Juramentado Juramentado , in Philippine history , refers to a male Moro swordsman who attacked and killed targeted Christian police and soldier s , expecting to be killed himself , the martyrdom undertaken as an unorthodox form of personal jihad . Unlike an amok , who commits acts of random violence against Muslims and non - Muslims alike , a juramentado was a dedicated , premeditated , and sometimes highly - skilled killer who prepared himself through a ritual of binding , shaving , and prayer in order to accomplish brazen public religious murder armed only with edged weapons . For generations warlike Moro tribes had successfully prevented Spain from fully controlling the areas around Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago , developing a well - earned reputation as notorious seafaring raiders , adept naval tacticians , and ferocious warriors who frequently demonstrated extraordinary personal bravery in combat . While Moro forces could never match opponents ' firepower or armor , such bands used intelligence , audacity and mobility to raid strongly defended targets and quickly defeat more vulnerable ones . One extreme asymmetric warfare tactic was the Moro juramentado . Etymology and usage . Juramentado is an archaic term derived from the Spanish word " juramentar " , meaning one who takes an oath . Some sources link amoks ( from the Malayan term for " out of control " ) and juramentados as similar culture - specific syndrome s while others draw distinctions of religious preparation and state of mind . A Moro might be said to have " gone juramentado " or be " running juramentado . " U . S . Army officers who had served in Moroland incorporated the idiom into their own vocabulary , but often simply equated it with the Moro people as a whole . In his memoirs , Army Air Service advocate Benjamin D . Foulois said of volatile rival Army Air Service officer Billy Mitchell , " He had become fanatic much in the way the Moros were in the Philippines . He had become a " juramentado " and was ready to run amok . " . History . The term juramentado was coined by José Malcampo , in command during the Spanish occupation of Jolo Island in 1876 , but Moros had been making such personal attacks for many years . By the time of the Spanish – American War juramentados were being discussed in the American media , some official sources finding few documented cases . By 1903 , local United States Army commander Leonard Wood sent a report to Governor of the Philippines William Howard Taft indicating juramentados were " an oft repeated offense . " Almost forty years later , on the eve of the Japanese invasion of the Philippine Islands beginning the Second World War , Time Magazine was reporting juramentado attacks in Jolo occurring " once every other day " . Path to paradise . Candidates , known as " mag - sabil " , " who endure the pangs of death , " were selected from Muslim youth inspired to martyrdom by the teaching of Imams . Parents were consulted before the young men were permitted by the sultan to undergo training and preparation for " Parang - sabil " ( the path to Paradise ) . After an oath taken , hand on the Qur ' an , the chosen took a ritual bath , all body hair was shaved , and the eyebrows trimmed to resemble " a moon two days old . " A strong band was wrapped firmly around the waist , and cords wrapped tightly around the genitals , ankles , knees , upper thighs , wrists , elbows , and shoulders , restricting blood flow and preventing the " mag - sabil " from losing too much blood from injury before accomplishing his gruesome task . Clad in white robe and turban , the chosen youth would polish and sharpen his weapons before action . At the moment of attack , the " mag - sabil " would approach a large group of Christians , shout " " La ilaha il - la ' l - lahu " " ( " There is no god but Allah " ) , draw kris or barong and then rush into the group swinging his sword , killing and maiming as many victims as possible in the time he had left . The true believer , however , faced a theologic conundrum . If the observant Juramentado believed that his murders pleased Allah , he could not admit that the inevitable consequences of his attacks constituted suicide , per se , as their Qur ' an forbids it . To reconcile the inconsistency , they fashioned themselves as martyrs of their own making , coaxing their way into Paradise with the spilled blood of numerous enemies of the faith on their hands . In effect , however , the tactic more closely resembles murder / suicide . The Juramentado — acting neither in self - defense nor through selfless altruism — commits to murder , and his own self - destruction , solely for the promise of his perception of personal gain . After death , the " mag - sabil ' s " body would be washed and again wrapped in white for burial . In the unlikely event the " mag - sabil " survived his attack , it was believed his body would ascend to Paradise after 40 years had passed . Response to the threat . The Moros ' use of local intelligence to mark target situations , coupled with a keen understanding of the tactical element of surprise made combating juramentado warriors difficult for Spanish troops during its long attempt to occupy the Sulu Archipelago . In an era of warfare where body armor had become anachronistic , an unexpected melee attack with razor - sharp blades was a devastating tactic against veteran soldiers . Even when soldiers had time to draw weapons and fire on the charging attacker , the small caliber weapons commonly in use possessed no stopping power , bullets passing though limbs and torso , the juramentados ' ritual binding working as a set of tourniquets to prevent the swordsman from bleeding out from wounds before accomplishing his purpose . The phenomenon has been documented as recently as 2011 , but the introduction of more potent , higher - caliber cartridges of consequence in the hands of intended victims markedly reduced the allure , and subsequently the incidence , of this peculiar method of self - annihilation . The United States occupation is claimed by some to have seen the use of burial of Juramentados with pig remains as a psychologic deterrent to continued suicidal aggression . This purported action by Americans is apparently thought , by those who hold that Jurementado is a legitimate path to heaven , to be abhorent to the " guardians of heaven . " Dr . Frank E . Vandiver , professor of history at Texas A & M University and author of Black Jack : The Life and Times of John J . Pershing said about the burial of Juramentados with pig remains that he never found any indication that it was true in extensive research on his Moro experiences . He has also been unable to find any evidence corroborating the claim that Muslims believe that " eating or touching a pig , its meat , its blood , etc . , is to be instantly barred from paradise and doomed to hell . " It is true that Islamic dietary restrictions , like those of Judaism , forbid the eating or handling of pork because pigs are considered unclean . But according to Raeed Tayeh of the American Muslim Association in North America , the notion that a Muslim would be denied entrance to heaven for touching a pig is " ridiculous . " A statement from the Anti - Defamation League characterizes the claim as an " offensive caricature of Muslim beliefs . "