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The document discusses the evolution of literature in pre-colonial Philippines. It describes several genres of literature that existed during this time period including riddles, proverbs, epics, myths, legends, fables, and songs. These genres utilized oral tradition to communicate stories, lessons, and history within Philippine cultures before Spanish colonization brought outside influences.

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jonas mejia
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343 views24 pages

21st 1

The document discusses the evolution of literature in pre-colonial Philippines. It describes several genres of literature that existed during this time period including riddles, proverbs, epics, myths, legends, fables, and songs. These genres utilized oral tradition to communicate stories, lessons, and history within Philippine cultures before Spanish colonization brought outside influences.

Uploaded by

jonas mejia
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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The Evolution of

Philippine Literature
PRE-COLONIAL
In the pre-colonial times, oral
transmission was the primary means of
communicating and preserving
Philippine literature.
Long before the colonizers brought their
own influences to our culture, our
literary trove had already amassed an
abundance of folk sayings, stories and
songs.
PRE-COLONIAL
To this day the literary genre of the
riddle in pre-colonial time has
endured. As with other genres of the
period, the riddle went by many
names and forms
 Bugtong (tagalog) Paktakon (Ilongo)
 Patototdon (Bicol) Buburtia (Ilocano)
PRE-COLONIAL

Riddles relied on talinghaga or


metaphor – that is a guessing game of
objects represented by other objects.
 The greatest number of recorded
riddles belonged to the tagalog.
Pedro hides but you can still see his Nail

head.
Not a priest, not a king but wears Clothesline

different kinds of clothes.


Riddle me, riddle me, here comes a Train

roaring chain
Here comes Kaka, walking with an Scissors

open leg.
Adam's hair, you can't count. Rain

Rice cake of the king, that you cannot Water

divide.
Roll in the morning, leaf in the afternoon Mat
It has one entrance, but has three exit. Dress

Big Square Bag of Mr Jacob, to use it, you


Mosquito Net
have to turn it upside down
Two birds, trying to balance in one twig. Earrings

It's here, its here, but you can not see. Wind
My cow in Manila, you can hear his moo. Thunder

General Negro pass by and everybody die. Night

I have a friend and he is with me Shadow


everywhere I go.
Skin and bone flying, what is it? Kite
Nagtago si Pedro, labas ang ulo. Pako
Hindi pari, hindi hari, nagdadamit ng Sampayan
sari-sari.
Bugtong-pala-bugtong, kadenang Tren
umuugong. Gunting
Heto na si Kaka, bubuka-bukaka. Ulan
Buhok ni Adan, hindi mabilang. Tubig
Bibingka ng hari, hindi mo mahati.
Sa araw ay bungbong, sa gabi ay
Banig
dahon
Iisa ang pasukan, tatlo ang labasan.
Malaking supot ni Mang Jacob, kung
sisidlan ay pataob. Damit/ Baro
Dalawang pipit nag titimbangan sa isang Kulambo
siit. Hikaw
Hayan na, hayan na di mo pa makita.
Hangin
Baka ko sa Maynila, hanggang dito, dinig
ang unga. Kulog
Nagdaan si Kabo Negro, namatay na lahat Gabi
ang tao. Anino
Ako ay may kaibigan, kasama ko kahit
Saranggola
saan.
Butot balat lumilipad.
Proverbs, on the other hand, were
rather more serious because they
were intended to teach values.
On a wider scale, proverbs were a
statement of a particular culture's
codes of behavior and beliefs.
Proverbs were known as kasabihan in
Tagalog, panultihon or pagya among the
Cebuano, kasebian among the
Pampango, and humbaton or hurobaton
among the llonggo. In addition, the
people of Panay had the daragilon and
the daraida, while those of the Bukidnon
had the basahanan.
As
with riddles, objects or non-
humans were used to impart
messages about human living.
EXAMPLE

It is better to have a hut


Inhabited by a person Say koli pakalmoay liket
Than a mansion Say ngiras pakalmoay irap
Wherein an owl lives.

Bahay man ay palasyo Industry is the sibling of prosperity


Laziness is the sibling of starvation.
Kung laman ay kuwago;
Mabuti pa ang kubong
Laman ay tao.
In terms of length, epics were on
the opposite end of the riddles and
proverbs.
Indeed, the epics were perhaps the
most prominent literary genre of the
pre-colonial period. The epics were
called darangen in Maranao,
ulaningan in Manobo, guman in
Subanon, and hudhud in Ifugao.
Chanted or sung during multiple
occasions, epics featured local
heroes taking on (and, indeed
succeeding in) various adventures.
Across the Country, each tribe
usually came up with at least one
epic, along with five or six minor
epics.
 Popular examples included the llocano epic
Biag ni Lam-ang, the Ibaloy epic Kabunlan
and Bendian, the Tagalog epic Kumintang,
the Palawan epic Kudaman, the Panay-Bisaya
epic Maragtas at Hinilawod, the Manobo
epic Tuwaang Midsakop, the Negros Bisaya
epic Hari sa Bukit, the Mindanao epic
Darangen, the Muslim epic Bantugan, and
the Ifugao epic Hudhod at Alim.
Shorter forms of fiction included
myths, legends, and fables.
Some myths served to explain
how the world was created.
In different versions, such as:
 the world was created by a bird;
a couple who started the lineage of
man;
and a conflict between the sea and
the sky.
Other myths were intended to
explain the origins of plants and
animals, and other natural
phenomena (such as the creation of
volcanoes and the height of the
heavens).
while explaining the origin of things
in the universe, legends appeared to
have basis in real life. Some names
for these legends included gintunan
in Kinaray-a and llongo, sarita in
llocano, and istorya in Pangasinan.
Like Aesop’s stories, the fables in older
times were short tales that usually
highlighted animals.
Unlike myths and legends which tended
to focus more on explaining origins, the
fables were didactic, in that they were
meant to teach lessons.
Popular examples included "the Monkey
and the Crocodile” and "The Horse and
the Carabao.”
Aside from short fiction and epics, our
country's pre-colonial literature also
abounded in songs. As in our present day,
love songs were hugely popular during
those times.
There were also courtship songs,
serenades, and lyrics for unrequited
love. These included the llocano
badeng, the Manobo and Bukidnon
mandata, and the Bilaan ye dayon.
Lullabies, meanwhile, existed for
the sake of putting infants at ease.
Names for the lullaby included
oyayi in Tagalog and andang by the
Aeta. Here is an example of oyayi.
Here is an example of oyayi.

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