The word juramentado, meaning oath, was first employed by General Malcampo during the final occupation of Jolo in 1876. The practice of "running juramentado" was a religious rite involving the waging of a jihad, or Holy War, upon infidels. Originally, the practice was conducted by a band of men determined to sacrifice their lives in accomplishing the death of Christians. In the later years of the Spanish conquest, single individuals howled through the streets of Jolo, leaving death in their wake.

The jihad against unbelievers is enjoined in the Koran. In its pure form, the jihad consisted of bona-fide organized warfare against Christians. Juramentado was the degenerate form of jihad evolved by the Sulu Moros.

The Koran exhorts the true believers as follows:
"War is enjoined against he Infidels." II, 215
"Oh True believers, wage war against such of the infidels as are near you." IX, 124
"When ye encounter the unbelievers, strike off their heads until ye have made a great slaughter among them." XLVII, 4

In waging their individual war against the unbelievers, the Moros were more enthusiastic than religious, for they violated the strict tenets of the Mohammedan faith. The Koran expressly states that before a jihad may be waged, notice of attack must be give, the unbeliever must be called to the true faith, and the attack must not be treacherously made. The rite of the juramentado, as waged by the Moros, did not fill the injunction of jihad given in the Koran itself.

The Koran says, Surah VIII, Verses 39 and 40:
"Say to the unbelievers, if they desist from their belief, what is now past shall be forgiven them."

And again in Verse 60:
"God loveth not the treacherous."

The tradition as set forth in the Hidayah, or Guidance, state:
"If a Moslem attack an infidel without previously calling him to the Faith, he is an offender because this is forbidden."

And further:
"Giving due notice to the enemy in this case is indispensably requisite in such a manner that treachery may not be induced, since this is forbidden."

The Koran amplifies this further:
"For whosoever shall kill a believer of set purpose, his recompense shall be Hell, forever shall he abide in it."

The juramentado of Mindanao and Sulu killed treacherously and without warning. In all of the 200,000,000 Mohammedans scattered over the world, only the Moros practices the rite of juramentado.'Waging aholy war became an individual matter in Sulu and Mindanao. A Moro who had become overzealous in religious matters decided to commit, not suicide, which was forbidden, but rather an act of constructive self-destruction, to terminate his unwillingness to live. To accomplish this act and to slay as many Christians as possible, paved the way for great renown in the other world.

Elaborate preparation of the body was a forerunner to the running of juramentado, in order that the individual might appear before God in the most favorable light. In the deep silence of early morning, fanatical youths gathered to hear the Imams, or priests, tell of the old days. The stories flamed these ambitious recruits to martyrdom, and custom then necessitated a solemn conference with their parents. After a family council, which usually granted permission for the youth to run juramentado, the youths were banded together with the Sultan's permission to engage in a holy war.

The candidates were then turned over to the Imam for organization and instruction. Prayers were offered and each candidate placed his hand upon the Koran and repeated the following:
"Jumanji kami hatunan ing kami ini magsabil karna sing tuhan." (We covenant with God that we will wage this holy war, for it is of God.)

The body was then carefully washed, the teeth were cleaned and the nails cut and trimmed. The family of the candidate shaved his eyebrows so that they "looked like a moon two days old." The hair was cut short. The waist was supported by a tight band for strengthening effect. A man so bound could remain oh his feet long after an ordinary man would succumb to wounds.

The candidate was then clothed in a white robe called the jubba and was crowned with a white turban. To the waist was attached an anting-anting or a charm, to ward off the blows of the enemy. The genitals were bound tightly with cords.

After beautifying and polishing his weapons, the candidate was then ready to go forth to the holy war. In the Moro dialect, these men were known as mag-sabils, which means to endure the pangs of death. The Moro who decided upon juramentado took the solemn oath (Napi), to prepare himself to pursue the Parang-sabil, or road to Paradise, with valor and devotion. The juramentado could not be called insane but was under the influence of a frenzied religious excitement.

There were seven grades of ascent into Paradise and seven grades of descent into Hell, to compare with the seven books of the Koran. Thus the Moro deliberately prepared himself for the terrors of the desert journey by carrying with him as many Christians as possible.

The juramentado apparently confined his attacks to Christians. Occasionally, in his last frenzied moments, he slashed his own countrymen,, but this occurrence was rare. Women were not permitted to engage in the rite of juramentado.

The method of attack of the juramentado was to approach the largest group of Christians possible and shout to them from a distance the Arabic phrase, "La ilaha il-la'l-lahu" - There is no God but Allah. The kris or barong was then unsheathed and a rush was made, each juramentado hoping to kill at least one Christian before he found a martyr's death.

The Sulu warrior, never a strictly orthodox Mohammedan, supplied from his imagination certain rewards not specified by the Koran. The dead juramentado mounted to Paradise riding a white horse. Each Christian killed accompanied him as a slave in Paradise. Death on the field provided for the presence in Paradise of beautiful virgins, with whom the warriors reveled in a perfumed garden. This last of course refers to passages in the Koran:
"On couches with linings of brocade shall they recline, and the fruit of the two gardens shall be within easy reach. Therein shall be the damsels with retiring glances whom no man hath touched before them. Theirs shall be the Houris, with large, dark eyes, like pearls hidden in their shells, in recompense of their labors past."

Following his final collapse on the field of battle, the dead juramentado was washed again and wrapped ina white cloth for burial. If the enemy was vanquished in the attack and the juramentado escaped with his life after slaughtering the Christians, he passed to Paradise forty years after the battle.

With such rewards in store for them, it is little wonder that the juramentado Moros of Sulu and Mindanao take their place as the most deadly combatants of history. The juramentado was practically non-stoppable. Even when riddled with bullets he remained on his feet to kill the enemy.

Dr. Montano, an eminent scientist sent by the French government to Sulu, describes the entry into the city of Tianggi of eleven juramentados during the Spanish occupation:

'Divided into three bands, they crept into town, pursuing a frenzied course. Hearing the cry of "Los Juramentados", the soldiers seized arms. The juramentados rushed upon them fearlessly with krises. One of them struck in the breast by a bullet, rose and flung himself upon the troops. Transfixed by a bayonet, he remained erect, trying to reach his enemy who held him impaled. Another soldier ran up and blew out his brains before he dropped. When the last juramentado had fallen and the corpses were picked up from the street, it was found that fifteen Spaniards had been hacked to pieces and many wounded. And what wounds! The head of one Spaniard was cut off as clean as if with a razor and another was cut almost in two."

The utter disregard for death held by the juramentado Moro probably remains unequalled in history. In Mindanao and Sulu, we have the astounding picture of a race of men who sought death as a blessing. And with little wonder, for they were informed by the Koran:
"And say not of those who are slain in fight for the religion of God, that they are dead; yea they are living, but ye do not understand." II, 155.

Often confused with the practice of running juramentado was the custom, so prevalent among all Eastern peoples, of running amuk. Running amuk had no religious significance. Such a performance was called manuju by the Moros. The practice still persists in Mindanao and Sulu. To the knowledge of the writer, amuks have cleared the streets of Zamboanga within the last two years.

The practice of running amuk occurs when the natives have what is called a "bad head". The amuk is temporarily insane. The Malay is prone to brood and linger over imaginary ills and this culminates in the seizure of a kris and a mad slashing of every person in the amuk's path. Even the Moros are not spared when in the path of an amuk.

Filipiniana Reprint Series © 1985 Cacho Hermanos, Inc.

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