Philippine Literary History

Lecture Key Points

1. Oral lore for Pre-colonial Times {____-1564)
- the longest period in Philippine Literary History
- William Henry Scott
- Two Ways by which Philippine culture/literature survived colonization

2. Literature Under Spanish Colonialism (1565-1897)

- Difference between the ​taga-bayan​ & the ​taga-bukid/bundok
- Monopoly of printing presses by religious orders prior to the 19​th​ century explains
the religious content of early written literature.

3. Literature Under U.S. Colonialism (1898-1945)

- as a neophyte imperialist power, the U.S. was quick to learn from the errors of
Spain as a colonizer.
- The English language opened the floodgates of colonial values through the
conduit of textbooks.

4. Literature Under the Republic (1946-1985)

- 1946-1960 > culture developed according to the ideological direction set by the
U.S.

5. Literature Under EDSA (1986-1995)

- 1986 > the year that demarcates the beginning of a new scene in the unfolding
narrative of contemporary Phil. Literature.
- critical voices > theory & criticism; “overseas” Filipino
authors; gay & lesbian writings; cultural documentation
through M.A. theses and Ph.D. dissertations.

The IVATANS
- are a ​Filipino ethnolinguistic group​ predominant in the ​Batanes Islands​ of the
Philippines​. The origins of the Ivatans remained untraced among scholars.

- The culture of the Ivatans is partly influenced by the environmental condition of

Batanes. Unlike the old-type nipa huts common in the Philippines, Ivatans have adopted
their now-famous stone houses made of ​limestone​ walls, reeds and cogon roofs,
designed to protect against the hostile climate.

- Ivatans already lived in Batanes before the ​Spaniards​ arrived in the Philippines in the
16th century, and lived autonomously long thereafter. On June 26, 1783 Batanes was
incorporated to the ​Spanish East Indies​. In 1571 the capital of the Spanish colony in the
Philippines was established in ​Manila​. In 1686, Ivatans were "forced" to settle in the
 lowlands of Batanes. The Ivatans were under Spanish rule for 115 years, and gained
their independence on September 18, 1898. Ironically, June 6 is celebrated in Batanes as
its founding day.

- Today, most Ivatans are Catholics, like the rest of the country, although some have not
converted practice ​ancestral worship​ to their ​anitos.​ However, there are growing
Christian denominations specially in the capital town of Batanes.

- One of the earliest accounts of the Ivatan is that of the ​British​ buccaneer William
Dampier in 1687. Dampier described them as "short, squat people; hazel eyes, small yet
bigger than Chinese; low foreheads; thick eyebrows; short low noses; white teeth; black
thick hair; and very dark, copper-colored skin." They also have strong mixture of the
short type of the ​Mongols​, and there are some individuals who seem to have some
physical characteristics peculiar to the Ainus of Japan.

- Traditional wear: Men wear the tadidi and women wear the vakul.
-
LEONA FLORENTINO​- ​"MOTHER OF PHILIPPINE WOMEN'S LITERATURE" and
"BRIDGE FROM ORAL TO LITERARY TRADITION".

➔ was a Filipino poet in the Spanish and Ilocano languages.

➔ Born to a wealthy and prominent family in Vigan, Ilocos Sur, Florentino began to write
her first verses in Ilocano at a young age.

➔ She married a politician named Elias de los Reyes at the age of 14, and they had five
children, including Isabelo de los Reyes, who would later become a Filipino writer,
activist and senator.

➔ Despite her potential, she was not allowed to receive a university education because of
her gender. Florentino was instead tutored by her mother, and then a series of private
teachers. An educated Ilocano priest taught her advanced Spanish and encouraged her
to develop her voice in poetry.

➔ Due to the feminist nature of her writings, Florentino was shunned by her husband and
son, and so was forced to live alone in exile and separately from her family.

➔ She died at the age of 35.

➔ Her lyrical poetry in Spanish, especially in Ilocano, gained attention with their exhibition
in various international forums in Spain, Paris and St. Louis, Missouri.
 ➔ Her literary contributions - particularly 22 preserved poems - were recognized when she
was included in the Encyclopedia Internationale des Oeuvres des Femmes (International
Encyclopedia of Women’s Works) in 1889. She is believed to be the first Filipino to
receive this international recognition, a homage that occurred only after her untimely
death.

AMADOR T. DAGUIO
BORN IN 1912, LAOAG, ILOCOS NORTE ,DIED APRIL 26, 1966
- He lived in the Mountain Province until 1924.
- From 1924 to 1928, he studied at Rizal High
School in Pasig.
- studied at U.P
- earned his M.A. degree from the University
of Stanford
- In Stanford, he presented a translation of
the Ifugao Harvest song, the ​Hudhud Ti Aliguyon.
- Daguio wrote mostly during 1930-1941.
-His works include THE FLAMING LYRE (1959), his 1​st​ volume of verse, and BATAAN
HARVEST , which posthumously appeared in 1973.