01/17

Philippine
Epics
2 1 S T C E N T U RY L I T E R AT U E
What is an epic?
 What is an epic?
• From the Ancient Greek word "epos" meaning word,
story, poem
• A long narrative poem telling a heroes deeds.
• A long poem typically derived from ancient oral
tradition, narrating the deeds and adventures of
heroic or legendary figures or the history of the
nation.
 What is an epic?
• The Filipino word for ‘epic’ is epiko from the
Spanish.
• Philippine epics are lengthy narrative poems based on
oral tradition.
• The verses were chanted or sung while being passed
from generation to generation before being written on
paper.
• The plots of their stories revolve around supernatural
events and heroic deeds.
• With the diversity of ethnic groups in the Philippines,
Filipino epics are not national in scope the way the
Kaleva is in Finland, for example.
• Instead of glorifying national heroes, Philippine epics
are specific to a particular part of the country, and thus
they are referred to as ethno-epics or regional epics.
• In fact, the epic poems of the Philippines are in many
different languages, not just the currently dominant
Tagalog.
• Many of the Philippine epics that have survived and
been recorded are from areas that have seen the least
colonization by the Spanish and Americans.
• These are mostly pagan groups and the Moros who
were not Christianized by missionaries.
 Examples
There are around twenty known Filipino epic poems. Among the more famous ones are:

BIAG NI LAM-ANG HINILAWOD DARANGAN

pre-Hispanic epic poem Biag ni Lam-ang of the longest and oldest epic of the Hiligaynon the adventures of a warrior-prince named
the Ilocos region people Bantugan, who was the brother of the chieftain
of a village called Bumbaran.
 A N D
TRY N
LEA
R
Activity Time
Read the epic assigned by Tr. Aub.
Thank you!