MODULE 5: CONTEXT & CONTEXTUAL

ANALYSIS OF “KARTILYA NG KATIPUNAN”

BY EMILIO JACINTO Kartilya ng Katipunan
Emilio Jacinto
Rationale:
o Mga Aral nang Katipunan ng mga A.N.B.
Module 5 furthers the understanding of students through
content and contextual analysis as a tool in evaluating
1. Ang kabuhayang hindi ginugugol sa isang ma6amingt
selected primary sources in Philippine history. It aims to
banal na kadahilanan ay kahoy na walang lilim, kundi
develop student’s skills in analyzing and interpreting
damong makamandag.
primary sources.

Particularly, in this module, Emilio Jacinto’s “Kartilya ng 2. Ang gawang magaling na nagbubuhat sa pagpipita sa
Katipunan” will be examined through content and sarili, at hindi sa talagang nasang gumawa ng
contextual analysis as he wrote teachings and principles of kagalingan, ay di kabaitan.
Katipunan members. It is expected that student will
acknowledge these teachings and be able to live up to 3. Ang tunay na kabanalan ay ang pagkakawang gawa,
them as good citizens of our nation. ang pagibig sa kapua at ang isukat ang bawat kilos,
gawa’t pangungusap sa talagang Katuiran.
Learning Objectives:
4. Maitim man at maputi ang kulay ng balat, lahat ng
1. Analyze the context, content and perspective of tao’y magkakapantay; mangyayaring ang isa’y higtan
different kinds of primary sources sa dunong, sa yaman, sa ganda…; ngunit di
2. Determine the contribution of different kinds of mahihigtan sa pagkatao.
primary sources in understanding Philippine history.
3. Develop critical and analytical skills with exposure to 5. Ang may mataas na kalooban inuuna ang puri sa
primary sources. pagpipita sa sarili; ang may hamak na kalooban
4. Appreciate the teachings of the Kartilya and be able to inuuna ang pagpipita sa sarili sa puri.
live up to these principles as good citizens of our
nation. 6. Sa taong may hiya, salita’y panunumpa.

The KKK or Katipunan 7. Huag mong sasayangin ang panahun; ang yamang
The Kataastaasan, Kagalanggalangang Katipunan ng na6aming magyayaring magbalik; ng6amin panahong
mga Anak ng Bayan (KKK) or Katipunan is arguably nagdaan na’y di na muli pang magdadaan. Value of
the most important organization formed in the Philippine time.
history. The two principal aims of the KKK as gathered
from the writings of Bonifacio: 8. Ipagtanggol mo ang inaapi, at kabakahin ang umaapi.

1. Unity of the Filipino people 9. Ang taong matalino’y ang may pagiingat sa bawat
2. Separation from Spain through revolution sasabihin, at matutong ipaglihim ang dapat ipaglihim.

Bonifacio came out after the failure of the reform 10. Sa daang matinik ng kabuhayan, lalaki ay siyang
movement headed by Rizal and M. Del Pilar. This paved patnugot ng asawa’t mga anak; kung ang umaakay ay
way for a more radical and more active lines. He formed tungo sa sama, ang patutunguhan ng iaakay ay
the Katipunan, a secret society which was founded at kasamaan din.
Tondo Manila, in a house on Azcarraga Street then
numbered 314, on July 7, 1892, the same date on which 11. Ang babai ay huag mong tignang isang bagay na
Rizal was decreed to be banished to Dapitan. libangan lamang, kundi isang katuang at ka7aming7a
Rizal doubtless approved the first aim but refused to mga kahirapan nitong kabuhayan; gamitan mo ng
accept the second and this was the reason that he refused buong pagpipitagan ang kaniyang kahinaan, at
to go along with the “Katipuneros” (soldiers’ of the alalahanin ang inang pinagbuhata’t nagiwi sa iyong
Katipunan) and voluntarily surrendered that leads him to kasangulan.
prison and death. To achieve unity of the Filipinos,
propaganda work must be done and this was through 12. Ang di mo ibig na gawin sa asawa mo, anak at
massive education and civic trainings of the Katipuneros. kapatid, ay huag mong gagawin sa asawa, anak, at
To that end, Bonifacio prepared his now well-known kapatid ng iba.
decalogue, and Jacinto his famous “Kartilya ng
Katipunan” (Primer of the Katipunan). 13. Ang kamahalan ng tao’y wala sa pagkahari, wala
sa7aming7a7g ilong at puti ng mukha, wala sa
These are the rules in Kartilya. The Kartilya can be pagkaparing kahalili ng Dios wala sa mataas na
treated as the Katipunan’s Code of conduct which contains kalagayan sa balat ng lupa; wagas at tunay na mahal
14 rules that instruct the way a Katipunero should behave. na tao, kahit laking gubat at walang nababatid kundi

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 ang sariling wika, yaong may magandang asal, may 13. Man is not worth more because he is a king, because
isang pangungusap, may dangal at puri; yaong di his nose is aquiline, and his color white, not because
napaaapi’t di nakikiapi; yaong marunong he is a *priest, a servant of God, nor because of the
magdamdam at marunong lumingap sa bayang high prerogative that he enjoys upon earth, but he is
tinubuan. worth most who is a man of proven and real value,
who does good, keeps his words, is worthy and
14. Paglaganap ng mga aral na ito at maningning na honest; he who does not oppress nor consent to being
sumikat ang araw ng mahal na Kalayaan di7amina oppressed, he who loves and cherishes his fatherland,
kaabaabang Sangkalupuan, at sabugan ng matamis though he be born in the wilderness and know no
niyang liwanag ang nangagkaisang magkalahi’t tongue but his own.
magkakapatid ng ligaya ng walang katapusan, ang
mga ginugol na buhay, pagud, at mga tiniis na 14. When these rules of conduct shall be known to all, the
kahirapa’y labis nang natumbasan. Kung lahat ng longed-for sun of Liberty shall rise brilliant over this
ito’y mataruk na ng nagiibig pumasuk at inaakala most unhappy portion of the globe and its rays shall
niyang matutupad ang mga tutungkulin, maitatala ang diffuse everlasting joy among the confederated
kaniyang ninanasa sa kasunod nito. brethren of the same rays, the lives of those who have
gone before, the fatigues and the well-paid sufferings
o The Katipunan Code of Conduct will remain. If he who desires to enter (the Katipunan)
has informed himself of all this and believes he will be
1. A life that is not consecrated to a lofty and reasonable able to perform what will be his duties, he may fill out
purpose is a tree without a shade, if not a poisonous the application for admission. [Translation by
weed. Gregorio Nieva, 1918]

2. To do good for personal gain and not for its own sake
An Excerpt from the Second Paragraph of the Kartilya
is not virtue.
which states that “The object pursued by this association is
great and precious: to unite in ideas and purposes all
3. It is rational to be charitable and love one's fellow
filipinos by means of a strong oath and from union derive
creature, and to adjust one's’ conduct, acts and words
force with which to tear the veil that obscures intelligence
to what is in itself reasonable.
and thus find the true path of reason and light”.
4. Whether our skin be black or white, we are all born The strong oath was documented and signed with the
equal: superiority in knowledge, wealth and beauty are signed with the blood of the “Katipuneros” (blood (blood
to be understood, but not superiority by nature. compact). They swore at the Katipunan creed; Katipunan
creed; to defend the oppressed, fight the fight the
5. The honorable man prefers honor to personal gain; the oppressor even to the extent of supreme self- supreme
scoundrel, gain to honor. self- sacrifice.
One of the most important Katipunan documents was the
6. To the honorable man, his word is sacred.
Kartilya ng Katipunan. The original title of the document
was “Manga (sic) Aral Nang (sic) Katipunan ng mga
7. Do not waste thy time: wealth can be recovered but
A.N.B.” Or “Lesson of the Organization of the Sons of
not time lost.
Country”.
8. Defend the oppressed and fight the oppressor before
the law or in the field. _______________________________________________

9. The prudent man is sparing in words and faithful in Emilio Jacinto (attrib.), Katipunan nang manga A. N.
keeping secrets. B. – Sa may nasang makisanib sa katipunang ito [The
“Kartilya”]
10. On the thorny path of life, man is the guide of woman
and the children, and if the guide leads to the Sources: Adrian E. Cristobal, The Tragedy of the
precipice, those whom he guides will also go there. Revolution (Makati City: Studio 5 Publishing Inc., 1997)
46; José P. Santos, Buhay at mga sinulat ni Emilio Jacinto
11. Thou must not look upon woman as a mere plaything, (Manila: José Paez Santos, 1935), 59–63.
but as a faithful companion who will share with thee Taught in schools and debated in universities, the
the penalties of life; her (physical) weakness will “Kartilya” is the best known of all Katipunan texts.
increase thy interest in her and she will remind thee of Making manifest the KKK’s principles and teachings, it
the mother who bore thee and reared thee. was printed as a small pamphlet for new members. It is
the only document of any length set in print by the
12. What thou dost not desire done unto thy wife, Katipunan prior to August 1896 that is known to be still
children, brothers and sisters, that do not unto the extant.
wife, children, brothers and sisters of thy neighbor.
The earliest reference to the Kartilya yet found is in the
minutes of a Supreme Assembly meeting held in December
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1895, which say the manifesto (“pahayag”) will be priced There are also parallels between the content of the two
at 4 kualta per copy. Whether it is the KKK branches or documents. Recruits to the lodges were advised that
the individual recruits who are to be charged this amount Masonry “considera como hermanos todos los hombres”;
is not clear, and nor is it known whether the title phrase – that they should renounce “todos los vicios”; and should
“To those who want to join this Katipunan” – truly means “defenderás al oprimido.” Within the Katipunan, said the
potential recruits, or in practice should be taken to mean Kartilya, “all are equal and true brethren.” Members
“To those who have just joined this Katipunan.” If copies had to “renounce disorderly habits” and to “defend the
were sold to potential as well as actual recruits, needless to oppressed.”
say, there was a heightened risk they might fall into the
wrong hands. Other influences may be identified more tentatively. The
admonitions to regard a woman as a “helpmate” rather
The Kartilya was still in use during the first phase of the than a “plaything,” and to “have due regard to her
revolution, and Bonifacio was planning to print more weakness” may be Biblical in origin. The adage that “an
copies shortly before he was killed. It may still have been honorable man’s word is his bond” may be traced back to
used during the second phase of the revolution, for a Cervantes; and the thought that “time lost is lost forever”
version survives in the Philippine Insurgent Records that may have come from Benjamin Franklin. One precept is
is stamped with the seal used by Artemio Ricarte in perhaps taken from Rizal. A “life which is not dedicated
1899. This version contains basically the same text as is to a great idea is useless,” declares Rizal’s fictional
transcribed here, but it bears a different title – “Final insurrectionist Simoun in El Filibusterismo: “It is a
Declaration on Admission to the Katipunan” pebble lost in the field, when it should form part of some
(Katapusang pamamahayag sa pagpasok sa K.) – and it building.” “Life which is not consecrated to a lofty and
omits the famous footnote that says “The word Tagalog sacred cause,”Jacinto writes, varying the metaphor, “is
means all those born in this Archipelago.” like a tree without shade, if not a poisonous weed.”

Authorship of the Kartilya has always been credited to To emphasize Enlightenment influences on Katipunan
Emilio Jacinto, and there is little doubt this attribution is thinking, some say, effaces the originality of documents
sound: it dates back to the Sensacional memoria of like the Kartilya, which may be found in the nuances of
Isabelo de los Reyes, whose sources included several their Tagalog and their resonance with the native psyche,
senior KKK veterans, and it has never been challenged. familial bonds, folk Christianity, indigenous dissident
Bonifacio, the story goes, had originally intended that his traditions and so on. Such arguments may be true up to a
“Decalogue” should be printed and handed to new point, but often they seem nebulous, reliant more on
recruits, but he then read Jacinto’s Kartilya and decided it wishful assertion than on substantiating chapter and verse.
was superior. The two texts, though, are not really The Tagalog words that resound loudest in the Kartilya,
comparable. Bonifacio seeks only to enumerate the duties beyond doubt, are the equivalents of the Enlightenment’s
of Katipunan members, Jacinto couches his primer, four defining watchwords: Liberty (“Kalayaan”), Equality
times as long, rather as a statement of aspirations and (“lahat ng tao’y magkakapantay”), Fraternity (“kayong
ethical values. Bonifacio lists ten obligations; Jacinto lahat ay magkakapatid”), Reason (“Katuiran”), Progress
presents twelve “guiding principles” and fourteen (“Kagalingan”) and Enlightenment itself
“teachings”. (“Kaliwanagan”). Most, perhaps all, of these Tagalog
equivalents had already been employed by ilustrado
In its structure the Kartilya resembles the declaration used writers like Rizal and Del Pilar before the KKK was
in Manila’s Masonic lodges, a declaration that had founded. The revolutionary originality of the Katipunan
presumably been written in Spain around 1889 when the lay not in its idiom, but in its objectives and its deeds.
grand order to which the lodges were affiliated – the Gran
Oriente Español - had been founded by Miguel Morayta.
The Kartilya is addressed “To those who want to join the
Katipunan”; the Masonic document to “los profanos que
deben inscribirse en la Sociedad.” The preamble to the
Kartilya echoes the Masonic document’s stated purpose,
which is to ensure that candidates fully understand the
association’s objectives before making a commitment they
might later repent. The division in the Kartilya between
principles (“layon”) and teachings (“aral”) broadly
parallels the division in the Gran Oriente’s manifesto
between the “Programa Masonica” and the “Codigo
Masonico.” And the Kartilya, finally, like the document
used in the lodges, asks neophytes to pledge their
allegiance to the association’s objectives and to affirm
with their signature that they are becoming members of
their own free will (“ninais ng loob ko”).

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