Kartilya ng Katipunan ("Katipunan nang manga A. N. B. - Sa may nasang makisanib sa katipunang ito").

Tingnan sa: http://www.kasaysayan-kkk.info/membership-documents/emilio-jacinto-katipunan-nang-

manga-a-n-b---sa-may-nasang-makisanib-sa-katipunang-ito-the-kartilyaa at Ang Dekalogo
(Katungkulang Gagawin ng mga Anak ng Bayan). Tingnan sa: http://www.kasaysayan-
kkk.info/membership-documents/andres-bonifacio-katungkulang-gagawin-ng-mga-z-ll-b-the-decalogue-
c-1896

Emilio Jacinto (attrib.), Katipunan nang manga A. N. B. – Sa

may nasang makisanib sa katipunang ito [The “Kartilya”].
Sources: Adrian E. Cristobal, The Tragedy of the Revolution (Makati City: Studio 5 Publishing Inc., 1997)
46; José P. Santos, Buhay at mga sinulat ni Emilio Jacinto (Manila: José Paez Santos, 1935), 59–63.

Taught in schools and debated in universities, the “Kartilya” is the best known of
all Katipunan texts. Making manifest the KKK’s principles and teachings, it was printed
as a small pamphlet for new members. It is the only document of any length set in print
by the Katipunan prior to August 1896 that is known to be still extant.

The earliest reference to the Kartilya yet found is in the minutes of a Supreme
Assembly meeting held in December 1895, which say the manifesto (“pahayag”) will be
priced at 4 kualta per copy.1 Whether it is the KKK branches or the individual recruits
who are to be charged this amount is not clear, and nor is it known whether the title
phrase - “To those who want to join this Katipunan” - truly means potential recruits, or
in practice should be taken to mean “To those who have just joined this Katipunan.” If
copies were sold to potential as well as actual recruits, needless to say, there was a
heightened risk they might fall into the wrong hands.

The Kartilya was still in use during the first phase of the revolution, and Bonifacio
was planning to print more copies shortly before he was killed. 2 It may still have been
used during the second phase of the revolution, for a version survives in the Philippine
Insurgent Records that is stamped with the seal used by Artemio Ricarte in 1899. This
version contains basically the same text as is transcribed here, but it bears a different
title – “Final Declaration on Admission to the Katipunan” (Katapusang pamamahayag
sa pagpasok sa K.) – and it omits the famous footnote that says “the word Tagalog
means all those born in this Archipelago.”3

Authorship of the Kartilya has always been credited to Emilio Jacinto, and there
is little doubt this attribution is sound: it dates back to the Sensacional memoria of
Isabelo de los Reyes, whose sources included several senior KKK veterans, and it has
never been challenged.4 Bonifacio, the story goes, had originally intended that his

1
Supreme Assembly, Meeting held on December 24-25, 1895.
2
Andres Bonifacio, Letter to Julio Nakpil, April 24, 1897.
3
Katipunan: Katapusang pamahayag sa pagpapasok sa K. (n.pub, n.d.) [Philippine Insurgent Records
1190.3, Microfilm reel 73]. This booklet also leaves out the application form that is appended to the
version transcribed here.
4
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), 75.

1
Kartilya ng Katipunan ("Katipunan nang manga A. N. B. - Sa may nasang makisanib sa katipunang ito").
Tingnan sa: http://www.kasaysayan-kkk.info/membership-documents/emilio-jacinto-katipunan-nang-
manga-a-n-b---sa-may-nasang-makisanib-sa-katipunang-ito-the-kartilyaa at Ang Dekalogo
(Katungkulang Gagawin ng mga Anak ng Bayan). Tingnan sa: http://www.kasaysayan-
kkk.info/membership-documents/andres-bonifacio-katungkulang-gagawin-ng-mga-z-ll-b-the-decalogue-
c-1896
“Decalogue” should be printed and handed to new recruits, but he then read Jacinto’s
Kartilya and decided it was superior.5 The two texts, though, are not really
comparable. Bonifacio seeks only to enumerate the duties of Katipunan members,
Jacinto couches his primer, four times as long, rather as a statement of aspirations and
ethical values. Bonifacio lists ten obligations; Jacinto presents twelve “guiding
principles” and fourteen “teachings”.

In its structure the Kartilya resembles the declaration used in Manila’s Masonic
lodges, a declaration that had presumably been written in Spain around 1889 when the
grand order to which the lodges were affiliated – the Gran Oriente Español - had been
founded by Miguel Morayta.6 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”).

There are also parallels between the content of the two documents. Recruits to the
lodges were advised that Masonry “considera como hermanos todos los hombres”; that
they should renounce “todos los vicios”; and should “defenderás al oprimido.” Within
the Katipunan, said the Kartilya, “all are equal and true brethren.” Members had to
“renounce disorderly habits” and to “defend the oppressed.”

Other influences may be identified more tentatively. The admonitions to regard a

woman as a “helpmate” rather than a “plaything,” and to “have due regard to her
weakness” may be Biblical in origin. The adage that “an honorable man’s word is his
bond” may be traced back to Cervantes; and the thought that “time lost is lost forever”
may have come from Benjamin Franklin. One precept is perhaps taken from Rizal. A
“life which is not dedicated to a great idea is useless,” declares Rizal’s fictional
insurrectionist Simoun in El Filibusterismo: “It is a pebble lost in the field, when it
should form part of some building.” 7 “Life which is not consecrated to a lofty and sacred

5
Epifanio de los Santos, "Andres Bonifacio" [English translation], Philippine Review (Revista Filipina),
III:1-2 (January-February 1918), 38.
6
Reynold S. Fajardo, The Brethren: Masons in the struggle for Philippine independence (Manila: Enrique
L. Locsin and the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, 1998), 106; Teodoro M. Kalaw, La
masonería filipina: su origen, desarrollo y vicisitudes hasta la época presente (Manila: Bureau of
Printing, 1920), 115.
7
osé Rizal, El Filibusterismo [1891]. Translated by Leon Ma. Guerrero (New York: W.W. Norton, 1962),
52.

2
Kartilya ng Katipunan ("Katipunan nang manga A. N. B. - Sa may nasang makisanib sa katipunang ito").
Tingnan sa: http://www.kasaysayan-kkk.info/membership-documents/emilio-jacinto-katipunan-nang-
manga-a-n-b---sa-may-nasang-makisanib-sa-katipunang-ito-the-kartilyaa at Ang Dekalogo
(Katungkulang Gagawin ng mga Anak ng Bayan). Tingnan sa: http://www.kasaysayan-
kkk.info/membership-documents/andres-bonifacio-katungkulang-gagawin-ng-mga-z-ll-b-the-decalogue-
c-1896
cause,”Jacinto writes, varying the metaphor, “is like a tree without shade, if not a
poisonous weed.”

To emphasize Enlightenment influences on Katipunan thinking, some say, effaces

the originality of documents like the Kartilya, which may be found in the nuances of
their Tagalog and their resonance with the native psyche, familial bonds, folk
Christianity, indigenous dissident traditions and so on. Such arguments may be true up
to a point, but often they seem nebulous, reliant more on wishful assertion than on
substantiating chapter and verse. The Tagalog words that resound loudest in the
Kartilya, beyond doubt, are the equivalents of the Enlightenment’s defining
watchwords: Liberty (“Kalayaan”), Equality (“lahat ng tao’y magkakapantay”),
Fraternity (“kayong lahat ay magkakapatid”), Reason (“Katuiran”), Progress
(“Kagalingan”) and Enlightenment itself (“Kaliwanagan”). Most, perhaps all, of these
Tagalog equivalents had already been employed by ilustrado writers like Rizal and Del
Pilar before the KKK was founded.8 The revolutionary originality of the Katipunan lay
not in its idiom, but in its objectives and its deeds.

===========================================

Tagalog text9

KATIPUNAN
NANG MANGA

A. N. B.
SA MAY NASANG MAKISANIB
SA KATIPUNANG ITO

8
See, for example, José Rizal, “Sa mga kababayang dalaga sa Malolos” [February 1889], Epistolario
Rizalino, vol.II, 122-39; and Marcelo H. del Pilar, “Kalayaan” in José P. Santos, Buhay at mga sinulat ni
Plaridel (Maynila: Palimbag ng Dalaga, 1931), 28. Also Pedro Serrano Laktaw, Diccionario Hispano-
Tagalog (Manila: Estab. Tipografico ‘La Opinion’, 1889).
9
The first two paragraphs and the subsequent asterisked footnote have been transcribed from the
photograph of the front page of a printed “Kartilya” in Adrian E. Cristobal, The Tragedy of the Revolution
(Makati City: Studio 5 Publishing Inc., 1997) 46; the remainder of the text has been copied from the
version in José P. Santos, Buhay at mga sinulat ni Emilio Jacinto (Manila: José Paez Santos, 1935), 59–
63. The photographed text has been used initially not because there are any doubts about the authenticity
of the Santos text, but simply to minimize possible transcription errors.

3
Kartilya ng Katipunan ("Katipunan nang manga A. N. B. - Sa may nasang makisanib sa katipunang ito").
Tingnan sa: http://www.kasaysayan-kkk.info/membership-documents/emilio-jacinto-katipunan-nang-
manga-a-n-b---sa-may-nasang-makisanib-sa-katipunang-ito-the-kartilyaa at Ang Dekalogo
(Katungkulang Gagawin ng mga Anak ng Bayan). Tingnan sa: http://www.kasaysayan-
kkk.info/membership-documents/andres-bonifacio-katungkulang-gagawin-ng-mga-z-ll-b-the-decalogue-
c-1896

Sa pagkakailangan, na ang lahat na nagiibig pumasuk sa katipunang

ito, ay magkaroon ng lubos na pananalig at kaisipan sa mga layong
tinutungo at mga kaaralang pinaiiral, minarapat na ipakilala sa kanila ang
mga bagay na ito, at ng bukas makalawa’y huag silang magsisi at tuparing
maluag sa kalooban ang kanilang mga tutungkulin.

Ang kabagayang pinaguusig ng katipunang ito ay lubos na dakila at

mahalaga; papagisahin ang loob at kaisipan ng lahat ng tagalog (*) sa
pamagitan ng isang mahigpit na panunumpa, upang sa pagkakaisang ito’y
magkalakas na iwasak ang masinsing tabing na nakabubulag sa kaisipan at
matuklasan ang tunay na landas ng Katuiran at Kaliwanagan.

(*) Sa salitang tagalog katutura’y ang lahat nang tumubo sa Sangkapuluang ito; sa
makatuid, bisaya man, iloko man, kapangpangan man, etc., ay tagalog din.

Dito’y isa sa mga kaunaunahang utos, ang tunay na pagibig sa bayang

tinubuan at lubos na pagdadamayan ng isa’t isa.

Maralita, mayaman, mangmang, marunong, lahat dito’y

magkakapantay at tunay na magkakapatid.

Kapagkarakang mapasok dito ang sino man, tataligdan pilit ang

buhalhal na kaugalian, at paiilalim sa kapangyarihan ng mga banal na utos
ng katipunan.

Ang gawang lahat, na laban sa kamahalan at kalinisan, dito’y

kinasusuklaman; kaya’t sa bagay na ito ipinaiilalim sa masigasig na
pakikibalita ang kabuhayan ng sino mang nagiibig makisanib sa katipunang
ito.

Kung ang hangad ng papasuk dito’y ang tumalastas lamang o mga

kalihiman nito, o ang ikagiginhawa ng sariling katawan, o ang kilalanin ang
mga naririto’t ng maipagbili sa isang dakot na salapi, huag magpatuloy,
sapagkat dito’y bantain lamang ay talastas na ng makapal na nakikiramdam
sa kaniya, at karakarakang nilalapatan ng mabisang gamut, na laan sa mga
sukaban.

Dito’y gawa ang hinahanap at gawa ang tinitignan; kaya’t hindi dapat
pumasuk ang di makagagawa, kahit magaling magsalita.

Ipinauunawa din, na ang mga katungkulang ginaganap ng lahat ng

napaaanak sa katipunang ito ay lubhang mabibigat lalung lalu na, kung

4
Kartilya ng Katipunan ("Katipunan nang manga A. N. B. - Sa may nasang makisanib sa katipunang ito").
Tingnan sa: http://www.kasaysayan-kkk.info/membership-documents/emilio-jacinto-katipunan-nang-
manga-a-n-b---sa-may-nasang-makisanib-sa-katipunang-ito-the-kartilyaa at Ang Dekalogo
(Katungkulang Gagawin ng mga Anak ng Bayan). Tingnan sa: http://www.kasaysayan-
kkk.info/membership-documents/andres-bonifacio-katungkulang-gagawin-ng-mga-z-ll-b-the-decalogue-
c-1896
gugunitain na di mangyayaring maiiwasan at walang kusang pagkukulang
na di aabutin ng kakilakilabot na kaparusahan.

Kung ang hangad ng papasuk dito, ang siya’y abuluyan o ang

ginhawa’t malayaw na katahimikan ng katawan, huag magpatuloy, sapagkat
mabigat na mga katungkulan ang matatagpuan, gaya ng pagtatangkilik sa
mga naaapi at madaluhong na paguusig sa lahat ng kasamaan; sa bagay na
ito ay aabutin ang maligalig na pamumuhay.

Di kaila sa kangino paman ang mga nagbalang kapahamakan sa mga

tagalog na nakaiisip nitong mga banal na kabagayan (at hindi man), at mga
pahirap na ibinibigay na naghaharing kalupitan, kalikuan at kasamaan.

Talastas din naman ng lahat ang pagkakailangan ng salapi, na sa

ngayo’y isa sa mga unang lakas na maaasahang magbibigay buhay sa lahat;
sa bagay na ito, kinakailangan ang lubos na pagtupad sa mga pagbabayaran;
piso sa pagpasuk at sa buan buan ay sikapat. Ang salaping ito’y
ipinagbibigay alam ng nagiingat sa tuing kapanahunan, bukod pa sa
mapagsisiyasat ng sinoman kailan ma’t ibigin. Di makikilos ang salaping
ito, kundi pagkayarian ng karamihan.

Ang lahat ng ipinagsaysay at dapat gunitain at mahinahong

pagbulaybulayin, sapagkat di magaganap at di matitiis ng walang tunay na
pagibig sa tinubuang lupa, at tunay na adhikang ipagtangkilik ang
Kagalingan.

At ng lalung mapagtimbang ng sariling isip at kabaitan, basahin ang

sumusunod na

MANGA ARAL NANG

KATIPUNAN NG MGA A.N.B
----------
Ang kabuhayang hindi ginugugol sa isang malaki at banal na kadahilanan
ay kahoy na walang lilim, kun di damong makamandag.

Ang gawang magaling na nagbubuhat sa pagpipita sa sarili, at hindi sa

talagang nasang gumawa ng kagalingan, ay di kabaitan.

Ang tunay na kabanalan ay ang pagkakawang gawa, ang pagibig sa kapua at

ang isukat ang bawat kilos, gawa’t pangungusap sa talagang Katuiran.

5
Kartilya ng Katipunan ("Katipunan nang manga A. N. B. - Sa may nasang makisanib sa katipunang ito").
Tingnan sa: http://www.kasaysayan-kkk.info/membership-documents/emilio-jacinto-katipunan-nang-
manga-a-n-b---sa-may-nasang-makisanib-sa-katipunang-ito-the-kartilyaa at Ang Dekalogo
(Katungkulang Gagawin ng mga Anak ng Bayan). Tingnan sa: http://www.kasaysayan-
kkk.info/membership-documents/andres-bonifacio-katungkulang-gagawin-ng-mga-z-ll-b-the-decalogue-
c-1896
Maitim man at maputi ang kulay ng balat, lahat ng tao’y magkakapantay;
mangyayaring ang isa’y higtan sa dunong, sa yaman, sa ganda…; ngunit
di mahihigtan sa pagkatao.

Ang may mataas na kalooban inuuna ang puri sa pagpipita sa sarili; ang
may hamak na kalooban inuuna ang pagpipita sa sarili sa puri.

Sa taong may hiya, salita’y panunumpa.

Huag mong sasayangin ang panahun; ang yamang nawala’y mangyayaring

magbalik; nguni’t panahong nagdaan na’y di na muli pang magdadaan.

Ipagtanggol mo ang inaapi, at kabakahin ang umaapi.

Ang taong matalino’y ang may pagiingat sa bawat sasabihin, at matutong

ipaglihim ang dapat ipaglihim.

Sa daang matinik ng kabuhayan, lalaki ay siyang patnugot ng asawa’t mga

anak; kung ang umaakay ay tungo sa sama, ang patutunguhan ng
inaakay ay kasamaan din.

Ang babai ay huag mong tignang isang bagay na libangan lamang, kundi
isang katuang at karamay sa mga kahirapan nitong kabuhayan; gamitan
mo ng buong pagpipitagan ang kaniyang kahinaan, at alalahanin ang
inang pinagbuhata’t nagiwi sa iyong kasangulan.

Ang di mo ibig na gawin sa asawa mo, anak at kapatid, ay huag mong

gagawin sa asawa, anak, at kapatid ng iba.

Ang kamahalan ng tao’y wala sa pagkahari, wala sa tangus ng ilong at puti

ng mukha, wala sa pagkaparing kahalili ng Dios, wala sa mataas na
kalagayan sa balat ng lupa; wagas at tunay na mahal na tao, kahit laking
gubat at walang nababatid kun di ang sariling wika, yaong may
magandang asal, may isang pangungusap, may dangal at puri; yaong di
napaaapi’t di nakikiapi; yaong marunong magdamdam at marunong
lumingap sa bayang tinubuan.

Paglaganap ng mga aral na ito at maningning na sumikat ang araw ng

mahal na Kalayaan dito sa kaabaabang Sangkalupuan, at sabugan ng
matamis niyang liwanag ang nangagkaisang magkalahi’t magkakapatid
ng ligaya ng walang katapusan, ang mga ginugol na buhay, pagud, at mga
tiniis na kahirapa’y labis nang natumbasan.

6
Kartilya ng Katipunan ("Katipunan nang manga A. N. B. - Sa may nasang makisanib sa katipunang ito").
Tingnan sa: http://www.kasaysayan-kkk.info/membership-documents/emilio-jacinto-katipunan-nang-
manga-a-n-b---sa-may-nasang-makisanib-sa-katipunang-ito-the-kartilyaa at Ang Dekalogo
(Katungkulang Gagawin ng mga Anak ng Bayan). Tingnan sa: http://www.kasaysayan-
kkk.info/membership-documents/andres-bonifacio-katungkulang-gagawin-ng-mga-z-ll-b-the-decalogue-
c-1896
Kung lahat ng ito’y mataruk na ng nagiibig pumasuk at inaakala niyang
matutupad ang mga tutungkulin, maitatala ang kaniyang ninanasa sa
kasunod nito.

===========================================

SA HKAN. NG ________________________________

Ako’y si______________________________________

taong tubo sa bayan ng __________________________

hukuman ng ______________________ang katandaan ko

ng___________taon, ang hanap-buhay______________

ang kalagayan________________________________

at nananahan sa______________________________

daan ng____________________________________

Sa aking pagkabatid ng boong kagalingan ng

mga nililayon at ng mga aral, na inilalathala ng
KATIPUNAN ng mga A.N.B. ninais ng loob ko ang
makisanib dito. Sa bagay na ito’y aking
ipinamamanhik ng boong pitagan, na marapating
tangapin at mapakibilang na isa sa mga anak ng
katipunan: at tuloy nangangakong tutupad at
paiilalim sa mga aral at Kautusang sinusunod dito.

______________________ika
____________ng buan ng
_________________

____________________ng taong 189__.

Nakabayad na ng
ukol sa pagpasuk
Ang Taga-ingat na yaman

===========================================

7
Kartilya ng Katipunan ("Katipunan nang manga A. N. B. - Sa may nasang makisanib sa katipunang ito").
Tingnan sa: http://www.kasaysayan-kkk.info/membership-documents/emilio-jacinto-katipunan-nang-
manga-a-n-b---sa-may-nasang-makisanib-sa-katipunang-ito-the-kartilyaa at Ang Dekalogo
(Katungkulang Gagawin ng mga Anak ng Bayan). Tingnan sa: http://www.kasaysayan-
kkk.info/membership-documents/andres-bonifacio-katungkulang-gagawin-ng-mga-z-ll-b-the-decalogue-
c-1896
English translation10

ASSOCIATION
OF THE
SONS OF THE PEOPLE

To those who want to join this association.

In order that all who want to enter this Association may have a full understanding
and knowledge of its guiding principles and main teachings, it is necessary to make
these things known to them so that they will not, tomorrow or the next day, repent, and
so that they may perform their duties wholeheartedly.

This Association pursues a most worthy and momentous object: to unite the
hearts and minds of all the Tagalogs (*) by means of an inviolable oath, in order that this
union may be strong enough to tear aside the thick veil that obscures thought, and to
find the true path of Reason and Enlightenment.

(*The word Tagalog means all those born in this Archipelago; even a person who is a
Visayan, Ilocano, or Kapampangan, etc. is therefore a Tagalog too.)

One of the foremost rules here is true love of the native land and genuine
compassion for one another.

Poor, rich, ignorant, wise – here, all are equal and true brethren.

As soon as anybody enters here, he shall perforce renounce disorderly habits and
shall submit to the authority of the sacred commands of the Katipunan.

All acts contrary to noble and clean living are repugnant here, and hence the life
of anyone who wants to affiliate with this Association will be submitted to a searching
investigation.

If the applicant merely wishes to know the secrets of the Association, or to seek
personal gratification, or to know who is here in order to sell them for a handful of
silver, he cannot proceed, for here the many who are watching him will already know his

10
The English translation of the main text (i.e. the text apart from the application form at the end) is
mostly a “pick and mix” from those in Epifanio de los Santos, “Emilio Jacinto”, Philippine Review, III:6
(June 1918), 421–2 and Teodoro A. Agoncillo, The Revolt of the Masses: The story of Bonifacio and the
Katipunan (Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press, 1956), 83–6.

8
Kartilya ng Katipunan ("Katipunan nang manga A. N. B. - Sa may nasang makisanib sa katipunang ito").
Tingnan sa: http://www.kasaysayan-kkk.info/membership-documents/emilio-jacinto-katipunan-nang-
manga-a-n-b---sa-may-nasang-makisanib-sa-katipunang-ito-the-kartilyaa at Ang Dekalogo
(Katungkulang Gagawin ng mga Anak ng Bayan). Tingnan sa: http://www.kasaysayan-
kkk.info/membership-documents/andres-bonifacio-katungkulang-gagawin-ng-mga-z-ll-b-the-decalogue-
c-1896
intentions, and will immediately have recourse to an effective remedy, such as befits
traitors.

Here, only actions are demanded and esteemed; hence anybody who is not
willing to act should not enter, no matter how good a speaker he might be.

It is also announced that the duties to be performed by the members of this

association are exceedingly hard, especially if one remembers that there can be no
dereliction or wilful evasion of duty without the exaction of a terrible punishment.

If an applicant merely desires financial support relief or wants to lead a life of

bodily comfort and ease, he had better not proceed, for he will encounter weighty tasks,
like the protection of the oppressed and the relentless fight against all that is evil. In
this way, his fate will be a vexatious life.

Nobody is unaware of the misfortune that threatens the Filipinos who

contemplate these things that are sacred (and even those that are not) and the sufferings
they are made to endure by the reign of cruelty, injustice and evil.

Everybody also knows the need for money, which today is one of the main things
upon which we depend to bring sustenance to all. In this regard, the punctual payment
of dues is required: one peso upon entry and then twelve and a half centimos each
month. The custodian of the funds will periodically render an account to the members,
and each member has a right to examine the accounts, should he so wish. The funds
cannot be expended without the consent of the majority.

All this must be thought over and deliberated upon calmly, as it cannot be
accomplished or endured by anyone who has no love for his native land and no genuine
desire to promote Progress.

And for the upliftment of your mind and virtue, read the following

TEACHINGS OF THE
KATIPUNAN OF THE SONS OF THE PEOPLE

A life that is not dedicated to a great and sacred cause is like a tree without a
shade, or a poisonous weed.

A good deed lacks virtue if it springs from a desire for personal profit and not
from a sincere desire to do good.

True charity resides in acts of compassion, in love for one’s fellow men, and in
making true Reason the measure of every move, deed and word.

9
Kartilya ng Katipunan ("Katipunan nang manga A. N. B. - Sa may nasang makisanib sa katipunang ito").
Tingnan sa: http://www.kasaysayan-kkk.info/membership-documents/emilio-jacinto-katipunan-nang-
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Be their skin dark or pale, all men are equal. One can be superior to another in
knowledge, wealth and beauty... but not in being.

A person with a noble character values honor above self-interest, while a person
with an ignoble character values self-interest above honor.

An honorable man’s word is his bond.

Don’t waste time; lost wealth may be recovered, but time lost is lost forever.

Defend the oppressed and fight the oppressor.

An intelligent man is he who takes care in everything he says and keeps quiet
about what must be kept secret.

Along the thorny path of life, the man leads the way and his wife and children
follow. If the leader goes the way of perdition, then so do those who are led.
Do not regard a woman as a mere plaything, but as a helpmate and partner in the
hardships of this existence. Have due regard to her weakness, and remember the
mother who brought you into this world and nurtured you in your infancy.
What you would not want done to your wife, daughter and sister, do not do to the
wife, daughter and sister of another.
A man’s worth does not come from him being a king, or in the height of his nose
and the whiteness of his face, or in him being a priest, a REPRESENTATIVE OF GOD,
or in his exalted position on the face of this earth. Pure and truly noble is he who,
though born in the forest and able to speak only his own tongue, behaves decently, is
true to his word, has dignity and honor, who is not an oppressor and does not abet
oppressors, who knows how to cherish and look after the land of his birth.
When these doctrines have spread and the brilliant sun of beloved liberty shines
on these poor Islands, and sheds its sweet light upon a united race, a people in
everlasting happiness, then the lives lost, the struggle and the suffering will have been
more than recompensed.
--------------------------

If the applicant understands all this, and believes he will be able to fulfil these
duties, he should put his request in writing, as follows:

TO THE PROVINCIAL DIRECTORATE

OF _____________________________________________

I, _____________________________________________

10
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NATIVE OF THE TOWN OF ______________________________

PROVINCE OF _________________________MY AGE

IS___________YEARS, OCCUPATION_____________________

MARITAL STATUS____________________________AND RESIDENT

AT ____________________STREET OF ________________________

Having fully understood the principles and teachings proclaimed by the

Katipunan of the Sons of the People, I wish with heart and soul to become a
member. Respectfully, therefore, I beg to be deemed worthy of admission and to be
counted as one of the sons of the association, and I pledge to comply with its teachings
and submit to its Orders.

[Sgd.]

the ____________of the month of _________________

____________________of the year 189__.

Entrance fee has been paid.

THE TREASURER

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Andres Bonifacio, Katungkulang gagawin ng mga Z Ll B [The xxx xxx xxx

“Decalogue”]
Source: Photograph of original handwritten document in Adrian E. Cristobal, The Tragedy of the
Revolution (Makati City: Studio 5 Publishing Inc., 1997), 40.

Although unpublished during Bonifacio’s lifetime, this Decalogue is today one of

the most famous Katipunan texts, printed in schoolbooks and inscribed on

12
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monuments.11 The format in which Bonifacio sets out the duties of KKK members
obviously derives from the Old Testament, and in content the injunctions echo the
“Programa Masonica” and “Codigo Masonico” of the Gran Oriente Español. The
“Codigo,” for instance, similarly opens with a direction to exalt the Creator, and
similarly extols charity and love for one’s fellows. It too enjoins lodge members to be
calm, to be guided by reason, and to support one another, “even at the cost of one’s
life.” It too says members who break their obligations will be duly punished. 12

The crucial difference between the between the Masonic credo and Bonifacio’s
Decalogue is one of ultimate purpose. The mission of Masonry, according to the Gran
Oriente’s “Programa,” is exclusively humanitarian: it strives to “foster charity and
philanthropy among free men of good standing” and to establish a “fraternity among
mankind.” The mission of the Katipunan, the Decalogue makes clear, is to liberate the
country from enslavement.

Tagalog text

KKK x
x x
x
x x
x
x x

Katungkulang gagawin ng mga

Z Ll B
x
x x
x
x x
x 13
x x

11 The wording, however, is often modified and modernized to varying degrees. The Almighty, to give just
a single example, called “Maykapal” in the original, becomes Hispanicized in some renditions as “Dios”
and anachronized in others as “Diyos.”
12 Reynold S. Fajardo, The Brethren: Masons in the struggle for Philippine independence (Manila:

Enrique L. Locsin and the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, 1998), 106; Teodoro M. Kalaw, La
masonería filipina: su origen, desarrollo y vicisitudes hasta la época presente (Manila: Bureau of
Printing, 1920), 115.
13
“Z.Ll.B” was the Katipunan code for “A.N.B.” – “Anak ng Bayan” or “Sons of the People”.

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1. Sumampalataya sa MayKapal ng taimtim sa puso.

2. Gunamgunamin sa sarili tuina, na ang matapat na pag sampalataya sa Kanya ay

ang pag ibig sa lupang tinubuan, sa pagkat ito ang tunay na pag ibig sa kapwa.

3. Ykintal sa puso ang pag asa na malabis na kapurihan at kapalaran na kung

ikamamatay ng tawoy mag bubuhat sa pagliligtas sa kaalipinan ng bayan.

4. Sa kalamigan ng loob, katiagaan, katuiran at pag asa sa ano mang gagawin nag
bubuhat ang ikagaganap ng mabuting ninanais.

5. Paingat ingatang gaya ng puri ang mga bilin at balak ng K... K... K....

6. Sa isang na sa sapanganib sa pag tupat ng kanyang tungkol, idadamay ng lahat,

ang buhay at yaman upang maligtas yaon.

7. Hangarin na ang kalagayan ng isatisa, maging fuaran 14 ng kanyang kapwa sa

mabuting pagpapasunod at pag tupad ng kanyang tungkol.

8. Bahaginan ng makakaya ang alin mang nagdaralita.

9. Ang kasipagan sa pag hahanap-buhay ay siyang tunay na pagibig at pag mamahal

sa sarili sa asawa, anak at kapatid o kabayan.
10. Lubos na pag sampalataya sa parusang ilinalaang sa balang sowail at magtaksil,
gayon din sa pala na kakamtan ukol sa mabuting gawa. Sampalatayanan din naman na
ang mga layong tinutungo ng K... K... K... ay kaloob ng Maykapal, sa makatwid ang hangad
ng bayan ay hangad din Nya.



English translation15

14
Presumably “huaran” - the letter “h” was rendered as “f” in the Katipunan alphabet, and perhaps Bonifacio
inadvertently slipped to code in this instance.
15
This translation is my own, but draws on those in Epifanio de los Santos, "Andres Bonifacio" [English
version], Philippine Review (Revista Filipina), III:1-2 (January-February 1918), 42–5; Manuel L.

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Kx xKxxxKxxx
x

Duties of the Sons of the People

1. Believe with a fervent heart in the Creator.

2. Reflect always that a sincere faith in Him involves love of one’s native land,
because this shows true love for one’s fellows.

3. Engrave on the heart the conviction that to die for the liberation of the country
from enslavement is the highest honor and fortune.

4. In any endeavor, the realization of good aspirations depends on calmness,

perseverance, reason and hope.

5. Guard the instructions and plans of the K ... K... K... as you would guard your own
honor.

6. Anyone who falls into danger whilst carrying out their duties should be supported
by all, and rescued even at the cost of life and riches.

7. Let each of us strive in the performance of our duty to set a good example for
others to follow.

8. Share whatever you can with whoever is needy.

9. Diligence in earning a livelihood is a true expression of love and affection for self,
spouse, children and brothers or compatriots.

10. Believe absolutely that scoundrels and traitors will be punished and good deeds
will be rewarded. Believe, likewise, that the aims of the K... K... K... are blessed by the
Creator, for the will of the people is also His will.

Quezon, "Andres Bonifacio: the Great Plebeian" [1929], Historical Bulletin, 7:3 (September 1963), 245–
8; and Teodoro A. Agoncillo, The Revolt of the Masses: The story of Bonifacio and the Katipunan
(Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press, 1956), 94. This latter translation may also be found in
The Writings and Trial of Andres Bonifacio, translated by Teodoro A. Agoncillo with the collaboration of
S. V. Epistola (Manila: Antonio J. Villegas; Manila Bonifacio Centennial Commission; University of the
Philippines, 1963), 1.

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