HOW KATIPUNEROS SPARKED THE REVOLUTION IN VISAYAS
ILOILO CITY—BLOOD ys tories, brutal fates.
These are images of revolutionary tales likely to be associated wit h An dr es B onifacio , Ma rcelo d elp ilar ,An tonio Luna, an d ot hers whose heroic deed s an d battle skirmishes are well documented.
But what was happening on Panay Island while clashes in Luzo nwe r eg oing on?
The story of t he f irst Katipunan chapte ro utside of Luzon, led by Gen. Francisc od el Castillo , an d 19 martyr sf rom Aklan province gi vesag ood picture of the revolutionar ym ovemen ti n that pa rto f t hev isayas, with smatterings o ff o lk w isdo man d lore.
Del Castillo and Candido Iban wer eg iven a directive by Bonifacio to start a chapte r of the Katipunan in t hev isayas afte rt hey donated money won fro mal otter yf ort hep rinting of the “Kalayaan” newspaper.
On March 17, 1897, Del Castillo die di naf ight .H is death sparked t hec r yf or r evolution in Aklan.
The remaining Katipuneros were tricke di nto giving up their weapons in exchange for amnesty, bu tt hey were imprisoned and tortured . On Ma rch were executed.
This rarely documented historical account se ti n 1897 was transforme di nto a full-length documentar y, entitled “Daan Patungong Tawaya,” or “Road to Paradise,” that was first shown to t he public i nal ocal mall on Sept .7.
“Tawaya,” in t heh iligaynon language, means prosperity, paradise and peace.
Voices from below
“We have to listen to t he voices from belo w, f rom the provinces because only then when that happens ... we can co meupw ith their sense of national history,” sa id t he documentary director, Kevi np iamonte, afte rt he special screening of t hef ilm by E RKP roductions an d it sc oproducers, the Commission o nh ighe r Ed ucatio n an dt he University of the Philippines (UP) Visayas.
The seed f ort his documentary dates back to 1998 when UP Visayas professors, Kevi np iamont e an d John Barrios, were both teaching in the university’s Miagao campus where they wrote the initial screenplay.
In 2018, t he F ilm Development Council of the Philippines an dt he National Historical
Commission of the Philippines launche dt hes inesaysay documentary lab, whi ch a ime d to showcase the unsung and “unvisited ”s tories that helped mol dt hec ountry.
Afte rr eceiving an invitation to send an entr y, P iamonte called Barrio s, a historian. The tw ot hen submitte dt he materi al f rom their 1998 brainstorming. The documentary eventually gained a sp ot as one of t hef our finalists o fs inesaysay documentary lab.
Not an easy task
Produci ngah istorical documentary i sn ot an easy feat.
The scarcity of information to be incorporate di n t hem ovie challenge dt he makers to g ot he extr am i le by n otr elyi ngs olely on t he c onventional historical document sbu td elving into oral traditions as well.
“I almost droppe dt he p roject afte rt wo weeks o f sh ooting,” Piamont esa id.
Barrios used his researches, interviewed educator san d historians and even “shamans” from Panay f or t he documentary.
“In interviews with the descendants of the revolutionaries, ther ewe r e na rratives about the ‘anting-anting’ (amulets),” said Barrios as he explained how these figure di n t hef ilm.
Shamans and amulets
Ther ec ould ben o science to explain t he p owe ro f shamans and amulets. Bu ti n t hem ovie, these were what made the 19 martyrs of Aklan brave and courageous, believing tha tt hey were safe from any weapons and bullet sf or as long as they wore the amulet sg iven by the “babaylan.”
Histor yp rofessor Joyce Colon used her extensive researches abou tt he babaylan an dt heir role in the revolution in Panay. She sa id t he f irst babaylan wer ew omen because of their capacity to gi ve b irth that portrayed power.
The red gowns tha tt hey usually wore displayed power and potency. This was the reason revolutionaries during battles wore red bands on their heads because these were believe dto help them endur epa in and achieve longevity.
Collecting materials f ort he documentar y was a rduo us f or t hep roducers of t hem ovie. Relying o nw ritten accounts was almos ti mpossible because even if ther ewe r es ome, the information was too limited.
Thus t heh istorians included narratives of direc td escendants of the revolutionaries an dt he village healer and chants of babaylan in Panay.
The film i sfa r from the typical historical documentary because iti nfused multimedi ap roductions, combi ng l ive-action shot sw it han imatio n an d comics.
“This i s al read yas tep-up because we use dto have theater plays before. But now, this i sa different media that we can bring to t he target audience. This i sn o longer just am ovie but am ovemen tt hat we a re trying to start,” said JR Macahilas, cowriter and director.
Piamont e sa id: “This documentar ysh ould also bea teaching material to be used for educational purposes. One of the objectives is too pen the discussio ns ince our history i sn ot yet complete.”