PRE-COLONIAL

PERIOD
Pre-Colonial Period In The
Philippines

 Long before the Spaniards

landed on the Philippines
our forefathers already
had their own literature
stamped in the history of
our race.
Pre-Colonial Period In The
Philippines
 Tribes were considered
uncivilized and
unsystematic
 As the unit of government, a
barangay consisted from 30-100
families . It was headed by datu and
was independent from the other.
MAHARLIKA TIMAWA ALIPIN
Pre-Colonial method of handwriting (Baybayin)

 Baybayin is one of the

precolonial writing
systems used by early
Filipinos. The term
“baybayin” comes from
the Tagalog root word
baybay, which means “to
spell.”
 The importance of Pre-Colonial
Philippine Literature is to preserve
the culture and the literatures or
stories made by our ancestors up
to the future readers so they can
remember and read the stories,
poems, literatures, etc. in the past.
LITERARY
FORMS
a. Folk Speeches/ Riddles

 Folk speech refers to the dialect,

or style of speaking, unique to
people living within a geographic
area.
 They are the shortest form of
folk literature.
 Folk speech includes proverbs,
riddle, and short poems.
 Riddles (Bugtong)

Riddles use one or more images

as metaphor to refer to an
object to be guessed. They
enrich the imagination and
sharpen the senses
Bulaklak muna ang dapat gawin, bago mo
ito kainin.
Saging
Isang pamalo punong-puno ng ginto.
Mais
Ang dagat gin putos sang langit
Ang langit gin putos sang tul-an
Ang tul-an gin putos sang bulbol
Ang bulbol gin putos sang panit
Lubi/Niyog/Coconut
b. Folk Song

 The Filipino is a lover of the lyric

and these verses during pre-
colonial times were enjoyed in
melodious tones.
 Traditional Philippine music is
reflective of the country’s history
as a melting pot of different
cultures.
b. Folk Song

 Lullaby or hele. This is a

mother’s song to calm a baby or
put him to sleep. The words are
original and unique for each
singer. This is known as ili-ili in
Ilongo and duwayya in Ilokano.
b. Folk Song
c. Folk Narrative

 The folk narratives, such as epics and

folk tales are varied, exotic and
magical. They were created to explain
the phenomena of the world long
before science came to be known.
c. Folk Narrative

 Biag ni Lam-Ang ( Life of Lam-

Ang) is a pre-hispanic epic poem
of the Ilocano people of the
Philippines.
 It reflects many of the values
and beliefs of the Ilocano
people, including loyalty, hard
work, and the importance of
family
 Biag ni Lam-Ang
Lam-and had the most unusual ability to speak immediately at birth. His
father was killed by Igorots, so Lam-Ang vowed revenge. Lam-Ang went to
the mountain alone to take his vengeance. He fought the Igorots and
defeated them all. He met a woman named Ines and he immediately fell in
love with her.

The biggest wedding feast happened. Lam-Ang was informed to obtain the
blessing of the marriage, he must recover a pearl from a magical oyster,
otherwise, the union would be cursed.

Lam-Ang dove into the sea but was devoured by a deadly fish known as
Berkaken. Ines was devastated. However, a diver recovers his bones. The
pet rooster flaps its wings and resurrects Lam-Ang.
d. Indigenous rituals
 Pre-colonial Filipinos
believed in the immortality
of the soul and in life after
death.
 They also believed in the
existence of a number of
gods whom they worship
and made offerings to
according to rank.
d. Indigenous rituals
 They also adored idols called
anitos or diwatas to whom they
made offerings.
Some anitos were considered bad:
however, they made offerings to
them too in order to appease them
or placate their anger.
 Priestesses such as the
babaylan/ baylana or
katalona acted as mediums
to communicate with these
spirits.
 Rituals
Some of the rituals observed by
Filipino Folk Healers include:
 Pangalap - the aforementioned yearly search
for concoction ingredients
 Halad - ritual offering of food and drink to
honor the spirits of the dead
 Palínà - ritual fumigation; called tu-ob in
the islands of Panay and Negros.
 e. Mimetic Dance

 Prior to the written history of the Philippines, before

the Spanish conquered and Christianized the general
population. They danced to appease the gods, to curry
favor from powerful spirits, to celebrate a hunt or harvest,
to mimic the exotic life forms around them. They danced
their stories and their shamanic rituals, their rites of
passage and their remembered legends and history.
Rural and Folk Dance
Tinikling
Lawin-lawin
 f. Proverbs/Aphorism
 A short pithy saying in general use, stating a general truth or
piece of advice

 Proverbs are called salawikain or sawikain in Tagalog or sarsarita

in Ilocano. Like most proverbs the world over, Philippine
proverbs contain sayings which prescribes norms, imparts a
lesson or simply reflects standard norms, traditions and beliefs
in the community
 f. Proverbs/Aphorism
Examples:
 Mandaya on Viriginity
• Yang ataog aw madugdug, (An egg once broken,)
Di da mamauli, (Will never be the same)
 Tausug on Secret Afairs
• In lasa iban uba, (Love and cough,)
DI hikatapuk. (Cannot be hidden)
 Ilocano on Guilt
• Ti agutak, (He who cackles,)
Isut nagitlog, (Laid egg)
The early literary forms of the Philippines' epics, legends,
riddles, and proverbs were told and retold by the natives.
The literature of pre-colonial Filipinos bore the marks of the
community.
Filipino managed to preserve laws, legends, songs, and
epics by inscribing them on the barks of trees, palm leaves,
and bamboos.
Some of the literary forms have managed to survive the war
and tropical disasters because they were retained in the
common mind and were later reduced to permanent forms.
Pre-colonial literary pieces transferred into traditional narratives,
speeches, and songs include Tigmo in Cebuano, Bugtong in Tagalog,
patototdon in Bicol, and partaken in Ilonggo. Baybayin (to spell) was
the pre-colonial writing system in the Philippines. Some modern
scripts in the Philippines descended from Baybayin.
No one can ever be able to live like a Filipino pre-colonialism and
preserve the culture 100%, and that's not bad. Cultures come and
go. Culture, language, and art evolve, it's part of being human.
What you can do though, is learn more about the pre-colonial
Philippines from textbooks written by historians, like Ambeth
Ocampo and Teodoro Agoncillo. Learn more about the language,
how they lived, and their worldview. There are further readings in
the library.
Thanks for listening