PHILIPPINE LITERATURE

PRE- COLONIAL

1) genre

Pre-Colonial Times

Owing to the works of our own archaeologists, ethnologists and anthropologists,

we are able to know more and better judge information about our pre-colonial times
set against a bulk of material about early Filipinos as 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.

The most seminal of these folk speeches is the riddle which is tigmo in
Cebuano, bugtong in Tagalog, paktakon in Ilongo and patototdon in Bicol. Central to
the riddle is the talinghaga or metaphor because it "reveals subtle resemblances
between two unlike objects" and one's power of observation and wit are put to the test.
While some riddles are ingenious, others verge on the obscene or are sex-related:

Gaddang:

Gongonan nu usin y amam If you pull your daddy's penis

Maggirawa pay sila y inam. Your mommy's vagina, too,

(Campana) screams. (Bell)

The proverbs or aphorisms express norms or codes of behavior, community

beliefs or they instill values by offering nuggets of wisdom in short, rhyming verse.

The extended form, tanaga, a mono-riming heptasyllabic quatrain expressing

insights and lessons on life is "more emotionally charged than the terse proverb and
thus has affinities with the folk lyric." Some examples are the basahanon or extended
didactic sayings from Bukidnon and the daraida and daragilon from Panay.

The folk song, a form of folk lyric which expresses the hopes and aspirations, the
people's lifestyles as well as their loves. These are often repetitive and sonorous,
didactic and naive as in the children's songs or Ida-ida (Maguindanao), tulang
pambata (Tagalog) or cansiones para abbing (Ibanag).
 A few examples are the 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
that are about human relationships, social entertainment and also serve as a tool for
teaching the young; work songs that depict the livelihood of the people often sung to
go with the movement of workers such as the kalusan (Ivatan), soliranin (Tagalog
rowing song) or the mambayu, a Kalinga rice-pounding song; the verbal jousts/games
like the duplo popular during wakes.

Other folk songs are the drinking songs sung during carousals like the tagay
(Cebuano and Waray); dirges and lamentations extolling the deeds of the dead like
the kanogon (Cebuano) or the Annako (Bontoc).

A type of narrative song or kissa among the Tausug of Mindanao, the parang
sabil, uses for its subject matter the exploits of historical and legendary heroes. It tells
of a Muslim hero who seeks death at the hands of non-Muslims.

The folk narratives, i.e. epics and folk tales are varied, exotic and magical. 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 the case of legends, an explanation of the origins of things. Fables are about
animals and these teach moral lessons.

Our country's epics are considered ethno-epics because unlike, say, Germany's
Niebelunginlied, our epics are not national for they are "histories" of varied groups
that consider themselves "nations."

The epics come 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.
These are sung or chanted to the accompaniment of indigenous musical instruments
and dancing performed during harvests, weddings or funerals by chanters. The
chanters who were taught by their ancestors are considered "treasures" and/or
repositories of wisdom in their communities.

Examples of these epics are the Lam-

ang (Ilocano); Hinilawod (Sulod); Kudaman (Palawan); Darangen (Maranao); Ulahin
gan (Livunganen-Arumanen Manobo); Mangovayt Buhong na Langit (The Maiden of
the Buhong Sky from Tuwaang--Manobo); Ag Tobig neg Keboklagan (Subanon);
and Tudbulol (T'boli).
2.)Features

Essential Features of Pre-Colonial Literature

 Early literature is created by ordinary folks to express tradition, belief, and custom of
those times. It is handed down from generation to generation.

Songs and dances were part of their religious and social rituals.

 Folk literature has a religious or sacred character. The ancient Filipinos used ritualistic
verses like supplication, invocations, and incantation.

Musical bells and gongs were used for the rituals.

 Early Filipino literature represents ethnic groups’ heritage.

Riddles, proverbs, aphorism, maxims, ballads, folk lyrics, myths, legends, fables, tales, and epics
were some of the literary types during the period.

3.)Examples
The following are the notable achievements of the natives of the pre-colonial archipelago between
the 16th century to the 9th century, and most likely even farther. Many of the achievements have
been lost or retrofitted due to more than three centuries of colonial rule beginning in the middle of the
16th century and ending in the middle of the 20th century.

 Development and expertise in indigenous martial arts, warfare, and the crafts used in them, and
respecting the usage of the martial arts for protection of communities and subjugation of what
are deemed as discriminatory and hateful[1]
 High respect for the natural world, including the spiritual realms and its beings, which are all
seen as part of all the affairs of every life on earth, thus envisioned as an interconnected web,
where one action affects the other, whether directly or indirectly[2][3]
 Development of an organized system of communities, with laws enacted to promote social
welfare and to protect nature, the spirits, and the people[3]
 Expansion of indigenous educational systems and writing systems through focusing on belief
systems, epics, and other mediums that exhibit good values of an egalitarian society[4][5][6]
 Sociable culture based on peace pacts, maritime and land journeys, communal gatherings, and
respect towards ethnic differences[3][7]
 Solving problems and wars through a variety of mediums such as divine intervention, sacred
peace pacts, public consultations, and community interference[8][9]

4.)Definitions

occurring or existing prior to a colonial period or colonization of a given area or country; of

or pertaining to this period
Spanish Colonization

1.) Genre
* Alibata
* Christian Doctrine
* Spanish Language became the literary language this time
*European Legends and traditions
* Religious Tone
*Grammar books was printed in Filipino

2.) Features
Spanish colonial motives were not, however, strictly commercial. The Spanish at first viewed the
Philippines as a stepping-stone to the riches of the East Indies (Spice Islands), but, even after the
Portuguese and Dutch had foreclosed that possibility, the Spanish still maintained their presence
in the archipelago.
The Portuguese navigator and explorer Ferdinand Magellan headed the first Spanish foray to the
Philippines when he made landfall on Cebu in March 1521; a short time later he met an untimely
death on the nearby island of Mactan. After King Philip II (for whom the islands are named) had
dispatched three further expeditions that ended in disaster, he sent out Miguel López de Legazpi,
who established the first permanent Spanish settlement, in Cebu, in 1565. The Spanish city
of Manila was founded in 1571, and by the end of the 16th century most of the coastal and
lowland areas from Luzon to northern Mindanao were under Spanish control. Friars marched
with soldiers and soon accomplished the nominal conversion to Roman Catholicism of all the
local people under Spanish administration. But the Muslims of Mindanao and Sulu, whom the
Spanish called Moros, were never completely subdued by Spain.

Spanish rule for the first 100 years was exercised in most areas through a type of tax farming
imported from the Americas and known as the encomienda. But abusive treatment of the local
tribute payers and neglect of religious instruction by encomenderos (collectors of the tribute), as
well as frequent withholding of revenues from the crown, caused the Spanish to abandon the
system by the end of the 17th century. The governor-general, himself appointed by the king,
began to appoint his own civil and military governors to rule directly.
Central government in Manila retained a medieval cast until the 19th century, and the governor-
general was so powerful that he was often likened to an independent monarch. He dominated
the Audiencia, or high court, was captain-general of the armed forces, and enjoyed the privilege
of engaging in commerce for private profit.

3.)Examples
It is the oldest part of the city of Manila, raised by the conqueror Legazpi, in 1571. It was almost
completely rebuilt after the bombings of the Second World War. It is an ideal place to walk with
beautiful walls, buildings, the fort of Santiago, the baroque church of San Agustín (one of the
few that has endured wars, typhoons and earthquakes), fountains and gardens.

4.)Definition
Colonial period (a period in a country's history when it was subject to administration by
a colonial power)