History and Literature dances that affirm our ties with our Southeast

Dimensions of Philippine Literary History Asian neighbors.

st
RIDDLE which is tigmo in Cebuano, bugtong in
21 Century from the Philippines and the World
Tagalog, paktakon in Ilongo and patototdon in
In the context of Philippine Literature, we can
Bicol. Central to the riddle is the talinghaga or
categorize literary texts into:
metaphor because it "reveals subtle resemblances
1. Pre-colonial
between two unlike objects" and one's power of
2. Colonial
observation and wit are put to the test
3. Post-colonial
examples:
Time frames of Philippine Literature
1. ‘Naligo ang kapitan, hindi nabasa ang tiyan.’
1. The Period of Re-orientation: 1898-
2. ‘Dalawang balon, hindi malingon.’
1910
3. ‘Limang puno ng niyog, isa’y matayog.’
2. Period of Imitation: 1910-1925
Pre-colonial Literature
3. Period of Self-Discovery: 1925-1941
PROVERBS or aphorisms express norms or codes of
4. Japanese Period: 1941-1945
behavior, community beliefs or they instill values
5. The Rebirth of Freedom: 1946-1970
by offering nuggets of wisdom in short, rhyming
6. Period of Activism: 1970-1972
verse.
7. Period of the New Society: 1972-1981
‘Matibay ang walis, palibhasa'y
8. Period of the Third Republic: 1981-1985
magkabigkis.’
9. Contemporary Period: 1986
‘Hangga't makitid ang kumot, matutong
Guide Questions
mamaluktot.’
What defines Pre-colonial, Colonial or Post-colonial
TANAGA is a poem consisting of four lines with
literature?
each line equally having between seven and nine
Is it the place it was written, the time or the
syllables expressing insights and lessons on life is
author?
"more emotionally charged than the terse proverb
If the literary text is written in 2009, can we say it is
and thus has affinities with the folk lyric." Some
a Post-colonial Literature?
examples are the basahanon or extended didactic
If a literary text is written by a Filipino who now
sayings from Bukidnon and
lives in the United States of America, is it a Colonial
the daraida and daragilon from Panay.
Literature?
‘Palay siyang matino, PALAY
If a literary text is written in 1800, is it a Pre-
ni Ildefonso Santos
colonial Literature?
Nang humangi’y yumuko;
Dimensions of Philippine Literature
Nguni’t muling tumayo
1. The dimensions of literature is a thematic
Nagkabunga ng ginto.’
marker.
2. The dimensions of literature is a linguistic
Pre-colonial Literature
marker.
FOLK SONG is a form of folk lyric which expresses
Midsummer by Manuel Arguilla
the hopes and aspirations, the people's lifestyles as
Scent of Apples by Bienvenido Santos
well as their loves. These are often repetitive and
Wedding Dance by Amador Daguio
sonorous, didactic and naive as in the children's
Pasilyo 8 by Antonio Maria Nieva
songs or Ida-ida (Maguindanao), tulang
The Bread of Salt by N.V.M Gonzales
pambata (Tagalog) or cansiones para
Why Women Wash the Dishes by Filomena
abbing (Ibanag).
Colendrino
‘Bahay Kubo’ by Felipe de Leon
Pre-colonial Literature
‘Leron Leron Sinta’
Pre-colonial inhabitants of our islands showcase a
A few examples are the lullabyes or Ili-ili (Ilongo);
rich past through their folk speeches, folk songs,
love songs like
folk narratives and indigenous rituals and mimetic
the panawagon and balitao (Ilongo); harana or
serenade (Cebuano); the bayok (Maranao); the
seven-syllable per line poem, ambahan of the
Mangyans that are about human relationships,
social entertainment and also serve as a tool for
teaching the young; work songs that depict the
livelihood of the people often sung to go with the
movement of workers such as
the kalusan (Ivatan), soliranin (Tagalog rowing
song) or the mambayu, a Kalinga rice-pounding
song; the verbal jousts/games like
the duplo popular during wakes. Other folk songs
are the drinking songs sung during carousals like
the tagay (Cebuano and Waray); dirges and
lamentations extolling the deeds of the dead like
the kanogon (Cebuano) or the Annako(Bontoc).
Pre-colonial Literature
Ili-ili Tulog Anay
Pre-colonial Literature
NARRATIVE SONG or kissa among the Tausug of
Mindanao, the parang sabil, uses for its subject
matter the exploits of historical and legendary
heroes. It tells of a Muslim hero who seeks death at
the hands of non-Muslims.
FOLK NARRATIVES, i.e. epics and folk tales are
varied, exotic and magical. They explain how the
world was created, how certain animals possess
certain characteristics, why some places have
waterfalls, volcanoes, mountains, flora or fauna
and, in the case of legends, an explanation of the
origins of things. Fables are about animals and
these teach moral lessons.
Pre-colonial Literature
The EPICS come in various
names: Guman (Subanon); Darangen (Maranao); H
udhud (Ifugao); and Ulahingan (Manobo). These
epics revolve around supernatural events or heroic
deeds and they embody or validate the beliefs and
customs and ideals of a community. These are sung
or chanted to the accompaniment of indigenous
musical instruments and dancing performed during
harvests, weddings or funerals by chanters. The
chanters who were taught by their ancestors are
considered "treasures" and/or repositories of
wisdom in their communities.
Examples of these epics are the Lam-
ang (Ilocano); Hinilawod (Sulod); Kudaman (Palawa
n); Darangen (Maranao); Ulahingan (Livunganen-
Arumanen Manobo); Mangovayt Buhong na
Langit (The Maiden of the Buhong Sky from
Tuwaang--Manobo); Ag Tobig neg
Keboklagan (Subanon); and Tudbulol (T'boli).
Colonial Literature
1. Spanish Colonization (1521-1898)
2. American Colonization (1898 –1946)
3. Japanese Colonization (1942-1945)
Spanish Colonization (1521-1898)
1. Spain contributed much in the shaping and
recording of our literature.
2. Religion and institutions that represented
European civilization enriched the
languages in the lowlands, introduced
theater which we would come to know
as komedya, the sinakulo, the sarswela, the
playlets and the drama.
3. Spain also brought to the country, though
at a much later time, liberal ideas and an
internationalism that influenced our own
Filipino intellectuals and writers for them to
understand the meanings of “liberty and
freedom”.
Spanish Colonization (1521-1898)
4. Literature in this period may be classified as
religious prose and poetry and secular prose and
poetry.
5. Religious lyrics written by ladino poets or those
versed in both Spanish and Tagalog were included
in early catechism and were used to teach Filipinos
the Spanish language.
6. Other religious lyrics are dalit, appended to
novenas and catechisms, pasyon, awit and korido.
7. Some forms of prose narratives are
dialogo (dialogue), Manual de Urbanidad (conduct
book); ejemplo (exemplum) and tratado (tratado).
Spanish Colonization (1521-1898)
8. The Propaganda Movement (1872-1896). This
movement was spearheaded mostly by the
intellectual middle-class like Jose Rizal, Marcelo del
Pilar; Graciano Lopez Jaena, Antonio Luna, Mariano
Ponce, Jose Ma. Panganiban, and Pedro Paterno.
The objectives of this movement were to seek
reforms and changes in the government.
9. The introduction of English as medium of
instruction in the Philippines hastened the demise
of Spanish so that by the 1930s, English writing had
overtaken Spanish writing.
Spanish Colonization (1521-1898)
LITERATURE WRITTEN
1. Ang Doctrina Christiana (The Christian Doctrine)
written by Fr. Juan de Placencia and Fr. Domingo
Nieva, in Tagalog and Spanish.
2. The most well-known are Modesto de Castro's
"Pagsusulatan ng Dalawang Binibini na si Urbana
at si Feliza" (Correspondence between the Two
Maidens Urbana and Feliza) in 1864. The letters
deal greatly about the behavior of people in
society.
3. Noli Me Tangere, El Filibusterismo and Mi Ultimo
Adios by Dr. Jose P. Rizal.
4. La Solidaridad, a paper which became the vehicle
thru which reforms in the government could be
worked out.
5. Ninay by Pedro Paterno, the first social novel in
Spanish by a Filipino.
6. Florante at Laura by Francisco Balagtas.
7. Ibong Adarna by Jose dela Cruz.
American Colonization (1898 –1946)
1. A new set of colonizers brought about new
changes in Philippine literature. New literary forms
such as free verse [in poetry], the modern short
story and the critical essay were introduced.
2. American influence was deeply entrenched with
the firm establishment of English as the medium of
instruction in all schools and with literary
modernism that highlighted the writer's
individuality and cultivated consciousness of craft,
sometimes at the expense of social consciousness.
3. Minimal narratives such as dali or pasingaw
(sketch), novels, humorous essays, informal essays,
short stories, and short fiction were mostly written.
American Colonization (1898 –1946)
4. Jose Garcia Villa, Angea Manalang Gloria,
Alejandro Abadilla, Virgilio S. Almario, Pedro I.
Ricarte and Rolando S. Tinio persisted in writing
poetry.
5. Paz Marquez Benitez, Arturo B. Rotor, Manuel E.
Arguilla, Lope K. Santos, Valeriano Hernandez Peña,
Faustino Aguilar and Patricio Mariano showed
exceptional skills with the short story, short fiction
and novels in vernaculars and in English.
6. The essay in English became a potent medium
from the 1920's to the present. Some leading
essayists were journalists like Carlos P. Romulo,
Jorge Bocobo, Pura Santillan Castrence, etc.
Japanese Colonization (1942-1945)
1. Philippine Literature in English came to a halt –
dark period.
2. There was no freedom of speech.
3. Tagalog was favored by the Japanese hence,
Filipinos were encouraged in developing vernacular
literature.
4. The only Filipino writers who could write freely
were living in the United States.
Japanese Colonization (1942-1945)
5. Writers include Jose Ma.Hernandez, Frncisco Soc
Rodrigo, Clodualdo del Mundo, Julian Cruz
Balmaceda, NVM Gonzales, Liwayway Arceo and
others.
6. Haiku and Tanaga are the types of poems which
emerged during this period.
7. Filipino literature was given a break during this
period. Many wrote plays, poems, short stories,
etc. Topics and themes were often about life in the
provinces, nationalism, country, love, and life in the
barrios, faith, religion and the arts.
Post-colonial Literature
1. The flowering of Philippine literature in the
various languages continue especially with the
appearance of new publications after the Martial
Law years and the resurgence of committed
literature in the 1960s and the 1970s.
2. Filipino writers continue to write poetry, short
stories, novellas, novels and essays whether these
are socially committed, gender/ethnic related or
are personal in intention or not.
3. Of course the Filipino writer has become more
conscious of his art with the proliferation of writers
workshops here and abroad and the bulk of
literature available to him via the mass media
including the internet.
4. The various literary awards encourage authors
and writers to compete with his peers and hope
that his creative efforts will be rewarded in the
long run.
Post-colonial Literature
5. With the new requirement by the Commission
on Higher Education of teaching of Philippine
Literature in all tertiary schools in the country
emphasizing the teaching of the vernacular
literature or literatures of the regions, the audience
for Filipino writers is virtually assured. And,
perhaps, a national literature finding its niche
among the literatures of the world will not be far
behind.
6. Post-colonial literature involves writings that
deal with issues of the political and cultural
independence of people from a colonial rule. It is
also a literary critique to text that carry racist or
colonial undertones.
7. Writers used symbolisms and allegories to drive
home their message, at the face of heavy
censorship while theater was used as a vehicle for
protest.