UNIT 5: THE ILOKO LOCAL LITERATURE

LESSON 9: GREATEST CONTRIBUTIONS IN THE ILOKO LOCAL LITERATURE

ACTIVATING TASK

 Who do you think is the person on the left?

 Pedro Bukaneg–He is the Father of Ilokano Poetry and Literature.
 On the right?
 Lam-ang– The main character of the epic story "The Life of Lam-ang"
 What is the connection of the person's picture on the left with the illustration on the
right?
 Pedro Bukaneg is the author of the Ilocano epic story "Biag ni Lam-ang"

INDEPENDENT/GOUP PRACTICE

ACTIVITY 25.

1. B 6. I

2. D 7. J

3. F 8. H

4. G 9. E

5. C 10. A

ACTIVITY 26. If you were to write a heterobiography of the greatest Ilocano writer that strikes
you most, who would that be? Why?

My favorite Ilkano writer is Pedro Bukaneg, because he wrote/he was the author of my
favorite epic story which is "Biag ni Lam-ang". Despite his congenital blindness, he earned his
title "Father of Ilokano Literature". With his extensive knowledge of the Spanish and Ilocano
language, he co-authored the Ilocano-Spanish grammar book and dictionary. Many assumed
that Bukaneg's ancestry is of the itnegs. He was baptized by the local Augustinian monk and
give him the name "Pedro Bukaneg" which means "Christianized itneg". He studied at the
Augustinian convent in Manila, where he developed his eloquence in the Spanish and Ilocano
languages.

Search for more information about the life and works of the greatest Ilokano writer that you
like most. Write a short heterobiography of the writer.

Bukaneg was a foundling, who shortly after his birth already floating in a basket between Bantay
and Vigan in the Banaoang River was found by an old woman, they brought him to the Bantay
Augustiner priest who baptized him as Pedro Bucaneg. Bukaneg was blind but appeared during his
upbringing in the Augustinian convent smart and talented, he took lessons in Latin and Spanish and also
learned the local languages and Ilocano Isneg.

Through his knowledge of these languages he was asked by the priests in the region to translate
their prayers and sermons in local languages, he was being asked to help with the conversion of the
local population. Bukaneg composed poems and songs and was loved by the Ilocanos as a troubadour,
"SIKA NEH LIBLO'N DI KINASILIB KO"
he was regarded by the locals as a seer. Even the Spaniards knocked him for his services, he would have
identified the killer of a servant of a Spaniard on a day in a row of Itneg men by placing his hand on the
chest of all these men.
Sika neh nansulat
His blindness prevented him to write, he dictated his poems, songs and translations, while
someone else wrote. Ilocano epic Biag ni on
Sin pipiok Lam-ang
liblo is attributed to Bukaneg by some authors and
historians, it is also possible that the works of Bukaneg was sung for centuries by the Ilocano and thus
preserved it for eternity. It wasBiag
alsoLam-ang
Bukaneg who translated the Doctrina Cristiana in Ilocano; this book
was printed in 1593 as one of the first books in the Philippines and was intended for use in the
Basbasaok di kaanakko
conversion of the local population. In 1621 the Ilocano translation of Bukaneg was printed in the
Augustinian Convent of Manila. Bukaneg was also largely responsible for Arte de la Lengue Iloca, the first
grammar book of the Ilocano of Brother Francisco Lopez, which was printed in 1927 by the University of
Santo Tomas. Bukaneg died around Sapay1630.
kumaIntahismakasulat
honor, a street in the Cultural Center of the Philippines
ka manin
Complex.
Si nagmamayat nga istorya

Ta awad basaok manin

Agingga nu bumakusak

ACTIVITY 27. If the Iloko writer that you are idolizing happens to exist in your generation,
what would you say to him/her? Compose a short poem with a title using your own language
or dialect of the things you wish him/her to say inside the object below.
ENRICHMENT

Think of the best strategy of platform to promote the greatest contribution in the Iloko local
literature of the writer that you are idolizing with to your friends in social media.
 "KNOW HIM WELL"

Pedro Bukaneg (March 1592 – c. 1630) was a Filipino poet. Blind since birth, he is the
acknowledged author of the Ilocano epic Biag ni Lam-ang (Life of Lam-ang). He is considered
the "Father of Ilocano literature." A street inside the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP)
complex in Pasay City, Philippines is named in his honor. His surname is lent to the Bukanegan,
the Ilocano equivalent of the Balagtasan.