Philippine Literature During Pre-Colonial Period

1. Let’s Recap!

2. Let’s Recap!
Literary Genre
What other literary genres do you like to
read?

3. Drama
a play for theater
told by character
diaglogue (talking)
Fiction
a story that did not
actually happen in
real life
Nonfiction
writing that is real
and factual, or
that actually
happened
biography
autobiography
narrative
periodicals
reference
Poetry
writing using language
and sounds in special
ways to express ideas
lyric
Literary Genres and Subgenres

4. Warm-up! “HUMMING ACTIVITY”
Tagalog songs:

5. Philippine Literature during the
Pre-colonial Period

6. Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, the students will
be able to:
 Define and describe pre-colonial literature;
and
 Explain the development of pre-colonial
literature.
 Appreciate the importance of pre-colonial
literature in developing our reasoning skills.

8. What are the different qualities of Philippine
pre-colonial literature?

9.  Most literary works during the pre-colonial period
were transmitted through oral tradition
 The oral traditions and expressions domain
encompasses an enormous variety of spoken
forms including , , tales,
, , myths, and ,
, , , ,
and more.

10. Proverbs is a simple and insightful, traditional
saying that expresses a perceived truth based on
common sense or experience.
Example: If you plant, you harvest.
Tagalog: Kung may tinanim, may aanihin.
Meaning: Your future will be the result of your
actions today. Plan ahead.

11. Riddles - “Bugtong” is the local version of riddle
in the Philippines.
Example: A deep well full of knives
Tagalog: Balong malalim, puno ng patalim
Answer: Mouth (Bibig)

12. Tales
 The Tagalog for ‘folk tale’ or ‘folk story’ is
kuwentong-bayan.
 Folklore is kaalamang-bayan (traditional
knowledge of the people).
 Filipino folktales are stories that form
part of the oral tradition in the
Philippines.

13. Example of Filipino
Folktales
The Turtle and the Monkey
(Paul Galdone)
The Turtle and the Monkey is
a story about a Turtle who
needs Monkey’s help in
getting the banana tree out of
the river, but he’s sorry later
when greedy Monkey
demands more than his share
of the fruit.

14. A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for
children in Britain and many other countries, but
usage of the term dates only from the late 18th/early
19th century.
The oldest children's songs of which we have records
are lullabies, intended to help a child fall asleep.
Lullabies can be found in every human culture.
Examples:
“Ili Ili Tulog Anay”
“Sa Ugoy ng Duyan”
“Dandansoy”
“Dungdungwen Kanto”

15. Philippine legend is a traditional story that describes
the origin of things and the world. This also explains
the supernatural events, mysteries and cultural
tradition.
Five types of legends
are given : heroic/historical legends, about epic and
culture heroes, historical personages, and persons
with extraordinary powers; religious legends,
recounting miracles of God and His saints; legends
narrating encounters with supernatural beings
(aswang, cafre, duende, etc.); miscellaneous
legends—about sunken bells, buried treasure, etc.;
and place name legends.

16. Myths a traditional story, especially one
concerning the early history of a people or
explaining some natural or social phenomenon,
and typically involving supernatural beings or
events.
Example: The Story of the Creation
Bilaan (Mindanao)

17. Charm is a practice or expression
believed to have magic power, similar to
incantation or a spell.
Example: An agimat also called a
love charm which makes the owner
the opposite sex.

18. Chants are used in witchcraft and
enchantments. Our ancestors also believe in
unseen spirits or elemental spirits like
dwarfs.
Example of chants: Tabi, tabi po, Ingkong,
makikiraan po lamang. Bari-bari Apo,
umisbo lang ti tao. (Ilokano) CHANTS
(Bulong)

19.  In some cases, our ancestors made use of a
writing system to pen down some works of
literature
 Early literary written forms of pre-colonial Filipinos
were destroyed by the Spanish friars
 Surviving texts were restored because of
resistance and geographical isolation

20. Conventions of Oral Literature
1. Common experiences of the
community as subject matter
2. Communal authorship
3. Formulaic repetitions
4. Stereotyping of characters
5. Regular rhythmic and musical devices

21. E. Arsenio Manuel
a literary scholar notable for his
studies on Philippine folk
literature, divided Philippine pre-
colonial literature into three,
namely the Mythological Age,
Heroic Age, and Folktales from all
ages.

22. Mythological Age
 the period when our ancestors told
stories about the creation of human
beings and the world, natural
phenomena, and deities and spirits

23. Heroic Age
 Ordinary mortals and cultural heroes
became the chief subject matter in
this period
 Epics became a popular genre
 chanted during important events in
the community to inspire people
 also performed to remind the
community of their ideals and values

24. Heroic Age Example
Biag ni Lam-ang is an epic
story of the Ilocano people
from the Ilocos region of the
Philippines.
“Lam-ang's extraordinary
birth”
Lam-ang is an extraordinary
being, manifesting when he
begins to speak in his early
years, thus enabling him to
choose his own name.

25. Folktales
 traditional stories that had
humans, animals, and even
plants as characters
 Fictional tales that have been
modified through successive
retellings before they were finally
recorded and written down

26. Folktales Example
, the grasshopper
enjoys relaxing while the ant works tirelessly to
prepare for winter.

27. Baybayin writing system - derived
from Kavi, a Javanese (Indonesian)

28.  Early Filipinos wrote on palm leaves or bamboo
using knives as pens and sap from plants and
trees as ink
 The ancient Tagalog script had seventeen basic
syllables composed of three vowels and fourteen
consonants
 Vowels: a, e/i, o/u
 Consonants: ba, ka, da/ra, ga, ha, la, ma, na,
nga, pa, sa, ta, wa, ya
 Symbols used could be modified to present
different vowel sounds.

29. Values Integration
How can knowledge of our earliest
traditions help you to better
understand our present culture and
attitudes?

30. How can knowledge of our earliest traditions help you
to better understand our present culture and attitudes?
It helps us see where we have come from,
what we have inherited, what has continued,
what has changed, and whether we have
become more or less human in our attitude
toward one another and toward life in
general.

33. Assignment:
Research atleast 5-10 Filipino common folk
song, and found out its origin and meaning.
Write your answer on 1/2 sheet of paper.