Spanish Friars taught Eskrima?

[Sun_Helmet]

Thank GOD someone makes sense...you're comments are logical with reasoning...thank you.

What is it exactly that does not 'sound' logical from everyone else's posts? I had trouble with the blue color of the text on some posts, but the content seem fine even if I do not agree with some of it.

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There's a good book on the myths of the Spanish Conquests. Much of what we have been taught in school and found in many history books are outdated and contains a lot of omission. The book is titled, 'Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest' by Matthew Restall.

In the actual Spanish documents of Conquesta, they make it very clear that the Philippines and the natives which inhabit the islands should be conquered according to what they have learned from other cultures they destroyed. However, the Spanish journals of that time are full of instances that state that the Filipinos are nothing like those that Spain had encountered before. The Spanish also write about requiring MORE firearms to assist in subjugating the islands. No mention of sword play, because Spanish methods of war was no longer fought by sword but by pike and shot.

--Rafael--

[Sun_Helmet]

In contrast, there is similar evidence of Arab clerics who may taken up the sword. This is not based on heresay but from first hand Spanish accounts.

In 1597, the Spanish commander wrote to the Spanish Governor of a battle in Mindanao:

In the assault five of their men were killed with arquebus-shots, and several others wounded. Among those killed were two of their bravest and most esteemed men. One was from Terrenate and was a casis (note: a Muslim priest) who instructed them in religion. Of a truth, they showed clearly that they were brave; for I do not believe that there are many peoples who would attack with so gallant a determination, when they were armed with nothing but shields and canpilans (Note: kampilans- at that time were shaped more like scimitars). Blair and Robertson, Vol. IX, pp. 284 - 285

Majul described these casis as warriors "who were veritable mujahids." page 75 Muslims in the Philippines

--Rafael--
Sayoc Kali

[Sun_Helmet]

VISAYANS OF CARAGA
There's only ONE Jesuit Priest I have found who fit the description of a warrior priest in the Moro campaigns. Out of the list of hundreds of Jesuits on record, a WARRIOR Jesuit Priest ('warrior' meaning actively engaged in the use of arms and fought in actual battles) was an EXTREME exception as recorded in the accounts of the Jesuits in the Philippines. To refer to these specific Jesuist above as Warriors is a distortion of first hand accounts.

He was the "famous Recollect missionary" at Butuan. The Jesuits record (1639) that this priest DISTINGUISHED himself from the others because he was a warrior. He was "El Padre Capitan" Fray Augustin San Pedro.

However, to use one Jesuit priest's accomplishments in war to reflect that other Jesuits were of like mind and spirit is a distortion of their accomplishments in the islands.

Some have implied that these warrior priests taught these natives the arts of Spanish war, ironically the ONE priest recorded as having done so taught Caragan natives from BUTUAN located in MINDANAO, not directly the Visayan's from their home region. There is no evidence he taught them swordsmanship. El Padre Capitan was a gunnery expert who was 26 years old when he arrived in the islands.

Englishman and historian Frederic Sawyer wrote INHABITANTS OF THE PHILIPPINES in 1900. This is a very informative book not only for its abundance of information, but because Sawyer's* point of view takes a vivid snapshot of interaction between American, Filipino tribes, Chinese, Arab and Spanish of that time period. He was there during the revolution and traveled all over the islands taking notes on methods of war and customs from as many tribes as possible. He wrote unbiased observations both positively and negatively about all sides.* He found both the corruptness of the Spanish friars and native headhunting practices appaling.

Sawyer's take on the Caragans coincided with the Jesuit's own text from Harvard University Press.

Sawyer did not view the Caragans to be identical as the Visayans from their home region.

"The Visayans of Mindanao have been modified by their environment both for good and evil. Thus they are bolder and more warlike than their brethen at home, having had for centuries to defend themselves against bloodthirsty Moros. The Visayas of Caraga are especially valiant and self-reliant, and they needed to be so, for the Spaniards, whenever hard-pressed by English, Dutch or Portugese, had ways of recalling their garrisons, and leaving their dependent to shift for themselves." page 331

Most importantly, Sawyer supports what I wrote concerning the Spanish choice of arms.
If the Spanish were training Filipinos in the ways of war, they would not be using friars whose expertise were best directed elsewhere, nor would the Spanish choose swords.

The Spanish chose to instruct natives in a more productive method of WARFARE to battle their Moros rivals:

RIFLES!

"The arms have been supplied by the Spanish government, and have generally been of obsolete pattern. I have seen in Culion flint-lock muskets in the hands of the guards. Latterly, however, Remington rifles have been supplied, and they are very serviceable and quite suitable for their levies." Page 331

Note that Sawyer describes the wide range of weapons available to the Caragans and yet the weapons are within one family... Firearms.

Sawyer has no mention of swords.
However, in EVERY chapter concerning indigenous native customs, Sawyer was very detailed about the weapons of that tribe. He even described certain tactics like the EXPERT use of a lasso by the Ifugaos to bind so they can decapitate their enemey. Sawyer even mentions where Blumentritt may have erred by stating another tribe carried krisses when in fact he'd only seen bolos in their hands.

Sawyer did not shy away from his interest in native Filipino dress and weaponry. Even the cover of his book is an intricate gold engraving of a Malay scrolled Salakot and Bolo embossed over a red woven cover. Included are the words "Salacot" and "Bolo" in gold as the only words on the cover besides his credit and book title.

Sawyer witnessed the results of battles between swords and firearms equipped with bayonets in the mid and late 1800's. Contrary to what many have been led to believe, the bolo against soldiers who are armed with rifles with fixed bayonets takes a heavy toll on the numbers of bolomen. You might win some, but it will be at the expense of a LOT of warriors. Sawyer describes the time of the Katipunan and after when THOUSANDS of men would be shot dead and the losses for the Spanish side would be in the tens or low hundreds... mostly wounded.

Filipinos gained ground through will and tenacity, they outnumbered the enemy. Man for man, a bolo would not hold up against a trained rifleman. That is proven fact.

So the Spanish knew very well that to maintain control of the garrisons would mean arming and training the natives in the use of rifles. There's no positive strategy to abandoning one's fort and attacking the enemy with EQUAL weapons in hostile territory. Not in the 1800's. And I've already shown evidence that the Jesuits do not record any of their friars teaching the sword PRIOR to that time.

El Padre Capitan was a young 26 year old schooled in GUNNERY, consider the age of this person before we state he would be able to attend the missionary, study his mathematics, architecture and military strategy and have the experience and knowledge to teach established blade warriors on how to fight with a... sword. Which is also not even strategically sound considering his purpose was to build a fortification that can withstand the attacks of the Moros.

Why build a fortress then suddenly resort to sword fighting when GUNNERY is your specialty?

"El Padre Capitan"'s most well known contribution was not any sword skill at all, but teaching Major Atienza (the one Conquistador Kudarat respected) how to build boats that could be taken apart, transported over land and then reassembled on Lake Lanao. It offered the Spanish a distinct tactical advantage to gain access to territories that were once difficult to travese on foot.

Returning to the firearm (note: caps are mine):

"All the Visaya town bordering on the Moros should have their somatenes (note: defenders of the church) armed, exercised, and supplied with AMMUNITION."pg. 332

"The illustration shows a party of Visayas militia belonging to the town of Baganga in Caraga under a native officer of gigantic stature, Lieutenant Don Prudencio Garcia."

Note that Garcia is holding a SPANISH sword, and his men doing the brunt of the fighting are armed with rifles, with not a NATIVE blade to be seen on them. Everyone here has seen photograghs of various Filipino warriors - always with their blades on their sides. Yet in this very official picture, it only shows a lone Caragan Visayan with a Spanish officer's sword.




--Rafael--

"..awaken your consciousness of our past, already effaced from our memory, and to rectify what has been falsified and slandered."
Jose Rizal, from his 1889 essay, ' To The Filipinos '

[Sun_Helmet]

According to the observations of historian Frederic Sawyer, the Jesuits provided these first hand accounts published in 1900. He was there at the time period of Jesuit influence during the border battles between Christianized and the Mohammeddan tribes. His account is from an Englishman's point of view, one who had no direct political stake in what was transpiring in the islands.

The first observation I would like to present is Sawyer's view of Moro warrior attributes and sword skills:

""Physically the Moro is a man built for the fatigues of war, whether by sea or land. His sinewy frame combines strength and ahility, and the immense development of the thorax gives him marvellous powers of endurance at the oar or the march."

Sawyer then adds proof that the Moros TRAINED to be skilled with their blades, note his use of non native terminology to describe the native's weapons.:

" Trained to arms from his earliest youth he excels in the management of the lance, the buckler and the sword. Those weapons are his inseparable companions: the typical Moro is never unarmed. He fights equally well on foot, on horseback, in his fleet war canoe, or in water, for he swims like a fish and dives like a penguin."

More proof of how the mindset was introduced and cultivated, with the use of LIVE victims:

"He will set his sons, a mere boy, to kill some defenceless man, merely to get his hand in at slaughter." Page 365 Inhabitants of the Philippines, published in 1900

Also through the use of tribal mock fighting and sayaw in the Moro-moro dance:
" They have a war-dance called the Moro-moro, which is performed by their most skillful and agile swordsmen, buckler on arm and campilan in hand to the sound of martial music. It simulates a combat, and the dancers spring sideways, backwards, or forwards, and cut, thrust, guard, or feint with surprising dexterity." page 369

Sawyer also notes that the Moros war industries were:
"... forging of swords, cris, lance-heads, casting and boring their lantacas." page 373

Sawyer, stressed the importance of firearms to stop the Moro uprisings, and observed what the Jesuits truly used and trained the local Christian populace with:

"..getting notice of their (Moros) approach, the Jesuits assembled the fighting men of several towns, and being provided with a few fire-arms by the Government, they fell upon the Moros and utterly routed them, driving them back to their own territory with great loss." page 366 The Inhabitants of the Philippines, published in 1900

Note that these natives were already considered "fighting men" indicating experience or intent to face the invaders. The main contirbution of the Jesuits was to ASSEMBLE them together and if they wanted to win decisively... to obtain firearms. On another occasion in the town of Lepanto:

"...the inhabitants, not being provided fire-arms sought safety in flight, but the Moros captured fourteen of them." Page 367

Sawyer indicates the Christian tribes were already:
"war-like and hardy troops" page 363

And he notes the evidence of "Subanos" weaponry:
" The weapons of Subanos are the lance, which they call talanan, a round shield they call taming, a scimitar they call campilan, the Malay kris they call caliz, the machete or pes."

None of the above sword weapons are of the Spanish variety.

Sawyer never notes the Jesuits teaching the natives ANY sword skills, even though he meticulously indicates to the contrary of* how the Moros were trained by their elders in the art of war. Sawyer did write in detail how the Jesuits taught the natives the following skills and also the other duties they provided:

" They educated the young, taught them handicrafts, attended to the sick, consoled the afflicted, reconciled those at variance, explored the country , encouraged agriculture, built churches, laid out roads, and assisted the administration."page 385

Sawyer does not state that the Jesuits feared the Moros, but were "pious" men who were brave and instrumental in "leading" the Christians into battle. However, even a supporter of the Jesuit order like Sawyer does not make the logical leap that states the allied tribes required training in sword skills from the friars. This supports other first hand accounts of Jesuits being tacticians and organizers rather than a sword master of high stature to the tribes.

Look at the following photos printed in Sawyer's book and you can tell me if the tribes required any edged weapon training from the Jesuits - in this context it is almost a comical scenario to even suggest.



--Rafael--
Sayoc Kali