Monday, June 14, 2010

Bonifacio's Tondo : The Cradle of the Philippine Revolution

TONDO,the birthplace of Bonifacio is located north of the walled city of Manila (Intramuros).A legal document now known as the Laguna Copperplate Inscription (LCI) ca.900 A.D gives its ancient name TUNDUN .Its name originated from the Sanskrit TUNDA meaning"beak,snout,trunck"
(Patanne. citing Zoelmulder. 1996:118).Postma belived that it "described the configuration of the Pasig River's mouth on the north side which is taken over by a jutting position of the sand that stick out of the bay.." ( ibid.)

When the Spanish conquistadores Martin de Goiti(1570) and Miguel Lopez de Legazpi(1571) reached Manila,they heard about Tondo then ruled by Lakan Dula.The rulers of Manilaand Tondo were Muslims and were related with the Sultan of Borneo(Majul 2009:79) and descendants of the rulers of the Madjapajit Empire.( Alip 1972:72 ; see genealogy in Henson 1965: 204-206)

The extent of Lakandula's Kindom of TUNDOK "included not only the present districts of Tondo,San Nicolas and Binondo ,but also regions to the north probably as far as Pampanga".
( Alip 1972:12 ).In Henson's research (1965: 4th Rev.Ed.:7-10), the original Pampanga comprised Pampanga,Bataan,Nueva Ecija,Tarlac,portions of Bulacan,Pangasinan and Zambales.

Filipinos proved to be not passive subjects of Spain.Sporiadic revolts erupted in various parts of the archipelago from 1571 and culminating in the Bonifacio's Revolution of 1896. While Lakandula
of Tondo stayed neutral and appeared to be friendly with the Spanish rulers, his relatives joined the Macabebes/Pampangan who fought the Spaniards in the battle of Bangkusay on June 3,1571( San Agustin 1698/1998 ' 553-557 ; Joaquin 1990:13-20)

In 1574,Lakandula of Tondo and Rajah Soliman of Manila revolted .It broked out simultaneous with the Chinese pirate Lim-Ah-Hong's attack of Luzon. Spanish writer Grijalva (1624) attributed its cause due to"colonial government's disregard of the rights enjoyed by Rajah Lakandola and Rajah Soliman over their patrimonies".( Zafra 1967:72). This uprising involved natives of Manila,Tondo and Mindoro.( for full account of the revolt see San Agustin 1698 /1998 : 671-677)

In 1587-1588, the so called Tondo Conspiracy,headed by Agustin de Legazpi of Tondo assisted by Martin Panga,chief of Tondo; Jeronimo Basi also of Tondo,Brother of Agustin Legazpi;Magat Salamat,another chief of Tondo,son of the late Rajah Matanda (of Manila--D) :Esteban Tasi ,chief of Bulacan;Felipe Salalila,chief of Maysilo ;Maghicon, chief of Navotas sought "to regain the freedom and lordship which their fathers had enjoyed before them".This plot was denounced to the authorities and the leaders were either executed or exiled in Nueva Espana / Mexico. Wenceslao Retana considered this conspiracy to be an early version of the Katipunan. (Zafra 1967:72)












Saturday, June 5, 2010

Further Notes on Andres Bonifacio's Parents and Siblings

Santiago Bonifacio , Andres' father:
"His father ,a tailor had served as teniente mayor of Tondo"(Constantino 1993:166,quoting Esteban de Ocampo,"The Life and Achievements of Bonifacio".Philippine Historical Bullitin.December,1966 issue) . Being a teniente mayor of Tondo (a town have three teniente mayor) meant that the Bonifacio family belonged to the "principales" or one of the prominent /
principal families of the town of Tondo : "Principales-Spanish term to designate the pre-Spanish datus or chiefs and their descendants.Their collectivity,called principales, was composed in the Philippines,of the following officials: Gobernadorcillos,who presided,tenientes,jueces de sementeras,de policias,y de ganados, capitanes pasados annd cabezas de barangay." (see Glossary of Fidel Villaroel ,1999:xxi )
Another question arises:Was Bonifacio a descendant of pre-Spanish datu/ ruling class ?
A genealogical research is needed to answer this question.

Being a teniente mayor meant that Andres' father even though "he worked as a tailor...he served as one of the assistants to the gobernadorcillo,or native leader of the town...To be eligible for the post of teniente mayor,one had to be a good municipal employee and possess the qualifications of a gobernadorcillo,In short,although teniente mayor Bonifacio was not well- to -do,but her was neither ignorant nor dirt poor."(Ventura 2001:16)

Catalina de Castro : Mother of Andres Bonifacio

Catalina de Castro,Andres'mother a half indio/Filipino ,half Spaniard. She was a cabecilla/head of a department in a cigar factory ( owned by a Spaniard?) (see Sylvia M.Ventura."Supremo:The Story of Andres Bonifacio.2001,p.16) Because she suffered (and died ) of tubercolosis, she was not able to nurse Esperidiona(Nonay).It was the midwife and co-worker in the cigar factory named Josefa Dizon who served as the wet nurse of Esperidiona ,who was born on December 14,1875. Dizon was the mother of Emilio Jacinto,the Secretary of the Katipunan Supreme Council.(Isagani R.Medina.inBernardo LM. Karganilla.1996.p.29)

On Troadio Bonifacio:Lizza G. Nakpil wrote:"After the death of the older Bonifacio brother,Troadio was said to have sailed to Paris to avoid the same fate. Nothing has been heard of him since,neither of Maxima."(Karganilla.1996:29).However ,the latest news on Troadio (Jose P. Santos. 1935:1) was that Troadio was living in Macao.
Did both of them hide to escape the the rumored plan of Aguinaldo to "exterminate" the Bonifacio clan and die hard followers? There were incidents that justified Troadio's and Maxima's fears : Julio Nakpil, a secretary of the Katipunan command north of Manila,claimed that Aguinaldo ordered Severino Taino to find and assasinate him(Nakpil--D).
(see Julio Nakpil. "Miscellaneous Notes" in Encarnacion Alzona .Reprinted.1997 :62-63).Another was the mysterious disappearance and death of Feliciano Jocson,the pharmacist turn revolutionary,who opposed Aguinaldo's Capitulation/Surrender of Biak-na- Bato in 1897 and wanted to continue the revolution against Spain. (see Artemio Ricarte."Memoirs ..."1992:66-67 and Santiago Alvatrez.1992:201-204)

The Family of Andres Bonifacio

Andres Bonifacio, was the eldest son of Santiago Bonifacio and Catalina de Castro.He was born November 30,1863.

Early biographers of Bonifacio erred in naming his brothers and sisters.

Efifanio de los Santos writing in 1917 wrote:" He (Bonifacio) had two brothers Procopio and Ciriaco and a sister who became the wife of Teodoro Plata .(" de los Santos 197:85)

Manuel Artigas y Cuerva in his "Galerias de Filipino Ilustres" ( 1918 :Vol.II. p.36 )enumerated Andres' siblings as "Procopio,Ciriaco ..and Nonay".

Further research made by Jose P.Santos in 1935 revealed that"Andres was the eldest followed by Ciriaco,the Procopio,the third was Procopio, the fourth was Esperidiona ,fifth was Troadio and the youngest was Maxima."(page 1) .Nonay was the nickname of Esperidiona. By the way Jose P.Santos was the eldest son of Efifanio de los Santos.( May.1997:34; for short biographies of de los Santos,Artigas and Santos,see pp.25-35 of same book)

What happened to his brothers and sisters?

Esperidiona(Nonay) was married Teodoro Plata ,one of the members of the First Triangle of the Katipunan,( during its early year the Katipunan used the triangle method in recruiting members) and he became the Minister of War in the Bonifacio goverment (The" Republika ng Katagalugan ") * formed in Caloocan on August 1896,the outbreak of the Revolution.
When E.de los Santos published his Bonifacio biography in 1955 Nonay is still living and in 1954 she was interviewed by Jose A. Quirino .( Jose Quirino."Bonifacio's Sister Talks".Philippine Free Press.(magazine) November 27,1954 issue.)

If someone can locate,publish the above Quirino article in internet or provide me a copy ,I will greatly appreciate it.

About Troadio, Jose P.Santos in 1935 "was not sure if he is still living, the last news he(Santos--D) recieved was he(Troadio---D) lives in Macao and does not wan to return here (in the Philippines---D) he can not bear not to avenge the death of his three brothers ,the two( Andres and Procopio) murdered in Mount Buntis and the other one,Ciriaco,who was killed in Limbon (by while resisting the the soldiers (of Emilio Aguinaldo--D) who tried to arrest them. Troadio "was a former sailor of the spanish ship "Reina Maria Christina" that was sunk by American battleships
(during the Battle of Manila Bay, May 1,1898---D)."

(Source:.Santos1935 ; 1. I am indebted to Prof. Abraham J.Manalo my former co- teacher in the New Era University for providing me a xerox copy of this rare book from the University of the Philippines Library.)

About Maxima,the youngest, no information was recorded by early Bonifacio biographers de los Santos and Artigas as well as in the classic biography of Bonifacio,Teodoro Agoncilllo's "The Revolt of the Masses" (1956).Did she died during the revolution or before 1917 and 1918 when de los Santos or Artigas wrote their Bonifacio biographies? Did she change her identity /surname to avoid persecution by the Aguinaldo followers(as some Bonifacio relatives did when his arch enemy Aguinaldo was in power) ?

Further research must be done to determine the birth of Andres'siblings ( in the archives of the Tondo Church or in the Archdiocese of Manila Archives ) and what the fate of Maxima .

Excepts:Marriage Certificate of Santiago Bonifacio and Catalina de Castro :Parents of Andres Bonifacio (1863)

"Don Jose N.Javellanos, secular priest of the Archbisopric of Manila, a parish priest of Tondo,manila,Philippine Islands

Certifies that in Book 9 of Marriages on page 29 is a document that reads:
SANTIAGO BONIFACIO with CATALINA DE CASTRO.

"On thhe 24th of January 1863 * ...Saturnino Buntan ,parish priest of Tondo,authorized the marriage contracted between (Santiago Bonifacio) the son of Vicente Bonifacio and of **Alejandra Rosales...and Catalina de Castro ,single ,mestiza espanola,a native of the province of Zambales and resident in this pueblo of Tondo... daughter of Martin de Castro and Antonia Gregorio...in the presence of Don Severino Ampil and Dona Patricia Trinidad as sponsors..."

(Source: Ambeth Ocampo."Bones of Contention:The Bonifacio Lectures"(1998:90-91)

Notes:
*On page 91 of Ocamp0,the year is 1873, a typographical error ? I corrected it 1863.
**On the same page " y de " appear in the text,Spanish words not translated to English ?
so I translated it to english as "and of".

Andres Bonifacio's parents was married on Jan.24,1863.Both were residents of the town of
Tondo (now a district of Manila).

Santigo Bonifacio , Andres' father was the son of Vicente Bonifacio and Alejandra Rosales.

Catalina de Castro, Andres'mother was the daughter of Martin de Castro and Antonia Gregorio.

Santiago and Catalina,were residents of Balangay (Village/Barrio) n0.174 under Don Patricio Infante,the Cabeza de Barangay. (Ronquillo.1999:724)
She was a native of Zambales.
Catalina was a Spanish mestiza,(half indio/Filipino) ,her father Martin was Spaniard.
Therefore,Andres Bonifacio have Spanish blood .Traces of his Spanish lineage can be gleaned in the eye witness testimony of Vicente Samson where he remember Bonifacio as " taller and fairer than most of the katipuneros"in the Cry of Balintawak in 1896.(Gregorio Zaide.Documentary Sources Of Philippine History.Vol.8,pp.310-313 cited by Soledad Borromeo Buehler.The Cry of Balintawak:A Contrived Controversy p.33)

Severino Ampil and Patricia Trinidad ,witnesses to the wedding ceremony,were bussinessmen who owned and rented horse drawn carriages (Karitela). ( I.Medina's interview with Prof.Grace A, .Tirona,descendant of the witnesses. in Ronquillo 1996 : Note no.2 ,p.724)

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Andres Bonifacio's Baptisimal Certificate ( 1863)

The baptisimal certificate of Andres Bonifacio was kept in the Tondo Church and can be found in its"libro 20 de bautismos ...folio 69". It was transcribed by historian Manuel Artigas y Cuerva and printed in his book "Galeria de Filipinos Ilustres",page 364:

"En 2 de Deciembre de 1863 anos con mi licencia como Cura Parroco,el P.D Saturnino Buntan clerigo presbitero,bautizo y puso los Santos Oleos,segun rito de de N.M.I a Andres Bonifacio,indio de tres dias de nacido,hijo legitimo de Santiago Bonifacio y de Catalina de Castro,del by.(balangay) de D. Patricio Infante;sacole de pila Vicente Molina, a quien adverti el parentezco espiritual y demas obligaciones, y por verdad lo firmo fecha ut supra-"-FR.GREGORIO PRIETO

In this document,it was stated that Andres Bonifacio , legitimate son of Santiago Bonifacio and Catalina de Castro ,was baptized according to the rite of the Holy Mother Church by Fr.Saturnino Buntan (judging by his name he was a native clergy) on December 2,1863,three days after his ( Andres') birth (November 30,1863).His parents lived in the balangay ( barrio/village) under Don Patricio Infante,the cabeza de barangay (village head).



Vicente Molina stood as his baptisimal sponsor. Molina played an important role in the history of the Katipunan revolutionary secret society founded in July 1892.He occupied a key position in its Supreme Council: Treasurer ,Second Suptreme Council ,1893; Third Supreme Council,1894-1895;Fourth Supreme Council Jan.1896) .see Buehler 1998;194-197. He was arrested and incarcerated because he was denounced by Dr.Pio Valenzuela to the Spanish military court.( Statement of Pio Valenzuela.Oct.21,1896 in 'Minutes of the Katipunan ' pp.168-171)