LESSON 1: PRE-COLONIAL
LITERATURE
Pre-Colonial Period
Filipinos’ unfamiliarity with their ancestral background is due to the common narrative
that their country was “discovered” and, hence, Philippine “history” started only in
1521.
Present-day Filipino writers, artists and journalists are trying to correct the inequity of
the colonialists by recognizing the country’s wealth of ethnic traditions and
disseminating them in schools and in the mass media.
The rousing of nationalistic pride in the 1960s and 1970s also helped bring about this
change of attitude among a new breed of Filipinos concerned about the Filipino identity.
Because of archaeologists, ethnologists and anthropologists, there is a vast information
about our pre-colonial times set against a bulk of materials recorded by Spanish,
Chinese, Arabic and other chroniclers of the past.
Pre-colonial inhabitants of our islands showcase a rich past through their folk speeches,
folk songs, folk narratives and indigenous rituals and mimetic dances that affirm our
ties with our Southeast Asian neighbors.
Folk Speeches
1. Tigmo (Cebu)
Riddle: “Isalibay sa pobre, poston sa sapian.”
Meaning: “Thrown away by poor, wrapped by the rich.”
Meaning: Sipon or mucus
2. Bugtong (Tagalog)
Riddle: “Isa ang pasukan, tatlo ang labasan.”
Meaning: “One entrance, three exits.”
Meaning: Kamiseta or shirt
3. Paktakon (Ilongo)
Riddle: “Kung hikapon ara pay kung balikdon nadula.”
Meaning: “When touched it’s there, but when you look, it vanishes.”
Meaning: tainga or ears
4. Patotodon (Bicol)
5. Talinghaga (Methaphor)
Proverbs (Salawikain) – Expresses norms or codes of behavior, community beliefs or
they instill values by offering nuggets of wisdom in short, rhyming verse.
1. “Kapag and dagat ay tahimik, asahan mo at malalim.”
2. “Pananalita'y pilak, ngunit ang katahimikan ay ginto.”
3. “Ang sakit ng kalingkigan, sakit ng buong katawan.”
Folk songs
- Form of folk lyric.
- Are an expression of the hopes and aspirations, the people’s lifestyles as well as
their passion and love.
- Ex.
1. Children songs
- Ida-da (Maguindanao)
- Tulag pambata (Tagalog)
- Cansiones para abbing (Ibanag)
2. Lullabies
- Ili-ili (Ilonggo)
3. Work songs
- Kalusan (Ivatan)
- Soliranin (Tagalog Rowing Song)
- Mambayu (Kalinga Rice-pounding song)
4. Love songs
- Panawagon; Balitao (Ilonggo)
- Harana (Cebu)
- Bayok (Maranao)
5. Drinking songs
- Tagay (Cebu and Waray)
6. Funeral songs
- Kanogon (Cebu)
- Annako (Bontoc)
Folk narratives
- They explain how the world was created, how certain animals possess certain
characteristics, why some places have waterfalls, volcanoes, mountains, flora or
fauna and, in legends, an explanation of the origins of things.
- Ex.
epics and folk tales are varied, exotic and magical.
Epics
- Comes in various names: Guman (Subanon); Darangen (Maranao); Hudhud
(Ifugao); and Ulahingan (Manobo).
- These epics revolve around supernatural events or heroic deeds and they
embody or validate the beliefs and customs and ideals of a community.
- Ex.
1. Lam-Ang (Ilocano)
2. Hinilawod (Sulod)
3. Kudaman (Palawan)
4. Darangen (Maranao)
5. Ulahingan (Livunganen-Arumanen Manobo)
6. Ag Tobig neg Keboklagan (Subanon)
7. Tudbulol (T’boli)
Literature
- Littera = letters, Arts and letters
- Is an enduring expression of significant human experience written in words, well-
chosen, and arrange.
Elements of Literature
1. Enduring – Endless
2. Significant – Gives s lesson and values that can change our lives.
3. Experience – relate to the text.
4. Expression – Emotion.
5. Human – By, for, about man.
Its ok to be bad at something, because we all have our ups and downs.
About missing someone who is far or di mo na siya ulit makikita
Nakakarelate po kasi ako kasi may mga friends po ako na malalayo na hindi ko na po nakikita
Characteristics of Literature
1. Oral/written – Expression.
2. Fact/fiction – Experience
3. About man and nature – Human
4. Artistically written – written in words
5. Suggestiveness/emotional appeal – Expression/experience
6. Universal – Universal values/feeling
7. Permanence – Enduring
8. Has Spiritual and moral sense – Significant
9. Prose/poetry – Written in words
Forms of Literature
1. Poetry –
2. Prose –
LESSON 1: SPANISH COLONIAL
PERIOD
The Spanish Colonization of the country marked another phase in the people’s literary
tradition with the introduction of a new religion and a new language.
By this time the printing equipment was installed and used as part of technology in
facilitating the propagation of Christianity.
Hence, the first book dealing with the new religion was printed. This was followed by
the printing of other religious work — passion, corridos, homilies, versified prayers,
novenas, stories about Christian saints, and the like.
LESSON 2: AMERICAN COLONIAL
PERIOD
The Filipino Revolutionaries won against the Spaniards who colonized us for more than
300 years.
Our flag was hoisted on June 12, 1898 as a symbol of our independence.
Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo was elected as the first President of the Philippine Republic, but
this was short-lived.
The Fil-American has resulted in the defeat of Gen. Miguel Malvar in 1903.
The peace movements started as early as 1900. Many Filipinos started writing again and
the nationalism of the people remained undaunted.
Filipino writers went into all forms of literature like news, reporting, poetry, stories,
plays, essays, and novels.
Their writings clearly depicted their love of country and their longings for independence.
About the Author
Jose Garcia Villa (1906-1997)
was a Filipino poet, literary critic, a short story writer, and a painter.
He was awarded as the National Artist of the Philippines title for literature in 1973, as
well as the Guggenheim Fellowship in Creative Writing by Conrad Aiken.
He is known to have introduced the “reversed consonance rhyme scheme” in writing
poetry, as well as the extensive use of punctuation marks especially commas, which
made him known as the Comma Poet.
He used the penname Doveglion which is derived from Dove, Eagle and Lion based on
the characters he derived from himself.
LESSON 3: JAPANESE COLONIAL
PERIOD
1941-1945, Philippine Literature was interrupted in its development when the Philippines was
again conquered by another foreign country, Japan. Philippine literature in English came to a
halt because almost all newspapers in English were stopped by the Japanese. This became an
advantage on Filipino Literature because writers in English turned to writing in Filipino.
Literary Forms:
Poetry
1. Haiku
2. Tanaga
Drama
1. Panday Pira, Jose Ma. Hernandez
2. Sa Pula,Sa Puti, Francisco Soc Rodriguez
3. Bulaga (an expression in the game Hide and Seek), Clodualdo del Mundo
4. Sino ba kayo?, Dahil sa anak and Higante ng patay, Julian Cruz Balmacedo
Short Stories
1. Lupang Tinubuan, Narciso Reyes
2. Uhaw Ang Tigang Na Lupa, Liwayway Arceo
3. Lunsod Ngayon at Dagat-Dagatan, NVM Gonzales
The arrival of the Japanese brought about one good aspect to the Philippines, and that was the
prohibition of Philippine literature in English. And since Filipinos enjoy writing poems in any
poetic form because of passion for words, Filipinos easily adapted the wiring of Haiku poetry.
Until Tanaga has been referred to as Philippine counterpart of Haiku.
Key points: In Philippine Literature, a Tanaga is a poem consisting of four lines with each line
equally having between seven and nine syllables. While the Japanese haiku has 17 phonetic
units divided into three phrases of 5,7 and 5 units respectively.
These short poems do not have titles, although the apparent theme is used to refer to it.
Examples of Haiku:
Japanese Version
furu ike ya
kawazu tobikomu
mizu no oto
English Version
An ancient pool,
A frog jumps in–
The sound of water.
Examples of Tanaga written by Emelita Perez Baes
SANGGOL
Pag ang sanggol ay ngumiti
nawawala ang pighati,
pag kalong mo’y sumisidhi
ang pangarap na punyagi.
PAG-IBIG
Wala iyan sa pabalat
at sa puso nakatatak,
nadarama’t nalalasap
ang pag-ibig na matapat.
GALIT
Ang damdami’y sumisikdo
sa balitang di-totoo;
habang sila’y nanunudyo,
poot nag-aalimpuyo.
