Katipunan Anti-Colonial Andrés Bonifacio
Katipunan Anti-Colonial Andrés Bonifacio
Katipunan Anti-Colonial Andrés Bonifacio
nal in Cavite, Philippines on January 20, 1872. Around 200 soldiers and laborers rose up in the belief
that it would elevate to a national uprising. The mutiny was unsuccessful, and government soldiers e
xecuted many of the participants and began to crack down on a burgeoning nationalist movement. Ma
ny scholars believe that the Cavite Mutiny of 1872 was the beginning of Filipino nationalism that woul
d eventually lead to the Philippine Revolution of 1896. (Wikipedia)
This event has been unforgettable and reflected in the 12 events that changed influenced the Philippi
ne History in a major way.
This event is meaningful to the following Filipinos – Gomburza [an acronym denoting the surnames of
the priests Mariano Gómez, José Apolonio Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora, three Filipino priests who wer
e executed on 17 February 1872 at Bagumbayan in Manila, Philippines by Spanish colonial authorities
on charges of subversion arising from the 1872 Cavite mutiny. Their execution left a profound effect
on many Filipinos; José Rizal, the national hero, would dedicate his novel El filibusterismo to their me
mory
The Philippine Revolution began in August 1896, when the Spanish authorities
discovered the Katipunan, an anti-colonialsecret organization. The Katipunan, le
d by Andrés Bonifacio, was a liberationist movement whose goal was indepen
dence from the 333 years of colonial control from Spain through armed revolt
. The organization began to influence much of the Philippines. During a mass
gathering in Caloocan, the leaders of the Katipunan organized themselves into
a revolutionary government, named the newly established government "Haring
Bayang Katagalugan", and openly declared a nationwide armed revolution. [3]Boni
facio called for an attack on the capital city of Manila. This attack failed; how
ever, the surrounding provinces began to revolt. In particular, rebels in Cavite
led by Mariano Álvarez and Emilio Aguinaldo (who were from two different fa
ctions of the Katipunan) won major early victories. A power struggle among t
he revolutionaries led to Bonifacio's death in 1897, with command shifting to
Aguinaldo, who led the newly formed revolutionary government. That year, the
revolutionaries and the Spanish signed the Pact of Biak-na-Bato, which tempo
rarily reduced hostilities. Aguinaldo and other Filipino officers exiled themselves
in the British colony of Hong Kongin southeast China. However, the hostilities
never completely ceased
To be a binukot, you should be the most beautiful girl in your family or even
in your tribe. Once a girl becomes a binukot, she will be treated as a princess.
They may not live in grand palaces but they live in simple nipa huts. They o
nly get the chance to go out if there is an occasion where they must dance the
ir traditional dances and sing their ancient songs that will take hours to be fini
shed. These songs contain the history of their tribe. The lyrics tells the story o
f the Tumandoks over the past years. If they go out of the house without any
special event, a binukot will be carried by 4 other people, wearing a veil that
will not show her face. They do this to protect her from the sun, to protect he
r from any kind of danger. Once you become a binukot, you will really be tre
ated as a princess. Or so they called it.
I was really really really intrigued when the documentary was showing the bin
ukot still, with her veil. I want to know how pretty she was. She is the prettie
st from their tribe for god’s sake, Then the time comes for the reveal… she wa
s older than my mom. She was 73 years old! Then I realized, she was staying
in that same room for 73 years. She had been doing the same old routines for
73 years. She never experienced going to school for 73 years. Just how boring
would it be if I were her! But I commend her for doing so. She is the living
history of the tumandoks. Without her, their ancient roots would be nothing.
During the World War II was a dark time for binukots. Japanese troops reache
d the mountains of Tumandoks. Everyone ran for their lives but the binukots
were left in their room. They are physically weak because they weren’t allowe
d to do physical work so running for their lives wouldn’t work for them. They
were the victims of the Japanese men that time. They were seen lifeless and
even nude. Because of that incident, parents did not let their daughters to be a
binukot that is why only few princesses live today. Some were not allowed, an
d some refused. Why refuse the opportunity of becoming a princess? Freedom.
If you are a binukot, you are not free to do anything you want. You stay in
your room, dance, sing, and that’s it.
In Iloilo, tumandoks there showed that you can preserve the culture without be
ing a prisoner. They bulit a school exclusively for tumandoks who wants to le
arn their culture. This classes are held every Saturday so that it would not affe
ct the schooling of the kids.
I admire tumandoks for preserving their culture that well. I admire them also f
or modernizing their way of teaching these culture to the new generation. We
also should not forget our ancient roots as Filipinos. Let us be like tumandoks
who never forgot where they came from.
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The folk believed that the binukot has a supernatural power. During seting and harvesting clip. she
will be brought to the farm to execute. for them to hold a big crop.
At present there are still few binukot on some portion of Panay Island. But the danger of losing t
his tradition is really high. for most adult females of Panay preferred to be an ordinary citizen alte
rnatively of going a princess. Narratives of princess were portion of our childhood memories. We d
ream of going one during those times. But in Tumandok folk in Tapaz. Capiz. Philippines. there we
re adult females. who were treated like a princess. They are known to be the binukot.
The trip to the distant mountains of Capiz is tough — an hours-long bike drive and several hours
more of trekking across rivers and up and down bouldery. slippery slopes. It is a ambitious effort f
or anyone who wants to see and research a cryptic tradition preserved for decennaries among so
me of the mountains stray communities. The trip took some clip and I thought it’s worth the dela
y merely to see the ‘Last Princess’ . from the trip entirely. it made me truly funny of what will prin
.
cess expression like. I-Witness travels to the Tapaz Mountain. considered the farthest in Capiz. locat
ed in the cardinal Philippines island of Panay. The mountain people called the tumandoks live in T
apaz. and I-Witness searched for the tribe’s last leftover princesses called the binukots.
Reporter Kara David reaches the community of Rizal Sur. a small town that looks merely like any
other stray community. where the tumandoks life in traditional huts and survive on whatever natur
e provides them. In the thick of this community. she meets one of the last leftover binukots. 73-ye
ar-old Lola ( grandma ) Isiang.
Lola Isiang lives in an old hut. merely like everybody else in the community. However. she has sta