«The initiated were masked (79) as also was the person to be initiated;
before a table was placed a skull and crossbones, a triangle and two
candles; the person about to be initiated was told that the object of
the Katipunan [8] was the liberating of the Tagalog people, and the
expulsion of the Spaniards from the archipelago, or their destruction
(80); following this, came a series of questions and replies in the
which the martyrdom of Gomez, Burgos and Zamora (81), native priests
judged and condemned for their part in the rebellion of Cavite in 1872
was exalted, and they passed on to the proofs (82) which consisted in
imitating an assassination, a suicide, etc. This was followed by the
taking of an oath of striving to effect the liberation of the people
till death, an oath which demanded a blind obedience to the commands
of the superior and the preservation of the secrets of the association
under the pain of death (83). Finally, to terminate the ceremony,
they made with a dagger especially adapted to that use, an incision
in the arm of the person initiated and with the blood which flowed
from the wound thus made, the new katipunero signed his compromise
(see note 50.)
«The initiated were called brethren and had their «sacred words»
and their special signs of recognition. They were ruled by a code
which established punishments ranging from whipping till death (84)
and received no orders from anyone, or had no intercourse with anyone,
except with their immediate superiors. The details which might be
made mention of are infinite and curious, but it would make this
short memorial unending to speak of them all.
"All the matters of importance and organization were dealt with
in assemblies (85) constituted by the Supreme Councils and all the
presidents of the provincial and popular councils. The accords were
taken and discussions decided by a nominal votation and at least by
a majority of votes.
"Both the Supreme, the provincial and the popular Councils and the
sections held their periodical sessions in the which were discussed a
thousand different affairs, and the decisions of the Councils had to
be submitted to the approval of the immediate superior. The gatherings
were always held in different houses and localities, no day being set
aside as fixed, but the days of festivities or those upon which was
observed some ecclesiastical feast were chosen for that purpose (86),
under the pretext of banquets or dances in which the authorities had no
suspicion, and because on the said days these semi-public rejoicings
were permitted without the necessity of seeking the license of the
governing authorities.
«Both the provincial and the popular councils and the sections were
known by special names; the initiated were "baptized" with symbolic
appellations; and the documents were drawn up in the Tagalog dialect,
the most important being in secret code.
"The first Supreme Council was constituted on the 15th of July 1892,
and was as follows:
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