Carpio and the Katipunan

For the Katipunan and the Founding Fathers, the Bernardo Carpio myth-story was a source of strength and guidance. In the Pamitinan Cave in Mount Tapusi the Katipunan used to hold their secret meetings. That cave is the supposed prison of Bernardo Carpio; a folk hero and mythic figure of freedom.

One of the well-known hero-types is the messianic hero: The hero, brave, bold and ethical, who will return when his people’s need is most dire. One of the most popular and well-known is King Arthur. Arthur became a heroic figure imbued with grace, wisdom and knowledge, brought low by human weakness. He and Camelot are powerful ideas historically: likely the most prominent use in comparing President John F Kennedy to Arthur and his abruptly terminated term to Camelot. Recently, there have been new attempts to link President Obama to JFK, and thus to Arthur. Camelot as an idea still resonates with people. Of Arthur’s return John Masefield in his poem Midsummer’s Night wrote:

“Arthur, like summer, waits,

For Wit and Will are gates,

Like those the summers pass

To green earth’s grass.

Arthur will come like June,

Full meadow and full moon,

With roses up above

As red as love.”

Curiously, according to R.S. Loomis King Philip II of Spain (the namesake of the country), upon his marriage to Mary of Tudor swore that if Arthur returned he would step down and give up the crown.

In the Philippines we have no need for the figure of King Arthur. We have our own hero-who-will-return in Bernardo Carpio. For the Katipuneros, he was as much a source of strength, as a cautionary tale of the evils of hubris. The basic structure of the story is that Carpio was born to humble roots, but from noble parentage (which he did not know). Through his natural grace and strength he became a leader and general. Discovering he was the nephew of his king, he set out on a quest to find his parents and wed them. He succeeded, but chose to give up his nobility. Carpio embarked on a new mission, to free people from idolatry. Instead he was brought low by pride when challenged by a god (sometimes Lightning). He fought him, lost and was imprisoned beneath a mountain. His ego and pride his ultimate undoing.

To the Katipuneros, the tale of Bernardo Carpio was both a warning and a promise. Among the masses, Carpio was a folk hero. To him were imbued Arthurian attributes: in the darkest days of the Filipino Carpio will return to lead the Filipinos into freedom and an enlightened age. Another attribute given to Carpio after his imprisonment was that every time a link broke in his imprisoning chains the earth shook. The 19th century was an extremely active period for earthquakes in the Islands.

Felice Sta. Maria would directly address the Carpio legend in her book Visions of the Possible: ”The Bernardo Carpio corrido…is a lesson that links spirituality and politics, inner being and success. It is a warning that whoever seeks to lead must maintain a nobleness of heart and a pure soul. The Katipuneros spoke in such inspired metaphor…Their civics was spiritual. Civics…is not only about the practical side of governance, but the inspiring, guiding insight for right conduct.”

Culture and history are tremendously binding forces across a country, when applied to education and social development. The Katipuneros understood this intrinsically when they utilized the Carpio myth story. Carpio served multiple purposes: He was a source of strength and a morality lesson for those who would lead. He was an empowering figure for Filipinos, a binding figure with Arthurian overtones who people could rally around. Culture and our folk tales and legends are powerful ideas. Instead though, too often we see our history and culture derided or looked down upon, when it should be honored, respected and used as lessons and sources of strength and solidarity. In this, we still have much to learn from our Founding Fathers.