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(a story of the life of Christ beginning with the
The Philippines
Anunciation and ending with the Crucifixion)
INTRODUCTION TO FILIPINO LITERATURE
3 PERIODS
 Legendary and Epic Age
 Period of Spanish Occupation
 American Occupation
Legendary Age
 Produced oral literature handed down
from elders
 The literature of this period consisted of
magical incantations, myths, legends and
folktales
 Ancestors believed in the sun and moon
worships, good or bad
The Epic Age
 Epic age produced a wealth of literature.
Scholars estimate that we have no fewer
than twenty-four epics. These are
distributed in different regions of the
archipelago and are written in the
different Filipino languages
 Biag ni Lam-Ang (from Ilocos region)
 Hudhud and Alim (from the Ifugaos)
 Maragtas (from Panay)
 Bantugan (from the Maranaws)
 Bidasari (adapted from the Muslims of
Sulu)
 Indarapatra and Sulayman (Maranaw)
SPANISH PERIOD
 Introduces Christianity
 Literature produced during this period is
religious in nature
Examples:
Passion
 The corrido and awit were very popular
forms of poetry during the latter part of
the spanish regime
 Corrido – long narrative in verse telling of
the deeds of a legendary hero
 Awit – also dealt the adventures of
knights but in a light, romantic tone
Early in the nineteenth century with the
opening of Suez Canal and a change in
government administration, many young
filipinos found themselves going to
Europe
The contact with the outside world made
these Filipinos move for reforms.
 Antonio Luna – founded the newspaper
La Independencia
 Jose Rizal – wrote his masterpieces , The
Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not) and its
sequel, El Felibusterismo.’
 The novels were banned because they
aimed to reveal the abuses of the Church
and the State in the Philippines
 On the whole, the literature of the period
was propaganda with many of the leaders
of the movement against Spain
American Period
The coming of the Americans introduced the
English language which the Filipinos began
using as a literary medium. Thus begun
Filipino literature written in English.
 English as a literary vehicle for filipino
writers is a choice forced by history
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With the coming of the Americans a new
system of education was begun and English
was made the medium of instruction in the
schools Filipino writers began haltingly at first
producing unimaginative verse patterned
after American and European models but
soon progressed to produce a body of
literature for the world to notice
Philippine Literature in English is divided into
the following periods.
 Period of Orientation
 Period of Apprenticeship
 Period of Self- Discovery and Growth
 Period of Postwar Reorientation
Period of orientation
 The first period was one of orientation to
the democratic way of life , to the new
literary standards, and the nuances of the
new language .
 In 1910 the college folio was published in
the University of the Philippines in which
the literary attempts of some Filipino
writers in the new language appeared.
Period of apprenticeship
 The period of partnership found Filipino
writers patterning their work closely on
English and American models.
 The writers were unduly preoccupied
with form and mechanics so their works
lacked individuality and naturalness
Outstanding contributors:
 Carlos P. Romulo, fernando Maramag,
Jose M. Hernandez, Vicente del Fiero,
Francisco Tonogbanua, Jorge V. Bacobo
etc.
 Filipino writers started to use English with
power
 With her short story, “Dead Stars,” Paz
Marquez Binitez stood out as the
foremost short story of the period
Period of Self-Discovery and Growth
The period of self-discovery and growth found
Philippine writing in English diverse and prolific.
There was improvement and growth and the
Filipino writers showed mastery of the English
idiom.
There were any incentives : recognition abroad,
national wards in literature, a wider reading
public
 The war years, 1942-1945 set back the
development of Philippine literature in
English. The Japanese conquerors
discourage the use of English; moreover
freedom of speech and freedom of the
press was denied. Such atmosphere did
not provide the impetus for writing .
Primarily, however the writers were
concerned more with survival in the face
of war, famine and disease than with
writing
Post-war Reorientation Period
 The post war reorientation period was
marked by a rapid rise in journalistic
writing. Most of the books published in
the years immediately after the war were
collections, anthologies, or second
editions of pre-war or wartime works .
Recently, however, our contemporary
writers have been prolific in producing
quality literature in English
 Philippine literature has been enriched
with the publication of more and more
books not only in English but also in
Filipino. With Filipino as the national
language , there is the move to make it
eventually the medium of instruction in
the schools . Bilingualism is used in the
classrooms.
 Because of this, it is expected that more
literature in Filipino will be produced by a
new crop of writers.
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 The future will, no doubt, see great works
produced in English as well as Filipino
ANG BAYONG KAG ANG
BANGA
by Flavio Zaragoza Cano
Sugiran ta kamo,
kag akon isaysay
isa ka natabu
sa isa ka lin-ay,
matahum sing guya,
sing lawas matibsul,
bukad sang kabugaw,
daw bukol sang doldol...
Kong magka-agahon,
nagasipit sang banga,
kay siang magasag-ub
sing tubig sa suba...
Banga nia mabilog,
kay diutay sing baba,
matapuk sing buli
kag dali mabuka.
Sa amo nga ti-on,
isa ka binata,
kay sia man masag-ub
sa pang-pang sang suba,
iya nga nakit-an
sang iya paglantaw
ma-anyag nga lin-ay
sang gugma gapukaw
Dayon pinatindog
bayong nga kawayan
agud nga si Inday
iya mabuligan...
Apang sa hinali
ang bayong napukan,
nabu-ong ang banga
kay among natup-an...
Gani mga nene,
inyo gid amligan
nga'ng inyo banga
dili mapukanan
agud sa gihapon
kamo may sulodlan
kag kamo may tubig
Ang Baboy
Fatima the War Nurse
Mohammad Nassefh Macla Ni JOHN IREMIL
E. TEODORO
In her clinicin the camp she whispers
Her prayers, hoping no one had been hurt.
Sugot takën nga
mangin baboy
But when the forest hushes from gunfire and
grenades, She hears howls of pain, Tabang! Tabang kon ang tangkal ko
kamo! mga bëtkën mo.
Her instruments were all set, laid on the bamboo table Basta damogan mo
– scissors, syringe, and bandages – waiting for the lang akokang imong
wounded. yëhëm kag harëk aga,
hapon.
A bloodied brotherin front of her came with a Dali man lang ako
headwound. patambukën.Ang
Scalp grinning, slit by a bullet. And she stitches it
pangaku mo man
langnga indi ako
The way her mother had sewn her pink abaya. pagpabay-anamo ang
Curious eyes picking, vision passing through amakan bitamina nga
walls. akënginatomar.
Veiled women outside covering their mouths. Kag kon gabii gani,ang
Pink sequined veil covers her head. “The color relaxes mga apuhap mo man
langsa akën likod kag
The patient” she remembers. As she burries the dëghanang
needle makapahoragëk
In the warrior’s skin once more, she recalls how an old kanakën.
patient
Repelled her, refused her care, for she was wearing a
veil. She had not removed her tondong.
She had turned to another patient, since then.
She gave a slight smile behind her surgical mask
“When Alhamdulillah” came out of the wounded
man’s mouth. Fatima hears gunfire go off again as she
washes her hands.