This course deals with the study of literary forms, elements, styles and genres as

exemplified by literary texts from various continents and cultures around the world. This
will help the students to appreciate the value of literature in the expression of one’s own
ideas and emotions. And later on, it will help them in developing and enhancing their
understanding of the connection between literature, culture, society, oneself and the
human condition.
 CHAPTER 3:

INTRODUCTION TO PHILIPPINE LITERATURE

Literature for most countries is an art. It came from a latin word ‘litera’ meaning letter - Body of
written works of a particular time, country especially those valued for excellence of form and
expression. - Creative and universal means of communication - Deals with the ideas, thoughts
and emotions of man and said to be the story of man.

Meanwhile, in the country, the diversity and richness of Philippine literature evolved side
by side with the country's history. This can best be appreciated in the context of the country's
pre-colonial cultural traditions and the socio-political histories of its colonial and contemporary
traditions.

The average Filipino's unfamiliarity with his indigenous literature was largely due to what
has been impressed upon him: that his country was "discovered" and, hence, Philippine
"history" started only in 1521.

So successful were the efforts of colonialists to blot out the memory of the country's
largely oral past that present-day Filipino writers, artists and journalists are trying to correct this
inequity by recognizing the country's wealth of ethnic traditions and disseminating them in
schools and in the mass media.

The rousing of nationalistic pride in the 1960s and 1970s also helped bring about this
change of attitude among a new breed of Filipinos concerned about the "Filipino identity."

A. Pre-Colonial Period
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 lullabies 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); Ulahingan (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).

B. The Spanish Colonial Period

While it is true that Spain subjugated the Philippines for more mundane reasons,
this former European power contributed much in the shaping and recording of our
literature. Religion and institutions that represented European civilization enriched the
languages in the lowlands, 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, though at a much later time, liberal ideas and an internationalism that
influenced our own Filipino intellectuals and writers for them to understand the meanings
of "liberty and freedom."

Literature in this period may be classified as religious prose and poetry and
secular prose and poetry.

Religious lyrics written by ladino poets or those versed in both Spanish and
Tagalog were included in early catechism and were used to teach Filipinos the Spanish
language. Fernando Bagonbanta's "Salamat nang walang hanga/gracias de sin
sempiternas" (Unending thanks) is a fine example that is found in the Memorial de la
vida cristiana en lengua tagala (Guidelines for the Christian life in the Tagalog language)
published in 1605.
 Another form of religious lyrics are the meditative verses like the dalit appended
to novenas and catechisms. It has no fixed meter nor rime scheme although a number
are written in octosyllabic quatrains and have a solemn tone and spiritual subject matter.

But among the religious poetry of the day, it is the pasyon in octosyllabic
quintillas that became entrenched in the Filipino's commemoration of Christ's agony and
resurrection at Calvary. Gaspar Aquino de Belen's "Ang Mahal na Passion ni Jesu
Christong Panginoon natin na tola" (Holy Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ in Verse) put
out in 1704 is the country's earliest known pasyon.

Other known pasyons chanted during the Lenten season are in Ilocano,
Pangasinan, Ibanag, Cebuano, Bicol, Ilongo and Waray.

Aside from religious poetry, there were various kinds of prose narratives written
to prescribe proper decorum. Like the pasyon, these prose narratives were also used for
proselytization. Some forms are: dialogo (dialogue), Manual de Urbanidad (conduct
book); ejemplo (exemplum) and tratado (tratado). The most well-known are Modesto de
Castro's "Pagsusulatan ng Dalawang Binibini na si Urbana at si Feliza"
(Correspondence between the Two Maidens Urbana and Feliza) in 1864 and Joaquin
Tuason's "Ang Bagong Robinson" (The New Robinson) in 1879, an adaptation of Daniel
Defoe's novel.

Secular works appeared alongside historical and economic changes, the

emergence of an opulent class and the middle class who could avail of a European
education. These Filipino elite could now read printed works that used to be the
exclusive domain of the missionaries.

The most notable of the secular lyrics followed the conventions of a romantic
tradition: the languishing but loyal lover, the elusive, often heartless beloved, the rival.
The leading poets were Jose Corazon de Jesus (Huseng Sisiw) and Francisco Balagtas.
Some secular poets who wrote in this same tradition were Leona Florentino, Jacinto
Kawili, Isabelo de los Reyes and Rafael Gandioco.

Another popular secular poetry is the metrical romance, the awit and korido in
Tagalog. The awit is set in dodecasyllabic quatrains while the korido is in octosyllabic
quatrains. These are colorful tales of chivalry from European sources made for singing
and chanting such as Gonzalo de Cordoba (Gonzalo of Cordoba) and Ibong Adarna
(Adarna Bird). There are numerous metrical romances in Tagalog, Bicol, Ilongo,
Pampango, Ilocano and in Pangasinan. The awit as a popular poetic genre reached new
heights in Balagtas' "Florante at Laura" (ca. 1838-1861), the most famous of the
country's metrical romances.
 Again, the winds of change began to blow in 19th century Philippines. Filipino
intellectuals educated in Europe called illustrados began to write about the downside of
colonization. This, coupled with the simmering calls for reforms by the masses gathered
a formidable force of writers like Jose Rizal, Marcelo H. del Pilar, Mariano Ponce, Emilio
Jacinto and Andres Bonifacio.

This led to the formation of the Propaganda Movement where prose works such
as the political essays and Rizal's two political novels, Noli Me Tangere and the El
Filibusterismo helped usher in the Philippine revolution resulting in the downfall of the
Spanish regime, and, at the same time planted the seeds of a national consciousness
among Filipinos.

But if Rizal's novels are political, the novel Ninay (1885) by Pedro Paterno is
largely cultural and is considered the first Filipino novel. Although Paterno's Ninay gave
impetus to other novelists like Jesus Balmori and Antonio M. Abad to continue writing in
Spanish, this did not flourish.

Other Filipino writers published the essay and short fiction in Spanish in La
Vanguardia, El Debate, Renacimiento Filipino, and Nueva Era. The more notable
essayists and fictionists were Claro M. Recto, Teodoro M. Kalaw, Epifanio de los Reyes,
Vicente Sotto, Trinidad Pardo de Tavera, Rafael Palma, Enrique Laygo (Caretas or
Masks, 1925) and Balmori who mastered the prosa romantica or romantic prose.

But the introduction of English as medium of instruction in the Philippines

hastened the demise of Spanish so that by the 1930s, English writing had overtaken
Spanish writing. During the language's death throes, however, writing in the romantic
tradition, from the awit and korido, would continue in the novels of Magdalena Jalandoni.
But patriotic writing continued under the new colonialists. These appeared in the
vernacular poems and modern adaptations of works during the Spanish period and
which further maintained the Spanish tradition.

C. The American Colonial Period

A new set of colonizers brought about new changes in Philippine literature. New
literary forms such as free verse [in poetry], the modern short story and the critical essay
were introduced. American influence was deeply entrenched with the firm establishment
of English as the medium of instruction in all schools and with literary modernism that
highlighted the writer's individuality and cultivated consciousness of craft, sometimes at
the expense of social consciousness.
The poet, and later, National Artist for Literature, Jose Garcia Villa used free
verse and espoused the dictum, "Art for art's sake" to the chagrin of other writers more
concerned with the utilitarian aspect of literature. Another maverick in poetry who used
free verse and talked about illicit love in her poetry was Angela Manalang Gloria, a
woman poet described as ahead of her time. Despite the threat of censorship by the new
dispensation, more writers turned up "seditious works" and popular writing in the native
languages bloomed through the weekly outlets like Liwayway and Bisaya.
The Balagtas tradition persisted until the poet Alejandro G. Abadilla advocated
modernism in poetry. Abadilla later influenced young poets who wrote modern verses in
the 1960s such as Virgilio S. Almario, Pedro I. Ricarte and Rolando S. Tinio.
While the early Filipino poets grappled with the verities of the new language,
Filipinos seemed to have taken easily to the modern short story as published in the
Philippines Free Press, the College Folio and Philippines Herald. Paz Marquez Benitez's
"Dead Stars" published in 1925 was the first successful short story in English written by
a Filipino. Later on, Arturo B. Rotor and Manuel E. Arguilla showed exceptional skills
with the short story.
Alongside this development, writers in the vernaculars continued to write in the
provinces. Others like Lope K. Santos, Valeriano Hernandez Peña and Patricio Mariano
were writing minimal narratives similar to the early Tagalog short fiction called dali or
pasingaw (sketch).
The romantic tradition was fused with American pop culture or European
influences in the adaptations of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan by F. P. Boquecosa who
also penned Ang Palad ni Pepe after Charles Dicken's David Copperfield even as the
realist tradition was kept alive in the novels by Lope K. Santos and Faustino Aguilar,
among others.
It should be noted that if there was a dearth of the Filipino novel in English, the
novel in the vernaculars continued to be written and serialized in weekly magazines like
Liwayway, Bisaya, Hiligaynon and Bannawag.
The essay in English became a potent medium from the 1920's to the present.
Some leading essayists were journalists like Carlos P. Romulo, Jorge Bocobo, Pura
Santillan Castrence, etc. who wrote formal to humorous to informal essays for the
delectation by Filipinos.
Among those who wrote criticism developed during the American period were
Ignacio Manlapaz, Leopoldo Yabes and I.V. Mallari. But it was Salvador P. Lopez's
criticism that grabbed attention when he won the Commonwealth Literay Award for the
 essay in 1940 with his "Literature and Society." This essay posited that art must have
substance and that Villa's adherence to "Art for Art's Sake" is decadent.
The last throes of American colonialism saw the flourishing of Philippine literature
in English at the same time, with the introduction of the New Critical aesthetics, made
writers pay close attention to craft and "indirectly engendered a disparaging attitude"
towards vernacular writings -- a tension that would recur in the contemporary period.

D. The Contemporary Period

The flowering of Philippine literature in the various languages continues
especially with the appearance of new publications after the Martial Law years and the
resurgence of committed literature in the 1960s and the 1970s.
Filipino writers continue to write poetry, short stories, novellas, novels and essays
whether these are socially committed, gender/ethnic related or are personal in intention
or not.
Of course the Filipino writer has become more conscious of his art with the
proliferation of writers workshops here and abroad and the bulk of literature available to
him via the mass media including the internet. The various literary awards such as the
Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature, the Philippines Free Press,
Philippine Graphic, Home Life and Panorama literary awards encourage him to compete
with his peers and hope that his creative efforts will be rewarded in the long run.

With the new requirement by the Commission on Higher Education of teaching of

Philippine Literature in all tertiary schools in the country emphasizing the teaching of the
vernacular literature or literatures of the regions, the audience for Filipino writers is
virtually assured. And, perhaps, a national literature finding its niche among the
literatures of the world will not be far behind.

LITERATURE AND HISTORY

Literature and history are closely interrelated. In discovering the history of a race, the
feelings, aspirations, customs and traditions of a people are sure to be included and these
feelings, aspirations, customs and traditions that are written is literature. History can also be
written and this too, is literature. Events that can be written down are part of true literature.
Literature, therefore, is part of history.

Literature and history, however, also have differences. Literature may be figments of the
imagination or events devoid of truth that have been written down, while history is made up of
events that really happened.

The Philippine Epic and Legends

Philippine epic poetry is the body of epic poetry in Philippine literature. Filipino epic
poetry is considered to be the highest point of development for Philippine folk literature,
encompassing narratives that recount the adventures of tribal heroes. These epics are
transmitted through oral tradition using a select group of singers and chanters.

A study revealed that the Philippine folk epics, like those found in Asia, are often about a
quest for a wife as well as the various ordeals linked to the founding of a family, hamlet, tribe or
a kingdom. The narratives would include voyages - on earth, sea, sky, and the underworld - to
allow the hero or heroine to overcome the challenges faced. After their ordeals, the protagonists
- through improvement of their personal qualities – would become ideals for their genders.

There are multiple epic texts that can be found in the Philippines, owing to its diverse cultural
background. To date, over twenty have been collected, transcribed, and published by academic
scholars.

1. Epics from Luzon
From Christian Filipinos:
⮚ Biag ni Lam-Ang from the Ilocos region
⮚ Ibalon, from the Bicol region

From non-Christian groups:

⮚ Hudhud and Alim of the Ifugao people
⮚ The Ulalim cycle of the Kalinga people
⮚ The Epic of Lumalindaw of the Gaddang people

2. Epics from Visayas
⮚ The Hinilawod of the Suludnon in Panay
▪ Hinilawod I: The Epic of Labaw Donggon
▪ Hinilawod II: Epic of Humadapnen
⮚ The Kudaman of Palawan

3. Epics from Mindanao
 ⮚ The Maiden of the Buhong Sky
⮚ Tuwaang Attends a Wedding
⮚ The Agyu Cycle:

▪ Agyu: The Ilianon Epic of Mindanao

▪ Ulahigan
▪ The Capture of Nalandangan
▪ The Epic of Nalandangan
▪ Olaging: The Battle of Nalandangan

⮚ The Tulelangan of the Ilianon Manobos

⮚ The Darangen of the Maranao people
⮚ Gumao of Dumalinao
⮚ Ag Tubig Nog Keboklagan (The Kingdom of Keboklagan)
⮚ Keg Sumba Neg Sandayo (The Tale of Sandayo)
⮚ The Tudbulul of the Tboli people

Philippine Mythology

Philippine mythology is the body of stories and epics originating from, and part of, the
indigenous Philippine folk religions, which include various ethnic faiths distinct from one another.
Philippine mythology is incorporated from various sources, having similarities with Indonesian
and Malay myths, as well as Hindu, Muslim, Shinto, Buddhist, and Christian traditions, such as
the notion of heaven (kaluwalhatian, kalangitan, kamurawayan, etc.), hell (kasamaan, sulad,
etc.), and the human soul (kaluluwa, kaulolan, makatu, ginokud, etc.). Philippine mythology
attempts to explain the nature of the world through the lives and actions of heroes, deities
(referred to as anito or diwata in some ethnic groups), and mythological creatures. The majority
of these myths were passed on through oral tradition, and preserved through the aid of
community spiritual leaders or shamans (babaylan, katalonan, mumbaki, baglan, machanitu,
walian, mangubat, bahasa, etc.) and community elders.

The mythologies and indigenous religions of the Philippines have historically been
referred to as Anito or Anitism, meaning "ancestral religion". Other terms used were Anitismo, a
Hispano-Filipino translation, and Anitería, a derogatory version used by most members of the
Spanish clergy. Today, many ethnic peoples continue to practice and conserve their unique
indigenous religions, notably in ancestral domains, although foreign and foreign-inspired
religions continue to influence their life-ways through conversions, inter-marriage, and
land-buying. A number of scholarly works have been devoted to Anito and its various aspects,
although many of its stories and traditions have yet to be recorded by specialists in the fields of
anthropology and folklore.

Creation Myths from the Philippines

How the World Was Made

Thousands of years ago there was no land nor sun nor moon nor stars, and the world
was only a great sea of water, above which stretched the sky. The water was the kingdom of the
god Maguayan, and the sky was ruled by the great god Captan.

Maguayan had a daughter called Lidagat, the sea, and Captan had a son known as
Lihangin, the wind. The gods agreed to the marriage of their children, so the sea became the
bride of the wind.

Three sons and a daughter were born to them. The sons were called Licalibutan,
Liadlao, and Libulan; and the daughter received the name of Lisuga.

Licalibutan had a body of rock and was strong and brave; Liadlao was formed of gold
and was always happy; Libulan was made of copper and was weak and timid; and the beautiful
Lisuga had a body of pure silver and was sweet and gentle. Their parents were very fond of
them, and nothing wanted to make them happy.

After a time Lihangin died and left the control of the winds to his eldest son Licalibutan.
The faithful wife Lidagat soon followed her husband, and the children, now grown up, were left
without father or mother. However, their grandfathers, Captan and Maguayan, took care of them
and guarded them from all evil.

After a time, Licalibutan, proud of his power over the winds, resolved to gain more
power, and asked his brothers to join him in an attack on Captan in the sky above. At first they
refused; but when Licalibutan became angry with them, the amiable Liadlao, not wishing to
offend his brother, agreed to help. Then together they induced the timid Libulan to join in the
plan.

When all was ready the three brothers rushed at the sky, but they could not beat down
the gates of steel that guarded the entrance. Then Licalibutan let loose the strongest winds and
blew the bars in every direction. The brothers rushed into the opening, but were met by the
angry god Captan. So terrible did he look that they turned and ran in terror; but Captan, furious
at the destruction of his gates, sent three bolts of lightning after them.

The first struck the copper Libulan and melted him into a ball. The second struck the
golden Liadlao, and he too was melted. The third bolt struck Licalibutan, and his rocky body
broke into many pieces and fell into the sea. So huge was he that parts of his body stuck out
above the water and became what is known as land.

In the meantime the gentle Lisuga had missed her brothers and started to look for them.
She went toward the sky, but as she approached the broken gates, Captan, blind with anger,
struck her too with lightning, and her silver body broke into thousands of pieces.

Captan then came down from the sky and tore the sea apart, calling on Maguayan to
come to him and accusing him of ordering the attack on the sky. Soon Maguayan appeared and
answered that he knew nothing of the plot as he had been asleep far down in the sea.

After a time he succeeded in calming the angry Captan. Together they wept at the loss of
their grandchildren, especially the gentle and beautiful Lisuga; but with all their power they could
not restore the dead to life. However, they gave to each body a beautiful light that will shine
forever.

And so it was that golden Liadlao became the sun, and copper Libulan the moon, while
the thousands of pieces of silver Lisuga shine as the stars of heaven. To wicked Licalibutan the
gods gave no light, but resolved to make his body support a new race of people. So Captan
gave Maguayan a seed, and he planted it on the land, which, as you will remember, was part of
Licalibutan's huge body.

Soon a bamboo tree grew up, and from the hollow of one of its branches a man and a
woman came out. The man's name was Sicalac, and the woman was called Sicabay. They were
the parents of the human race. Their first child was a son whom they called Libo; afterwards
they had a daughter who was known as Saman. Pandaguan was a younger son and he had a
son called Arion.

Pandaguan was very clever and invented a trap to catch fish. The very first thing he
caught was a huge shark. When he brought it to land, it looked so great and fierce that he
thought it was surely a god, and he at once ordered his people to worship it. Soon all gathered
around and began to sing and pray to the shark. Suddenly the sky and sea opened, and the
gods came out and ordered Pandaguan to throw the shark back into the sea and to worship
none but them.

All were afraid except Pandaguan. He grew very bold and answered that the shark was
as big as the gods, and that since he had been able to overpower it he would also be able to
conquer the gods. Then Captan, hearing this, struck Pandaguan with a small thunderbolt, for he
did not wish to kill him but merely to teach him a lesson. Then he and Maguayan decided to
punish these people by scattering them over the earth, so they carried some to one land and
some to another. Many children were afterwards born, and thus the earth became inhabited in
all parts.

Pandaguan did not die. After lying on the ground for thirty days he regained his strength,
but his body was blackened from the lightning, and all his descendants ever since that day have
been black.

His first son, Arion, was taken north, but as he had been born before his father's
punishment he did not lose his color, and all his people therefore are white.

Libo and Saman were carried south, where the hot sun scorched their bodies and
caused all their descendants to be of a brown color.

A son of Saman and a daughter of Sicalac were carried east, where the land at first was
so lacking in food that they were compelled to eat clay. On this account their children and their
children's children have always been yellow in color.

And so the world came to be made and peopled. The sun and moon shine in the sky,
and the beautiful stars light up the night. All over the land, on the body of the envious
Licalibutan, the children of' Sicalac and Sicabay have grown great in numbers. May they live
forever in peace and brotherly love!

Source: John Maurice Miller, Philippine Folklore Stories (Boston: Ginn and Company, 1904),
pp. 57-64
 The Creation
Myth of Igorot

In the beginning there were no people on the earth. Lumawig, the Great Spirit, came down from
the sky and cut many reeds. He divided these into pairs which he placed in different parts of the
world, and then he said to them, "You must speak."

Immediately the reeds became people, and in each place was a man and a woman who
could talk, but the language of each couple differed from that of the others.

Then Lumawig commanded each man and woman to marry, which they did. By and by
there were many children, all speaking the same language as their parents. These, in turn,
married and had many children. In this way there came to be many people on the earth.

Now Lumawig saw that there were several things which the people on the earth needed
to use, so he set to work to supply them. He created salt, and told the inhabitants of one place
to boil it down and sell it to their neighbors. But these people could not understand the directions
of the Great Spirit, and the next time he visited them, they had not touched the salt.

Then he took it away from them and gave it to the people of a place called Mayinit.
These did as he directed, and because of this he told them that they should always be owners
of the salt, and that the other peoples must buy of them.

Then Lumawig went to the people of Bontoc and told them to get clay and make pots.
They got the clay, but they did not understand the molding, and the jars were not well shaped.
Because of their failure, Lumawig told them that they would always have to buy their jars, and
he removed the pottery to Samoki. When he told the people there what to do, they did just as he
said, and their jars were well shaped and beautiful. Then the Great Spirit saw that they were fit
owners of the pottery, and he told them that they should always make many jars to sell.

In this way Lumawig taught the people and brought to them all the things which they now
have.

Source: Mabel Cook Cole, Philippine Folk Tales (Chicago: A. C. McClurg and Company, 1916),
pp. 99-101.
 How the Moon and the Stars Came to Be
Bukidnon (Mindanao)

One day in the times when the sky was close to the ground a spinster went out to pound rice.
Before she began her work, she took off the beads from around her neck and the comb from her
hair, and hung them on the sky, which at that time looked like coral rock.

Then she began working, and each time that she raised her pestle into the air it struck
the sky. For some time she pounded the rice, and then she raised the pestle so high that it
struck the sky very hard.

Immediately the sky began to rise, and it went up so far that she lost her ornaments.
Never did they come down, for the comb became the moon and the beads are the stars that are
scattered about.

Source: Mabel Cook Cole, Philippine Folk Tales (Chicago: A. C. McClurg and Company, 1916),
p. 124.

Origin
Bagobo (Mindanao)

In the beginning there lived one man and one woman, Toglai and Toglibon. Their first children
were a boy and a girl. When they were old enough, the boy and the girl went far away across
the waters seeking a good place to live in. Nothing more was heard of them until their children,
the Spaniards and Americans, came back. After the first boy and girl left, other children were
born to the couple; but they all remained at Cibolan on Mount Apo with their parents, until Toglai
and Toglibon died and became spirits. Soon after that there came a great drought which lasted
for three years. All the waters dried up, so that there were no rivers, and no plants could live.

"Surely," said the people, "Manama is punishing us, and we must go elsewhere to find
food and a place to dwell in."

So they started out. Two went in the direction of the sunset, carrying with them stones
from Cibolan River. After a long journey they reached a place where were broad fields of cogon
grass and an abundance of water, and there they made their home. Their children still live in
that place and are called Magindanau, because of the stones which the couple carried when
they left Cibolan.

Two children of Toglai and Toglibon went to the south, seeking a home, and they carried
with them women's baskets (baraan). When they found a good spot, they settled down. Their
descendants, still dwelling at that place, are called Baraan or Bilaan, because of the women's
baskets.
 So two by two the children of the first couple left the land of their birth. In the place where
each settled a new people developed, and thus it came about that all the tribes in the world
received their names from things that the people carried out of Cibolan, or from the places
where they settled.

All the children left Mount Apo save two (a boy and a girl), whom hunger and thirst had
made too weak to travel. One day when they were about to die the boy crawled out to the field
to see if there was one living thing, and to his surprise he found a stalk of sugarcane growing
lustily. He eagerly cut it, and enough water came out to refresh him and his sister until the rains
came. Because of this, their children are called Bagobo.

Source: Mabel Cook Cole, Philippine Folk Tales (Chicago: A. C. McClurg and Company, 1916),
pp. 133-134.

The Story of the Creation

Bilaan (Mindanao)

In the very beginning there lived a being so large that he cannot be compared with any known
thing. His name was Melu, and when he sat on the clouds, which were his home, he occupied
all the space above. His teeth were pure gold, and because he was very cleanly and continually
rubbed himself with his hands, his skin became pure white. The dead skin which he rubbed off
his body was placed on one side in a pile, and by and by this pile became so large that he was
annoyed and set himself to consider what he could do with it.

Finally Melu decided to make the earth; so he worked very hard in putting the dead skin
into shape, and when it was finished he was so pleased with it that he determined to make two
beings like himself, though smaller, to live on it.

Taking the remnants of the material left after making the earth he fashioned two men, but
just as they were all finished except their noses, Tau Tana from below the earth appeared and
wanted to help him.

Melu did not wish any assistance, and a great argument ensued. Tau Tana finally won
his point and made the noses which he placed on the people upside down. When all was
finished, Melu and Tau Tana whipped the forms until they moved. Then Melu went to his home
above the clouds, and Tau Tana returned to his place below the earth.

All went well until one day a great rain came, and the people on the earth nearly
drowned from the water which ran off their heads into their noses. Melu, from his place on the
clouds, saw their danger, and he came quickly to earth and saved their lives by turning their
noses the other side up.
 The people were very grateful to him, and promised to do anything he should ask of
them. Before he left for the sky, they told him that they were very unhappy living on the great
earth all alone, so he told them to save all the hair from their heads and the dry skin from their
bodies and the next time he came he would make them some companions. And in this way
there came to be a great many people on the earth.

Source: Mabel Cook Cole, Philippine Folk Tales (Chicago: A. C. McClurg and Company, 1916),
pp. 139-140.

In the Beginning
Bilaan (Mindanao)

In the beginning there were four beings (Melu, Fiuweigh, Diwata, and Saweigh), and they lived
on an island no larger than a hat. On this island there were no trees or grass or any other living
thing besides these four people and one bird (Buswit). One day they sent this bird out across
the waters to see what he could find, and when he returned he brought some earth, a piece of
rattan, and some fruit.

Melu, the greatest of the four, took the soil and shaped it and beat it with a paddle in the
same manner in which a woman shapes pots of clay, and when he finished he had made the
earth. Then he planted the seeds from the fruit, and they grew until there was much rattan and
many trees bearing fruit.

The four beings watched the growth for a long time and were well pleased with the work,
but finally Melu said, "Of what use is this earth and all the rattan and fruit if there are no
people?"

And the others replied, "Let us make some people out of wax."

So they took some wax and worked long, fashioning it into forms, but when they brought
them to the fire the wax melted, and they saw that men could not be made in that way.

Next they decided to try to use dirt in making people, and Melu and one of his
companions began working on that. All went well till they were ready to make the noses. The
companion, who was working on that part, put them on upside down. Melu told him that the
people would drown if he left them that way, but he refused to change them.

When his back was turned, however, Melu seized the noses, one by one, and turned
them as they now are. But he was in such a hurry that he pressed his finger at the root, and it
left a mark in the soft clay which you can still see on the faces of people.
Source: Mabel Cook Cole, Philippine Folk Tales (Chicago: A. C. McClurg and Company, 1916),
pp. 141-142.

The Children of the Limokon

Mandaya (Mindanao)

In the very early days before there were any people on the earth, the Limokon (a kind of
dove) were very powerful and could talk like men though they looked like birds. One Limokon
laid two eggs, one at the mouth of the Mayo River and one farther up its course. After some
time these eggs hatched, and the one at the mouth of the river became a man, while the other
became a woman.

The man lived alone on the bank of the river for a long time, but he was very lonely and
wished many times for a companion. One day when he was crossing the river something was
swept against his legs with such force that it nearly caused him to drown. On examining it, he
found that it was a hair, and he determined to go up the river and find whence it came. He
travelled up the stream, looking on both banks, until finally he found the woman, and he was
very happy to think that at last he could have a companion.

They were married and had many children, who are the Mandaya still living along the
Mayo River.

Source: Mabel Cook Cole, Philippine Folk Tales (Chicago: A. C. McClurg and Company, 1916),
pp. 143-144

The Creation Story

Tagalog

When the world first began there was no land, but only the sea and the sky, and between them
was a kite (a bird something like a hawk). 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 light on one of the islands to build her 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 child
which was a bamboo. One day when this 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, and out of one section came a man and from the other a woman.
Then the earthquake called on all the birds and fish to see what should be done with these two,
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, and 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.

This so frightened the children that they fled in different directions, seeking hidden rooms
in the house - some concealed themselves in the walls, some ran outside, while others hid in
the fireplace, and 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, and when their children came back they
were the white people.

Source: Mabel Cook Cole, Philippine Folk Tales (Chicago: A. C. McClurg and Company, 1916),
pp. 187-188.

Learning Task:

Directions: After reading the module, answer the chapter quiz intended for this lesson
uploaded in the Google Classroom. In answering the chapter assessment, please make sure
that you have good internet connections and make sure that the form has generated a response
receipt of scores. Good luck.