PRECOLONIAL LITERATURE

LEARNING OUTCOMES

 Determine the different oral literature that existed before the Colonial Period.
 Demonstrate understanding of how oral tradition can be used to reconstruct Ancient
Filipino life.
PERIODS IN PHILIPPINE LITERATURE

 Precolonial
 Colonial
 Contemporary
 They have their letters and characters... but never is any ancient
writing found among them nor word of their origin and arrival in
these islands; their customs and rites being preserved by traditions
handed down from father to son without any other record.

 Miguel Lopez de Legaspi (1567)

WILLIAM HENRY SCOTT (HISTORIAN)

 “…a considerable discrepancy between what is actually

known about the prehispanic Philippines and what has been
written about it.”
PRECOLONIAL PHILIPPINE LITERATURE

 Early Philippine Literature was oral in nature, and was

part of the heritage of the community. Any member has
the potential to be the singer or story-teller, and they
facilitated the transmission of these poems, songs, tales,
and sayings into later times.
PRECOLONIAL PHILIPPINE LITERATURE

 The lack of intact writings is the result of

these factors: Early Filipinos used perishable
materials for their writings, which meant that
they disintegrated over time; and those that
survived were destroyed be early colonizers.
PRECOLONIAL PHILIPPINE LITERATURE

 The most common form of oral literature were riddles, proverbs, and songs.
 The Vocabulario de la lengua tagala (1754) by Pedro de Sanlucar and Juan de
Noceda is one of the rare Spanish sources that provide early oral tradition that was
taken directly from the people that spoke them.
 Written sources mentions the Tanaga (a form of poetry that has existed before the
coming of the Spaniards) and Ambahan (a poem that is chanted, but not accompanied
with a musical composition).
TANAGA

is a type of Filipino poem, consisting of four lines with seven syllables each with the same rhyme at the end of each
line.
Rhyme Scheme: AAAA, ABBA, ABAB, AABB

In the Tagalog original: In the modern Tagalog syllabication:

"Catitibay ca tolos "Katitibay ka Tulos

sacaling datnang agos! Sakaling datnang agos!
aco’I momonting lomot Ako'y mumunting lumot
sa iyo,I popolopot.“sa iyo'y pupulupot.
FOLKTALES
STORIES HANDED DOWN FROM THE PAST BY WORD
OF MOUTH FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION AND
REFLECTING THE TRADITIONS OF THE PEOPLE.
 Myths – deal mainly with the creation of the
universe, the origin of man, the gods and
supernatural beings.

Legends – deal mainly with the origin of local

KINDS OF
phenomena or events, origins of places,
FOLKTALES plants, animals, things and names.

Fables – deal with animals and inanimate

beings made to speak and act like rational
beings and pointing out morals.
TUNGKUNG LANGIT &
ALUNSINA
THE MONKEY & THE TURTLE
WHY THE PHILIPPINES
HAS MANY ISLANDS
EPICS
EPIC

 Narratives of sustained length based on oral tradition revolving around supernatural

events and heroic deeds in the form of verse. They chanted or sung with a certain
seriousness of purpose with a seriousness of purpose. They embody or validate the
belief, customs, ideals or values of the people.
EPIC

 Most of the remaining epics have been found among the peoples “untouched” by
acculturative processes, i.e., indigenous and ethnic groups in the Mountain Province
and in Mindanao.
 The length of these epics ranges anywhere from 1,000 to 55,000 lines.
 Dating as to when these epics began is difficult to ascertain. Authorship is unknown,
being handed down from generation to generation.
ETHNO-EPICS

 Belong to and represent ethnic

groups and dealing with regional or
tribal heroes.
CHARACTERISTICS

 Abundance of imagery and metaphor drawn from daily life, nature, native
ornamentation, weaponry, implements.
 A decipherable pattern in the development of the story, principally revolving around
the hero; involving encounters with supernatural beings, charmed objects; search for
“loved one” or for parents; courtship marriage.
RECURRENT SUBJECT MATTERS & THEMES

 Heroic exploits and adventures of the hero

 Supernatural or superhuman deeds
 Love and romance
 Courtship – marriage – pregnancy – birth cycles
 Death and resuscitation
 Battles and bravery
 Wealth and royalty and feasting
 Magical and fantastical phenomena and beings and objects
 Customs and rituals
 Kinship behavior and solidarity, familial relationships
ESPIRIDION ARSERNIO MANUEL (1909 - 2003)

 Philippine academic, historian, and anthropologist best known

for his contributions to Philippine anthropology, history,
literature, and linguistics. During a three-decade academic
career at the University of the Philippines, he wrote a seminal
survey of Philippine folk epics.
BIAG NI LAM-ANG (FIRST RECORDED AMONG THE CHRISTIAN ILOCOS IN 1889)

 The hero Lam-ang was born endowed with the power of speech
and supernatural strength. His quest for Ines Kannoyan
involves him in several tests of strength until he finally marries
her.
 Sometime after the wedding, Lam-ang is eaten by monster fish.
His bones were recovered, and his rooster and dog brought him
back to life.
 TUWAANG

 Tuwaang is the hero of several epics or songs of the Bagobo, indigenous group of
southern Mindanao.
 In “The Wedding of the Buhong Sky” is about Tuwaang giving protection to a maiden
who is being pursued by a rejected suitor ( a giant that wrecked havoc on her country).
 In “Tuwaang Attends a Wedding”, the hero finds himself pitted against the groom when
the bride decides it is Tuwaang she wants to marry. Tuwaang defeats the groom by
smashing a golden flute, which contains the life of the groom.
 HINILAWOD (STUDY ATTRIBUTED TO F. LANDA JOCANO IN 1955)

 Considered as the longest epic recorded in the Philippines

(29,000 verses).
 The first part deals with the adventures of Labaw Denggan.
 The second is about Humadapnon who seeks out the beautiful
Nagmalitung Yawa, marries her and almost loses her because
of jealousy.
BANTUGAN

 Bantugan is a prince who excels not only as a valiant warrior

but also as a fabulous lover. Many songs are said to detail his
exploits in love and war.
HUDHUD NI ALIGUYON
HUDHUD

 The Hudhud consists of narrative chants

traditionally performed by the Ifugao community,
which is well known for its rice terraces extending
over the highlands of the northern island of the
Philippine archipelago. It is practiced during the rice
sowing season, at harvest time and at funeral wakes
and rituals.