OUR LADY OF TRIUMPH INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Purok Tugas, Balangasan Dist., Pagadian City, Philippines

Document Title:
ISO 9001:2015
HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT
SELF-LEARNING MODULE
ABM, HUMSS, STEM 11
ALL TRACKS 12

21st Century Literature from the

Philippines & the World
Quarter 1
SELF LEARNING MODULE 1
Week 1
F2 ROYLAN HOPE C. PETILUNA.
Subject Teacher
09663557331
F2roylanhopecpetiluna@gmail.com

Name: _______________________________________________________________ Year/Strand ________________________

Subject: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Student’s Contact Number: ____________________________________ E-mail Address:____________________________

Date Submitted: ______________________________________

Most Essential Learning Competencies:

1. Write a close analysis and critical interpretation of literary texts and doing an adaptation of these require from the
learner the ability to identify:
a. the geographic, linguistic, and ethnic dimensions of Philippine literary history from pre-colonial to the
contemporary
b. representative texts and authors from each region (e.g. engage in oral history research with focus on key
personalities from the students’ region/province/town)
 OUR LADY OF TRIUMPH INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Purok Tugas, Balangasan Dist., Pagadian City, Philippines
Document Title:
ISO 9001:2015
HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT
SELF-LEARNING MODULE

Philippine Literature during the Pre-Colonial &

Spanish Colonial Period
Learning Objectives:

At the end of the module, the learner is expected to perform the following:

a. identify the characteristics of precolonial literature of the Philippines

b. name some literary works published during the Spanish Colonial Period
c. analyze some literary works

Introduction:

What texts are considered precolonial literature?

The precolonial literature includes all literature produced before the Spanish
colonization like chants, proverbs, songs, and folk narratives. These were all passed down from
generation to generation by word of mouth.

Philippine folk narratives are varied and distinct. They depict the people’s livelihood, customs,
and traditions.

1. Folktale – This is a characteristically anonymous, timeless, and placeless tale circulated

orally among a people.

2. Fable – This features animal characters or inanimate objects that behave like people.

3. Legend – This is presented as history but is unlikely to be true.

4. Myth – This is told to explain a belief, a practice, or a natural phenomenon.

5. Epic – This narrative poem celebrates the adventures and achievements of a hero.

Folktales
 Folktales about Juan are very popular. Some emphasize certain virtues, and some
serve as warning about behavior. Also, some are for the reader’s amusement.
Example:
Juan Pusong and His Father’s Cows (A Visayan Folktale)

One day Juan Pusong's father put his cows out to pasture. Juan slipped
away from home and took the cows into the forest and tied them there.
When his father found out that the cows were missing, he looked around for
them. While looking, he ran into his son.

“Where did you come from?” he asked.

“I just came from school, Father. How about you, where are you going?”

“I am looking for our cows.”

 OUR LADY OF TRIUMPH INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Purok Tugas, Balangasan Dist., Pagadian City, Philippines
Document Title:
ISO 9001:2015
HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT
SELF-LEARNING MODULE

“You don’t say!" said Juan.

By that time, everybody knew about Juan’s power as a seer. So, he took a
little book from his pocket and looked into it. He said, “Our cows are tied
together in the forest.” So, his father went to the forest and found the cows.

Later on, people would discover that Juan could not read even his own
name. Consequently, his father beat him for the trick he had played on him.

Fable
 The monkey is a common animal character in Philippine fables. It is often depicted
as a cunning animal.

Example:
The Monkey and the Crocodile (A Tagalog Fable)

One day, a monkey saw a tall macopa tree laden with ripe fruits, which stood by a
wide river. It was hungry, so it climbed the tree and ate all of the fruits. When it
climbed down, it could find no means by which to cross the river. Then it saw a
young crocodile who had just woken up from its siesta. It said to the crocodile in a
friendly way, “My dear crocodile, will you do me a favor?”

The crocodile was greatly surprised by the monkey’s amicable salutation. So, it
answered humbly, “Oh, yes! If there is anything I can do for you, I shall be glad to
do it.” The monkey then told the crocodile that it wanted to get to the other side of
the river. Then the crocodile said, “I’ll take you there with all my heart. Just sit on
my back, and we’ll go at once.”

The monkey sat firmly on the crocodile’s back, and they began to move. In a short
while they reached the middle of the stream. Then the crocodile began to laugh
aloud. “You foolish monkey!” it said, “I’ll eat your liver and kidneys, for I’m very
hungry.” The monkey became nervous. Trying to conceal its anxiety, it said, “I’m
very glad that you mentioned the matter. I thought myself that you might be
hungry, so I have prepared my liver and kidneys for your dinner. Unfortunately, in
our haste to depart, I left them hanging on the macopa tree. Let us return, and I’ll
get them for you.”

Convinced that the monkey was telling the truth, the crocodile turned around and
swam back to the direction of the macopa tree. When they got near the riverbank,
the monkey nimbly jumped up onto the land and scampered up the tree. The crocodile
came to realize what happened and said, “I am a fool.”

Legend
 There are different Filipino legends of the great flood. The story of Bukidnon, for
instance, tells that a huge crab caused the water to rise by going into the sea. On
the other hand, the Igorot story tells that the sons of Lumawig the Great Spirit
caused the flood.
Example 1:
The Flood Story (A Legend of Bukidnon)

A long time ago there was a very big crab which crawled into the sea. When it
went in, it crowded the water out so that it ran all over the earth and covered all
the land.

Now about one moon before the flood happened, a wise man had told the people
 OUR LADY OF TRIUMPH INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Purok Tugas, Balangasan Dist., Pagadian City, Philippines
Document Title:
ISO 9001:2015
HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT
SELF-LEARNING MODULE

that they must build a large raft. They did as he commanded and cut many large
trees until they had enough to make three layers. These they bound tightly
together; when it was done, they fastened the raft with a long rattan cord to a big
pole in the earth.

Soon after the raft was done, the flood came. White water poured out of the hills,
and the sea rose and covered even the highest mountains. The people and animals
on the raft were safe, but all the others drowned.

Soon the waters went down, and the raft was again on the ground. It was near
their old home, for the rattan cord had held.

The people on the raft together with the animals were the only ones left on the
whole earth.

Myth
 There are Philippine versions of the creation myth. The Igorot’s story tells that
Lumawig the Great Spirit created people. On the other hand, the Tagalog story tells
that the first man and woman came from a bamboo.

Example 2:
The Creation (A Tagalog Myth)

When the world first began there was no land. There were only the sea and the
sky, and between them was a kite. One day the bird which had nowhere to light
grew tired of flying about, so she stirred up the sea until it threw its waters against
the sky. The sky, in order to restrain the sea, showered upon it many islands until
it could no longer rise, but ran back and forth. Then the sky ordered the kite to
alight on one of the islands to build its nest, and to leave the sea and the sky in
peace.

Now at this time the land breeze and the sea breeze were married, and they had a
bamboo as their child. One day when the bamboo was floating about on the water,
it struck the feet of the kite which was on the beach. The bird, angry that anything
should strike it, pecked at the bamboo. Out of one section came a man and from
the other a woman.

The earthquake called on all the birds and fish to see what should be done with
the man and the woman, and it was decided that they should marry. Many
children were born to the couple, and from them came all the different races of
people.

After a while the parents grew very tired of having so many idle and useless
children around. They wished to be rid of them, but they knew of no place to send
them to. Time went on, and the children became so numerous that the parents
enjoyed no peace. One day, in desperation, the father seized a stick and began
beating them on all sides.

The beating frightened the children so much that they fled in different directions.
Some seek hidden rooms in the house. Some concealed themselves in the walls.
Some ran outside, while others hid in the fireplace. Several fled to the sea.

Now it happened that those who went into the hidden rooms of the house later
became the chiefs of the islands; and those who concealed themselves in the walls
became slaves. Those who ran outside were free men; and those who hid in the
fireplace became negroes; while those who fled to the sea were gone many years,
 OUR LADY OF TRIUMPH INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Purok Tugas, Balangasan Dist., Pagadian City, Philippines
Document Title:
ISO 9001:2015
HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT
SELF-LEARNING MODULE

and when their children came back they were the white people.

Epic

 The Philippine epics are sung or chanted in episodes. They feature supernatural
characters and reflect the society where they originated. Also, there are different
versions of a story.

Examples:
Biag ni Lam-ang

This Ilocano epic tells the adventures of Lam-ang, a man with supernatural
powers. He goes to war at nine-months-old and seeks the killers of his father. He
embarks on a quest with his animal friends and meets his future wife, Innes
Kanoyan. He is swallowed by a fish and resurrected from death by his animal
friends.
How did the Spanish Colonial Period start in the Philippines?

 Expeditions to the Philippines were sent by Spain in the 16th century. In their conquest,
the Spaniards brought Christianity with them. The clergy made a great impact on faith,
education, and government.
 Through the Manila-Acapulco trade (1565–1815), liberal ideas entered the country. Also,
the trade gave rise to a wealthier middle class. Children in middle class families could
then be sent to Europe to get an education. Upon their return, they brought European
ideals of liberty and freedom with them. Such ideals would then give rise to Filipino
nationalism.

What were the literary works during the Spanish Colonial Period?

The Spanish missionaries taught the gospel through the native language, so they hired
natives to translate Spanish religious instructional materials. Eventually, the natives became
fluent in Spanish and became known as ladinos.
Ladinos mainly wrote devotional poetry. Two of them were Fernando Bagongbanta and
Gaspar Aquino de Belen. Bagongbanta wrote “Salamat nang walang hanga/gracias de sin
sempiternas,” which appeared in Memorial de la vida cristiana en lengua tagala (1605), a book
containing basic Catholic doctrines. On the other hand, de Belen wrote “Ang Mahal na Passion
ni Jesu Christong Panginoon natin na tola” (1704), the earliest version of pasyon.
Also, the native drama called the komedya or moro-moro was popular. It depicted the war
between Christians and Muslims, wherein the former always wins. The poet Jose de la Cruz
(1746–1829) was a master of such art form.
Native literature continued. Though the Spaniards destroyed the written literature in their
effort to replace it with their own, the oral tradition survived and flourished in areas beyond the
reach of the Spaniards.

Popular Filipino Writers during the Spanish Colonial Period

1. Francisco Baltazar (1788-1862), the master of traditional Tagalog poetry, became well-

known for his work Florante at Laura (1838–1861), the most famous metrical romance of
the country.

2. Pedro Paterno (1857–1911) wrote Sampaguitas y poesias varias (1880), the first poetry

collection in Spanish by a Filipino; and the novel in Spanish Ninay (1885), considered to
be the first Filipino novel.

3. Jose Rizal (1861–1896), a prominent ilustrado and the country’s national hero, is famous
for the novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. These novels portray the corruption
and abuse of the Spanish officials and the clergy.
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4. Andres Bonifacio (1863–1897), the founder of the Katipunan, wrote the poem “Pag-ibig sa
Tinubuang Lupa.” This poem appeared in the Kalayaan, the official newspaper of the
Katipunan, in March 1896.

5. Leona Florentino (1849–1884), known as the “mother of Philippine women’s literature,”

was a poet in both Ilocano and Spanish. Twenty of her poems were preserved and
exhibited in Europe. The poems were included in the Encyclopedia International des
Oeuvres des Femme in 1889.

Philippine Literature during the Spanish occupation was mostly influenced by Christianity
as well as the European ideals of liberty and freedom through trade. Filipino writers either wrote
in Spanish or in their own tongue or both.

General Instructions:
Always read and follow the instructions for every exercise carefully. Write your answers in
the blank spaces provided.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Exercise 1

Directions: Identify what is asked in every item. Write your answer on the space provided before
the item number. (1 pt. each)

_______1. What narrative is told to explain a belief, a practice, or a natural phenomenon?

_______2. What narrative is presented as history but is unlikely to be true?
_______3. What narrative uses animals that behave like humans as its main characters?
_______4. Complete the following analogy: Jose Rizal: Noli Me Tangere: : Pedro Paterno : ________
_______5. What narrative talks about the adventures and achievements of a locally known hero?
_______6. Who was the writer of a Spanish Colonial art published in 1605 which contains basic
Catholic doctrines?
_______7. Complete the following analogy: Andres Bonifacio : Pag-ibig sa Tinubuang Lupa :
:Francisco Baltazar : _______
_______8. What great work of Juan de la Cruz portrayed the war between Christians and Muslims?
_______9. What do you call the stories that depict people’s livelihood, customs, and traditions?
_______10. Folk narratives were passed down from generation to generation through printed books.
Is this statement true? Write YES if it is true. If it is not true, just replace the
underlined word with the correct word, and write your answer on the space provided.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Exercise 2

Directions: Read the literary text carefully and answer the questions below. Discuss/explain your
answer comprehensively. (2 pts. / item, a total of 20 pts.)

The Monkey and the Crocodile 

(A Tagalog Fable)

One day, a monkey saw a tall macopa tree laden with ripe fruits, which stood by a wide river. It
was hungry, so it climbed the tree and ate all of the fruits. When it climbed down, it could find no
means by which to cross the river. Then it saw a young crocodile who had just woke up from its
siesta. It said to the crocodile in a friendly way, “My dear Crocodile, will you do me a favor?”

The crocodile was greatly surprised by the monkey’s amicable salutation. So, it answered humbly,
“Oh, yes! If there is anything I can do for you, I shall be glad to do it.” The monkey then told the
crocodile that it wanted to get to the other side of the river. Then the crocodile said, “I’ll take you
 OUR LADY OF TRIUMPH INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Purok Tugas, Balangasan Dist., Pagadian City, Philippines
Document Title:
ISO 9001:2015
HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT
SELF-LEARNING MODULE
there with all my heart. Just sit on my back, and we’ll go at once.”

The monkey sat firmly on the crocodile’s back, and they began to move. In a short while they
reached the middle of the stream. Then the crocodile began to laugh aloud. “You foolish monkey!” it
said, “I’ll eat your liver and kidneys, for I’m very hungry.” The monkey became nervous. Trying to
conceal its anxiety, it said, “I’m very glad that you mentioned the matter. I thought myself that you
might be hungry, so I have prepared my liver and kidneys for your dinner. Unfortunately, in our
haste to depart, I left them hanging on the macopa tree. Let us return, and I’ll get them for you.”

Convinced that the monkey was telling the truth, the crocodile turned around and swam back to
the direction of the macopa tree. When they got near the riverbank, the monkey nimbly jumped up
onto the land and scampered up the tree. The crocodile came to realize what happened and said, “I
am a fool.”

1. What type of folk narrative is the literary piece shown above?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________

2. What is the value or moral lesson taught by the text?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________
3. Describe the natural setting of the story. Based on the natural setting of the story, how would you describe
the natural environment and livelihood of the people where the folk narrative originated?

Natural Setting of the Story:

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
Natural Environment of the Folk Origin:
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
Livelihood of the Folk Origin:
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________

4. What do each of the following characters symbolize/portray in the story? Discuss your answers
comprehensively.

Monkey:
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________

Crocodile:
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Purok Tugas, Balangasan Dist., Pagadian City, Philippines
Document Title:
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__________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

5. What do you think is the reason why the locals made this folk narrative?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________

Pag-Ibig sa Tinubuang Bayan

Ni Andres Bonifacio

Aling pagibig pa ang hihigit kaya

sa pagkadalisay at pagkadakila
gaya ng pagibig sa tinubuang lupa?
alin pagibig pa? wala na nga; wala.

Ulitulitin mang basahin ng isip

at isa-isahing talastasing pilit
ang salita’t buhay na limbag at titik
ng sangtinakpan ito ang mababatid.

Banal na pagibig! pagikaw ang nukal

sa tapat na puso ng sino't alin man,
imbi’t taong gubat maralita’t mangmang
nagiging dakila at iginagalang.

Pagpupuring lubos ang palaging gawad

ng taong mahal sa Bayan niyang liyag
umawit, tumula, kumatha’t sumulat
kalakhan din niya'y isinisiwalat.

Walang mahalagang hindi inihandog

ng may pusong mahal sa Bayan niyang irog
dugo, yaman, dunong, katiisa’t pagod,
buhay ma’y abuting magkalagot-lagot.

1. What value can be derived from the poem?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________

2. What emotion did you feel from reading the poem?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________
 OUR LADY OF TRIUMPH INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Purok Tugas, Balangasan Dist., Pagadian City, Philippines
Document Title:
ISO 9001:2015
HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT
SELF-LEARNING MODULE
3. What do you think is the condition of the country that inspired the poet to write the poem?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

4. In this given poem, why does the poet regard the love for one’s country as pure and noble?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________

5. What do you think is the reason why the poet wrote this poem?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________

------Scoring Rubric------

Points
Content
2 Answer(s) are highly relevant
to what is asked in the
corresponding item
1 Most points in the
discussion of the answers
are relevant to what is asked
in the corresponding item
0 The answer is not related to
what is asked
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Criteria
Comprehensiveness
Discussions are highly specific
and connected to the effect
discussed
The connection between the
discussion of answers and the
question is unclear
The connection between the
discussion of answers and the
question is unclear
Clarity
Has very good sentence
construction and does not provide
any vague statements.
Has a good sentence construction
with little grammatical mishaps
and vague statements
Poor sentence construction and no
idea can be easily understood.

Reflection

What did you learn most from this topic? Discuss your learnings/insights comprehensively.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Reference(s)

Quipper (Philippines). (2020) 21st century literature in various regions,

21st century literature from the Philippines and the World. Quipper (Philippines).