21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World

Lesson 1 – what is literature?

It is the beautiful expression of man‘s personal interpretations of
some aspect of human life, or a wording out in a unique, beautiful, and
personal manner of saying what an author thinks is a passionate meaning of
life. This is saying that literature not only becomes but is ― life itself. -
Amador Daguio.

Pre-Colonization Oral and written literatures were present in our culture

even before colonizers came. We had our own alphabet that our Malayan
ancestors used. The written literary forms did not last because of the
materials used such as: 1)leaves, 2)bamboo canes, and 3) the ground. Such
materials did not last long because of its organic composition. But the oral
literature continued by word of mouth like: 1) riddles, 2) proverbs, 3)
folksongs and folktales, 4) myths and legends, etc.

The way our ancestors lived during the early days is evident in the contents
of these literary forms. Work and activity songs described how people earn
their livelihood like farming, fishing, pottery and a lot more. An example is
the popular song by the Tagalogs-―Magtanim ay di Biro‖ (Planting Rice is
Never Fun).

RIDDLES
Riddles are generally poetic in form and come in one, two, three or
four lines. During the pre-colonial period, riddles serve as a form of folk
speech and are about the battle of the wits. Riddles use one or more images
to refer to an object to be guessed. The use of obscure words has been
invented for the purposes of rhyme and meter.
What are metaphors?
Metaphor-is a figure of speech that uses direct comparison of two unlike
things or ideas without using the words ”like” or “as”.
Example: Dear Lord: Let thou be the street cleaner Whilst I be the road
(Prayer by NVM Gonzales)
In the example above, the Lord is being compared t a street cleaner and the
one praying compared himself to the road.

Folk Narratives
Folk narratives consist of myths, legends and folktales. Myths are
prose narratives explaining how the world and people came to be in their
form. These were the first tools man used to define his world. The origin of
the surrounding world has always been the object of interest of prehistoric
Filipinos.
Proverbs
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. Though they have been retold and passed down from
one generation to another, and the values and lessons they impart to us still
hold true to this day.
Example: If you plant, you harvest. Kung may tinanim, may aanihin.
It means that your future will be the result of your actions today. Plan
ahead.

Folk songs
The folk song, a form of folk lyric which expresses the hopes and
aspirations, the people’s lifestyles as well as their loves. A few examples are
the lullabyes, love songs, social entertainment, work songs, the verbal
jousts/games.
Epics
Epics in the Philippines during the pre-colonization are considered
ethno-epics because they are histories of various ethnic groups. 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.

Prose Fiction
Prose Fiction presents a story that is invented and not literally “true”.
It is written to be read rather than acted or performed and the events
depicted are told to us by a narrator, not enacted or dramatized. One
example of this is a myth. Myth is often a story of origins, how the world and
everything in it came to be. It may explain a practice, belief or natural
occurrence.

Spanish Colonization
When the Spaniards came in 1521, it paved the way for the use of
paper and so written literature in the Philippines was born. The most
prominent characteristic of our literature during the Spanish era is the use
of religion as the content in the works of the early literature. Religion
introduced theater which we would come to know as komedya, the
sinakulo, the sarswela, the playlets and the drama. Spain also brought to the
country ideas about internationalism that influenced our own Filipino
intellectuals and writers for them to understand the meanings of "liberty
and freedom."