21 STCENTURY LITERATURE FROM THE

PHILIPPINES AND THE WORLD

HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF PHILIPPINE
LITERATURE: PRE-COLONIAL PERIOD
Lesson 2: Philippine Literature during
the Pre-colonial Period
 The beginning period of
Philippine literary history
can be considered the
longest as evidenced by the
artifacts of different periods
recovered ranging from
50,000 years ago to the 14th
century A.D. in the Tabon
TABON CAVE OF PALAWAN Cave of Palawan.
The said exploration was
headed by an American,
the late Dr. Robert B. Fox,
and his team of
archaeologists from the
National Museum in 1962
where they found the
oldest known human
skeletal fossil in the
Philippines. TABON MAN
Fossil human bones are
tentatively dated from
22,000 to 24,000 years
ago. Excavations were
done from 1962 to 1970.
Tabon Cave was found to
have been used for
habitation and/or burial
sites by ancient people.
TABON MAN
The Manunggul Jar is a
secondary burial jar
excavated from a Neolithic
burial site in the Manunggul
cave of the Tabon Caves at
Lipuun Point in Palawan,
Philippines. It dates from
890–710 B.C. and the two
prominent figures at the top
handle of its cover represent
the journey of the soul to the
MANUNGGUL JAR
afterlife.
The Manunggul jar was
discovered in a cave at
Lipuun Point, Quezon,
Palawan on March 1964 by
a team of volunteer
workers from the United
States Peace Corps
headed by Victor Decalan
and Hans Kasten.
MANUNGGUL JAR
The discovery, later on, led to the realization of our
very own indigenous cultures before the presence
of the Spanish colonizers through the analysis of
collected oral literature preserved by our Filipino
ancestors.
PRE-COLONIAL PERIOD
Certain events in the Philippines
during the pre-colonial period
started to be recorded in the
year 1521. Our rich past was
reflected in "folk speeches, folk
songs, folk narratives and
indigenous rituals and mimetic
dances that affirm our ties with
our Southeast Asian neighbors"
(Godinez-Ortega, n.d.).
In terms of government,
Filipinos were ruled by
chieftains of different
barangay. There was no
formal education. Learning
was merely through imitation
and practice.
In general, the following were commonly practiced:

• Early Filipinos heavily believed in spirits and

supernatural entities (animism).
• Social ranking and classes were practiced (Maginoo
(noble class), Maharlika (warrior class), Timawa (freemen), Aliping
Namamahay (serfs), and Aliping Saguiguilid (slaves).
• Economic and political dimensions involved trading,
marriage, feasting, and alliance
PHILIPPINE LITERATURE DURING THE
PRE-COLONIAL PERIOD
Literature during this period
may be classified into three
groups: folk speech, folk
songs, and folk narratives
such as riddles, proverbs,
myths, legends, fables, and
hero tales. Epics are of great
proportions among oral
literature in all regions.
FOLK SPEECH
FOLK SPEECH refers to the dialect, or style of
speaking, unique to people living within a
geographic area. The folk speech of an area may
be differentiated from other regions by variation in
grammatical, phonetic (pronunciation), and lexical
(word usage) features. Folk speech includes the
bugtong (riddle) and the salawikain (proverbs).
 BUGTONG (RIDDLE)

A riddle, or Bugtong in Filipino, is a statement or

question that directly requires a concrete answer
or presents a puzzle whose hidden meaning has to
be deciphered.
Nakakaluto’y walang init, umuusok kahit na malamig.
Sagot: Yelo

Kaaway ni Bantay, may siyam na buhay.

Sagot: Pusa

Walang hininga ay may buhay, walang paa ay may kamay,

mabilog na parang buwan, ang mukha’y may bilang.
Sagot: Orasan

Alipin ng hari, hindi makalakad kung hindi itali.

Sagot: Sapatos

Hinila ko ang baging, sumigaw ang matsing.

Sagot: Kampana
 SALAWIKAIN (PROVERBS)

A proverb, or salawikan in Filipino, is a folk piece of

advice expressed through short, brief sentences.
Most proverbs are related to the local, beliefs, and
traditions of a particular place.
Huwag gawin sa iba ang ayaw mong gawin sa iyo.
Kung hindi tayo magdudulot ng mga bagay na ayaw
nating gawin sa atin ng ibang tao, pawang mga
kabutihan lang mangyayari.

Kung ano ang puno, siya ang bunga.

Kung ano ang pinanggalingan ay siya rin ang bunga.
Kadalasan, ito ay tumutukoy sa pagkakaparehas ng
anak sa kanyang mga magulang.

Kung walang tiyaga, walang nilaga.

Walang pag-unlad kung hindi ka marunong mag
tiyaga o magtrabaho ng maigi.
FOLK SONGS
Generally, FOLK SONG is a song originating
among the people of a country or area,
passed by oral tradition from one singer or
generation to the next, often existing in
several versions. In the Philippines,
Filipino Folk Songs or Katutubong Awit
are songs that reflect the daily life of the
indigenous people of the Philippines.
These can be considered as the oldest forms of
Philippine literature that mirror the culture which
expresses hopes, aspirations, lifestyles, and emotions
of early Filipinos. Some examples are kundiman,
kumintang, oyayi or hele and some drinking songs.
KUNDIMAN is the classic form
of a Filipino love song. In fact,
in Kundiman, the singer who
expresses undying love for BITUING MARIKIT (1926)
his beloved is actually Nicanor Abelardo

singing for the love of

country.

USAHAY (1961)
Nitoy Gonzales
The KUMINTANG is the name given to
several distinct styles, techniques, and
forms in music and dance Early 19th-
century travelers' accounts often
mention the kumintang as a Tagalog
"chant national", describing them as
dance songs performed by pairs of
men and women, with texts concerning MUTYA NG PASIG
love and courtship. All accounts Nicanor Abelardo

mention a glass of coconut wine

passed from hand to hand by the
dancers as they sing.
OYAYI or HELE is a song to
hush babies as they are
tenderly rocked to sleep in the
mother's or father's arms or in
the cradle. As such they have
a soporific tune, sometimes
ILI ILI, TULOG ANAY
with repetitious text. One sad
“Ili Ili, Tulog Anay” is a traditional lullaby
lullaby found across regions from Iloilo in the Visayan region of the Philippine
Islands. The text is originally in Illonggo (formally
tells of either parent or both known as Hiligayon), which is a commonly spoken
dialect in Iloilo. Generally sung by an older sister
parents having to be away to or female relative, this lullaby explains to the child
that they should sleep as their mother is out
look for food. buying bread.
FILIPINO

MAGTANIM AY DI BIRO
By Felipe Padilla De Leon

The title of this song literally means "Planting is not a joke". “Magtanim
ay ‘Di Biro” originated from Central Luzon, where most people are
farmers.The song talks about how hard the work or the job of a farmer
is, it also describes how their muscles ache from all the work and that
they have to renew their strength for the next day.
FILIPINO

BUYAYANG, BUYAYANG

'Buyayang, buyayang' is a Butuanon folk song about a water

strider. Gary Granada reworked the lyrics of the folk song to
come up with a composition that illustrates the impact of
violent conflict on Mindanao communities, in particular, the
lumad communities.
FOLK NARRATIVES
FOLK NARRATIVES are stories handed down
from the remote past by word of mouth
from one generation to another, reflecting
the people’s traditions, feelings, beliefs, and
judgments.
FOLK TALES or KUWENTONG-BAYAN
are traditional fictional stories.
“Traditional” means that the stories
have been transmitted from narrator to
narrator sufficiently to have acquired
the form and style that is characteristic
of traditional oral narratives the world
over. These stories can be characterized
as anonymous, timeless, and placeless
tales circulated orally among a group of
people.
 ANG PUNONG KAWAYAN

Ang kuwentong-bayan na ito ay tungkol sa kung paano nakakabuti ang

pagiging magpakumbaba.
 SI PAGONG AT SI MATSING

Ang kuwentong na ito au nagpapaalala sa kahalagahn ng pagiging tapat sa

kapwa. Ganoon din ang hindi dapat samantalahin ang ipinapakitang kabaitan
ng isang tao.
LEGENDS or ALAMAT are a form of prose that deals with the
origin of a thing, location, or name. This also explains
supernatural events, mysteries, and cultural traditions.
 ALAMAT NG BAYABAS

Ang “Alamat ng Bayabas” ay tungkol sa

kay Sultan Barabas. Lubha siyang
kinatatakutan ng mag nasasakupan dahil sa
kanyang kalupitan. Maikling alamat na ito ay
may aral na huwag maging malupit sa
kapwa. Ang pagiging malupit sa kapwa ay
walang maganda na maidudulot sa atin at sa
huli ay makakasira pa ito ng buhay ng isang
tao.
 SI MALAKAS AT MAGANDA

The most famous legend of Filipino

culture is the legend of Malakas and
Maganda (which means Strong and
Beautiful respectively). This is the
legend told by Filipino people that
resemble the creation of man (in the
Philippines).
MYTHS, unlike legends where the characters have realistic human
qualities, the characters here usually have supernatural powers
where the main purpose is to provide an explanation about the
existence of something or someone.
 ANG MGA ANAK NI LIMOKON

Ang kuwentong sangkalikhasang ito ay

nagmula sa mga Mandaya ng Mindanao.
Sa kuwentong ito, sinasabi na ang tao ay
galing sa isang kalapati, ang Limokon.
EPICS pertain to a type of long narrative
poem mainly focusing on the heroic
achievements and deeds of the main
character.
 BIAG NI LAM-ANG

Biag ni Lam-ang (“The Life of Lam-ang”)

is an Ilocano epic poem believed to have
originated in pre-colonial times. It tells
the story of Lam-ang's life from
avenging his father's murder, to being
eaten by the water monster Berkakan, to
being reborn and living happily ever
after with his love, Ines Kannoyan.
DIMENSIONS OF PRE-
COLONIAL LITERATURE
✔ Philippine literature during the pre-colonial era
is mostly based on oral traditions passed down
from generation to generation.
✔ The language used pertains to daily life.
✔ Common forms of oral literature are riddles,
proverbs, and songs to express a thought or
emotion.
✔ Epic was considered as the most exciting
poetic and narrative form of literature in which
the ASEAN-sponsored study of Filipino asserted
that there are more than 100 epics discovered
where majority came from Palawan (as cited by
Quindoza-Santiago, n.d.).
✔ Majority of proverbs, epigrams, and proverbs
collected by researchers come from Tagalog,
Cebuano, and Ilocano dialects.
✔ The ancient pre-Spanish form of writing called
Baybayin which was often cited in the work of
Pedro Chirino during the 1500s.
✔ The experiences of the people during pre-
colonial period such as food hunting, work at
home, caring for the children, and creatures or
objects of nature served as the common subject
in oral literature.
✔ Anyone who knew the language and the
convention and forms could be a poet, singer, or
storyteller.
✔ All important events such as rites and
ceremonies reflect religious observance where
people commonly recite, sing, or utter a chant.