What are the common Literary Types

during Pre-Colonial Period?

1. Epics (Epiko)
2. Legends (Alamat)
3. Riddles (Bugtong)
4. Proverbs (Salawikain)
5. Myth (Mitolohiya)
6. Folk Songs
7. Tanaga

A. Epics (Epiko)
 Is a long poem, typically one derived from ancient oral
tradition, narrating the deeds and adventures of heroic or
legendary figures or the history of a nation.

Example of Epics:
1. Biag ni Lam-ang
2. Sandayo
B. Legends (Alamat)
 Is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring
human actions perceived or believed both by teller and
listeners to have taken place within human history.

Example of Legends:
1. Alamat ng Dama de Noche
2. Alamat ng Pinya

C. Riddles (Bugtong)
 These are statements that contain superficial words, but
they function figuratively and as metaphors, and are in the
form of questions

Examples of Riddles:
(Bisaya) Baboy sa lasang, ang tunok puro lansang.
(A wild pig of the forest, is covered with spikes.)
Answer: Langka (Jackfruit)
(Maranao) Sominub lawiyan, Mbowat lawitan.
(It dived, It rose.)
Answer: Karayom (Needle)

D. Proverbs (Salawikain)
 Is a simple and concrete saying, popularly known and
repeated, that expresses a truth based on common sense or
experience. They are often metaphorical.

Examples of Proverbs:
(Mandaya) Yang ataog aw madugdug, di da mauuli.
(An egg once broken, will never be the same.)
(Tausug) In lasa iban uba, di hikatapuk.
(Love and cough, cannot be hidden.)

E. Myth (Mitolohiya)
 Are traditional stories occurring in a timeless past. They
involve supernatural elements and are beyond the frontiers
of logic. In order to understand these and other natural
events, they created stories. The stories were handed down
from generation to generation all over the country.
Examples of Myths:
1. Why there is a high tide during a full moon (Ibanag)
2. How the Moon and the Stars Came to Be (Bukidnon)
F. Folk Songs
 A form of folk lyric which expresses the people’s hopes,
aspirations and lifestyles.
 Inspired by the reaction of the people to their environment.
Example of Folk songs:
1. Uyayi- Lullaby
2. Kundiman – Melancholic love song
G. Tanaga
 A quatrain in with seven syllables each with the same
rhyme at the end of each line.
 7-7-7-7 AABB
Example of Tanaga:
1.) Tahak ng tingin, tulak 2.) Tumatawag sa langit
Ng sulyap, yakap, lapat Sana ay ‘wag ma galit
Ng titig ng balikat, Tadhana’y makita
Hatak pa, kindat, hakat. Malimot pagdududa
By: Christian Josh E. Dinoy