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Lacra, Lyka O.

BPA 2C

1. Paano sinasalamin ng ating panitikan ang sinaunang kabihasnan, pamumuhay, paniniwala,

at pakikipagnegosasyon sa kapwa? Ipaliwanag. Magbigay ng halimbawa bilang suporta sa

pagpapaliwanag.

The Philippine Literature is not simply a piece of storytelling that's shallow rather it

requires comprehensive and deeper analyzation to discern the beauty, the relevance, the

evidences, the culture, the beliefs, and most of all, the values that it holds. Philippine literature

reflects our distinctiveness and diverse culture even back to the ancient civilization, it is a

gateway to the past, it tells history, it speaks the lives of our ancestors through relevant details

mirrored throughout the long history of prose, poetries and manuscripts of Philippine literature.

For instance, let's take a look at our very own Bicol epic: Ibalong, this epic is one great example

of the Philippines' oral tradition way back before the Spanish colonization. The setting took

place on the ancient land of Bicol, which is Ibalong, the epic mentioned a lot of historical

significance and explanation of our lives and beliefs as a bicolano but also the materials and

artifacts that are some still part of our present life. On the time of Handiong, ancient bicolanos

already have a civilization and it was the "golden age" of Ibalong, from that time, traveling

devices such as the baroto boat, agricultural and architectural innovation such as the muog

house and pagolon, ancient writing system and measure such as sural and ganta, and

earthenwares such as paso, were already invented and developed. Comprehending that the

Ibalon epic described the ancient civilization of bicolanos and how it actually bridges the past to

the present way of living of Bicolanos suggest that Ibalong wasn't only an epic that was passed

throughout time but rather a very salient piece of evidence that we, Bicolanos,already have a

distinct way of living, innovations, traditions, beliefs, and intellectual values even before the

colonization and influence of the countries that colonized us. Thus, it is commendable that
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despite the long history of changes, oppression, and injustices on original Filipino literature, we

were still able to preserve and enjoy fragments from our past that provide us our own identity,

literature and of course, the lesson it possess that we must uphold and never forget the past

and history as it is an essential aspect that molds who we are today.

2. Bakit patuloy na umiiral ang mga epiko (Ibalong ay iba pa) at kwentong bayan katulad ng

aswang, tyanak, kapre at iba pa sa modernong panahon. Ano ang saysay nito sa makabagong

lipunan?

Philippine literature and folklore are a prerequisite aisle that we are bound to cross as a

Filipino for us to be able to understand and open various new perspectives as we go on with our

lives. Literature is attached to all of us in a sense that it is part of the school curriculum and it is

passed on orally. However, I noticed that there's not enough attention to Filipino mythology and

its significance to our cultural identity especially to elementary and high school levels, it is often

neglected and the system puts more emphasis on Greek or Roman mythologies, thus, youths

doesn't have the proper resources on why epics and folklores should be taught, but if only we

could put more emphasis on these literary aspect on schools, maybe our youths will be able to

understand and realize its significant meaning to their lives. Even though we often hear folklores

about kapre, tikbalang, and the likes, we tend to miss out its relevance to Filipino culture, we are

chained in to thinking that these creatures that are orally told has only one sole purpose: to

scare a child or even an adult. It is more than that. Each literary devices in every epic and

folklores has its own significance and impact towards our way of living. It is in engraved in the

Filipino culture the stories and epics that present various Filipino mythical creatures such as

aswang, tyanak, or manananggal. Such creatures may or may not be real, it still play a

significant role even and specially to the Filipino modern society. It reflects the creativity,

cleverness, and art of Filipinos from different generation. It is more than just a written

documents that can be searched online, these literatures are alive, it touches the emotions of
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those who read it, therefore, it affects one's values and perspectives of society, it creates

meaning that also connects to the past lives of our ancestors and the environment from a

certain time period. Having said that, understanding epics and folklores will lead us, in the

present, to know the roots of our contemporary culture and beliefs, we can not truly understand

the essence of being Filipino if we do not have our own stories to tell, songs to sing, myths to

imagine, and tales to relate to. Philippine literature exists to fuel the spark of being a true

Filipino.