Katipunan @Mar 5, 2011 3:09:00 PM
The Katipunan was a Philippine revolutionary society founded by anti-Spanish Filipinos in Manila in 1892, which aimed primarily to gain independence from Spain through revolution. The society was initiated by Filipino patriots Andrés Bonifacio, Teodoro Plata, Ladislao Diwa, and others on the night of July 7, when Filipino writer José Rizal was to be banished to Dapitan. Initially, Katipunan was a secret organization until its discovery in 1896 that led to the outbreak of Philippine Revolution.
The word "katipunan", literally means association, comes from the root word "tipon", an indigenous Tagalog word, meaning "society" or "gather together".[1] Its official revolutionary name is Kataas-taasan, Kagalang-galangang Katipunan ng̃ mg̃á Anak ng̃ Bayan[2][3] (English: High and Honorable Society of the Children of the Nation, Spanish: Suprema y Venerable Asociación de los Hijos del Pueblo). Katipunan is also known by its acronym, K.K.K..
Being a secret organization, its members are subjected to utmost secrecy and are expected to abide with the rules established by the society.[1] Aspirant applicants were given standard initiation rites to become members of the society. At first, Katipunan was only open to male Filipinos; later, women were accepted in the society. The Katipunan had its own publication, Kalayaan (Liberty) that had its first and last print on March 1896. Revolutionary ideals and works flourished within the society, and Philippine literature were expanded by its some prominent members.
In planning the revolution, Bonifacio contacted Rizal for his full-fledged support for the Katipunan in exchange for a promise of Rizal's liberty from detainment by rescuing him. On May 1896, a delegation was sent to the Emperor of Japan to solicit funds and military arms. Katipunan's existence was revealed to the Spanish authorities after a member named Teodoro Patiño confessed Katipunan's illegal activities to his sister, and finally to the mother portress of Mandaluyong Orphanage. Seven days after the Spanish authorities learned the existence of such secret society, on August 26, 1896, Bonifacio and his men tore their cedúlas during the infamous Cry of Balintawak that started the Philippine Revolution.
Influence of the Propaganda Movement
The Katipunan and the Cuerpo de Compromisarios were, effectively, successor organizations of La Liga Filipina, founded by José Rizal, as part of the late 19th century Propaganda Movement in the Philippines. Katipunan founders Andrés Bonifacio, Ladislao Diwa, and Teodoro Plata were all members of La Liga and were influenced by the nationalistic ideals of the Propaganda Movement in Spain.[4]
Marcelo H. del Pilar, another leader of the Propaganda Movement in Spain, also influenced the formation of the Katipunan. Modern-day historians believe that he had a direct hand in its organization because of his role in the Propaganda Movement and his eminent position in Philippine Masonry; most of the Katipunan's founders were freemasons. The Katipunan had initiation ceremonies that were copied from masonic rites. It also had an order of rank, similar to that of freemasonry. Rizal's Spanish biographer Wenceslao Retana and Filipino biographer Juan Raymundo Lumawag saw the formation of the Katipunan as Del Pilar's victory over Rizal: "La Liga dies, and the Katipunan rises in its place. Del Pilar's plan wins over that of Rizal. Del Pilar and Rizal had the same end, even if each took a different road to it."
Founding of the Katipunan
Captured Katipunan members (also known as Katipuneros), who were also members of La Liga, revealed to the Spanish colonial authorities that there was a difference of opinion among members of La Liga. One group insisted on La Liga's principle of a peaceful reformation while the other espoused armed revolution.
On the night of July 7, 1892, when Rizal was banished and exiled to Dapitan in Mindanao, Andrés Bonifacio, a member of the La Liga Filipina, founded the Katipunan in a house in Tondo, Manila.[5] Bonifacio did establish the Katipunan when it was becoming apparent to anti-Spanish Filipinos that societies like the La Liga Filipina would be suppressed by colonial authorities.[6] He was assisted by his two friends, Teodoro Plata (brother-in-law) and Ladislao Diwa, plus Valentín Díaz and Deodato Arellano.[7] The Katipunan was founded along Azcarraga St. (now Claro M. Recto Avenue) near Elcano St. in Tondo, Manila.[8] Despite their reservations about the peaceable reformation that Rizal espoused, they named Rizal honorary president without his knowledge. The Katipunan, established as a secret brotherhood organization, went under the name Kataas-taasang, Kagalang-galangang Katipunan ng̃ mg̃á Anak ng̃ Bayan (Supreme and Venerable Society of the Children of the Nation)[9]
The Katipunan had four aims, namely:
- to develop a strong alliance with each and every Katipunero
- to unite Filipinos into one solid nation;
- to win Philippine independence by means of an armed conflict (or revolution);[10]
- to establish a republic after independence.[11]
The rise of the Katipunan signaled the end of the crusade to secure reforms from Spain by means of a peaceful campaign. The Propaganda Movement led by Rizal, del Pilar, Jaena and others had failed its mission; hence, Bonifacio started the militant movement for independence.