Literature during the Spanish colonial period

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

THREE REASONS TO COLONIZE

 PROPAGATION OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION

 ECONOMIC SECURITY
 SUSTAINABILITY OF POWER
- March 17, 1521- time where Ferdinand Magellan arrived in the Philippine. Landed Limasawa
(where the first catholic mass was held), an island in Southern Leyte.
- April 14, 1521 – after reaching cebu, Fr. Pedro Valderrama baptized more than 500 natives along
with Rajah Humabon.
- Ruy López de Villalobos, a Mexican explorer, named the Philippines “Las Islas Filipinas” in honr
of the king of spain Prince Philip II of Asturias (1556 – 1598)
- In 1565, King Philip II of Spain officially colonized the country and assigned the new expedition
to the first Governor-General Miguel López de Legazpi.
- Six years later, he established his capital in Manila,

IMPACT OF SPANISH

 Filipinos’ Surnames and Change of Native Names

 Spanish Language Influence
 Catholicism and its Patriarchal Politics and Culture

First book

1. ANG DOCTRINA CRISTIANA (THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE)

- First book written in the Philippines (1593) in xylography (the art of making engravings on wood
especially for printing.)
- written by Fr. Juan de Placencia and Fr. Domingo Nieva, in Spanish with a translation of Tagalog
2. Nuestra Señora del Rosario.
- The second book written in the Philippines written by Fr. Blancas de San Jose (1602) contains the
biographies of saints, novenas, and questions and answers on religion.
3. Libro de los Cuatro Postprimeras de Hombre
- In tagalog and Spanish
- first book printed in typography (art and technique of arranging type to make written language
legible, readable and appealing when displayed)
4. Ang Barlaan at Josaphat
- a Biblical story printed in the Philippines
- believed to be the first Tagalog novel published in the Philippines
- printed translation has only 556 pages.
- tagalog translation was done by fr. Antonio de Borja from Greek, and the Ilocano translation in
poetry was done by Fr. Agustin Mejia.
5. The passion
- book about the life and sufferings of Jesus Christ.
- read only during Lent (the season of the church year that follows the Epiphany Season)
 - were 4 versions of this in Tagalog and each version is according to the name of the writer.
6. Urbana at Felisa
- by Modesto de Castro
- is called “Father of Classic Prose” in Tagalog.
- About letters between two sisters Urbana at Felisa
- Have greatly influence the behavior of people because the letters dealt with good behavior.
7. Ang Mga Dalit kay Maria (Psalms for Mary)
- collection of songs dedicated to the Virgin Mary
- Fr. Mariano Sevilla, a Filipino priest, wrote It in 1865, and was popular during the Maytime
“Flores de Mayo” festival.

FORMS OF LITERATURE DURINGTHE SPANISH COLONIAL PERIOD

i. Passion
- a narrative poem about the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Ex. Pasyong mahal
- consists of five-line stanzas with eight syllables per line.
- earliest known pasyon is the Ang Mahal na Pasión ni Jesu Christong Panginoon natin na Tola
(1704)
ii. Awit
- a narrative poem that consists of 12 syllables per line and four lines per stanza.
- rhythm is slow, usually accompanied by a guitar or bandurya
- expresses adoration of the Blessed Virgin Mary as well as platonic and courtly love. Ex. Florente
at laura
iii. korido
- narrative poem that
- consists of eight syllables per line and four lines per stanza.
- rhythm is faster compared with that of an awit
- ex. Ibong Adarna (1,722 stanzas and has five parts.)
iv. dalit
- a religious poem in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saints. Ex. Gozos to Sto. Nino
v. Anecdotes
- short and amusing stories that contain lessons in life.
- use anecdotes as part of their sermons. (priest)
vi. PLanticas (Sermons)
- Lectures presented by Spanish priests that dealt with religious, biblical, and moral topics.
vii. Novenas
- Series of prayer, repeated for 9 days
- Usually prayers for petition and thanksgiving.
viii. Novels
- long narrative stories, usually with fictional characters
- sequence of events divided into chapters
- ex. Jose rizal’s noli me tangere and El Filibusterismo. (Spanish colonial period)
ix. Essays
- personal pieces of writing, pov of the writer
 - one of the important essay during Spanish colonial period is “Ang Dapat Mabatid ng mga
Tagalog” by Andres Bonifacio

DRAMA

i. karagatan
- form of poetic contest
- part of the rites held in connection with the death of a person
- based on a legend about a lady’s ring that fell in the middle of the sea.
ii. Duplo
- poetic contest held when a person dies or during the wake00
- consists of puns, jokes, and riddles in the vernacular to relieve sadness.
iii. Senakulo
- a play that portrays the life, passion, and crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
iv. Tibag
- tells how Reyna Elena and her son Constantino searched for Jesus’s cross in Mount Calvary.
v. Moriones
- a festival in celebration of the life of Saint Longinus
- Saint Longinus was a blind Roman but he got inContact on gods blood when he speared him. He
regains his eyesight and converted to Christianity. Was beheaded because of his change of faith,
vi. Moro-moro
- play written about the capture of a Christian Filipino army.
- First moromoro was performed in manilla, was written by Padre Geronimo Perez (1637)
vii. Sarswela
- play with songs and dances with up to five acts, portraying the whimsies of romantic love.
viii. Lagaylay
- presentation that aims to make a vow, make a petition, or offer praise and love towards
religious icons such as the Blessed Cross that St. Helen planted
- special occasion participated in by women in some parts of Bicol region.
ix. Panunuluyan
- presentation of the search of the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph for an inn where Mary can give
birth to Jesus.
- presented before 12:00 on Christmas Eve.
x. Salubong
- depicts the moment when the Risen Christ met his mother
- shown during the Easter morning
xi. Carillo
- form of dramatic entertainment
- performed on a moonless night during a town fiesta
- shadow play is made by projecting cardboard figures before a lamp against a white sheet.
xii. Sainete
- short musical comedy popular during the 18th century
- exaggerated comedies shown between acts of long plays
- performed by characters from the lower classes
 - Themes -- taken from everyday life scenarios.

SOCIAL STRUCTURE

Peninsulares

- Full blooded Spanish living in the Philippines (born in spain)

Insulares

- Full-blooded Spanish living in the Philippines (born in Philippines)

Ilustrados (The Enlightened Ones)

- Wealthy group of individuals born in the Philippines

- Were able to study abroad

Chinese/Spanish Mestizos - People with mixed racial origins

-economically sufficient

Indio - Native/Full-blooded Filipinos

Sangley - Full-blooded Chinese living in the Philippines

Naturales - brown-skinned Christianized

- native to Malays of the lowland and coastal towns

Salvajes Orinfieles -savages or infidels

Remontados - people that refused to live in towns and took to the hills

Tulisanes (bandits) -considered to live outside the social order

THE PROPAGANDA MOVEMENT

Jose Rizal (Jose Protacio Rizal Mercado Alonzo y Realonda)

- June 19, 1861 at Calamba, Laguna.

- His first teacher was his mother (Teodora Alonzo)
- studied at the Ateneo de Manila, started medicine at UST, finished at the Universidad Central of
Madrid (also studied at the University of Berlin, Leipzig, and Heidelberg)
- died on December 30, 1896 (killed by the Spaniard), charges of sedition and rebellion against
the Spaniards.
- Pen name was Laong Laan and Dimasalang

His works
Noli me tangere and el filibusterismo
- aimed to address and reform the Spanish system and its issues,
 - Were banned at the Philippines as they portray the Spanish government's abuses and
corruption.
- prohibited the reading of these novels, but a lot of translations were able to enter stealthy in
the country.

Jose Rizal’s other work

Mi Ultimo Adios (My Last Farewell).

- a poem by Rizal while he was incarcerated at Fort Santiago

Sobre La Indolencia De Los Filipinos (On the Indolence of the Filipinos)

- essay on the so-called Filipino indolence, a response to the accusation of Indio or Malay
indolence

Filipinas Dentro De Cien Años(The Philippines within a Century)

- essay predicting the increasing influence of the US in the Philippines and the decreasing interest
of Europe here

Marcelo H. Del Pilar

- pen name of Plaridel, Pupdoh, Piping Dilat, and Dolores Manapat

- born at Cupang, San Nicolas, Bulacan on August 30, 1850
- established the Diariong Tagalog where he exposed the evils of the Spanish government (1883)
- force to travel to spain to avoid banishment in 1888

Graciano Lopez – Jaena

- born on December 18, 1856 in Jaro, Iloilo.

- Died on January 20, 1896 in a charity hospital on barcelona
- a known writer and orator
- widely known for his Ang Fray Botod (Friar Botod).
- left the Philippines to Barcelona in 1887 when he published the first magazine La Solidaridad

La Solidaridad

- became the official voice of the Association Hispano de Filipinas (a Filipino-Spanish Association)
composed of Filipinos and Spaniards who worked for reforms in the Philippines.

Jaena successfully showed the Spaniards and the people of the world how a newspaperman can
introduce changes in law and reforms towards better life and progress.

Antonio Luna

- the editor of the revolutionary paper La Independencia

- use a penname for spanish and tagalog article (penname was Taga-ilog)
 - was an active researcher in the scientific community before he joined the Revolution
- died at the age of 33 in June 1899.

Mariano Ponce

- An editor in chief biographer, and researcher of the Propaganda Movement

- His pen names: Tikbalang, Kalipulako, and Naning
- common themes of his works were the values of education, also wrote about filipinos
oppression
- his significant works was Efemerides Filipinas, a column on historical events in the Philippines
which appeared in La Oceania Española (1892–1893) and El Ideal (1911–1912).

Pedro A. Paterno

- a scholar, dramatic, researcher, and novelist of the Propaganda Movement

THE REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENT

Andres Bonifacio

- known as the Father of the Katipunan

- established the Kataas-taasan, Kagalang-galangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (KKK)
- established the Katipunan which triggered the spirit of freedom especially when Rizal was
banished to Dapitan, Mindanao

Bonifacio’s work

Ang Dapat Mabatid Ng Mga Tagalog (What the Tagalogs Should Know)

Katungkulang Gagawin ng mga Anak Ng Bayan (Obligations of Our Countrymen)

- an outline of obligations
- like the 10 commandments of God

Pag-ibig sa Tinubuang Lupa (Love of One’s Native Land)

- A poem with a title similar to that of Marcelo H. del Pilar

Apolinario Mabini (Apolinario Mabini y Maranan)

- July 23, 1864 – May 13, 1903

- a Filipino revolutionary leader, educator, lawyer, and statesman who served first as a legal and
constitutional adviser to the Revolutionary Government
- the first prime minister when the establishment in the filipinos happened
- regarded as the "Utak ng Himagsikan" or "Brain of the Revolution"
 - Two of his works became instrumental in the drafting of what would eventually be known as the
Malolos Constitution
- Verdadero Decalogo (The True Decalogue, June 24, 1898)
- Programa Constitucional dela Republica Filipina (The Constitutional Program of the
Philippine Republic, 1898)

Emilio Jacinto

- the intelligent assistant of Andres Bonifacio in the establishment of the Katipunan

- edited Kalayaan (Freedom), a Katipunan newspaper
- Brains of the Katipunan
- known for his Kartilya Ng
- Katipunan (A primer book on the Katipunan), Liwanag At Dilim (Light and Darkness), and a
collection of essays on different subjects like freedom, work, faith, government, love of country

Jose palma

- became popular because of his poem, Filipinas

- Filipinas which eventually became the lyrics of the Official March of the First Phillippine
Republic by Julian Felipe.

Form of literature during the Spanish colonial period

Literature
Prose Poetry Drama
Anecdotes Pasyon Lagaylay Karagatan
Planticas Awit Panunuluyan Duplo
Novena Kurido Salubong Senakulo
Novels Dalit Carillo Tibag
essays Sainete Moriones
Sarsuela Moro-moro

LITERATURE DURING THE AMERICAN AND JAPANESE PERIOD

American period
- One of the turning points which made our Philippine literary tradition colorful and interesting.
- Saw the addition of a colorful language, the English language, as an indispensable tool for
literature and communication

The Philippine literature in English is divided into three timeframes

 Period of re-orientation
 Period of imitation
 Period of self-discovery and growth
Period of re-orientation (1898-1910)

- Writers are adjusting to the newfound freedom after the repression of thought and speech
under the Spanish regime.
- Adjusting to the idea of democracy, the use of the English language and the standards of the
English literary style
- Not much was produced in English

American influence on the Philippines

 Democracy
 Way of dressing and diet
 Americanization of filipino manner
 Family
 Emancipation of filipino women
 Language and education
 Improvement of communication
 Music, fine arts and science

Newspaper during the period of re-orientation

1. El nuevo dia
2. El grito del pueblo
3. El Renacimiento

Period of Imitation (1910-1924)

- period was characterized by the Filipino writers imitating the American and English (British)
writers
- Poetry in all languages continued to flourish in all regions of the country
- Short story as a literary genre was accepted in the country
Period of Self- Discovery & Growth (1925-1941)
- Filipino writers acquired mastery of the English Language
- Writers produced poems with the element of Romanticism
-(a celebration of nature and the common man, a focus on individual experience, an idealization
of women, and an embrace of isolation and melancholy)
 1. Luis Dato wrote Manila: A Collection of Verses and Day on the Farm
 2. Marcelo De Gracia Concepcion wrote Bamboo Flute and Azucena
 3. Aurelio S. Alvero wrote Moon shadows on the Water
 4. Rafael Zulueta da Costa wrote First Leaves
 5. Aurelio S. Alvero wrote Nuances
 6. Abelardo Subido wrote the sonnet Soft Night
 7. Angela Manalang Gloria wrote Soledad
 8. Conrado Ramirez wrote My Wife’s Hands
- Writing non -fiction such as essays, biography and autobiography became fashionable during
this period
Japanese Period
Historical background

- Japan colonized the Philippines from 1941 to 1945

-it begun when Japan bombed pearl harbour in Hawaii (dec 8,1941)

The fall of bataan and the death march which kill thousands of Filipinos and Americans

-this was the result of the final major battles of the Japanese invasion

Literature during the Japanese period

- The Japanese censured all publications except Tribune and Philippine Review
- Philippine Literature in English was stopped, and writers turned to write in Filipino
-In prose literature, the weekly Liwayway Magazine was put into strict surveillance and was
managed by a Japanese named Ishiwara
- did their best to turn the Filipinos’ sympathy away from the americans
- Nippongo (Japanese language) was introduced but not well-embraced by the Filipinos despite it
is being forcefully taught by the Japanese.
- Many Filipino writers wrote plays, poems, short stories, etc. in the Tagalog and other vernacular
language.
-often about life in the provinces to escape Japanese control and censorship
- Haiku and Tanka were the poetry styles dominated the Philippine Literature during this period.

Haiku is a poem of free verse of Japanese origin

- has 17 syllables divided into 3 lines. The first has 5 syllables, second has 7, and the third has 5
syllables.
- usually short but it covers a wide scope.

Tanka poem is very similar to haiku but Tanka poems have more syllables and it uses simile, metaphor,
and personification.

- 31 syllables are divided into 5 lines with the first line with 5, second line with 7, third line with 5,
fourth line with 7, and the fifth line with 7
- are written about nature, seasons, love, sadness, and other strong emotions.

Many of the plays were reproductions of English plays to Tagalog.

 Panday Pira, the Cannon Maker written by Jose M.bHernandez

 Sa Pula, Sa Puti written by Francisco Soc Rodrigo
 Bulaga written by Clodualdo del Mundo
 Sino Ba Kayo?, Dahil Sa Anak, and Higante Ng Patay written by Julian Cruz Balmaceda

Literature of the Contemporary Philippines

Post-War Literature
 - Postwar poetry and fiction were dominated by the writers in English educated and trained in the
writers’ workshop in United States or England. With their credentials and solid reputations, they
influenced the form and direction of the next generation.
-Their main goal was to produce the finest literary writers in the English Language.

Characteristics of Post-war literature

 Romanticism
 Nationalism
 Independence
 Nature
 Expression Of feelings

Martial Law literature

- There is a direct military control and suspension of ordinary law, which is characterized by
extreme controlled society.

Characteristics of Martial law literature

Protest Literature

- Sometimes called as revolutionary literature, refers to works that express distaste,

disagreement, or transgression to the current political, social and/or economic conditions of the
country

Proletarian Literature

- Refers to literary works written by working-class authors about the working class.

Prison Literature

- Refers to literary works produced by authors who are incarcerated on confined in a secluded
area such as a prison cell.

Circumvention Literature

- Refers to literary works that express social and political transgression through metaphors,
allegories, symbolisms, etc.

Post-EDSA literature

- Post-EDSA writings paved the way for the development of vernacular literature, or literature
written using the daily speech of common people, which also became a source of regional
literary histories.

Modern day literature

 - Literary works nowadays are gender-sensitive, exploring the plurality of culture and challenging
social normativities.

Modern day literary works

Riverrun

- Danton Remoto
- A novel that talks about the rite passage in the life of a young gay men who grew up in a colorful
and chaotic dictatorship

When a father’s son becomes his daughter

- Meredith Talusan
- A memoir, where she deals with her complicated relationship with her father as it intersects
with her trans-ness and filipina-ness.