CHAPTER 5

LITERATURE IN CAR AND NCR

 LITERATURE IN CORDILLERA AUTONOMOUS REGION
(CAR)

CAR’s Literature Influence by Geographical Features, Culture and History

One of the regions which have rich literature is Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR). Igorots,
which is one of the tribes, found in CAR. They are the one who signifies people in the Philippines
maybe because they are the best example in describing who is Filipinos and they are rich in beliefs,
customs, rituals, traditions and other cultural practices. The Ifugao do not have a systematic form of
writing, but their oral literature.
Famous Literary Works in Cordillera Autonomous Region

• Wedding Dance by Amador Daguio

• Man of Earth by Amador Daguio
• Spanish period (Poem): “Love of Country” by Andres Bonifacio
• Spanish period (Poem): “The Primer of the Katipunan” by Emilio Jacinto

Amador T. Daguio was a Filipino writer and poet

during pre-war Philippines. He published two books
in his lifetime, and three more posthumously. He was
a Republic Cultural Heritage awardee for his works.
Early Life and Education

Amador Daguio was born on January 8, 1912 in Laoag, Ilocos Norte. His family moved to
Lubuagan, Mountain Province, where his father was an officer in the Philippine Constabulary.
He graduated with honors in 1924 at the Lubuagan Elementary School as valedictorian. Daguio
was already writing poems in elementary school, according to his own account. He wrote a
farewell verse on a chalkboard at least once for a departing teacher when he was in grade 6.
For his high school studies, he moved to Pasig to attend Rizal High School while residing with his
uncle at Fort William McKinley.
Published Works

 Huhud hi aliguyon (a translation of an Ifugao harvest song, Stanford, 1952)

 The Flaming Lyre (a collection of poems, Craftsman House, 1959)
 The Thrilling Poetical Jousts of Balagtasan (1960)
 Bataan Harvest (war poems, A.S Florentino, 1973)
 The Woman Who Looked Out the Window (a collection of short stories, A.S Florentino, 1973)
 The Fall of Bataan and Corregidor (1975)

 AWARDS
 Republic Cultural Heritage award (1973)

"The Wedding Dance" by Amador Daguio - Is a powerhouse of raw emotion for such a short
story. As the reader is drawn into the tale of love and cultural reality, it jars with our
contemporary view of the world.
 LITERATURE IN NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION (NCR)

The NCR is a highly urbanized region in the country, where its total land area amounting to
approximately 63.6 thousand hectares.

Tagalog literature has been born, cradled, nourished and peaked into fruition in the provinces of
Southern Luzon, Central Luzon and the present Metropolitan Manila or the National Capital Region.

Literature in the National Capital Region (NCR) of various countries often reflects the diverse cultural
and linguistic landscape of the region.
The Cradle of Culture

Tagalog region is the birthplace of a rich tradition of Philippine culture in language, politics, economy
and literature. The oldest university in the Philippines, University of Sto. Tomas is located in Manila.
The first printing press was established in Manila. This gave way to the publication of the first book,
Doctrina Cristiana in xylography in 1593, written in Spanish and Tagalog versions.

The bible was first translated into Tagalog in Barlaan and Josaphat in 1708 and 1712. The life of Christ
in epic tradition known popularly today as Pasyon was written in Tagalog by various writers like Gaspar
Aquino de Belen and Fr. Mariano Pilapil.
The literary tradition in the Tagalog regions specially outstanding in the field of oral literature like
bugtong(riddle), proverbs, native songs. These oral literatures are always in poetic forms, usually
seven-syllabic rhymes, so Asian in form and perspective. Considering this rich and envigorating
cultural matrix, it is not surprising that it is the Tagalog region that was destined to be the
birthplace of historic men in Philippine politics, culture and literature that includes Francisco
Balagtas Baltazar, Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, Apolinario Mabini, Emilio Jacinto, Marcelo H. del
Pilar, Jose P. Laurel, Claro M. Recto, Amado V. Hernandez, Lope K. Santos, Lazaro Francisco,
Faustino Aguilar, Jose Corazon de Jesus, Alejandro Abadilla, Modesto de Castro. It is not
noticeable that such men are not only man of history that played a great role in Philippine
independence movement but men of letters as well.
THANK YOU!