks of her affliction. Those who
separate a mother from her children are committing a blasphemy against God,
because a mother loves her children, the continuation of her own breath,
above all else.

Poor unfortunates, stranded far from the land of their birth and their
loved ones in life, deported and cast away on pitiless, malodorous shores
where they weep tears of blood, and at times rage that they were not put to
death. Blood spills, so much innocent blood; tears flow, so many bitter tears,
interspersed with the accursed crackle of the executioners’ guns and the
moans of the stricken.  These are the noises, this is the roar, that shake the
quiet stillness of your grave.

This treachery was a bitter revelation. It tore aside the veil that covered
the eyes of the Tagalogs. It disclosed a dreadful, repugnant corruption, the
sight of which provoked great unrest against those debauched maggots whose
venomous saliva has poisoned the livelihood of the Tagalog people.

Respected Brothers: Curse the executioners for all time!

All: We curse them.

Most Esteemed President: Will you be able to suffer as they did, giving their
lives for the love of the native country?

(The Soldier will respond.)

9
Most Esteemed President: You will now follow in the steps of those three
martyrs. Are you really prepared to do that?

[(The Soldier will respond.)]4

Most Esteemed President: Mr. N: The Spanish Government suddenly accuses

you of treachery against the Spanish nation, because you have joined an
association that they call seditious. How do you protest against this?
Respond.

(The Soldier will respond.)

Brother Secretary: From the replies we have just heard from this person, it is
clear that he admits to treason.

Brother Fiscal: In view of what has just been revealed, I proclaim you guilty
of a grave treason against the Government of Spain (he tells the Soldier). I
shall read to you the judgment of the Council of War as to what punishment
you deserve. Please listen.

(Reads the sentence.)

Brother Fiscal: Brother Terrible: Accompany the Soldier to the Chapel

(footnote: the Chapel has been laid out with everything that is required,
according to custom.)

(The Brother Terrible will comply with the order of the Brother Fiscal. After
finishing what needs to be done, the Brother Terrible will accompany the
Brother Soldier to the scaffold, and there a rope will be put round his neck.)

Most Esteemed President: My beloved Brothers: a Soldier is in mortal peril,

about to be executed. You, who have sworn to give up your lives to defend one
another, join me, and we shall rescue our brother.

(The Most Esteemed President will rise, followed by all the Brothers, and
they will go to set loose the Soldier from the ropes with which he has been
bound. The Brother Terrible will then accompany the Soldier to another
room, where he will remove the hood that has been placed over his head.)

Brother President: My beloved brothers, we embrace our Brother [N], who

has shown he is a true Soldier, and whom we have taken from the clutches of
our enemies.

(Everybody will rise and stand to attention, and the Brother Terrible will
escort the Soldier back into the room. The Soldier is blindfolded.)

Most Esteemed President: What you have just endured represents the fateful
doom that faces any patriot who is dedicated to the country. What are your
thoughts about that?

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 (The Soldier will respond.)

Most Esteemed President:  My beloved Brother [N].  All the suffering you have
just endured should impress upon you the perfidy and indignity inflicted on
our unfortunate compatriots.  That terrible memory must blaze in the hearts
of all good Tagalogs like a volcano; the rightful response must be an
unstoppable eruption of wrath and vengeance.  The trials have also given you
a clear understanding of reason, of love for one’s native land, and of valor in
the face of terror and repression. At the end of this arduous journey, even at
the door of a violent death, amidst cries of distress and terrible mortal
agonies, you will harbor to your very last breath a burning desire for the
liberation of our native country and the triumph of our high ideals. And by
the same token you will be waiting, with the same desire, for the day when the
K.K.K. will be discovered by our enemies (spoken softly).

Most Esteemed President: And do you not shiver, Brother [N], from seeing
that what happened to him might one day happen to you?

(The Soldier will respond.)

Most Esteemed President: In your suffering and in the bravery you showed
during the trials, we are inclined to believe that you are bold enough even to
take life in defense of our K.K.K. This being the case, the Katipunan has
regrettably taken into its ranks a person of bad character, who has committed
treason by disclosing our secrets to our enemies. The traitor is now bound
and gagged in another room. The K.K.K. has duly agreed to appoint you to
stab the traitor through the heart with a poisoned dagger. Are you prepared to
accept the duty that the association has assigned to you, my beloved Brother?

(The Soldier will respond.)

Most Esteemed President: Brother Terrible, fulfill your duty.

(The Brother Terrible will accompany the Soldier to the room where the
traitor is held, and give him the dagger. Afterwards, once the Soldier has
handed back the dagger, the Brother Terrible [and the Soldier] will return to
the Respected Lodge.)

1
Isabelo de los Reyes, La sensacional memoria de Isabelo de los Reyes sobre la revolución
Filipina de 1896-97 (Madrid: Tip. Lit. de J. Corrales, 1899), 71.  See also, for example, Manuel
Artigas y Cuerva, Glorias nacionales: Andres Bonifacio y El ‘Katipunan’ (Manila: Libreria
‘Manila Filatelica’, 1911), 30–1; and Teodoro A. Agoncillo, The Revolt of the Masses: The story
of Bonifacio and the Katipunan (Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press, 1956), 50–
1.
2
John N. Schumacher, “Gomburza,” Filipino Heritage: The making of a nation (Manila:
Lahing Pilipino, 1978), vol.6, 1153–7. See also 1872, Documents compiled and annotated by
Leandro Tormo Sanz, translated by Antonio J. Molina (Manila: Historical Conservation
Society, 1973), 19; 28; 30.
3
These words in square brackets are in a note at the foot of the page.
4
These words do not appear in the Tagalog original, but presumably were intended.

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Brother Terrible: Most Esteemed President: The Brother Soldier has most
valiantly carried out the task that the K.K.K. assigned him.

Most Esteemed President: Brother Soldier: You have rendered a great service
to the K.K.K., and you will now receive the bolo that you merit. (To the
Brother Terrible) Brother Terrible: Give the Brother Soldier the water
container, so that he can wash the blood of that wretch from his hands.

(The Brother Terrible will comply with the order of the Most Esteemed
President.)

Most Esteemed President: Before you are invested with the rank of Most
Elevated Patriot, I shall read to you the Certificate that you must sign. (Reads
the Certificate, which is written thus)

I, NN, being of calm mind, declare that I killed……., who was not known
to me, and that I did so not at the instigation of anyone else, but truly of
my own volition.

Manila, the…….18….

(To be signed with the real name)

Most Esteemed President: Are you truly committed to taking this solemn oath
of office, knowing the hardships and dangers you will face?

(The Soldier will respond.)

Most Esteemed President: My beloved brothers, please stand up and come to

order, and you, Brother Soldier, arise and repeat after me:

“I, [N], hereby reaffirm the oaths I took as a Companion and as a

Soldier, and I duly swear before the country and before the K.K.K to be
loyal and diligent, and to guard our secrets. I further swear that I am
ready to die, to fight, to give everything, to lose everything, for the
liberation of Katagalugan.”

Most Esteemed President: If you fall into the mire of iniquity, and break this
oath, your life will be plagued forever by fearful hardship and endless
suffering. You will not be able to enjoy even a moment of peace and comfort.
Your whole body will be afflicted by the repugnant disease of leprosy,
malodorous and contagious. Everyone will shun you, as if they were avoiding
a poisonous beast, and everyone will be able to read on your forehead the
word “Traitor,” a contemptuous label denoting a person without honor...

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