Teachings of the Katipunan

The KKK or Katipunan was founded in a house on Azcarraga street in Tondo, Manila where as a symbol of loyalty, a member needs to perform the sandugoor blood compact wherein each person needs to sign the pact with his own blood. Members agree to recruit more people using the "triangle system." An original member would recruit two new members who are then asked to do the same thing. They were also asked to contribute 25 centavos each month in order to raise funds for the association.

The association aimed to teach Filipinos good manners, cleanliness, fine morals and how to protect themselves against religious fanaticism, and to encourage Filipinos to help themselves and to defend the oppressed.

The highest governing body of the Katipunan was called the Kataas-taasang Sanggunian or the Supreme Council which was headed by thesupremo or the president. Each province had a Sangguniang Bayan and each town had a Sangguniang Balangay.

Jose Rizal did not become part of the Katipunan but its members still looked up to him as a leader.

The Kartilya ng Katipunan (English: Primer of the Katipunan) served as the guidebook for new members of the organization, which laid out the group's rules and principles. The first edition of the Kartilya was written by Emilio Jacinto.

TEACHINGS OF THE KATIPUNAN

1.    A life that is not dedicated to a noble cause is like a tree without a shade or a poisonous weed.

2.    A deed lacks nobility if it is motivated by self-interest and not by a sincere desire to help.

3.    True piety consists of being charitable, loving one’s fellow men, and being judicious in behavior, speech and deed.

4.    All persons are equal, regardless of the color of their skin. While one could have more schooling, wealth, or beauty than another, all that does not make one more human than anybody else.

5.    A person with a noble character values honor above self-interest, while a person with a base character values self-interest above honor.

6.    To a person of honor, his/her word is a pledge.

7.    Don’t waste time; lost wealth can be retrieved, but time lost is lost forever.

8.    Defend the oppressed and fight the oppressor.

9.    The wise person is careful in all he/she has to say and is discreet about things that need to be kept secret./ An intelligent man is he who is cautious in speech and knows how to keep the secrets that must be guarded.

10. In the thorny path of life, the man leads the way and his wife and children follow. If the leader goes the way to perdition, so do the followers. (Note: This begins with an observation of the vertical relationship of husband and wife during the time of the Katipunan; now, we can say that the parents lead the way and the children follow.)

11. Never regard a woman as an object for you to trifle with; rather you should consider her as a partner and helpmate. Give proper consideration to a woman’s frailty and never forget that your own mother, who brought you forth and nurtured you from infancy, is herself such a person.

12. Don’t do to the wife, children, brothers, and sisters of others what you do not want done to your wife, children, brothers, and sisters.

13. A man’s worth is not measured by his station in life, neither by the height of his nose nor the fairness of skin, and certainly not by whether he is a priest claiming to be God’s deputy. Even if he a tribesman from the hills and speaks only his tongue, a man has fine perceptions and is loyal to his native land.

14. When these teachings shall have been propagated and the glorious sun of freedom begins to shine on these poor Islands to enlighten a united race and people, then all the lives lost, all the struggle and the sacrifices will not have been in vain.