WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY-PHILIPPINES

Cushman Campus

Mabini Extension, Cabanatuan City

Philippines, 3100
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

MODULE 7

HISTORICAL AND LITERARY HIGHLIGHTS

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

1. Discuss/ identify the historical events, books, and writing of different authors during the Pre-
colonial period to the American period.
2. Create appropriate infographic materials.

CORE VALUES

LEARNING ACTIVITY

Answer the following question.

1. What is your idea about Philippine literature during Pre Spanish>
2. What are the five categories in Philippine Literature in the Spanish period?
3. Give 2 literary highlights for each period.

INTRODUCTION

In this module, we are going to discuss the historical event and literary highlights of different
authors from the pre-Spanish period to the American era. Let us find the literary highlights of each
era.

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Cushman Campus

Mabini Extension, Cabanatuan City

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A. Oral Lore from Pre-colonial Times ( - 1564)

The first period of Philippine Literary History is the longest. Our ancient literature shows our
customs and traditions every day as traced in our folk stories, folk speeches, folk songs, old plays,
short stories and indigenous rituals, and mimetic dances. They had a culture of their own long before
the Spaniards came to the Philippines. It is similar in some ways to that of the Malays and a little to
that of the Chinese and the Indo-Chinese culture.

The significant feature of this era:

1. They had a system of writing used primarily for commercial transactions and as a vehicle for literary
expression. The Filipinos used a native syllabary developed from a common Malayo-Polynesian base.
This syllabary differed slightly from one linguistic group to another.
2. Much of the ancient Philippine literature was oral consisting of folktales, folk speeches, proverbs
or aphorisms, riddles, sayings, songs, ritual chants, and epics. The subject matter was invariably the
common experience of the people constituting a village. Most of their religious and social practices
are carried out by chanting poetic verses.

a. The most seminal of these folk speeches is the riddle which is tigmo in Cebuano, bugtong in
Tagalog, paktakon in Ilongo and patototdon in Bicol. Central to the riddle is the talinghaga or
metaphor because it "reveals subtle resemblances between two unlike objects" and one's power
of observation and wit are put to the test. While some riddles are ingenious, others verge on
the obscene or are sex-related.
b. The proverbs or aphorisms express norms or codes of behavior, community beliefs or they
instill values by offering nuggets of wisdom in short, rhyming verse.
c. The folk song, 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 tulang pambata (Tagalog). A few examples are the lullabyes or Ili-
ili (Ilongo); love songs like the panawagon and balitao (Ilongo); harana or serenade (Cebuano);
the bayok (Maranao); the seven-syllable per line poem, ambahan of the Mangyans that are about
human relationships, social entertainment and also serve as a tool for teaching the young; work
songs that depict the livelihood of the people often sung to go with the movement of workers
such as the kalusan (Ivatan), soliranin (Tagalog rowing song) or the mambayu, a Kalinga rice-
pounding song; the verbal jousts/games like the duplo popular during wakes. Other folk songs
are the drinking songs sung during carousals like the tagay (Cebuano and Waray); dirges and
lamentations extolling the deeds of the dead like the kanogon (Cebuano) or the Annako (Bontoc).
d. Our country's epics are considered ethno-epics because unlike, say, Germany's
Niebelunginlied, our epics are not national for they are "histories" of varied groups that
consider themselves "nations." The epics come in various names: Guman (Subanon); Darangen
(Maranao); Hudhud (Ifugao); and Ulahingan (Manobo). These epics revolve around
supernatural events or heroic deeds and they embody or validate the beliefs and customs and
ideals of a community. These are sung or chanted to the accompaniment of indigenous musical

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Mabini Extension, Cabanatuan City

instruments and dancing performed during harvests, weddings or funerals by chanters. The
Philippines, 3100
chanters who were taught by their ancestors are considered "treasures" and/or repositories of
wisdom in their communities. Examples of these epics are the Lam-
ang (Ilocano); Hinilawod (Sulod); Kudaman (Palawan); Darangen (Maranao); Ulahingan (Livun
ganen-Arumanen Manobo); Mangovayt Buhong na Langit (The Maiden of the Buhong Sky from
Tuwaang--Manobo); Ag Tobig neg Keboklagan (Subanon); and Tudbulol (T'boli).

B. Literature Under Spanish Colonization (1565-1897)

Due to the long period of colonization of the Philippines by the Spaniards, they have exerted a
strong influence on our literature.

Significant feature of this era:

1. The first Filipino alphabet called ALIBATA was replaced by the Roman alphabet.
2. The teaching of the Christian Doctrine became the basis of religious practices.
3. The Spanish language which became the literary language during this time lent many of its
words to our language though it never became the Lingua Franca since the Spaniards
themselves were not zealous enough in propagating the Spanish language.
4. European legends and traditions brought here became assimilated in our songs, corridos, and
moro-moros.
5. Ancient literature was collected and translated to Tagalog and other dialects.
6. Many grammar books were printed in Filipino, like Tagalog, Ilocano and Visayan.
7. Our periodicals during these times gained a religious tone.

Literary Forms of the Period:

A. Poetry

1. Among the religious poetry of the day is the pasyon that became entrenched in the Filipino's
commemoration of Christ's agony and resurrection at Calvary. Gaspar Aquino de Belen's "Ang
Mahal na Passion ni Jesu Christong Panginoon natin na tola" (Holy Passion of Our Lord Jesus
Christ in Verse) put out in 1704 is the country's earliest known pasyon.
2. Another popular secular poetry is the awit and corrido in Tagalog. Corridos deal mostly on
courtly love and chivalric adventures based on a European legend or tale. The awit reached its
peak as a poetic genre in the masterwork (Florante at Laura) of the poet Francisco Baltazar,
popularly known as Balagtas. Both of these are colorful tales of chivalry from European sources
made for singing and chanting such as Gonzalo de Cordoba (Gonzalo of Cordoba) and Ibong
Adarna (Adarna Bird). There are numerous metrical romances in Tagalog, Bicol, Ilongo,
Pampango, Ilocano and in Pangasinan.
3. The komedya reached full development as a theater genre during the second half of this century.
The komedya drew its plot from medieval Spanish ballads about highborn warriors and their
colorful adventures for love and fame, providing Filipino viewers a glimpse of an idealized

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European society that exemplified the virtues of religious piety and steadfast loyalty to the
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monarch.

B. Prose

Aside from religious poetry, there were various kinds of prose narratives written to prescribe
proper decorum.

1. Urbana at Felisa – written by Fr. Modesto de Castro in 1938. It was to exert a great influence
on the social customs and manners of the Filipinos during the century and after.
2. Lagda – a compilation of Visayan maxims. It is an Eastern Visayan term that means “rule” or
“straight line”.

C. The American Colonial Period and Literature Under World War II and the Events before the
EDSA Revolution (1898-1986)

Political Changes and Events in this Period:

1. Spanish domination ended when the Americans landed in Manila on August 13, 1898.
2. Spain’s cultural influence, particularly religion, remained deeply rooted in the Filipinos’ ways
and tradition.
3. The language of literature shifted from Spanish to English.
4. Mass education and complete acceptance of American ideals and ways gave the nationalistic
spirit of the Filipinos more inspiration.
5. Through peaceful means, the Filipinos earned more and more political autonomy. The
Tydings-MacDuffie Law provided the establishment of a commonwealth government which
was in preparation for the grant of complete political independence.
6. By the 1920’s a new generation had grown up in the American climate, speaking and writing
in English. By the 1930’s the writers would have mastered their craft in English. It was also
at this time that the socio-realist themes appeared in greater force in all genres – plays, poetry,
short stories, and essays. By the 1940’s a number would be recognized abroad – Carlos Bulosan,
Jose Garcia Villa, to name the most worthy. In the 1960’s, a new impetus of nationalism surged
with the youths on the forefront. After the Constitution of 1973, Pilipino would be accepted as
the national Language and English as a second language.
7. The war years (1941-1945) were difficult in terms of survival and adjustments. The poetry of
Amado Daguio and Bienvenido Santos, the stories of Stevan Javellana and Edilberto TIempo
reflects these difficult times. Later writers and later works would show other themes such as
alienation, the search for identity, and Filipino values.
8. The writers in English are distributed in three periods: the period of transition and learning
(1900-1935), the period of emergence and recognition (1935-1960) and the period of diversity
and re-examination (1960-to the present).

Literary forms:

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Mabini Extension, Cabanatuan City

1. The Zarzuela – a musical comedy – was most popular in the 1920’s and 1930’s. It deals mostly
Philippines, 3100
with romantic and domestic situations. It was often used as vehicle for social criticism.
2. Another form of entertainment was the poetic joust called Balagtasan in honor of the prince of
Tagalog poets, Francisco “Balagtas” Baltazar. It was known as Crissotan (in honor of Juan
Crisostomo Soto) in Pampanga and Bukanegan (in honor of Pedro Bukaneg) in Ilocano.
3. The Bodabil ( a corruption of vaudeville) was a variety show composed of songs, dances, and
skits. It was introduced by Luis Borromeo when he came home from Las Vegas in 1921.
4. The Filipino movies – the zarzuela and the drama disappeared from the stage when the first
Filipino movies were made, although the latter were actually film versions of the stage plays.

REFERENCE

Cerbito, J. (2014, May 30). Literary History of the Philippine (Pre-Colonialism Period)
(PowerPointSlide) Slide Share

Dones, Marichelle G. etal. PHILIPPINE LITERATURE. Manila. Mindshapers Publication Co.

INC.

Building people, Transforming lives.

GEN-FM-019 Rev 1 Effective 30 Sept 2022 www.fb.com/WesleyanOfficial Admin@wesleyan.edu.ph (044)463-2162/4632074 www.wesleyan.edu.ph
 WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY-PHILIPPINES

Cushman Campus

Mabini Extension, Cabanatuan City

Philippines, 3100

Building people, Transforming lives.

GEN-FM-019 Rev 1 Effective 30 Sept 2022 www.fb.com/WesleyanOfficial Admin@wesleyan.edu.ph (044)463-2162/4632074 www.wesleyan.edu.ph