Teresa Magbanua Part 3 - The Fighting Begins

(Sound effects - cannon fire)

Teresa was the only woman to lead troops in the Visayan region. 

(Cannon shot. Then music fades in.)

It was the sort of position other women either had not or could not fight for in the way that she had. Successfully being one of the words that comes to mind when thinking of ‘the way that she had,’ but that’s neither here nor there. Maybe she knew that. Maybe she did not. But regardless, that was a trivial detail, in many ways.

After all, she was already there. She had left home, she had run to her uncle to ask for a command, and she had been given that command. There was no going back on that now. Much like the revolution happening around her. That could not be taken back. A spark had caught. The flames of revolution were burning, and backing down only meant a worsening of the nightmare the Filipino people were so desperate to escape from.

Or that’s what I’ve come to think. I’ve come to think that there was no room for fear or uncertainty in Nanay Isa’s heart. Or in the heart of any Filipino who went out to battle against the Spanish. 

Maybe it’s more like cooking, ironically enough. But hear me out. I have a gas stove, so there’s a fire that lights every time I want to heat my dinner. I even cook rice on that stove rather than using my rice cooker. And in that case most obviously, I’m opting into using fire--a small fire, yes, but it’s still a force to be reckoned with in its own right--despite how the rice cooker is easier and makes better rice. Regardless of the details, I’m not afraid of fire when I’m cooking. I know it’s what I need to do. And I can’t help but think Nanay Isa must have felt the same way. 

(Music fades out and new music fades in)

This wasn’t the time to be afraid. There were reasons, yes, but the necessity of it all--the necessity to fight much like the necessity to eat--silenced the frightful cries we all experience in the silence of our minds. 

Then again, it’s hard to say. Accounts of the event that I’ve been able to find are very factual. Some would say sterile, though I think that might be a bit too harsh. It can be inconvenient, but as I see it, this method does make sense. The facts alone are finding it hard to make it to the forefront, and those truly need to be preserved. At the end of the day, these tales are easy to sweep away, even if the dates are important. Even if the details are important. Even if these are remarkably human stories that need to be celebrated. 

The fact stands that it’s not all coming through. What I have are the skeletal remains of historical accounts that sit like fossils of the past. The meat of the creature is gone. And it’s like how we don’t know what color dinosaurs actually were. We can make educated guesses based on the machinations of nature and what we can observe today. But that’s as far as we can take it. We can’t truly know.

And that started to ring true for me. I’m starting to get a taste of that difficulty. After all, I cannot truly know this person, but I think I know how people work. I think there are observations to be had from the world around me, but that’s not certainty.

(Music fades out and new music fades in)

The Battle of Barrio Yoting was looming just over the horizon, mere weeks after Teresa Magbanua had been given her command. That’s not much of a chance to grow into the role she had been given; either she was made for it or not, there was no time to tailor it to fit.

It was a reckoning in so many ways. For both the Filipino people and for Nanay Isa. Some early victories against the Spanish were critical in order for the movement to gain momentum. And for Nanay Isa, who at that point was still Teresa Magbanua to everyone else, she needed to become what she was destined to be. The issue in both cases was ‘how.’ Or ‘if’ assuming you wanted to be more pessimistic. The details would have to come later.

Being mounted on a horse was a position Teresa was likely able to fall easily into. She had mastered the art of horseback after all, during the early part of her marriage while she seemed to be waiting for such a chance to prove herself, for the occasion she would have to rise to--husband’s protestations be damned. 

As for being at the forefront of a sizable number of troops--some armed only with large knives and not enough with rifles, setting aside the issue of proficiency--that was a different matter. Well, then again, she had led a pretty sizable household, right? Maybe it would have been easy to refer to that as a sort of bullet point on a resume, but this was not the time for a resume. This was the time for war. And she would have to be the general, whether she was ready or not.

(Music fades out and new music fades in)

Once again at this point, the story goes cold. Once again, I find myself wanting to convey the details, the battle plans, I want to paint for you a grand picture of Nanay Isa on horseback, sweeping down on unexpecting Spanish troops and wiping them away. I want to tell you how it all worked. I want to tell you the moment victory was won. But it seems like I can’t. 

Accounts do agree that Nanay Isa was a critical force in this tale, as any good leader would be. Nanay Isa must have been pushing her troops forward at the right place and time. She would be a rallying point for their passions, and that part rings true. Her nickname of Nanay Isa was given to her by the love and devotion her troops had for her. They admired her heart and her leadership. To them, she was as supportive and encouraging as an actual mother, you would say. Or they did say. She was their mother, but the actual story of the labor and the pains involved has been lost.

(Music fades out and new music fades in)

The Battle of Barrio Yoting was fairly important for the Filipino people, and it was followed soon after by the Battle of Sapong Hills. And by soon after, I do mean it was hardly any time at all. It seemed like Nanay Isa just kept moving with her troops, that she could not allow herself to be distracted or consumed by the joy of success or that there was a plan that needed to come into fruition. 

Regardless, there was no stopping. There could be no stopping. 

Nanay Isay and her troops continued on to the Iloilo province. Specifically to the Sapong Hills,. To a different battle than the one she had just fought, perhaps.

(Music fades out and new music fades in)

When discussed, the Battle of Barrio Yoting doesn’t have a cynical slant to the scene. The details are scarce, true, but it seems as if that battle had somewhat even odds. Or maybe the Filipino people, still looked down upon by the Spanish with the utmost contempt, found that they had an advantage, that the Spanish were so unprepared for a force so determined to fight. If so, that advantage would be gone now. Now the Filipinos have proven they could stand against the Spanish at their current state, so time to intensify things, as it were.

At the Battle of Sapong Hills, so sources say, the odds were in favor of the Spanish. But Teresa still managed to carry the day… Though I wish someone could spell out exactly how. Details are lost, of course. How often have I said that by now?

But Teresa must have known what she was doing. She must have had strategy on her side. She must have given the plan careful attention, each and every detail needed a moment in her hands. Or maybe she trusted her troops. Maybe she flung herself forward and let herself be led by faith into the fires of the world around her. 

It was bravery that had taken her this far, after all. All the moments in her life when she had run headlong into the figurative fire, why not run into the literal fire? The firing of troops, as it were. 

(Music fades out and new music fades in)

She was the type to be brave if not reckless. Or she was the type to be reasonable and knew there was no other choice. Other forces were marching on Iloilo city. They needed to retake this and every province. This battle was a part of that. This had to be done. 

I said that I think necessity overpowers fear but beyond necessity, what about love for others? Love of family and love of countrymen. Or love of ideals and love of hope. That had to be there, right?

Teresa Magbanua was born well off, and as a woman, this set her up to marry well, which she did and which was all she ever had to do. Never mind that her husband told her no to something so critical and how that would suggest the marriage was secretly unhappy. In some ways, unhappy. Inevitably unhappy would be the best case scenario--that what joys they had were real but fleeting. Regardless, while the prosperity she knew was capped by the fact she was a native born Filipina of a Spanish colony, Teresa Magbanua could have still had a rather nice life under the current status quo. 

But she rejected it all the same. She rejected it on so many levels and charged into war. Literally into battle. At some point, that’s not being brave. In the absence of any other reason, it’s being careless. But she had a reason, right? She had a reason.

(Music fades out and new music fades in)

It doesn’t matter how, in many regards. The Battle of Sapong Hills was won. The battle was won, and Nanay Isa had to march onwards, towards the next battleground.

(Music fades out and new music fades in)

This has been a production of Miscellany Media Studios with music licensed from the Sounds like an Earful music supply. Thanks for listening! Find more information about our shows at miscellanymedia.online or follow us on Twitter @miscellanymedia for updates on current and future projects.

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