• Pre-Colonial Period – (__ to 1564)

• Spanish Period – (1565 – 1897)

• American Period – (1898 – 1945)
• Contemporary Period – (1945 – present)
 Pre-
Colonial
Period
(__- 1564)
I.PRE-COLONIAL PERIOD
I. How Philippine Prehistoric/Pre-colonial Literature
Got Rediscovered

• Philippine pre-colonial literary history is the longest

(…-1564)

• Filipinos have the misconception that Philippine

literary history began with the coming of the
Spaniards in 1521.
I.PRE-COLONIAL PERIOD
With the discovery of the Tabon Man
in 1962, we learned that the history of
the Filipinos dates to as far back as
50,000 years ago, suggesting also the
possible length of existence of Philippine
literature.
This human skull cap was
discovered by Dr. Robert
B. Fox, American
anthropologist of the
National Museum, inside
Tabon Cave Palawan, on
May 28, 1962. This human
relic was called the "Tabon
Man".
• According to scholar William Henry Scott,
“there is a discrepancy between what is
actually known about Philippine prehistory and
what has been written about it” many
chroniclers possessed biases towards early
Filipinos and these were reflected in their
accounts/writings.
William Henry Scott,
renowned historian
who authoried 15
books in Philippine
history including The
Discovery of the
Igorots, is dead. He
was 72 years old.
 Reading for the Day: William Henry Scott on the Igorots
February 25, 2007 at 3:06 pm

• They were intelligent, well-built, light-

skinned, naked save for G-strings, and
estimated to number between 18 and 20
thousand.
• They were headhunters frequently at war
with their neighbors, held the most
successful collectors of these trophies in
high regard.
• They worked their mines mainly by
panning gold in placers in the streams
and bartered it, at qualities up to 22
carats, with particular trading partners in
Pangasinan for rice, pigs, and carabaos,
driving these animals back on the hoof.
• Igorot gold fields are regularly referred to
in 16th-century accounts as the
wealthiest in the archipelago.
Pre-colonial People
• Today, it is easier for scholars to do an analysis
of Philippine pre-colonial literature for a wealth
of oral lore has been collected.

• These indigenous literature were preserved by

Filipinos whose ancestors stayed beyond the
reach of colonial forces.
II. Characteristics of Philippine Pre-colonial
Literature

1. Communally owned
Subject matter was common experience of
a group of people (food gathering, work in
the home, caring for children, nature…)
Common in riddles, proverbs and songs
 Riddles/Bugtong
• Neither king nor priest>
• Hindi hari, hindi pari
But has a variety of clothes
Ang damit ay sari-sari

sampayan

• It is a tree trunk but is without

May puno, walang bunga fruit
May dahon, walang sanga It has leaves but has no branches

sandok
Chavacano Riddles/ Adivinanza
• Tiene un pono, ta comé de suyo mismo
cuerpo.
• De negro si vivo, de colorao si muerto.
• Ya parí ya, pero no hay pa salé el anak.
• Cielo arriba, cielo abajo agua entremedio.
• Binili ko nang mahal, isinabit ko lamang
• Isang prinsesang maganda, punong-puno
ng mata.
• Bawat dahong itinatapon ay lumilipas na
panahon.
• Limang magkakapatid, laging kabit-kabit.
• Heto na si Kaka, bubuka-bukaka.
• Maliit na bahay, puno ng mga patay.
• Lumuluha walang mata, lumalakad
walang paa.
• Isa ang pasukan, tatlo ang labasan.
• Sa maling kalabit, may buhay na
kapalit.
• Dalawang batong itim, malayo ang
nararating.
• Magandang prinsesa, nakaupo sa tasa.
 Salawikain: Pinoy Proverbs
• In general, a Pinoy will resort to quoting
proverbs if he wishes to express himself
eloquently, or if he wishes to fancy himself as
a sage of wisdom.
• Defined interchangeably as
– "ornament to the language,“
– "words of our ancestors,"
– "wisdom of experience”
– Salawikain are sayings that are steeped in
traditional Filipino culture and wisdom.

– They are forceful expressions cloaked in

poetry, and are basically euphemistic
passages that not too infrequently enter
daily conversations.
 Proverb/Salawikain

• Ang hindi lumilingon sa • A person who does not

pinanggalingan Hindi remember where
makararating sa he/she came from Will
paroroonan. never reach his/her
destination.
 Proverb/Salawikain

• Ang lumalakad nang

mabagal, kung
matinik ay
mababaw. Ang
lumalakad nang • Thorns bury
matulin, kung shallowly into one
matinik ay malalim. who walks slowly.
Thorns bury deeply
into one who walks
fast.
 Proverb/Salawikain

• Ang umaayaw ay di • He who quits does

nagwawagi, ang not succeed, he who
nagwawagi ay di succeeds does not
umaayaw. quit.
• Para qué el compay si muerto ya el caballo?
• El pono del cahel hende ta prutá guayabas.
Ang puno ng suha ay hindi magbubunga ng
bayabas.
• El vida del gente igual rueda, Ahora abajo,
mañana arriba.
• El dalaga guapa, demonio na bolsa.
(A beautiful maiden is a devil’s pocket.)
 Maxims/Sayings

• Si ta hablá vos malo con otros, malo también

vos el oí.
(If you speak evil of others, you shall hear evil in
return.)

El malo para con vos, no dale con otros. (Ang

masamá sa inyo, huwag mong gawin sa kapwa
mo.)
1. Pag makitid ang kumot, magtiis
kang mamaluktot.

2. Ang taong nagigipit, sa patalim

man ay kumakapit.
 Group Activity

• By group explain the chosen proverb through

a short skit.

(Use your local language. If necessary, have

someone translate it in a language understood
by the whole class.)
 Criteria
• The group provides a clear
example/situation that best explains the
proverb.
• The presentation is smooth flowing, at the
same time entertaining.
• Members play their part/role very well.
1. May tainga ang lupa, may pakpak ang
balita.
2. Kung may isinuksok, may madudukot.
3. Kung ano ang puno, siya rin ang bunga.
4. Lahat ng gubat ay may ahas.
5. Kung ano ang itinanim, siya rin ang
aanihin.
6. Nasa tao ang gawa, nasa Diyos ang
awa.
• Pagmakitid ang kumot, magtiis kang
mamaluktot.

Kung nakakaranas ng kakulangan sa buhay ang

isang tao ay dapat
siyang mamuhay ng naaayon sa kanyang
kakayahan. Matutong
magtipid at maging payak sa pamumuhay.
• Pagkahaba-haba man ng prusisyon, sa
simbahan din ang tuloy.

Sa tinagal-tagal man ng samahan ng

magkasintahan, sa bandang
huli ay humahantong din eto sa kasalan.
• Ang taong nagigipit, sa patalim man ay
kumakapit.

Ang taong nagigipit kung minsan ay napipilitang

gumawa ng mapangahas na bagay na maaaring
maging dahilan upang lalu lamang siyang magipit.
Halimbawa, ang taong may mabigat na
pangangailangan ng pera ay nagagawang mangutang
ng patubuan, tulad ng five-six, na nagiging dahilan
upang lalu pa siyang mangailangan ng pera.
2. Uses language of daily life
– This is except for the epic, the epic singer
must have good memory and be musically
creative.

– Any member of the community can be a

poet as long as he knew the language
3. Orally transmitted
– It was because folk literature was orally
transmitted from one generation to another
that they exist up until now.
– Conventions of oral literary form: formulaic
repetitions, stereotyping of characters,
regular rhythmic and musical devices.
III. Ways in which Indigenious Culture
Survived

– Resistance to colonial rule

• Done by Maranaws, Tausugs of Mindanao and
Ifugaos and Bontocs of Mountain Province

Bontocs Ifugaos
– Isolation from colonial power
• Done by Mangyans, Bilaans, Isnegs and
etc.

• Their settlements were also

geographically inaccessible
IV. How Indigenous Culture Disappeared

– Filipinos became Christianized resulting to

indigenous literature being set aside.
– Written literature were written on easily
perishable materials.

– Indigenous literature intentionally destroyed

by Spanish missionaries for they considered
these pagan.
V. Forms of Oral Literature

1. Simple forms
Riddles and Proverbs which contained
talinhaga (metaphor)
Vocabulario de la lengua tagala by Pedro
Sanlucar and Juan de Noceda, collection of
early riddles and proverbs directly
obtained from the people during the
Spanish time.
2. Poetry
– Much of pre-colonial poetry were
monoriming and heptasyllabic
– Example ambahan of Hanunoo-Mangyans
– Tanaga, like a Hispanized version of
ambahan and has four lines
3. Lyric Poetry
– Tagalogs have 16 species of songs for
different occasions
 Ambahan
Ako mana manrigsan I would like to take a bath
sa may panayo pinggan scoop the water with a plate
sa may tupas balian wash the hair with lemon
ako ud nakarigsan juice;
inambing bahayawan but I could not take a bath,
sinag-uli batangan because the river is dammed
with a lot of sturdy trunks
 Tanaga
Katitibay ka, tulos You may stand sturdy
Sakaling datnang agos, But when the waters flow
Ako’y mumunting lumot, I, the humble moss
Sa iyo’y pupulupot Can strangle you.
Functions of Songs

1. Political
- taught people of their membership to the
community
2. Religious
- used to give praise to the divinities

4. Prose Narratives
– Consisted of origin myths, hero tales, fables and
legends.
Functions of Prose Narratives:
1. Explain natural phenomena, past events and
contemporary beliefs to make the world
more comprehensible and less fearful.
2. Make idle hours less tedious.

5. Drama
• Philippine drama as a literary form did not
exist yet but existed in the simplest form.
• Mimetic dances imitating natural cycles and
work activities
• Most sophisticated prehistoric/pre-colonial
drama were participated in by priest/priestess
and the entire community.

• To Lumbera, if no colonial interference in the

development of indigenous Philippine drama,
Philippine drama may be dance-drama like
those of other Asian countries.
6. Epics

• To E. Arsenio Manuel, the Philippines does

not have a national epic but has several
ethnoepics.
• Manuel listed in his study in 1962, 13 epics
from pagan Filipinos, 2 from Christian Filipinos
and 4 from Muslims.
Characteristics of Philippine ethnoepic:

1. Narratives of sustained length

2. Based on oral tradition
3. Revolving around supernatural events or
heroic deeds
4. Verse form
5. Sung or chanted
6. Certain seriousness of purpose which
embodies beliefs, customs, ideals of people
Epics that can be read and studied:

a. Biuag at Malana – Cagayan Valley Epic

b. Bidasari-Moro epic
c. Biag ni Lam-ang-Ilokano epic
d. Maragtas-Visayan epic
e. Haraya-Visayan epic
f. Lagda-Visayan epic
g. Hari sa Bukid-Visayan epic
h. Kumintang-Tagalog epic
i. Parang Sabir-Moro epic
j. “Dagoy” at “Sudsod”-Tagbanua epic
k. Tatuaang-Bagobo epic
l. Indarapatra at Sulayman