Interworld Colleges Foundation, Inc.

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Lesson 1 : Various Dimensions of Philippine Literary History from Pre-Colonial to

Contemporary
Most Essential Learning Competencies:

• Identify the geographic, linguistic, and ethnic dimensions of Philippine literary history from
pre-colonial to the contemporary.

• Identify representative texts and authors from each region.

INTRODUCTION

TIMELINES IN PHILIPPINE LITERATURES

1. PRE-COLONIAL PERIOD (BC-1564)

• This occurred before the Spanish occupation in the 1500s.
• All literature was passed down from generation to generation through word of mouth.
• It is full of lessons and ideas about life, its blessings, and its consequences.
• The oral nature of pre-colonial literature allows for a wide range of changes.
• Oral literature has been preserved as a priceless heritage of the Filipino people for centuries.

Literary Forms
I. FOLK SPEECH
a. Riddles - It comes from the Old English word rǣdan which means ‘to interpret or guess’
A metaphor is used in a riddle to relate to an object that must be guessed. They sharpen the senses and
enrich the imagination.

Examples:
➢ Ilocano Ajjar tangapakking nga niuk, (When you cut it,)
Awaya ipagalliuk. (It is mended without a scar.)
Answer: Danum (Water)
➢ Aeta Muminuddukam, (It wears a crown but isn’t a queen,)
A ningngijjitan. (It has scale but isn’t a fish.)
Answer: Pinnia (Pineapple)

b. Proverbs
- A proverb is a short saying or piece of folk wisdom that emerges from general culture rather
than being written by a single author.
- It is also known as salawikain. It uses metaphors drawn from the surrounding nature and
daily life.

Examples:
Pangasinan
No mauges ed sika (If it is bad for you, so it is
Ontan met ed toon kapara. for your fellowman.)

Pampango
Limus ca bara cang limusan. (Give and you shall receive.)

II. FOLK SONGS - A song that originated among the people of a country or region and was passed
down orally from one singer or generation to the next. They reflect the people's various
aspects of life and activities, as well as their faith, joy, and various hopes and odds.
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Examples:
➢ Dandansoy ➢ Manang Biday

▪ Lullabies – These are referred to as the Hele in the local language. A soothing song sung to
children to help them sleep.
▪ Drinking Songs - These are referred to as Tagay in the Philippines and are commonly sung
during drinking sessions
▪ Love Songs - These are referred to as the Harana by many Filipinos. It is also known as a
Courtship Song, and it is used by young men to win the heart of the girl they love.
▪ Religious Songs – are songs or chants that are usually sung during exorcisms and times of
thanksgiving for a bountiful harvest.
▪ Songs of Death – are lamentations that include a list of good deeds that the deceased has
usually done in order to immortalize his or her good image.

III. FOLK NARRATIVES - It consists of folk tales, legends and myths.

e. Folk Tales
- These are the stories of Native Filipinos. It is about the personification of nature's power,
their submission to a deity – usually Bathala – and how this deity is responsible for both
blessings and calamities.
▪ Fables - are short or brief stories that cater the children of native Filipinos and are typically
bound by good manners and proper behavior. Animals are used as characters in these
stories to represent a particular value or characteristic.

Examples:
➢ Ang Kuneho at ang Pagong (The Monkey and the Turtle)
➢ The Two Cats and the Monkey

▪ Folk Epics - It tells the stories of tribal heroes which embody in themselves the ideals and
values of the group.

Examples:
➢ Biag ni Lam-ang ➢ Ibalon

f. Legends
- Legends are prose narrative accounts of an extraordinary events believed to have actually
occurred. These stories are usually accompanied by a moral lesson that praises supernatural
powers, supernatural occurrences, and other out-of-this-world native imagination.

Examples:
➢ Kapre of Balete (Mindoro) ➢ The Legend of Tagaytay (Region IV)

g. Myths (Philippine Mythology)

- A traditional prose story about gods and deities, as well as the creation of the world and its
inhabitants. The mythological figures of anitism, which include deities (anitos and diwatas),
heroes, and other important figures, vary among the Philippines' many ethnic groups.

Examples:
➢ Visayan Creation Myth ➢ Creation Story – Story of Bathala

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2. THE SPANISH PERIOD (1521-1898)

• The more colorful history of the Philippines began on March 6, 1521, when Ferdinand
Magellan docked on the shores of Homonhon.
• The Filipinos were then referred to as "Ladinos," implying that they had been latinized.
• Filipinos were referred to as two things. The first is the "Taga-Bayan," while the second is
the "Taga-bukid" or "Taga-bundok."
• A Taga-bayan is considered urbane, civilized, and within easy reach of the church and
state.
• A Taga-bundok or Taga-bukid is known as a Bruto Salvage (Savage Brute) or Indio, and they
lived far from the center of Spanish power.

Literary Forms

a. Religious Literature
- Revolves around the life and the death of Jesus Christ.
Forms of Religious Literature
Pasyon It is about the passion (journey and suffering) and the death of Jesus Christ.
Senakulo It is the re-enactment of the Pasyon.
Komedya It depicts the European society through love and fame, but can also be a
narrative about a journey, just like Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy. It is also
considered religious, because it usually depicts the battle between the Christians
and the Saracens or the Moros.

b. Secular or Non- Religious Literature

- Revolves around tales of valiance and adventure.

Forms of Secular or Non-Religious Literature

Mga Awit These are tales of chivalry where a knight saves a princess. It refers to chanting.
Florante at Laura is a good example.
Korido These are extended verse narrative based on tales brought into the country from
Europe. Example of this is Ibong Adarna by Jose De la Cruz.
Prose Are easy to understand, instructional materials that in a literary light that
Narratives teaches Filipinos on proper decorum. Pagsusulatan ng Dalawang Binibini na si
Urbana at Feliza na Nagtuturo ng Mabuting Caugalian (1855) is a good example.

c. Propaganda Literature

- These were in the forms of satires, editorials, and news articles that aimed to attack the
Spanish Rule.
- Dr. Jose Rizal, Marcelo H. Del Pilar, and Graciano Lopez Jaena represent the propaganda
trinity.

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Examples:
1. Graciano Lopez Jaena
Ang Fray Botod - portrayed an early Spanish priest from the colonial era of the
Philippines as greedy, corrupt, hypocrite, and immoral. His work aimed to expose the heinous
characteristics of these abusive priests as a form of propaganda and protest. Fray Botod means
"Big - Bellied Friar," pertaining to the nickname of the main character in the story.
La Hija Del Fraile (The Child of the Friar) and Everything is Hambug (Everything is mere
show)- Here Jaena explains the tragedy of marrying a Spaniard.
2. Marcelo H. Del Pilar
Kaiingat Kayo (Be Careful)- a humorous and sarcastic dig in answer to Fr. Jose Rodriquez
in the novel NOLI of Rizal, published in Barcelona in 1888. He wrote under the pen name
Dolores Manapat.
Dasalan At Tocsohan (Prayers and Jokes)- Similar to a catechism but aimed sarcastically
at parish priests, it was published in Barcelona in 1888. However, the literary piece aimed to
awaken the Filipinos' minds and emotions to the existing deceptions and exploitations
perpetrated by the Spanish priests.
Ang Cadaquilaan Ng Dios (God’s Goodness)- It was published in Barcelona, and it was
similar to a catechism sarcastically aimed against the parish priests but also contains a
philosophy of the power and intelligence of God and an appreciation for and love for nature.
Katungkulang Gagawin ng mga Anak ng Bayan (Obligations of our Countrymen) – an
outline of obligations just like the Ten Commandments, hence, it is likewise called Ang
Dekalogo.
Ang Dapat Mabatid ng mga Tagalog (What the Tagalogs should Know) – an essay
outlining the basic beliefs of Bonifacio’s ideas on nationalism.
3. Emilio Jacinto
Liwanag at Dilim (Light and Darkness) – a collection of essays on different subjects like
freedom, work, faith, government and love of country.
4. Apolinario Mabini
El Desarollo y Caida de la Republica Filipina (The Rise and Fall of the Philippine
Republic) – This essay focuses on the establishment of the Philippine republic and its
subsequent doom as a result of Filipino disunity.
5. Dr. Jose Rizal
Noli Me Tangere – Written in Spanish and published in 1887, played an important role
in the political history of the Philippines. Rizal offered a devastating critique of a society under
Spanish colonial rule, drawing on experience, the conventions of the nineteenth-century novel,
and the ideals of European liberalism.
El Filibusterismo– This is a continuation of the NOLI. While the NOLI exposed the evils
in society, the FILI exposed those in government and the church. However, the NOLI has been
dubbed the novel of society, whereas the FILI has been dubbed the novel of politics.

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d. Publications

❖ El Heraldo de la Revolucion (Herald of the Revolution) – The decrees of the Revolutionary

Government, news, and works in Tagalog that sparked nationalism were all printed. This is the
Official Newspaper of the Revolutionary Government of Aguinaldo.
❖ La Independencia (Independence) – an independent newspaper founded and edited by General
Antonio Luna. La Republica Filipina (The Philippine Republic) – a private newspaper edited by
Pedro Paterno.
❖ La Libertad (Liberty) – another private newspaper edited by Clemente Zulueta.

3. THE AMERICAN PERIOD (1900-1942)

• The Philippines made significant advances in Education and Culture.
• It was practiced to use both English and Filipino.
• The Philippines Public School system was introduced.
• Filipinos were provided with free public education.
• During the American period, literature was thought to be imitative of the American
model. Instead of being asked to write originals, students ended up mimicking the style
of American poets.

Literary Forms

Poetry - poetry under the American rule still followed the old style, but had contents that ranged from
free writing to societal concerns.

Examples:
Jose Corazon de Jesus (1832-1896) with his first book of poems, popularly known as "Batute,"
he created his own generation.
- Mga Gintong Dahon (1920)- were poems concerned with nontraditional subjects such as
passion-slaying, grief-induced, insanity, and lover's suicide.
- Sa Dakong Silangan (1928)- returned to the awit form, retelling the history of Philippines
under Spain, the coming of the U.S under the false pretense of friendship to take over from
Spain.

a. Drama- was commonly used in the American period to denigrate Spanish rule and to
immortalize the bravery of the Katipuneros.
Examples:
Severino Reyes (1861-1942) – led a movement to replace the komedya with a new type of
drama, the sarsuwela, a Filipino adaptation of the Spanish zarzuela.
- Walang Sugat (1902)- is a sarsuwela (drama in the form singing) drawn from the period of
Revolution, depicting the cruelty and corruption of friars and the heroism of the soldiers of
the Katipunan.
Other successful sarsuwelas:
- Hindi Aco Patay (1903) by Juan Matapang Cruz

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- Kahapon, Ngayon at Bukas (1903) by Aurelio Tolentino- is an allegorical presentation of the

history of the nationalist struggle and how the U,S. frustrated the Philippine revolution.
- Tanikalang Guinto (1902) by Juan Abad (1872-1932)- is about Liwanag and K’Ulayaw, lovers
who stand for freedom and the Filipino.

b. Remake Novels
Gabriel Beato Francisco (1850-1935)- is best known for his trilogy of Fulgencia Galbillo (1907),
Capitan Bensio (1907), Alfaro (1909), depicting the 30 years of colonial repression by the
Spanish rule.
Inigo Ed. Regalado (1888-1976)- Madaling Araw (1909) was his first novel showing the complex
interrelations of issues and people in contemporary Philippine society.
Juan Lauro Arsciwals (1889-1928)- Lalaking Uliran o Tulisan (1914), a reference to colonial law
that labeled Filipino patriots as bandits

4. THE JAPANESE COLONIZATION PERIOD (1946-1960)

• Philippine literature was interrupted in its development when we were again conquered
by another foreign country, Japan.
• There was no freedom of speech and of the press during this time.

A. WAR YEARS (1942-1944)

- The field of the short story widened during the Japanese occupation.
25 Pinakamabuting Maikling Kathang Pilipino (1943)
The following were selected to be the best:
Lupang Tinubuan by Narciso Reyes
Uhaw ang Tigang na Lupa by Liwayway Arceo
Lungsod Ngayon At Dagat-dagatan ni NVM Gonzales
B. PERIOD OF MATURITY AND ORIGINALITY (1945-1960)
- Bountiful harvest in poetry fiction, drama and essay.
Palanca Awards for Literature was established in 1950.
Jose Garcia Villa NVM Gonzales Gregorio Brillantes
Nick Joaquin Bienvenido Santos Gilda Cordero Fernando
The National Artist Awards are given to Filipinos who have made significant contributions to
the advancement of Philippine art.
Jose Garcia Villa - National Artist Award for Literature in 1973
Nick Joaquin - National Artist Award for Literature in 1976
Ginto Sa Makiling by Macario Pineda (1946)
Heart of the Islands – collection of poems by Manuel Viray (1947)
Philippines Cross Section – a collection of prose and poetry by Maximo Ramos and
Florentino Valeros (1950)

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Prose and Poems by Nick Joaquin (1952)

Philippine Writing by T.D. Agcaoili (1953)

5. LITERATURE OF THE PHILIPPINES TODAY (Contemporary / Modern Period) (1986-PRESENT)

Things that were used and exercised during the Contemporary Period are:
Onomatopoeia – the use of words that imitate the sounds associated with the objects or actions they
refer to.
Messages in Poetry – the idea about life that a poet writes about is called the theme or message of the
poem.
Free Verse – a poem that has no regular rhyme or rhythm. Cause and Effect Relationship Using
Adjectives – is a word that describes, limits, or points out a noun.
Making Clear and Correct Comparison

1986 - The action of martial rule by President Ferdinand Marcos last September 21,1972 does not only
oppress the writers' right to free expression but also created conditions that made collaboration and
cooperation convenient choices for artists' struggling for recognition and survival.

1997 – sa Ngalan Ng Ina, by prize-winning poet-critic Lilia Quindoza Santiago, is, to date, the most
comprehensive compilation of feminist writing in the Philippines.

1998 – Many are writing novels. As fictionist Rony Diaz noted as judge, he had to read 350 novel entries
for the Philippine centennial literary contest in 1998.

2000s – Many novels in English seem to have been written for literary contests like Palanca and Asia
Man.

2010s– The debate over textual and contextual criticism, balagtasismo and modernism, formalism and
historical criticism has persisted to this day in the academe. The more popular but banal issue is called
“literature (art) and propaganda.” Overall, the character of the Philippine literary scene after "EDSA"
maybe pinpointed be referring to the theories that inform literary production, to the products issuing
from the publishers, to the dominant concerns demonstrated by the writers' output, and to the
direction towards which literary studies are tending.

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REFERENCES

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21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World

K to 12 – Department of Education Page 8
Interworld Colleges Foundation, Inc.
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Books

Lacia, Ferdilyn C., Fabella, Mark G., Libunao, Lydia L. (2008), “The Literatures Of The Philippines”
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OTHER SOURCE

Other parts of the module retrieved from: Renz Bermudez (English teacher), Paniqui, Tarlac: Interworld
Colleges Foundation, Inc., 2020.

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