Pre Colonial Literature in the Philippines


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ENGL 235: Introduction to Philippine Literature. The Beginnings of Philippine Literature --- These are the existing literary forms and/or pieces in the Philippines before the colonization of the Spaniards. (Source: ncca)

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Pre Colonial Literature in the Philippines

  1. 1. Philippine Literature before the Spaniards
  2. 2. Early Literature in the Philippines The early inhabitants of the Philippine archipelago had a native alphabet or syllabary which among the Tagalogs was called baybayin, an inscription akin to Sanskrit. It was through the baybayin that literary forms such as songs, riddles and proverbs, lyric and short poems as well as parts of epic poems were written. The bulk of these early literature however was just passed on through oral recitation and incantation and were transcribed into the Roman alphabet only centuries later by Spanish chroniclers and other scholars.
  3. 3. It is believed that replacement of the baybayin by the Roman alphabet must have obliterated a significant aspect of indigenous Philippine literature.
  4. 4. Literary Forms  The Awit or song For the Tagalogs, there were some 16 song forms for various occasions. Among these are the:  uyayi or hele, a lullaby for putting a child to sleep;  the soliranin is a song for travelers while  the talindaw is the seafarers song;  the kumintang is a war song;  the maluway is a song for collective labor while  the kundiman is a melancholic love song.  The dalit, is a song-ritual usually sung to the rhythm of dance.  The panambitan is a courtship song while  the pamanhikan is a song-ritual of the would-be bridegroom to his would-be bride as he asks permission to marry her.  The subli is another dance-ritual song of courtship and marriage.
  5. 5. Literary Forms In the north, among the Ilocanos, the more popular song forms are the  dallot and the duayya, both love songs, and  the dung-aw which is a dirge or a wake song. The Bontoc of Mountain Province have  the bagbagto, a song ritual for harvest, while the Ivatan up in the Batanes islands have three most popular folk song forms:  the kanta and the kalusan.  The laji is a lyric rendition of a song usually sung after a day’s work when people gather together in their houses to chat and drink the native wine, palek and just find time to be merry.
  6. 6. Literary Forms MAPAW AKO NA KANU NAPNU DU VAKAG A DINAHURIS (Sung by informant Juana Cataluna) Mapaw ako na kanu napnu nu vakag a nidutdut mo a dinahuri a machipaywayam du nadpun a kadaisa mo a minaypanananud nu mudag a inawa, inawa nu vatutuk, paychalugisugitan nu pinatapatan a vuhung nu tadina, a vuhung nu tadina; nia pachiduvangi chu a nanaryo nu lasa a inawa ko nu asi nu tugitngi niladang ko nu mutin, ina nikarusan ko nu pinsuan a tavayay duka di chu dulivan ya mapaytanung sa huvid du putuhan a nauri su madinay duyu kahenaken I HAVE BECOME LIGHTER I have become lighter than a basket of beaten cotton in the presence of so many relatives all heavily adorned with double necklaces of gold and precious beads; heavy earrings of gold hung like leaves upon their ears; but I sit in their midst with a necklace of lasa seeds interspersed with the humble seed of the tugitugi and cheap green beads of glass, adorned with a cross made of squash shell because I know not how to tie properly a string around my neck, which is the proper and decorous thing for a young woman Laji of Ivatan
  7. 7. Literary Forms  The Bugtong (Tagalog) or Burburtia (Iloco) Usually, riddles are made to rhyme and utilize the talinghaga, a form of metaphor whose signification eventually conveys the meaning of the answer to the riddle.
  8. 8. Literary Forms  Sometimes, the riddles are relayed through familiar indigenous forms of poetry such as the ambahan, which is a monorhyming heptasyllabic poem attributed to the Hanunuu-Mangyan ethnic group in Mindoro. Apart from relaying riddles, ambahans are also used to narrate common folk experiences.
  10. 10. Literary Forms  Tagalog proverbs are called salawikain or sawikain while they are termed sarsarita in Iloko. Like most proverbs the world over, Philippine proverbs contain sayings which prescribes norms, imparts a lesson or simply reflects standard norms, traditions and beliefs in the community. Classification of Philippine proverbs according to subject matter: (1) proverbs expressing a general attitude towards life and the laws that govern life; (2) ethical proverbs recommending certain virtues and condemning certain vices; (3) proverbs expressing a system of values; (4) proverbs expressing general truths and observations about life and human nature; (5) humorous proverbs and (6) miscellaneous proverbs.
  11. 11. Literary Forms  Epics or Ethno-epics Almost all the major ethnic groups in the country have an epic that is chanted in a variety of rituals. Because chanting is the mode by which these epics have been produced, many of them still remain unwritten.  Aliguyon (Hudhud) – from the Ifugao, translated by Amador Daguio  Biag ni Lam-ang - from the Ilocano, composite text by Leopoldo Yabes and translated by Jovita Ventura Castro  Labaw Donggon - the Sulod epic, the text by Dr. F. Landa Jocano and translated by Rosella Jean Makasian-Puno  Agyu or Olahing or Ulahingan - from the Manobos, composite text by Patricia Melendres Cruz from transcriptions of E. Arsenio Manuel  Sandayo – from the Subanun, text and translation by Virgilio Resma.
  12. 12. Literary Forms 5 common characteristics of Filipino epics 1. most of these epics are designated by names which means song, or chant, like the Ifugao hudhud, the Manobo olaging or the Subanon’s guman. 2. the epics are episodic and proceed through constructions that are en palier. There are repetitions of scenes at every episode the more familiar among these would be the chewing of the betel nut, battle chants, getting dressed for marriage, etc. 3. the epics abound with supernatural characters: the diwatas, anitos, and other benign spirits who come to the aid of the hero. 4. these epics are also reflective of the society where they originate . They portray ethnic society before the coming of the Muslims (1380) and the Christians (1521) and serve as vehicles for the transmission of ethnic customs and wisdom 5. there are always several versions of these epics, as well as a proliferation of episodes, phenomenon that is explained by orality of the genre and its transmission through the ages to among the generations of the group.
  13. 13. Literary Forms  Aliguyon or the Hudhud of the Ifugaos tells of the exploits of Aliguyon as he battles his arch enemy, Pambukhayon among rice fields and terraces and instructs his people to be steadfast and learn the wisdom of warfare and of peacemaking during harvest seasons.  Biag ni Lam-ang (Life of Lamang) tells of the adventures of the prodigious epic hero, Lam-ang who exhibits extraordinary powers at a very early age. At nine months he is able to go to war to look for his father’s killers. Then while in search of lady love, Ines Kannoyan, he is swallowed by a big fish, but his rooster and his friends bring him back to life.  Labaw Donggon is about the amorous exploits of the son of a goddess Alunsina, by a mortal, Datu Paubari. The polygamous hero battles the huge monster Manaluntad for the hand of Abyang Ginbitinan; then he fights Sikay Padalogdog, the giant with a hundred arms to win Abyang Doronoon and confronts the lord of darkness, Saragnayan, to win Nagmalitong Yawa Sinagmaling Diwata.
  14. 14. Literary Forms  The Agyu or Olahing is a three part epic that starts with the pahmara (invocation) then the kepuunpuun ( a narration of the past) and the sengedurog (an episode complete in itself). All three parts narrate the exploits of the hero as he leads his people who have been driven out of their land to Nalandangan, a land of utopia where there are no landgrabbers and oppressors.  Sandayo, tells of the story of the hero with the same name, who is born through extraordinary circumstances as he fell out of the hair of his mother while she was combing it on the ninth stroke. Thence he leads his people in the fight against invaders of their land and waterways.
  15. 15. Literary Forms  Other known epics are Bantugan of the Maranao, the Darangan which is a Muslim epic, the Kudaman of Palawan which was transcribed by Dr. Nicole McDonald, the Alim of the Ifugao, the Hinilawod of Panay, the Ibalon of Bikol and Tuwaang of the Manobo, which was transcribed by anthropologist E. Arsenio Manuel.  The Tagalog have no known epic but it is generally believed that the story of Bernardo Carpio, the man who has been detained by the huge mountains of Montalban is their epic.
  16. 16. Reference: DR. LILIA QUINDOZA-SANTIAGO Copyright 2011 © National Commission for Culture and the Arts.
  17. 17. Construct 10 Tagalog words using the baybayin.
  18. 18. Readings for 1st Chapter: 1. Waywaya – F. Sionil Jose 2. The Wedding Dance - Amador T. Daguio