Philippine Oral Traditions Theory and Practice

University of San Carlos Publications
PHILIPPINE ORAL TRADITIONS: THEORY AND PRACTICE

Author(s): E. Arsenio Manuel
Source: Philippine Quarterly of Culture and Society, Vol. 8, No. 1, Special Folklore Issue
(March 1980), pp. 7-27
Published by: University of San Carlos Publications
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Philippine Quarterly of Culture & Society
8:7-27(1980)
PHILIPPINE ORAL TRADITIONS: THEORY AND PRACTICE*
E. Arsenio Manuel
My experiences outlined below are intended to be a background for the discussion of the theory and
practice of Philippine oral traditions that follows. * *
I have been engaged in folklore activities for the past few decades. I was born and grew up in a
central Luzon town whose population was about half llocano and half Tagalog. I had before me,
therefore, a wealth of customs and practices which a mixed constituency offered for study, especially
those related to marriage and burial, types of houses and wells, gardens in the field, and so on.
However, I was then still too young to pay any attention to their meaning. My father was a well-known
storyteller and anecdotalist but by the time scholars had taken an interest in these tales, I myself had long
forgotten almost all of them.
My interest in folklore study was first stimulated by the folklore course I took with Prof. H. Otley
Beyer. He instructed his students to gather myths, legends, folktales, folksongs, games, riddles and
proverbs which were current in their birthplaces and hometowns but he said nothing to us about
methodology. Later, I also took a course in world literature taught by Prof. Dean S. Fansler, who asked
us to submit term papers on any aspect of ethnic literature, whether oral or written. I decided on
submitting one on oral literature ? Tayabas Tagalog songs.
Both Beyer and Fansler hardly touched methodology. Fansler, however, paved the way for the
historical interpretation of tales in his magnum opus, Filipino Popular Tales (1921). In this manner
Fansler became an outstanding folklorist but Beyer remained the big-time collector. I became Beyer's
helper in the tremendous job of gathering his materials.
A third influence on my career was Prof. Gabriel A. Bernardo, then the librarian of the University of
the Philippines Library, which I had joined in 1929, Bernardo regaled me with his ribald tales about
friars, which he told in the manner of Boccacio and Chaucer. We also had long conversations on
paleography and metrical romances, which added to my store of knowledge in the field.
While in the library service at U.P. I was introduced to the writings of folklorists such as Leonard
Bloomfield, F.C. Cole, Mabel Cook Cole, Morice Vanoverbergh, and to the collections of local
practitioners such as Sofronio Calderon, Flora Ylagan, Julian Balmaceda, to works on vernacular
literature and to A.V. Hartendorp's Philippine Magazine, which did much to promote studies on Filipino
culture and ethnicities.
During the Japanese Occupation, my interest in Philippine studies gained added impetus. In Quezon
Province, where I had taken refuge, I had plenty of time to spend with the barrio people as I collected
their riddles, customs, and beliefs. After Liberation, I joined the U.P. Department of Oriental
Languages; two and a half years later I moved to the Department of Anthropology. Since then, \ have
devoted much time to putting to use the materials I had gathered in the past years.
I. Goals
When the Philippine Folklore Society was founded in 1958 it was clearly
committed to certain goals. It is very fitting to restate them here in view of the fast
acculturative processes which are changing and shaping ethnic societies and the country
* Paper read at the Third National Folklore Congress held at the University of San Carlos, Cebu
City, November 26-30, 1976.
* * We give the text in a shortened form. ? Editor
8 PHILIPPINE QUARTERLY OF CULTURE AND SOCIETY
today. These goals which guided its founders and members can loosely be grouped into
the immediate, the remoter and the ultimate.
The immediate goal and most urgent task of folklorists today, as envisioned by the
Philippine Folklore Society (PFLS), are the collecting and recording of all traditions in
all parts of the country. The where or who of this collecting activity does not matter
much. Since it is easier to record these traditions in the language you were born to and
raised in, it is advisable to start work with one's own ethnic group. This will do away
with the language barrier, which many an enthusiastic student has had to surmount.
Since most ethnic groups now have literate students among them, a number of the latter
could start working on their own traditions. With the more advanced ethnic groups in
particular, this work can be done almost simultaneously in every town and hamlet.
However, ethnic groups without any literate members face a very real problem. For
considering the conditions obtaining in the country today, it is precisely these neglected
minority groups which need the folklorists' immediate attention. Perhaps, under the
guidance of school teachers, something could be done to collect and record their oral
traditions with the help of capable students and pupils. Besides teachers, other
professionals like doctors, nurses, engineers, and others might be instructed in the
collecting work. In those minority groups who have achieved a sufficient degree of
literacy ordinary citizens could be won for this task. Guides and outlines, for this
purpose, could be sent to them. When they become aware of the importance and value
of such an activity and are taught how to do it, these people may be very happy to
engage in folklore collection even at the cost of some sacrifice.
Another approach to massive collecting and research work would be the
establishment of a national agency specifically charged with such work, like a people's
commission on culture and oral traditions. Such an institution would, amongst other
things, have to devise ways and means of undertaking this kind of work. Still another
way is to establish departments of folklore in various colleges and universities in the
country with the same goals as above. All these steps can be taken singly or
simultaneously, using as general guidelines the following rules:
1. Record as faithfully as possible traditional materials;

2. do so in the language of the storyteller, singer, riddler, and others; and
3. make sure that no ethnic group is omitted and that the collection is done as
exhaustively as possible.
I have already explained on several occasions the meaning of '' traditionality'' of

oral materials. However, let me again give a brief summary of how the traditional
character of folklore materials may be gauged: (a) it should pass a 3-generation test,
or (b) a 5-version test from the same locality, or (c) a 2-version test from different
ethnic groups; and (d) it must be recorded in the original language of the storyteller,
singer, etc. These rules do not exclude, however, other oral materials that do not pass
any of the tests, but these should be put in a separate category for future study or for
other kinds of study. Traditional oral literature carriers, let it be pointed out, are met
ideally in communities away from acculturated areas, centers of culture and art, with
PHILIPPINE ORAL TRADITIONS 9
mixed populations, places where planned change has been introduced or where agen
of change criss-cross the way. This preference does not mean, however, that n
collecting work can be done in Manila or Cebu. It must be emphasized that one can
start almost anywhere in the country, even today, provided one observes stric
adherence to the collecting rules stated above and tests the material collected
ascertain its ' 'traditionally.'' In certain cases, as already stated, a particular
methodology may have to be evolved.
Faithfulness in recording the traditional material can be achieved in one of severa
ways: (a) by using a tape-recorder, (b) by the direct method, that is, from mouth
paper; or (c) by urging the carrier of the tradition himself to write down the tale or text
of a folksong. The tape-recorder is no assurance, however, of a 100 percent
faithfulness, for oftentimes it becomes quite difficult to transcribe materials fully
Besides, not every citizen interested in folklore recording will be able to equip himse
with a tape-recorder. The direct method, on the other hand, while it does not assure
perfect record either, is, I think, the best for the general practitioner. The tape-recorder
may be dispensed with except in the recording of folksongs, ballads and epics. Ver
satisfactory results, on the other hand, are attainable by the direct method by readin
back what has been recorded to the storyteller, riddler, etc. In this manner, verification
and corrections can be made very easily by the raconteur himself. Most tape-recorde
lack the flexibility that would permit inserting corrections. In this respect the dire
method has it over any mechanical recording device.
With the traditional storyteller, the direct method is best, if he is monolingua
Problems have arisen in the case of bilinguals with mixed backgrounds. I have met
storytellers who could tell the tale better in English than in their mother tongue, such a
Tagalog. In cases in which English was used, some elements of literary value were
certainly lost on the way. This is one problem which arises in the process of gatheri
folk material from a mixed or heterogeneous population such as that found in Manila or
Davao.
I would like to stress at this point the indispensability of preserving the traditional
materials in the vernacular. One of the things we ought to do for this purpose would
setting up archives of traditional literature in every town or province. This is not a
impossible task, provided the people are made aware of its value and take pride in t
preservation of our cherished folk traditions and creations.
Exhaustive collecting is, of course, an ideal goal. Though it is a goal primarily fo
the scholar, young students should also be made aware of it. But even the scholar, if
is to achieve his goal, had better narrow down his collecting activities to his home town
and its surrounding barrios. Indeed, he can do a more exhaustive collecting work th
way. However, bilinguals have the added advantage that they can spread the
activities to other places. In any case it is necessary to know the language of the ethn
group from whom one is to collect; facility in the language of the subject group i
indispensable if one is to do significant work in folklore. The difficulty of learning
new language should not prove a deterrent to one's determination to work along thi
line. The task is made easier by the fact that Philippine languages belong to the sam
Philippinesian sub-family of languages. Because this is so, learning, even to a limited

degree, just one Philippine ethnic language ? its vocabulary, grammar, and syntax ?
prepares a fieldworker for a meaningful study of folk traditions.
The remoter goal which inspires folklorists refers to what they are going to do with
the recorded material. Whether the collecting is done on an individual, school, regional
or national basis, an archiving of the materials must necessarily follow. As one devotes
year after year to collecting, the varied materials gathered can be expected to
accumulate and eventually to become an archive. To mention two individual projects;
the 4,000 folktales collected by D.S. Fansler as well as the materials collected in 150
volumes by H. Otley Beyer became each an archive. Unfortunately, the first one is now
apparently lost while the second is no longer available in this country. Less ambitious
persons, however, may succeed in collecting just a volume of proverbs, of riddles, or
folktales. If the collector is not selfish, he will allow his work to be copied and added to
a college collection or, even better, if the institution is worth it, he may donate a copy
to it. Under favorable conditions such a school will eventually acquire a collection of
folklore materials which will become available to a wider group of users. That school
collection, in turn, might be copied or microfilmed by other folklore centers, or by the
National Library, or by any university library which needs them. In this manner, the
preservation of collected materials becomes useful to the nation and even institutions
abroad. And if the government ever establishes a folklore commission, we may hope
that a nationwide archive of folklore materials will speedily come into being.
After archiving, the next step will be classification and indexing of the materials.
The two tasks are corollary activities of archiving. An archive of materials without an
index is obviously less useful than one with such a tool. (Details regarding classification
and indexing may be taken up later by the folklore specialist and archivist and need not
bother us here).
The ultimate goals of folklore studies, especially in a country such as the
Philippines, which is characterized by many languages and ethnic groups, are, first,
translation and publication and second, humanistic and scientific study of the materials.
It is unfortunate that very few Filipino students have a command of the languages of
the ethnic minority groups. But in any case, translation of folklore materials is a
necessity, either in the National Language or in an international medium such as
English. Perhaps we shall have to concentrate first on translating these oral materials
into the National Language in order to bring to light that part of national literature
which is basic to any kind of literature. Translation into English, in the meanwhile, is
likely to continue since this is the best way of communicating with the countries of Asia
and the rest of the world. Furthermore, the Filipino humanist of the future will also
have to master some languages of Southeast Asia because comparative studies are
becoming more urgent as a means of promoting understanding and cooperation in the
area.
Publication of materials is imperative in folklore studies in order to diss

information and let others share the enjoyment of folk traditions and lite
Whether this endeavor requires publication first in the National Languag
should be the favored line of action, or whether this be in (English) translation, are
matters of detail which circumstances will finally decide. Necessarily, any future teacher
or scholar will have to train himself in some Philippine languages in order to be a
learned and effective teacher. But for the folklore scholar, there is an even greater need
to acquire linguistic proficiency just as European scholars are expected to acquire a
command of several European languages. The language requirements of the graduate
schools must in subsequent years accordingly be attuned to our people's needs. In this
manner, the creative development of a truly national language can rationally evolve
from a broader and deeper basis than now obtains.
The humanistic and scientific study of folklore will not be discussed here but in
subsequent articles I intend to write.
II. Theory and Practice
In any study or enterprise, theory and practice must go hand in hand and should be
developed together in a mutually interactive way. The attractive possibilities of folklore
studies in this country can easily be envisioned in theory; but it is important that we
move from purely theoretical considerations to practice and specific goals. These goals
have roughly been delineated above. Let me emphasize here that these goals and the
underlying theory can be made truly meaningful only when they are made operative in
certain aspects of cultural studies. These aspects are (a) historical folkloristics and (b)
the assessment of oral traditions as part of our national literature.
Since I have discussed these matters at some length in certain earlier writings, I shall
now treat them but briefly as an aid to a fuller understanding of our social background
and for a broader and deeper comprehension of our national identity. It is easily
overlooked, for instance, that oral traditions have age. In the Philippines, they are
rooted in generations of transmission in languages which are related. Hence, they can
provide a solid element for achieving inter-ethnic understanding, which is a good basis
for national solidarity, especially as this body of traditions live in the minds and hearts
of the people. At present there is no national epic yet. What we have is perhaps more
than thirty epics belonging to different ethnic groups; still, the fact is that all these epics
belong to our people as a living heritage. If all or fairly all of every ethnic group's lore
were collected, each group would be contributing its share to our national heritage
which is, ? because of the archipelagic character of our country and the numerous
ethnolinguistic groups ? really a heterogeneous but essentially mutually
complementary one. Why should Tagalog, Cebuano, Bikol, Ilonggo and Ilokano
literature be the only core of our national literature when there is so much to be gained
and enjoyed from other majority and minority-group literatures as well?
At this point, then, let me emphasize the breadth and depth of historical
folkloristics to show that it is a field worthy of attention. Whenever I touch this
subject, I am reminded of Jose Rizal's efforts to dig into the roots of our culture.
Though he did not have the time to fully demonstrate the utility of such scholarly
pursuits, yet by editing Morga's Sucesos de las Isias Filipinos, Rizal was able to show
his seriousness of purpose and to point out the value of such a study. Further efforts
along this line are seen in his two short studies on folklore: "Two Eastern Fables, "
and "Specimens of Tagal Folklore." In the first, Rizal undertook to compare the
Tagalog version of "The Monkey and the Turtle" with its Japanese version. In his
interpretation he gave it as his opinion that the tale must have come from the south, if
not particularly from the Philippines. It is this aspect of folklore study which I intend to
discuss further at this juncture in order to buttress the studies of our prehistory made in
other disciplines. I shall enumerate various areas and particular theories to which
folklore studies can certainly contribute.
First: If in reaching the different parts of Oceania Pacific Islanders passed through
the Philippine group of islands, as linguistics and archaeology have tried to prove, then
it is likely that comparative material in the oral literature of the peoples of these areas
can be found to support such contentions.
Second: If the Philippines were really at the crossroads of migrating peoples after
the last glacial period, then their oral traditions might possibly reflect such movements.
Third: Can we be sure that whatever corpus or items of oral traditions in the
Philippines are not reflected in Southeast Asian traditions elsewhere belong to original
indigenous creativity?
Fourth: If the great amount of Chinese porcelain found in the Philippines is an
indisputable evidence of Chinese traders selling or exchanging their wares with
aboriginal peoples, is this fact well reflected in our oral traditions? If not, why not? In
this respect, at least one good example is a passage in the Lam-ang epic of the
Ilokanos, which reveals that the hero was plying his trading vessel between China and
the Ilokos coast. But apart from this example, what particular indications are there in
other ethnic traditions?
Fifth: If a number of Philippine oral traditions appear related to Indian sources,
how did these relations come about? Are they evidence that there was a direct contact
with Indian gurus and proselytizers, or even of political domination, as Pardo de Tavera
would have us believe?
Sixth: If all other foreign elements and influences (Indonesian, Malay, etc.) in our
folklore can finally be isolated and stripped off by a process of analysis and elimination,
should we not then get at a corpus of oral traditions which are genuinely indigenous to
the Philippines?
A deep and broad understanding along this line of theoretical considerations can be
facilitated by folklore studies, especially comparative folkloristics. These studies should
be concerned with the reconstruction of our past traditions and culture and their
interpretation based on materials collected both in the Philippines and outside.
Such a worthwhile undertaking, if it is to bear fruit, presupposes two things to have
been accomplished: the methodological collection and archiving of Philippine materials
and a similar accomplishment outside the country. The latter task, however, needs
regional cooperation, which process has already happily started in different parts of
Southeast Asia and Oceania. That is certainly to be welcomed. If international
cooperation has already been initiated in political and economic matters among states
and peoples, why not also in cultural affairs?

In practice, in the Philippines there are a number of individual achievements in
comparative folklore. Starting with the studies of oral traditions made by Rizal and the
Dutch scholar Hendrik Kern in the last quarter of the 19th century, comparative studies
were continued during the early American period by Frances Densmore in folk music
and by Laura Watson Benedict in mythology and religion. Roland Dixon's seminal
work on oceanic mythology barely scratched the surface, but Fansler's Filipino Popular
Tales (1921) was a landmark in Philippine folklore studies both in comprehensiveness
and methodology. He was, in this respect, followed by Edward Norbeck, though the
latter's work covers only the folktales of Northern Luzon and the Atayals of Formosa.
Other American students, whose works are becoming increasingly important, are Donn
and Harriett Hart, and among other foreigners, Hatt, Mabuchi and Rahmann. Raats
has recently introduced structural methods in reconstructing fragmented myths.
Among Filipinos, J.R. Francisco appears to be the only practitioner in this line.
Everything considered, though the results are not yet very impressive, the future is
bright with promise.
One other problem which historical folkloristics has to face is the dating of tales,
ballads, and other pieces. Is dating of this kind of material ever possible, even in a
rough way? The limited achievement so far attained by Fansler on this score was to
pinpoint the source or probable origin of his material. He has also succeeded in
categorically assigning particular tales either to the historic or the prehispanic period. I
believe that this is achievement enough. But techniques could probably be further
refined beyond the point they had reached with Fansler to determine whether particular
tales are pre-Christian or not. For example, archaeology provides us with
approximate dates for the arrival of Austronesian migrants in several parts of Polynesia.
If certain folktales recorded in this vast area show similarities to Philippinesian tales, is
this not presumably an indication of the latter's age? Of course, there are still certain
theoretical problems to surmount, such as those having to do with the theories of
independent inventions, of convergence, or of the psychic unity of mankind. We may
hope that increasing refinements of techniques will in time help explain the tales'
common presence in various cultures as well as their differences and variations. These
refinements, once achieved, can significantly add to the evidence which can be derived
from linguistics and ethnology. Using these methods in combination, certain games,
e.g., are datable in a rough way: protohistoric, or pre-Christian; or Neolithic, perhaps.
Although this aspect of folklore studies may appear attractive only to prehistorians, it
does not preclude folklorists from engaging in what is one of the most intriguing fields
of folklore.
In theory, therefore, whatever residues there are left in our folklore after the
described operations have been made, could, to all intents and purposes, be taken as
native or aboriginal. This, however, is a long process, and it might be argued that it is
not really worth the arduous and long effort. To a certain extent I would agree. But to
be able to say that such and such a tale is of Malayan or Indian or American or Spanish
introduction is a good enough accomplishment, for the Filipino student will thus be able
to distinguish between the elements coming from the East and those from the West. In
other words, through an arduous process of elimination, if American and Spanish
contributions or elements in our folklore are in this manner identified, what remains
could be readily labeled "oriental". Of course, there will still be some debate on the
value of such an achievement.
III. Oral Traditions as Ethnic Literature
We started with the concept that collecting work can best be carried out in a specific
area that is known to the student, one whose language he speaks. Time and interest
permitting, he may later expand his collecting activity to surrounding localities in a
radiating manner until he is finally satisfied that there is nothing more to collect.
Having exhausted ? in his own mind ? the oral lore for a particular area he may go
ahead and extend his research to areas farther from the center. Under propitious
circumstances, he at the end will have brought together a comprehensive personal
collection covering a particular area of a specific ethnic group. Other collectors may in
time follow his example, starting in their birthplaces, later expanding their activities in
a similar manner, and eventually accumulating much material that is worth keeping and
studying. If this is done in the various areas of an ethnic group, in the center, eastern,
western, northern sectors and so on, with the results of these efforts collected in one
place ? the individual's home, a school, or a government agency ? then an ethnic or
provincial collection of the oral traditions will have come into being.
Since a single collector cannot in fact exhaustively record all the traditions of any
place, this goal remains just an ideal. In fact, it would be wise if teams of collectors
were to go over the same place again and again as long as the ethnic group concerned is
not swallowed up by larger groups or has not disappeared completely from the face of
the earth. Theoretically, some smaller ethnic groups in the country today have a better
chance of surviving under traditional ways than others, and it would be the better part
of wisdom for the folklorist to work first in those areas needing immediate attention. In
this respect, I think that the Cordillera peoples of Northern Luzon have a better chance
of preserving their traditions than the pagan peoples of Mindanao, for the simple reason
that the Northern Luzon groups live in permanent villages, put a high premium on land
ownership, and have constructed permanent rice terraces, which are likely to last
hundreds of years. The Muslim groups of Mindanao also have a better chance of
preserving their oral traditions than their pagan brothers on the same island for they are
a bigger population, they are well entrenched, and they defend their lands and their
ways against encroachments. While the Maranaws, for instance, have lost their
foothold in Lanao del Norte, they have learned their lesson and are now taking a firm
stand in Lanao del Sur.
In the collecting of ethnic literature, the original text becomes paramount. This is
the reason why the native collector, better than any other, is in a position to record the
oral traditions. It is unthinkable for the native collector to record tales in translation
right away, specifically in the second language in which he may have attained some
facility. Such a practice of directly translating materials on paper certainly defeats the
purpose of building a collection of original ethnic literature. For this reason, any student
who attempts to collect traditional (oral) literature from a group other than his own is
duty-bound first to learn the language of that group as a sine qua non for obtaining
genuine results.
Unfortunately, however, this principle of collecting tales, songs, riddles, and so on
in the native language has not yet been fully understood by most collectors. Foreign
students and writers had to cope with language difficulties but many of them did their
best in recording our folklore in the native language; see, e.g., John Bowring's
Tagalog proverbs (1859), W.E. Retana's Batangueno folksongs (1888), Marre's
Tagalog maxims (1900), Frederick Starr's small collection of Bisayan, Iloko,
Pampanga, Pangasinan, Gaddang and Tagalog riddles (1909), Leonard Bloomfield's
Tagalog folktales (1917), Moss's Ibaloy tales (1924) and songs (1919), and Donn
V. Hart's Filipino riddles, and omnibus collection (1964). It is remarkable to note in
this line-up the absence of such folklore giants as H. Otley Beyer, Fay Cooper Cole,
and D.S. Fansler, who seemingly did not attach much importance to learning the
original language of their raconteurs. As I have explained elsewhere, these three
collectors had other goals, viz., to establish a great archive of materials in the case of
Beyer; to reconstruct the society and culture of the past from oral traditions in the
practice of Cole; and to trace the tales' diffusion and origin in the case of Fansler. In all
these cases, the original language of the texts did not matter so much and their
collecting methods may therefore be justified to that extent. There was another
collector of epic literature in the person of Frank Laubach. He should not be forgotten,
for though he translated only two songs of the Bantugan epic cycle (and the texts of
these songs were not reproduced), the texts seem to have appeared in Lanao Progress.
One advantage of having the texts in the original is the fact that their availability
enables other students better equipped or qualified to make their own translation,
which may be an improvement on the first translation. Without those original texts, no
other translation would be possible. It is needless to point out that the choice of the
best translation can only be done from among the many available on the basis of the
original text.
Translations, however, are at best approximations. When particular aspects of
culture are to be gone into in detail, the student will necessarily have to use the original
language, the text, from which to derive a more accurate, more dependable picture. For
example, since Pigafetta recorded his observations of Philippine native life in Italian and
since we use the later English translation in Blair and Robertson's edition, we get into
serious problems of interpretation with such words as ' 'kings" and "petty kings".
Even the original Pigafetta text in Italian did not record the vernacular terms, but at
least in his wordlist the term "raja" is included. He mentioned "kings" or "petty
kings'' in certain islands but we are not informed whether they all belonged to the same
category as raja or not. If Pigafetta had stayed longer in Cebu, perhaps he would have
learned the language and provided us with a vocabulary of Cebuano in 1521 ? but, of
course, this is just water over the dam.
The functions and socio-cultural context of oral traditions have a necessary place in
folklore studies, especially of non-literate groups. Unless a particular group has been
studied thoroughly by anthropologists and other social scientists, the function of these
floating traditions in the total culture are very helpful in understanding them. It is
correct to say that in a literate society it is possible to reconstruct the socio-cultural
milieu from the writings of the period, as in the case, for instance, of the revolutionary
zarzuela; the beginnings, development and death of which are shown in Amelia
Bonifacio's work. Yet, we can say in all candor that there was no complete portrayal of
the forces behind the revolution in this book, for the periodicals of the period have not
all been preserved, and diaries, reminiscences, and personal letters descriptive of the
time are practically non-existent or were not available to the writer then. Much worse
would be the case of a preliterate society, where no writing of any kind can be found
and where we have to rely almost completely on the memory of old people in order to
get a glimpse of their past.
The need of recovering all existing oral traditions becomes even more pressing in
underdescribed groups. The ideal for the collector of oral traditions would be to
combine the techniques of the ethnographer, the ethnomusicologist, and folklorist into
one in order to be able to study the socio-cultural milieu behind the folklore. Bascom, in
one of his illuminating essays (1954), understandably gave a major role to social
context in discussing the four functions of folklore in this passage:
The first point I wish to discuss is that of the social context of folklore, its place in the
daily round of life of those who tell it. This is not a ' 'problem" in the strict sense, but rather a
series of related facts which must be recorded, along with the texts, if the problems of the
relation between folklore and culture or the functions of folklore, or even the creative role of
the narrators, are to be analyzed. These facts include: (1) when and where the various forms
of folklore are told; (2) who tells them, whether or not they are privately owned, and who
composes the audience; (3) dramatic devices employed by the narrator, such as gestures, or
acting out parts in a tale; (4) categories of folklore recognized by the people themselves; and
(5) attitudes of the people toward these categories.
As to the cultural context, which Bascom regarded more important than the social
context, we quote only a part of what he said:
The problem of the "cultural context" or the relationship between folklore and other
aspects of culture is in itself far more important. This problem has two distinct facets, the first
of which concerns the extent to which folklore, like language, is a mirror of culture, and
incorporates descriptions of the details of ceremonies, institutions and technology, as well as
the expression of beliefs and attitudes. Boas' classical analysis of Tsimshian myths (1916) has
demonstfated, in the words of Herskovits, that "a substantial body of folktales is more than
the literary expression of a people. It is, in a very real sense, their ethnography which, if
systematized by the student, gives a penetrating picture of their way of life.
In this connection, Bascom points out four functions of folklore: (a) entertainment
and its corollaries', (b) the role "it plays in validating culture, in justifying its rituals
and institutions to those who perform and observe them"; (c) the part "it plays in
education, particularly, but not exclusively, in non-literate societies"; and (d) the
' 'function of maintaining conformity to the accepted patterns of behaviour.''
It is from these theoretical points of view, aside from the question of authenticity
(based on the traditionality criteria), ethnic identity, sources, and quantity that I have
reviewed the scholarly productions of graduate schools in this country (Manuel 1975),
on which I based my statement that about 90 percent of the studies examined were
found wanting in whole or in part. I then suspected that the faults and failures of those
scholarly endeavours could be ascribed to lack of training not only of the students
themselves but also of their advisers, including the readers or critics of the theses; and,
of course, to the curious practice of graduate schools of allowing students to write on a
folklore subject for a master's or doctor's degree in schools offering no course in
folklore and without a qualified instructor in folklore for that matter. Many graduate
schools take it for granted that any literature instructor or professor can handle folklore
courses without having any training in the subject, in the same manner that some
graduate schools allow their students to write on anthropological subjects without the
school having any offerings in anthropology! This, in my view, is one of the most
lamentable situations obtaining in the educational system of any country.
Although many a collection and many a study has admittedly been spoiled by lack
of proper training, by inadequate direction given by unqualified advisers, by lack of
command of the native language, and by other factors, these shortcomings are not in
any case insurmountable. Foreign manuals and guides, especially on folklore, are
readily available and may become useful, especially for the colleges and universities
concerned. Happily, there are now some schools offering anthropology and folklore
courses, which may greatly help graduate students to acquire an understanding of the
basic rules and to receive the requisite training in the art and techniques of folklore
study. The language barrier, which is a real problem too, can be overcome either by
learning the language or by employing assistants able to translate recorded or
transcribed material. In other words, these traditional major roadblocks are not
completely irremediable. Colleges and schools, therefore, should not feel ashamed to
admit these sad realities and very real problems but should meet them squarely. School
administrators, moreover, should not hesitate to send their faculty to other schools
where folklore or anthropology courses are being offered .They must employ folklorists,
if not anthropologists, in their faculty fo meet the growing demand of the times.
In this manner, schools in different parts of the country, manned by understanding
and sympathetic administrators, can act as pioneers in becoming repositories of ethnic
oral traditions. Any school can be proud of having such administrators. The collections
accruing from such endeavor would undoubtedly greatly enhance the prestige of a
school and might even entice the government to extend funding for this
nationalism-oriented enterprise. With faculty members embarking on collecting
activities, whether on a small or a grand scale, and students joining in such activities
under the close supervision of their institution, what better combination of
circumstances could be desired for the success and continued support of such an
endeavor?
I strongly urge the initiation and development of folklore collections, either on a
local or regional level. Although the Commonwealth government in the later thirties
under President Quezon seriously instructed all towns to collect data on their local
history and traditions, there was unfortunately no adequate agency established to take
care of the materials. A small section in the National Library was created to house and
take care of the incoming materials. The collection, unfortunately, was destroyed
during the last war, a catastrophe which could teach one important lesson: never put all
your eggs in one basket! From this experience I would conclude that regional or
provincial collections might better serve the goal of preserving our national folklore
heritage. Lack of direction and supervision hampered subsequent efforts by President
Quirino and President Macapagal in this direction, especially as the task was divided
among various offices: the National Library, the offices of Division Superintendents
and school principals.
To assure ourselves of the success of such a collecting enterprise ? whether local,
regional, or national ? there is need for a sufficiently strong permanent structure to
house the collected materials, with provisions for expansion in the next two or three
generations. The agency entrusted with the work should be manned by trained
personnel and sufficiently provided with funds for undertaking the collecting work, the
processing of the materials, and making these available later for public use. Minor,
major, or ageing collectors who did work on their own, may be encouraged by this
development to either deposit or donate their own collections for safe-keeping because
their collections are more likely to be preserved there than if left to their heirs.
As collections grow in size and in the variety of materials, they will enhance the
name of the collecting institution. Centers for research and study purposes may
subsequently be attached to them to serve the region or province concerned. As our
experiences with the Japanese occupation have shown, several centers in a region would
be even better since they may help to minimize losses from fire, floods, typhoons as
well as animal pests, not to mention man-made damage.
IV. Ethnic Oral Traditions as Part of National Literature
There is a further important purpose served by folkloristics which has so far only
been touched upon in passing. The oral literature collected'by dedicated folklorists ?
both amateur and professional ? is part of our national literature. The correct concept
of national literature will elude us as long as our oral traditions remain forgotten.
In the creation of a national literature there is participation from two sources: the
anonymous folk creator and the individual creative writer. In Philippine literary history,
the recognition of individual writers ? poets, dramatist, and fiction writers ? started
earlier than the recognition of the folk creators. For this we must not blame history nor
people involved. It must be noted, however, that creative writing is less than a hundred
years old in this country. The other source of national literature ? folklore ? is
infinitely much older and can lay claim to thousands of years of life. The late
recognition of this older stream of tradition is due to our late awakening as a nation,
although consciousness of this element in our tradition is almost as old as creative
writing. The works of Jose Rizal and Isabelo de los Reyes on oral lore were
sandwiched between Rizal's two novels, though Pedro Paterno's Ninay, based on
Tagalog customs, antedated Rizal's. The delay in our awareness of the significance of
folklore in spite of Rizal's pioneering attempts is perhaps explained by our uneven
development as a nation. Political or national independence became our foremost goal
as a people since the last decade of the Spanish regime, a struggle continued with zest
and vigour during the American period. It drew our attention away from other matters,
which we thought immaterial to nationhood. Today, having attained our
independence, we still are apt to think that folk traditions and oral lore have nothing to
do with nation-building, in spite of the fact that these can readily be shown to be
some of the most effective and potent means of attaining unity in the midst of diversity.
Indeed, mutual understanding and cooperation among different ethnolinguistic
groups can be greatly enhanced by folk literature. For oral traditions have long been
cherished by the people. All that is needed is time to make ethnic groups aware of the
wealth and beauty of each other's traditions. If this can be done, how easily national
unity will grow! For while creative literature proceeds from individual minds filled with
differing purposes, this is not the case with traditional literature. We do not assume,
however, that all forms and types of traditional literature are equally worth spreading,
just as not all works of known writers are worth reprinting.
I am certain, however, that there are pieces in every ethnic oral tradition which are
worth reading and publishing. Who has not been charmed by Frank Laubach's
translation of portions of the Bantugan, the Maranaw epic, or by Hufana's (1975)
recent compilation of poetry, both traditional and creative? Editors must work on what
has been collected and translated and present these works of the folk to the people.
Possibly, we will need our creative writers to produce readable translations of
vernacular oral literature into the other languages. This is what the poet Amador T.
Daguio did with one of the Hudhud songs (1952). If Filipino writers were to alternate
between using folk materials in their creative writing and translating or adapting oral
literature, the people would certainly approve. Ricardeo Demetillo has shown the way
in two of his works (1961, 1975).
As the concluding section of my paper let me give three samples from my collection
of folktales which I believe may be regarded as part of Philippine folk literature.
The first selection, a tale from Bontok, must be very old. In my opinion, it is
pre-hispanic because it is widely distributed not only among the mountain peoples of
Northern Luzon but also among Christian and Muslim groups. In fact, it is found
elsewhere in eastern Asia, e.g., Japan (see Seki 1963, Story No. 23; Hatt
1949:94-96 for a summary of the distribution of the motif and type). Here is the story?
Tokfefe, the Star Wife
A long time ago there was a hunter who was a widower. He made his living by hunting
and trapping wild animals near a lake in the middle of a forest. Sometimes the hunter would
sleep in the forest after he had set up his traps. One night he was awakened by the noise of
women laughing. He woke up and quickly followed the sound of laughter. It led him to the
lake in the middle of the forest.
He was amazed to find beautiful maidens bathing in the lake. He finally realized that they
were stars who had taken off their wings and left them at the side of the lake. The hunter
quickly seized a pair of wings and hid it. He went back to his hiding place to observe the
bathing stars.
When they were through bathing they picked up their wings and put them on. All the star
maidens flew up into the sky except one who could not find her wings. When she found out
how futile was her search, she sat down and began to weep. The hunter, seeing all this, took
pity on her and came out of his hiding place to approach her. He persuaded her to come along
to his house and finally he convinced her to marry him.
After they were married the hunter hid the wings of his wife in the rice granary. Both were
very happy because the star wife was about to bear a child. After delivery, it was the custom to
bring all the utensils used to the rice granary and keep them there.
The star wife brought the utensils to the rice granary to be used again when she would
have another child. When she entered the rice granary she was suprised to find her long lost
wings. She thought it was cruel of her husband to have hidden her wings. She quickly put
them on and flew toward the sky.
Her husband waited and waited for his wife to return, but she did not come back. The
baby cried and cried until the mother who heard the baby's cries could not stand the crying any
longer.
Every evening when the night was still and the earth people were asleep, the star mother
would come down and alight at Amfabfak hill overlooking Tukukan village. She would
proceed to the house of her husband who lay fast asleep with their baby beside him. She would
pick up the child and nurse him. Each night she would come until the baby was old enough to
be cared for by his father alone. Only then did the star wife completely sever ties with the
earth people.
? Recorded for the first time by Felipe Awichen, of Tukukan village, Bontok,
from the lips of Kuyaw, a native of the same village, in 1975. The storyteller was
then about 73 years old and she recalled that the story was narrated to her when she
was a young girl, sometime in 1908-1910. Kuyaw has been a practicing masseur for
those having body aches and is also a weaver of cotton cloth. Transmitted to the com?
piler by June Prill Brett of U.P., Baguio.
The second tale I learned from my brother, Lucio Manuel, who has been residing in
Capiz for almost two decades and has acquired a very good command of the native
language. The tale was told to me in mixed Tagalog and English, with a sprinkling of
Kapisnon. The storyteller said that this tale is very popular in Capiz, especially among
the tuba drinkers. Here is the story ?
The Pubic Hair and the Devil
The devil was campaigning for followers when one day he met Juan. He promised all the
comforts in this world Juan could wish for, besides everlasting happiness thereafter, if he
would join his recruits. But Juan doubted the devil's powers and wanted to put them to a test.
So he asked him to perform three tasks upon the accomplishment of which he promised to be
his slave forever.
True to his word the devil came on the third evening to confront Juan who was supposed
to pose the third and last task for him to accomplish. The devil had already solved the first two
problems. Now Juan was greatly worried, for he had not yet thought of a task and the devil
was already there in front of him.
At last, something flashed in Juan's mind. He plucked one of his thick pubic hairs and
showed it to the devil. It was curly, sure enough, and he asked the devil to straighten it out
with three conditions attached: it must be straight as a needle, it must not break, and the task
must be done before sunrise the following morning.
The devil thought it was the easiest task Juan ever had given him and he was overjoyed
inwardly for he believed that he would solve the problem within one minute. Confident that he
could do it easily, he took the pubic hair from Juan and began toying with it. Then he
stretched it with his fingers. But since he had long nails, it slipped from his fingers every time
he did this. Many minutes had already passed and he could not straighten it. The minutes grew
into hours until the first crowing of the cocks could be heard for miles around.
Growing desperate, the devil thought of another trick. He tried to fasten a weight to one
end while holding the other: from time to time he would unfasten the weight to check the
result, but the pubic hair remained curly!
Now the devil became aware of the streaks of dawn lighting up the east and the cocks'
crowing becoming more incessant. He had very little time left and he was becoming nervous.
As a last recourse he produced a flat iron at a snap of his fingers and pressed the curly hair
beneath it, but, stubbornly unyielding, it always curled back. So when the sun rose over the
eastern mountains the devil was still hard at work straightening the thick recalcitrant hair until
he flung it away saying: ' 'To hell with that damned pubic hair!
I have no doubts whatsoever that the above tale took shape under Spanish
influence; perhaps it was introduced for a didactic purpose. No version of it has so far
been recorded from pagan or Muslim groups.
The third tale below was reported (1959) by one of my students, Jose A. Tejero
of Abra, who claimed that there are other versions of this tale. One version was picked
up and reported by Diosdado S. Olaivar, a public school teacher. His source, Elpidio
Cruz, was born in 1902 in Calauag, Quezon province. Here is the tale.
The High Fence
Once there were two persons, a man and woman, who happened to be crossing the same
mountain. Soon the man overtook the woman and they found themselves trudging along
together. But it rained and rained until they became drenched. The two travellers had to take
shelter in the house owned by an old man. They intended to continue on their way the moment
the rain stopped, but it continued to rain all day and into the night.
As there was no way of telling when the rain was going to stop, the innocent old man,
after a simple supper, gave the uninvited guests a mat, a blanket and a pillow to use for the
night. He excused himself, saying that he got only a pair of each item and he had nothing more
that he could spare. As the house was small and there was no other room, the host went his
PHILIPPINE QUARTERLY OF CULTURE AND SOCIETY
way and retired. What the man and the woman did was to put the pillow between them.
The night passed rather quietly and uneventfully, though it was cold and it continued to
pour hard.
The following morning the two guests bade farewell to the old man and continued on their
trip. There was a strong wind and the handkerchief of the woman was blown over a very high
fence where it got stuck. The man volunteered to get it for her. To this offer the woman
replied: "I do not think you can make it over that high fence.''
The man showed some surprise and asked why. The woman answered: ' 'You were unable
to get over the fence last night; how much harder it will be now when the fence is a thousand
times higher! ''
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Philippine Oral Traditions Theory and Practice

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University of San Carlos Publications

PHILIPPINE ORAL TRADITIONS: THEORY AND PRACTICE

PHILIPPINE ORAL TRADITIONS: THEORY AND PRACTICE*

1. Record as faithfully as possible traditional materials;

I have already explained on several occasions the meaning of '' traditionality'' of

Philippinesian sub-family of languages. Because this is so, learning, even to a limited

Publication of materials is imperative in folklore studies in order to diss

II. Theory and Practice

and peoples, why not also in cultural affairs?

III. Oral Traditions as Ethnic Literature

IV. Ethnic Oral Traditions as Part of National Literature

Tokfefe, the Star Wife

The Pubic Hair and the Devil

The High Fence

1947 Ang Dulaang Tagalog. Manila: Bureau of Printing.

Benedict, Laura Watson

Bonifacio, Amelia Lapena

Bowring, Sir John

1947a Ang mga Kawikaan. Manila: M. Colcol & Co.

Castillo, Teofilo del

Coronel, Maria Delia

1937 Philippine Folk Literature: a Synoptic Study of an Unpublished Manuscript Collection of

Jose, Ma. Amor M.

1962 "Bagobo Riddles, " Folklore Studies, v. 21 (1962), 123-185.

1965 Philippine Folklore Bibliography. Quezon City: Philippine Folklore Society.

Ochotorena, Gaudiosa Martinez

1890 ' 'Mariang Makiling,'' La Solidaridad, v. 2, no. 46 (Dec. 31,1890), 297-299.

Reyes, Isabelo de los

Rosario, Adela del

Rosario, Adelina P. del

Uranza, Azucena Grajo

Vanoverbergh, Fr. Morice

1936 A Brief Survey of Hoko Literature. Manila: Published by the Author.

1939 Mga Awiting Bayan ng Tagalog. Manila: Bur. of Printing.

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