Santos, Shara Joyce D.

ED-21

Mr. Martinez

Survey of Philippine Literature in English

1. Describe the pre-colonial literature. How did it differ from the succeeding

literature?

Long before the Spaniards came to the Philippines, Filipinos had a civilization of their

own. This civilization partly came from the Malay settlers and partly from their response

to the new environment. Many of these customs and traditions, government and way of

life, have come down to the present day, despite the changes brought about by

westernization and modernization. This is why it is possible to know about our distant

past by simply observing some customs and practices that have resisted change and

modernization. Philippine literature is literature associated with the Philippines from

prehistory, through its colonial legacies, and on to the present. Pre-Hispanic Philippine

literature was actually epics passed on from generation to generation, originally through

an oral tradition. 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.
2. What Filipino qualities were featured in early Philippine literature? Cite

particular instances to justify your answer.

The early inhabitants of the Philippine archipelago had a native alphabet or syllabary

which among the Tagalogs was called baybayin, an inscription akin to Sanskrit. It was

through the baybayin that literary forms such as songs, riddles and proverbs, lyric and

short poems as well as parts of epic poems were written. The bulk of these early

literature however was just passed on through oral recitation and incantation and were

transcribed into the Roman alphabet only centuries later by Spanish chroniclers and

other scholars. It is believed that replacement of the baybayin by the Roman alphabet

must have obliterated a significant aspect of indigenous Philippine literature.

3. Compare and contrast the three myths from Tagalog, Visayan and Mindanao

regions.

 Pre-colonial Luzon were split among Hindu-Buddhist, Muslim principalities, and

animist

 Pre-colonial Visayas were influenced by Hindu-Buddhist and Animism. The

Spaniards even described some of the indigenous people who lived there as

Pintados, which means that they had tattoos/paintings on them.

 Pre-colonial Mindanao (around 900AD) were influenced by Hindu-Buddhist,

Indonesian, and Malaysian beliefs and culture. Then around the 17th and 18th

century, Islam in most northern islands of Mindanao were well established.

4. How relevant were the folk songs during the precolonial period?
During the pre-colonial period, folk song was important to them because it is that

they express their thoughts, experiences during the pre-colonial period. Folk song is an

art that is part of every culture person or group of people. It is in the form of singing of

tunes and lyrics and / or playing musical instruments creates sounds and tunes. Filipino

Folk Songs are songs that reflect the daily life of the indigenous people of the

Philippines. These songs tell stories about the indigenous people, especially the

provinces in their simple way of life, and how they do different things. Like other folk

songs in Asian countries, lyrics and topics are related to nature.

5. Describe the Filipino traits embodied in Philippine epics.

Literature has associated importance for Filipinos. It is a kind of important

remedy that helps people to plan their own lives, to meet their problems, and to

understand the essence of human nature. A person's wealth may be lost or deleted, and

even his patriotism, but not literature. An example of this is the immigration of other

Filipinos. Although they left their homeland, literature was their bridge to the country

they left behind.