PRE-COLONIAL POETRY bore the marks of the community.

The subject was invariably the common experience

of the people constituting the village food gathering, creature and objects of nature, work in the home, field
and forest or sea, caring for children, etc. It comes in the following forms: Bugtong, Salawikain, Bulong, Tanaga,
and Folksong o Awiting Bayan.

1. BUGTONG
• Made up of one or more measured lines with rhymes and may consist of 4 to 12 syllables
• Showcase the Filipino wit, literary talent, and keen observation of the surroundings
• reference to one or two images that symbolize the characteristics of an unknown object that is to be
guessed. (Review examples above.)
2. SALAWIKAIN
• A simple and concrete saying, popularly known and repeated, that expresses a truth based on
common sense or experience.
• These have been customarily used and served as laws or rules on good behavior by our ancestors.

EXAMPLES:
1. “Pag may tiyaga, may nilaga.” They don't call them the fruits of labor for nothing. Hard work and
perseverance are needed to reach your goals. If you keep trying, one day you will enjoy the results
of your efforts.
2. “Mahirap gisingin ang nagtutulog-tulugan.” While it is easy to tell people something they do not
know, it is much harder if they are willfully choosing not to see what is before them.
3. “Matibay ang walis, palibhasa'y magkabigkis.” People gain strength by standing together.

3. BULONG
• are used in witchcraft and enchantments. Our ancestors also believe in unseen spirits or elemental
spirits like dwarfs. They give respect, ask for permission, and excuse or apology to these spirits in
order to deliver them from trouble and danger.

EXAMPLES:
1. Tabi, tabi po, Ingkong, makikiraan po lamang. (Tagalog)
2. Bari-bari Apo, umisbo lang ti tao. (Ilokano)
3. Ikaw na nagnanakaw ng bigas ko, Lumuwa sana ang mga mata mo, Mamaga sana ang katawan mo,
Patayin ka ng mga anito. (Witchcraft)

4. TANAGA
• A quatrain (4 lines) with seven syllables each with the same rhyme at the end of each line.

EXAMPLES:
KURAKOT IKAW LANG FILIPINO
Inumit na salapi Dasal ko sa Bathala Tagalog ang wika ko
Walang makapagsabi Sana’y makapiling ka Hindi sikat sa mundo
Kahit na piping saksi Sa luha ko at dusa Ngunit lantay at wasto
Naitago na kasi. Ikaw ang aking sigla. At dakilang totoo.

5. AWITING BAYAN/ FOLKSONG

• a form of folk lyric which expresses the hopes and aspirations, the people’s lifestyles as well as their
loves. These are often repetitive and sonorous, didactic and naive as in the children’s songs or Ida-
ida (Maguindanao), tulang pambata (Tagalog) or cansiones para abbing (Ibanag). Other examples
include: Leron, leron sinta, Bahay Kubo, Magtanim ay di biro, at Dandansoy.
PHILIPPINE FOLK NARRATIVES are varied and distinct. They depict the people’s livelihood, customs, and
traditions. It includes the following: Fable, Legend, Myth, Epic, and Folktale.

1. FABLE
• it features animal characters or inanimate objects that behave like people.

EXAMPLE:

The Monkey and the Crocodile (A Tagalog Fable)

The monkey is a common animal character in Philippine fables. It is often depicted as a cunning animal.

One day, a monkey saw a tall macopa tree laden with ripe fruits, which stood by a wide river. It was hungry, so
it climbed the tree and ate all of the fruits. When it climbed down, it could find no means by which to cross the
river. Then it saw a young crocodile who had just woken up from its siesta. It said to the crocodile in a friendly
way, “My dear crocodile, will you do me a favor?”

The crocodile was greatly surprised by the monkey’s amicable salutation. So, it answered humbly, “Oh, yes! If
there is anything I can do for you, I shall be glad to do it.” The monkey then told the crocodile that it wanted to
get to the other side of the river. Then the crocodile said, “I’ll take you there with all my heart. Just sit on my
back, and we’ll go at once.”

The monkey sat firmly on the crocodile’s back, and they began to move. In a short while they reached the middle
of the stream. Then the crocodile began to laugh aloud. “You foolish monkey!” it said, “I’ll eat your liver and
kidneys, for I’m very hungry.” The monkey became nervous. Trying to conceal its anxiety, it said, “I’m very glad
that you mentioned the matter. I thought myself that you might be hungry, so I have prepared my liver and
kidneys for your dinner. Unfortunately, in our haste to depart, I left them hanging on the Macopa tree. Let us
return, and I’ll get them for you.”

Convinced that the monkey was telling the truth, the crocodile turned around and swam back to the direction
of the Macopa tree. When they got near the riverbank, the monkey nimbly jumped up onto the land and
scampered up the tree. The crocodile came to realize what happened and said, “I am a fool.”

2. LEGEND
• This is presented as history but is unlikely to be true.

EXAMPLE:
The Legend of Mt. Mayon
Legend has it that a sweet, beautiful woman named Daragang Magayon, or Lady Beautiful, from a ruling tribal
family of Bicol fell in love with a prince called Panganoron. The fruits of their love bore the most beautiful sight.

Magayon was the only daughter of chief Makusog of the Rawis people. Her astounding beauty and delicate
nature had all the young men of the land vying for her affections. Even Pagtuga, a handsome and powerful chief
of the Iniga people, who showered her with attention and gifts, didn’t excite young Magayon. She declined his
advances time and time again.

Magayon was bathing in the Yawa River one day when she slipped and fell into deeper waters. As she struggled
for her own life, Panganoron, from the Tagalog region, spotted her from afar and dashed to save her. Bonded
by this experience, the two became friends, and then lovers soon after. Panganoron asked for Makusog’s
blessing to propose. Magayon, full of love and hope, accepted.

Upon learning about Panganoron and Magayon’s engagement, Pagtuga was enraged. He captured Magayon’s
father and held him hostage, demanding that she marry Pagtuga instead. In an effort to save his bride and
Makusog, Panganoron and his warriors led a war against Pagtuga. After a brutal and bloody battle, Panganoron
defeated his rival and killed Pagtuga.

Magayon, who watched the spectacle in fear, ran into her lover’s arms for a kiss. As they embraced, one of
Pagtuga’s warriors shot a final arrow into the heart of Panganoron, killing him instantly. In a Shakespearean
twist, Magayon thrust a knife from Panganoron’s belt into her own heart, calling out his name in her last words.
To honor their love and their legacy, Makusog buried the young couple together. From their grave, a beautiful
mountain grew, with fire inside. The volcano is as beautiful as Daragang Magayon, its namesake, and it’s said
that the surrounding clouds are Panganoron.

3. MYTH
• This is told to explain a belief, a practice, or a natural phenomenon. They involve supernatural
elements and are beyond the frontiers of logic.

EXAMPLE:

The Creation (A Tagalog Myth)

There are Philippine versions of the creation myth. The Igorot’s story tells that Lumawig the Great Spirit created
people. On the other hand, the Tagalog story tells that the first man and woman came from a bamboo.

When the world first began there was no land. There were only the sea and the sky, and between them was a
kite. One day the bird which had nowhere to light grew tired of flying about, so she stirred up the sea until it
threw its waters against the sky. The sky, in order to restrain the sea, showered upon it many islands until it
could no longer rise, but ran back and forth. Then the sky ordered the kite to alight on one of the islands to build
its nest, and to leave the sea and the sky in peace.

Now at this time the land breeze and the sea breeze were married, and they had a bamboo as their child. One
day when the bamboo was floating about on the water, it struck the feet of the kite which was on the beach.
The bird, angry that anything should strike it, pecked at the bamboo. Out of one section came a man and from
the other a woman.

The earthquake called on all the birds and fish to see what should be done with the man and the woman, and it
was decided that they should marry. Many children were born to the couple, and from them came all the
different races of people.

After a while the parents grew very tired of having so many idle and useless children around. They wished to be
rid of them, but they knew of no place to send them to. Time went on, and the children became so numerous
that the parents enjoyed no peace. One day, in desperation, the father seized a stick and began beating them
on all sides.

The beating frightened the children so much that they fled in different directions. Some seek hidden rooms in
the house. Some concealed themselves in the walls. Some ran outside, while others hid in the fireplace. Several
fled to the sea.

Now it happened that those who went into the hidden rooms of the house later became the chiefs of the islands;
and those who concealed themselves in the walls became slaves. Those who ran outside were free men; and
those who hid in the fireplace became negroes; while those who fled to the sea were gone many years, and
when their children came back, they were the white people.

4. EPIC
• This narrative poem celebrates the adventures and achievements of a hero.

EXAMPLES:

The Philippine epics are sung or chanted in episodes. They feature supernatural characters and reflect the
society where they originated. Also, there may be different versions of a story.
Biag ni Lam-ang
This Ilocano epic tells the adventures of Lam-ang, a man with supernatural powers. He goes to war at nine-
months-old and seeks the killers of his father. He embarks on a quest with his animal friends and meets his
future wife, Innes Kanoyan. He is swallowed by a fish and resurrected from death by his animal friends.
 Hinilawod
This epic is of the Sulod, a group of people living in the mountains of central Panay. It tells the story of three
very strong men, namely, Labaw Donggon, Humadapnon, and Dumalapdap. They are the sons of Datu Paubari,
the ruler of Halawod, and the goddess Alunsina. The exploits of each son concerns beautiful women that he
wants to have as a wife.
Darangan
This Maranao epic depicts the adventures of a brave warrior named Bantugan. He owns a magical sword
protected by a spirit. After a battle, he rests and accidentally falls into the water. A crocodile finds him and
brings him to the enemies. He fights, regains his strength, and wins the war.

5. FOLKTALE
• This is a characteristically anonymous, timeless, and placeless tale circulated orally among a people.
EXAMPLE:
Juan Tamad and the Guava (A Tagalog Folktale)
Once there was a boy who was so lazy and his name was Juan Tamad (Tamad is the Filipino word for lazy).
He was so lazy he would always spend some time thinking how to outwit the work-requiring situation.
One day, he saw a guava tree and spotted a shiny ripe fruit hanging on its branch. It's not even a top branch.
It was hanging so low that had he not been too lazy to stretch out his arm and jump up a little, he would
have grabbed the fruit in no time.
But Juan, oh Juan, being clever (at least for himself), didn't bother to do those two simple steps at all!
"Hah! Why would I reach for that fruit when I know it would eventually reach for me?" He said to himself
and devised a rather silly plan.
He cleared the ground just below the shiny fruit and lied himself down like a god with some berries in hand,
except that Juan didn't have his fruit yet.
"I will wait here until that guava fruit falls right into my mouth. Then I wouldn't have to shove the fruit inside
my mouth myself. Gravity will do it."
So there Juan lied down day in and day out. Until one day, he felt some splatter of juice and seeds all over
his face. He opened his eyes and saw a happy bat enjoying his feast on a reddish, fat and shiny guava fruit.
And Juan finally gave up his devised plan and walked home with a long, tiring...
"Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr................" to the bat (not even to himself)