BC-1564

The
Pre-Colonial
Period
The Pre-Colonial Period

• This existed before the Spanish occupation

in the 1500s.
• It is oral in nature and is full of lessons and
ideas about life, its blessings, and its
consequences.
• It contains ideas from birth to the grave.
• The oral characteristic of pre-colonial literature gives the possibility
for many alterations.
• In the Philippine context, no matter how it may be considered as
altered, pre-colonial literature is still revered to by many Filipinos.
• The sources are usually the local native town folk.
Forms

1. Oral Literature 2. Folk Songs

a. Riddles a. Lullabies
b. Proverbs b. Drinking Songs
c. Love Songs
d. Songs of Death
e. Religious Songs
3. Folk Tales
a. Myths
b. Legends
c. Fables
d. Epics
Riddles (Mga Bugtong)

• These are statements that contain superficial

words, but they function figuratively and as
metaphors, and are in the form of questions.
• These are questions that demand deeper
answers.
• Deals with everyday life.
• It usually has mundane things as answers.
• This is used in the past as a form of game in
small or large gatherings.
Examples:

Bisaya

Baboy sa lasang, (A wild pig of the forest,)

Ang tunok puro lansang. (Is covered with spikes.)

Answer: Nangka (Jackfruit)

Meranaw Chabacano

Sominub lawiyan, (It dived,) Tagia que tagia, (You keep on slashing it,)
Mbowat lawitan. (It rose.) Hende ta penetra. (But it does not penetrate)

Answer: Ragum (Needle) Answer: Agua (Water)

Proverbs (Mga Salawikain)

• These are statements that are considered as

wise.
• These are usually given by parents or elders
of the community.
• There is belief that experience is the best
teacher.
Examples:

Mandaya on Viriginity

Yang ataog aw madugdug, (An egg once broken,)

Di da mamauli. (Will never be the same.)

Tausug on Secret Affairs Ilocano on Guilt

In lasa iban uba, (Love and cough,) Ti agutak, (He who cackles
Di hikatapuk. (Cannot be hidden.) Isut nagitlog. (Laid the egg.)
Folk Songs

• These are folk lyrics that are usually

chanted.
• These usually contain ideas on
aspirations, hopes, everyday life and
expressions of love for loved ones.
• It is bounded by the learning of good
morals.
• It is easy to undestand because it is
straightforward and not figurative in
nature.
Forms

• Lullabies- these is locally known as the Hele.

These are sung to put to sleep babies. The
content varies, but usually, parents sing
these with ideas on how hard life is and how
they hope that their child will not
experience the hardships of life.
• Drinking Songs- these are locally known as Tagay and are sung
during drinking sessions.
• Love Songs- to many Filipinos, these
are known as the Harana. It can also be
called Courtship Songs and are used by
young men to capture the heart of the
girl that they love.
• Religious Songs- are songs or chants that are usually given
during exorcisms and thanksgiving during good harvest.
• Songs of Death- are lamentations that contain the roll of
good deeds that the dead has usually done to immortaliz his
or her good image.
Examples:
Lullabies
Ilocano
Maturog, duduayya
Maturog kad tay bunga,
Tay lalaki nga napigsa
Ta inton dumakkel tay bunga,
Isunto aya tay mammati
Tay amon a ibaga me.
Go to sleep, dear little one
Will my child please sleep,
This strong boy
So when the child grows big
He will obey
Everything that we say.
Folk Tales (Mga Kwentong Bayan)

• These are stories of native Filipinos.

• These deal with the power of nature-
personified, their submission to a deity-
usually Bathala- and how this deity is
responsible for the blessings and
calamities.
• These also tackle about irresponsibility, lust, stupidity,
deception, and fallibility that eventually leads to the instilling
of good morals.
Usual Themes:

• Ceremonies needed to appease the

deities.
• Pre and Post apocalypse
• Life and Death
• Gods and Goddesses
• Heroes and Heroines
• Supernatural beings
• Animals
Forms

• Myths- these tackle the natural to strange

occurences of the earth and how things
were created with an aim to give an
explanation to things.

-There is Bathala for the Tagalogs and the

Gueurang for the Bikolanos.
- Paradise is known as Maca, while Hell is
Kasanaaan
• Legends- through legends, the natives
uderstood mysteries around them. These
stories usually come with a moral lesson that
give credit to supernatural powers,
supernatural occurences, and other out-of-
this-world native imagination.
• Fables- are short or brief stories that cater the children of the native
Filipinos and are usually bounded by good manners and right
conduct. These stories use animals as characters that represent a
particular value or characteristic.
• Epics- are very lengthy narratives that are based on oral traditions.
These contain encounters of fighters, stereotypical princes or heroes
that save a damsel in distress.
Examples:

Myths The Story of Bathala

Ang Pag-aaway ng Dagat at Langit

Legends The Legend of Maria Makiling

The Legend of the Sampaguita

Fables Ang Kuneho at and Pagong

Si Juan Tamad

Epics Hinilawod
Darangen