SURVEY OF THE PHILIPPINE LITERATURE

The Pre-Spanish Period

 Our forefathers landed has already had their own literature stamped in the history of our race.
 Or ancient literature shows customs and traditions
 Our ancestors also had their own alphabet which was different from that brought by the
Spaniards
 Ancient Filipinos loved to recite poems or sing songs expressing important events of their lives.
 They have a song practically for every deed they carried out:
 Battles fought and won
 Courtship and wedding rituals
 Harvest celebration

Pre-Spanish Literature is characterized by:

Legends
Form of prose the common theme of which is about the origin of a thing, place, location or name.

Folk Tales
Philippines has been blessed with a wealth of folk tales. Because folk tales have been passed on by
word of mouth it is difficult to trace their origins.
Folk tales are made up of stories about life,adventure, love, horror and humor where one can derive
lessons about life.

EPIC
Bidasari- Moro Epic
Biag ni Lam-ang Ilokano Epic
Maragtas- Visayan epic
Haraya- Visayan Epic
Lagda- Visayan Epic
Hari sa Bukid- Visayan Epic
Kumintang- Tagalog Epic
Parang Sabir- Moro Epic
Dagoy at Sudsods- Tagbanua Epic
Tatuaang- Bagobo Epic
Indarapatra at Sulayman

Folk Songs
One of the oldest forms of Philippine literature that emerged in the pre- Spanish period. These songs
mirrored the early forms of culture.

Example:
Kundiman
Kumintang o Tagumpay

Epigrams
These have been customarily used and served as laws or rules on good behaviour by our ancestors
Ex:
Aanhin pa ang damo kung patay na ang kabayo

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 SURVEY OF THE PHILIPPINE LITERATURE

Chant
Used in witchcraft or enchantment

Maxims
Some are rhyming couplets with verses of 5, 6 or 8 syllables each line having the same number of
syllables
Ex:
Pag hindi ukol
Hindi bubukol

Sayings
Often used in teasing or comment on a person’s actuations
Ex:
Putak, putak
Batang duwag
Matapang ka’t
Nasa pugad

Sawikain
Saying with no hidden meaning
Ex:
Nasa Dyos ang awa
Nasa tao ang gawa

The Spanish Period

 The Spanish colonization of the Philippines started in 1565 during the time of Miguel Lopez de
Legazpi
 When the Spaniards introduced Christianity in the Philippines, literature became mostly religious
and linguistic in concept

Doctrina Cristiana- the first book printed in the Philippines in 1593 written by Fr. Juan de Placencia and
Father Domingo Nieva in Tagalog and Spanish. It contains:

 Pater Noster (Our Father)

 Ave Maria (Hail Mary)
 Regina Coeli (Hail Holy Queen)
 The Ten Commandments
 The Commandments of the Catholic Church
 Seven Mortal Sins
 How to Confess
 Catechism

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 SURVEY OF THE PHILIPPINE LITERATURE

Libro de las Cuatro Postprimeras de Hombre- First book printed in typography.

Nuestra Seniora del Rosario- Second book printed in the Philippines was written by Fr. Blancas de San
Jose in 1602. It contains biographies of saints, novenas, and questions and answers on religion.

The Barlaan at Josephat- Biblical story printed in the Philippines and translated to Tagalog from Greeek
by Fr. Antonio de Borja.
It is believed to be the first novel published in the Philippines even if it is only a translation with only 556
pages.

The Passion- book about the life and sufferings of Jesus

Christ. There were 4 versions of this:
 Pilapil by Mariano Pilapil
 The de Belen by Gaspar Aquino de Belen
 The De la Merced by Aniceto de la Merced
 De Guia by Lis de Guia

Folk Songs
Became widespread in the Philippines. Each region had its national song from the lowlands to the
mountain of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao

Leron, Leron Sinta (Tagalog)

Pamulinawen(Ilokano)
Dandansoy (Bisayas)
Sarong Banggi (Bicol)
Atin Cu Pung Singsing (Kapampangan

Recreational Plays

Tibag- means excavate. This ritual was brought here by the Spaniards to remind the people about the
search of St. Helena for the Cross on which Jesus died

Lagaylay- This is a special occasion for the Pilarenos of Sorsogon during Maytime to get together.

The Cenaculo- This is a dramatic performance to commemorate the passion and death of Jesus Christ.
There are two kinds:
Cantada and the Hablada
the Hablada- lines are spoken in a more deliberate manner showing the rhythmic measures of each
verse
The Cantada- is chanted like the Passion
The Cenaculo is written in octosyllabic verse. The fll length version can take about 3 nights of staging.

Panunuluyan- This is presented before Christmas eve. This is the search of Mary and Joseph for a place
to give birth to Jesus Christ

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The Salubong- an Easter play that dramatizes the meeting of the Risen Christ and his Mother.
The procession is held by the church at early dawn. One is made up of men bearing on their shoulders
the image of risen Christ, and the women carrying heavily veiled image of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Carillo (Shadow Play) is a form of dramatic entertainment performed on a moonless night during a
town fiesta or dark nights after a harvest

The Zarzuela- Considered the father of the drama; it is a musical or melodrama in three acts which
dealt with man’s passion and emotions

The Sainete- a short musical comedy popular during the 18th century. They were exaggerated
comedies shown between acts of long plays and were mostly performed by characters from the lower
class

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