JOJI ILAGAN INTERNATIONAL

SCHOOL OF HOTEL AND

TOURISM MANAGEMENT

www.jojiilagancareercenter.com
PRE-COLONIAL PERIOD OF
PHILIPPINE LITERATURE
 Learning objectives:
To trace back our rich culture and history
to enumerate the genres of literature during
the pre-colonial period
Historical Background
Long before the
Spaniard and other
foreigners landed on
Philippine shores, our
forefathers already had
their own literature
stamped in the history of
our race.
 Our ancient literature shows our customs
and tradistions in everyday life as trace in our
folk stories, old plays and short stories
ALIBATA/ALIFBATA

The alphabet of
our ancestors which is
similar to that of the
Malayo- Polynesian
alphabet.
PRE-SPANISH literature is characterized by:
LEGENDS
FOLKTALES
EPICS
FOLK SONGS
EPIGRAMS
RIDDLES
CHANTS
 LEGENDS
Legends are form of prose , the comon
theme of which is about the origin of a thing,
place, location or name.
example:
The Legend of The Tagalogs
Legend of the Coconut Tree
Fireflies
The Legend of Rice
(Ang Alamat ng Palay)
 When the world was still new, the rice
plant has no value. It was just a mere grass. It
has no grain or fruit. It doesnt do anything but to
kiss the wind all day long.
 One day, it happened that the Chinese goddess Kuan-yin
went down to visit the Earth. In her excursion, she saw that
everywhere in the four corners of China are people dying of
hunger. Her soft heart cannot endure the pain and poverty that she
sees and it seems as though her heart will melt with pity. She took
a deep breath and said, Aiya, Ai-ya, I need to act and help these
people.
 She silently observed her surroundings. She took interest
in a worthless rice plant which sprouted in the alley. She
approached it and said, I will use this humble plant to help my
poor people.

She opened her robe and exposed her white bosom. She
squeezed her right breast with her hand and let out drops of milk
of life to the rice plants panicle. She also squeezed her other
breast and let the milk drop on the plants empty hulls.
 She squeezed her breasts until theres no milk coming out
anymore. She prayed, Oh merciful heaven, bless me with a little
more drops of milk. She massaged and squeezed her breasts
again until she saw that some drops are coming out but it is
mixed with blood. The goddess gave all that she can. She was
glad to see that all the panicles became full of rich rice grains.
 Oh noble plant, may your panicle overflow. May
we harvest a lot to eliminate hunger in this land. After
she has done her duty, she happily came back to the
heavens.
 This is how the rice plant yielded its first rice
grains. There are varieties which produce white rice as
white as Kuan-yins milk, and there are also some
which yields reddish rice as a reminder of the blood
mixed with the last drops of the merciful goddess milk.
 FOLKTALES
folktales are made up of stories about life,
adventure, love, horror and humor where one can
derive lessons about life.

examples:
The moon and the sun
Pilandok and the Crocodiles
The Golden Rule
 HOW THE MOON AND THE STARS CAME TO BE

Bukidnon (Mindanao)

One day in the times when the sky was close to the ground a spinster went out to pound
rice. 113 Before she began her work, she took off the beads from around her neck and
the comb from her hair, and hung them on the sky, which at that time looked like coral
rock.

Then she began working, and each time that she raised her pestle into the air it struck
the sky. For some time she pounded the rice, and then she raised the pestle so high that
it struck the sky very hard.

Immediately the sky began to rise, 114 and it went up so far that she lost her
ornaments. Never did they come down, for the comb became the moon and the beads
are the stars that are scattered about.
 EPICS
Epics are long narrative poems in which a
series of heroic achievements or events, usually
of a hero, are dealt with at length.
Examples of these epics:
Lam-ang (Ilocano)
Hinilawod (Visayas)
Kudaman (Palawan)
Darangen(Maranao)
Ulahingan (Livunganen-Arumanen Manobo);
Mangovayt Buhong na Langit (The Maiden of
the Buhong Sky from TuwaangManobo)
Ag Tobig neg Keboklagan (Subanon)
Tudbulol (Tboli).
 The Panay epic of Hinilawod narrates the
matrimonial exploits of some of its heroes Labaw
Dongyon on his way home with a new bride, hears
about another beautiful woman and promptly leaves his
wife with his mother, proceeds to go to court and win a
second wife (reference to the prevailing time)
 FOLK SONGS
Folk songs are one of the oldest forms of
Philippine literature that emerged in the pre-
Spanish period. These songs mirrored the early
forms of culture. Many of these have 12
syllables.
examples:
a. kundiman
b. kumintang o tagumpay
c. ang dalit o himno
d. ang oyayi o hele
e. diona
f. soliranin
g. talindaw
 Sitsiritsit

Sitsiritsit, alibangbang
Salaginto at salagubang
Ang babae sa lansangan
Kung gumiriy parang tandang

Santo Nio sa Pandakan

Putoseko sa tindahan
Kung ayaw mong magpautang
Uubusin ka ng langgam

Mama, mama, namamangka

Pasakayin yaring bata.
Pagdating sa Maynila
Ipagpalit ng manika.

Ale, ale, namamayong

Pasukubin yaring sanggol.
Pagdating sa Malabon
Ipagpalit ng bagoong.
 OTHER EXAMPLES

lullabyes or Ili-ili (Ilongo)

love songs like the panawagon and balitao
(Ilongo)
harana or serenade (Cebuano)
the bayok (Maranao)
the seven-syllable per line poem, ambahan of
the Mangyans
 work songs
-the kalusan (Ivatan)
-soliranin (Tagalog rowing song)
-the mambayu, a Kalinga rice-pounding song
 drinking songs
tagay (Cebuano and Waray)
narrative song
kissa (Tausug of Mindanao)
OTHER FORMS OF PRE-
COLONIAL POETRY
 EPIGRAMS (salawikain)

These have been customarily used and

served as laws or rules on good behavior by our
ancestors.
 Mabuti pa ang kubo
na ang nakatira ay tao;
kaysa bahay na bato
na ang nakatira naman ay kuwago.
 chants (bulong)
used in witchcraft or enchantment

example:
Tabi, tabi po, Ingkong Makikiraan po lamang.
Bari-bari Apo, umisbo lang ti tao. (Ilokano)
Ikaw ang nagnakaw ng bigas ko
lumuwa sana ang mata mo
mamaga sana ang katawan mo
patayin ka ng mga anito
 Sawikain
sayings with no hidden meanings
1. butas ang bulsa - walang pera
example:
Palagi nalang butas ang bulsa mo dahil palagi ka
nagsusugal.
 RIDDLES (bugtong)
These made up of one or more measured
lines with rhyme and may consist of four to 12
syllables.
tigmo-Cebuano
bugtong-Tagalog
paktakon-Hiligaynon
patototdon- Bicol
 Tagalog

isda ko sa Mariveles
Nasa loob ang kaliskis.

halaman ng dunong,
walang dilig sa maghapon
araw-araw bago ang dahon.
 Badjao
Daing-daing ai bang kekit,
angekita kita?
What kind of fish is this that when we bite it,
it bites us?
(chilli pepper)
 Capiznon

Ano nga tanum kun sia magpuya

sa ulo naagi?

(puso ng saging)
BAYABAS
AMPALAYA
KANDILA
KUMPISALAN
LANGKA
 References
http://ncca.gov.ph/subcommissions/subcommissi
on-on-the-arts-sca/literary-arts/the-literary-
forms-in-philippine-literature/