PRE-COLONIAL

PHILIPPINE
LITERATURE
THE EVOLUTION OF PHILIPPINE LITERATURE
PRE-COLONIAL PHILIPPINE LITERATURE
 During the pre-colonial times, oral
transmission was the primary means of
communicating and preserving Philippine
literature.
 Long before the colonizers brought their
own influences to our culture, our literary
trove had already amassed an abundance
of folk sayings, stories and songs.
LITERARY GENRES
PRE-COLONIAL PHILIPPINE LITERATURE
RIDDLES
LITERARY GENRES
BUGTUNGAN TAYO…
RIDDLES
 Bugtong (Tagalog); Paktakon (Ilonggo);
Patototdon (Bicol) and Buburtia (Ilocano)
 Relies on talinghaga or metaphor – that is a
guessing game of objects represented by
other objects.
 Tagalog has the greatest number of
recorded riddles.
RIDDLES
 rhyming couplets
 used to test the wits of those who are
listening to it
 topics are usually parts of human body,
household tools and utensils, familiar flora
and fauna, and many others.
SAMPLE OF A RIDDLE:

(Tagalog)
Buto’t balat, lumilipad (Saranggola)

(English)
Skin and bone flying, what is it? (Kite)
PROVERBS
LITERARY GENRES
PROVERBS
 were more serious than priddles because
they were intended to teach values.
 statement of a particular culture’s codes
of behaviour and beliefs.
 Kasabihan/salawikain (Tagalog);
panultihon/pagya (Cebuano); kasebian
(Pampango) and humbaton/hurobaton
(Ilonggo)
PROVERBS
 practical observations and philosophy of
everyday life
 written usually in a rhyming scheme
 aims to entertain while teaching basic
skills in surviving local life
SAMPLE OF A PROVERB:

(Tagalog) (English)
Bahay man ay palasyo It is better to have a hut
Kung laman ay inhabited by a person
kuwago; than a mansion
Mabuti pa ang kubong Wherein an owl lives.
Laman ay tao.
SAMPLE OF A PROVERB:
 The broom is sturdy because its strands are tightly
bound. Matibay ang walis, palibhasa’y
magkabigkis.
 While the blanket is short, learn how to bend.
Hangga’t makitid ang kumot, matutong
mamaluktot.
 If you persevere, you will reap the fruits of your
labor. Kapag may tiyaga, may nilaga.
 There is no need to cry over spilt milk. Magsisi ka
man at huli, wala nang mangyayari.
EPIC
LITERARY GENRES
EPIC
 Interms of length, epics were on the
opposite end of the riddles and proverbs.
 The most prominent literary genre of the
Pre-Colonial Period.
 Darangen (Maranao); ulahingan (Manobo);
Guman (Subanon) and Hudhud (Ifugao)
EPIC
 long-winded poems about a hero and his
adventures and misadventures
 usually tells a male hero who is born with
pleasing qualities that ancestors like in a
person
 male hero has supernatural capabilities
 male hero is paired with a beautiful young
maiden, whom he will fall in love and will
usually have to go to battle for
POPULAR EXAMPLES OF
EPIC:
 Biag ni Lam-ang (Ilocano)
 Kabunlan and Bendian (Ibaloy)
 Kumintang (Tagalog)
 Kudaman (Palawan)
 Maragtas at Hinilawod (Panay-Bisaya)
 Tuwaang Midsakop (Manobo)
 Hari sa Bukit (Negros Bisaya)
TALES (MYTH,
LEGEND, FABLE)
LITERARY GENRES
MYTHS
 Served to explain how the world was
created. In different versions, such as: the
world was created by a bird; a couple who
started the lineage of man; and a conflict
between the sea and the sky.
 Other myths were intended to explain the
origins of plants and animals, and other
natural phenomena.
MYTHS
 FirstGeneration Gods:
Bathala – supreme god of being; creator of
man and earth
Amanikable – god of the sea
Indiyanale – goddess of labor and good
deeds.
Ikapati – goddess of cultivated land/goddess
of agriculture.
MYTHS
 First
Generation Gods:
Lakapati – god/goddess of fertility; a
hermaphrodite
Mapulon – god of seasons; husband of Ikapati
MYTHS
 Second Generation Gods:
Mayari/Luna – goddess of the moon
Tala – goddess of the stars
Hanan – goddess of morning; sisters of MayarI
and Luna
Dumakulem – son of Idiyanale and Dimangan;
guardian of the mountains
MYTHS
 Second Generation Gods:
Anitun Tabu – goddess of wind and rain;
sister of Dumakulem
Anagolay – goddess of lost things; wife of
Dumakulem
MYTHS
 Third Generation Gods:
Apolaki– god of sun and the chief of warriors;
son of Anagolay and Dumakulem
Diyan Masalanta – goddess of love,
conception and childbirth; sister of Apolaki
MYTHS
 Third Generation Gods:
Apolaki– god of sun and the chief of warriors;
son of Anagolay and Dumakulem
Diyan Masalanta – goddess of love,
conception and childbirth; sister of Apolaki
LEGENDS
 Appears to have a basis in real life.
 Gintunan (Kiniray-a & Ilonggo); sarita
(Ilocano); istorya (Pangasinan).
FABLES
 Short tales that usually highlighted
animals.
 Didactic, in that they were meant to teach
lessons. Popular examples included “the
Monkey and the Crocodile” and “Horse and
the Carabao”.
FOLK SONGS
LITERARY GENRES
FOLK SONGS
 shortpoem intended to be sung
 beautiful song that is an informal
expression of our ancestors’ experiences in
life
 ranges from courtship, to lullabies,
harvests, funerals, and others
 expresses love, grief, despair, joy, doubt,
hope and sorrow
FOLK SONGS
a form of folk lyric which expresses the
people’s hopes, aspirations, and lifestyles
repetitive and sonorous, didactic and naive
traditional songs and melodies
inspired by the reaction of the people to
their environment
FOLK SONGS
uyayi – lullaby
komintang – war song
kundiman – melancholic love song
harana – serenade
tagay – drinking song
mambayu – Kalinga rice-pounding song
subli – dance-ritual song of courtship /marriage
Tagulaylay- songs of the dead
INTRODUCTION TO
BIAG NI LAM-ANG