2. Long before the Spaniards and other foreigners landed or set foot on Philippine
shores,ourforefathersalreadyhadtheirownliteraturestampedinthehistoryofour race.
P
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3. Our ancient literatureshowsour customsandtraditionsin everydaylifeas tracedin
our folk stories, old plays and short stories.
Ourancestorsalsohadtheirownalphabetwhich was differentfrom thatbroughtby the
Spaniards. Thefirst alphabet used byour ancestor wassimilar to that of the Malayo-Polynesian
alphabet. Whatever records our ancestors left were either burned by the Spaniards friars in the
beliefthattheywereworksofthedevilorwerewrittenonmaterialsthateasilyperished,like the
barksoftrees, driedleaves and bamboocylinderswhichcouldnot haveremained undestroyed
evenif effortsweremadeto preservethem.Otherrecordsthatremainedshowed folksongsthat
provedtheexistenceofanativeculturetrulyourown.Someofthesewere passedonbywordof
mouthtilltheyreachedthehandsofsomepublishersorprinterswhotook interestinprintingthe
manuscripts of the ancient Filipinos. TheSpaniards whocameto the Philippines tried to prove
that our ancestorswerereallyfondof poetry, songs,stories, riddles andproverbswhichwestill
enjoytodayandwhichservetoshowtogenerationsthetrueculture ofourpeople.
5. In a certain wide region of Luzon, there was a village frequentedby youngmen. The town was full of trees,
beautifulflowersandariverwhereclearwatersflowed.Whatattractedtheyoungmenmorethanthescenery wasabeautiful
nymph- like maiden.
ThemaidenwasMariaandshehadlotsofsuitorswhocamefromafarandwhofoughtforherhand.ButMaria
remained unconcernedandvery choosy. Becauseshe waskind, hersuitors remained undaunted soMariathoughtof a plan.
Shecalledallthementogetherandtoldthem, "Y
ouareallgoodandkindandit isdifficultformetochooseoneamongyou.
Let me decide with a test."I'llmarry the firstman who can bring mea big, live and strong serpent, "Maria said in jest.
Theyoungmenweredumbfounded.Afterawhile,thevoiceofIlogbrokethesilence."Inpromisetobringyou
one,Maria.EveifIhavetoriskmylike,I'llbringyouwhatyouwish.Ilogwasamanknownforhisbravery.Heleft
immediately to fulfill his promise.
Themenwhisperedamongthemselves.TheyweresurethatIlogwouldneverbeableto return.They waitedfora
longwhilebutIloghadnotreturned.EvenMariawassaddenedbecauseshealsogrievedthelossofa man asbraveand
accommodatingasIlog.Aftermanyhours,Ilogreturned.TheycrowdedtoseehowIlogwould prove hisbravery.Ilogheldabig
snakebyitsnapeandtail.Whilethemenwerethusoccupied,twoSpaniardspassedby. Their attention was caught
not by what Ilog held but by the beauty of Maria. "Maria,"heroically
calledIlog."I'vebroughtyoutheserpentyouwishedfor.Whatelsedoyouwantmetodo
tomakeyouhappy?"TheSpaniardswerestartled.Theyaskedthepeoplearoundwheretheywereandinwhatplace they were
inbutnobodypaidattentionfortheirattentionwerefocusedonthesnakeandonMaria.WhenMariasaw that the snakewas
still struggling, she shouted. "Taga,Ilog!Taga,
Ilog!"(Cut,Ilog!Cut,Ilog!)whichsheaddressedtoIlogsohewouldcutthesnakeup
again.
ThetwoSpaniards,thinkingthatthiswasinanswertotheirquestionrepeatedthewordsTAGAILOG,
T
AGAILOGwhichlaterbecameT
AGAL.
TheLegendoftheTagalogs
6. 2. FOLK TALES
Is made up of stories about life,
adventure, love, horror and humor where one
canderive lessons aboutlife. Theseare useful
to us because they help us appreciate our
environment, evaluate our personalities and
improveourperspectivesin life.
Pre-SpanishLiteratureischaracterizedby:
7. In the olden days, like the moon, the sun had also star children which were
yellowish in color, very bright and very hot. He star children of the moon, however, were
reddishandcool.Thatmoonwasscaredhathisstarswouldwitheranddieif theyplaywith
thestar children ofthesun. Themoonsuggestedto thesunthat theykill their children who
werecrowdingtheheavenswiththeirnumber.
Whenthesunhadkilledherchildren,themoonmerelyhidbehindtheclouds.In
theevening,whenthecloudsfaded,themoonstarsappeared.Thisangeredthesunsohe gave
chasetothemoon.Thuswhenheovertakesthemoon,wehavetheso-calledeclipse. Every
morning,thekillsthemoonstarsthathe catches.
Untilnow, this chasecontinuesandbecausethemoonstillcontinuesto givebirth
tostars,thesemoonstarsarestill around.
TheMoonandtheS
u
n
(Tingguianfolktale)
8. 3. EPIC
Are long narrative poems in which a series of heroic achievements or events,
usually of a hero, are dealt with at length. Nobody can determine which epics are the oldest
becauseintheirtranslationsfromotherlanguages,eveninEnglishandSpanish.
Asidefromtheaforementionedepics,therearestillotherepicsthatcanbereadandstudiedlikethe
following:
Bidasari–MoroEpic
BiagniLam-ang–IlokanoEpic
Maragtas–VisayanEpic
Haraya–VisayanEpic
Lagda–VisayanEpic
HarisaBukid–VisayanEpic
Kumintang–TagalogEpic
ParangSabir–MoroEpic
“Dagoy”at“Sudsod” –TagbanuaEpic
Tatuaang–BagoboEpic
Pre-SpanishLiteratureischaracterizedby:
9. 4. FOLK SONGS
AreoneoftheoldestformsofPhilippineliteraturethat emergedinthePre-
Spanishperiod.Thesesongsmirroredtheearlyformsofculture.Manyofthesehave 12
syllables.
Example:
KUNDIMAN
(Awit ng Pag-ibig – Songs of Love)
Noong unang panahon nung ako ay bata pa,
Natisod mo na ay di pa alintana,
Nang ako ay lumaki at maging dalaga,
Tila sa Wari ko y may pagbabanta pa.
Pagsinta mo sa akin ay di ko tatanggapin
Pagka’t akong ito ay alangan sa tingin,
Ako ay mahirap, pangit pa sa tingin.
Pre-SpanishLiteratureischaracterizedby:
10. O
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5. EPIGRAMS, RIDDLES, CHANTS, MAXIMS,
PROVERBS OR SAYINGS
A
. Epigrams (Salawikain). These have been customarily used and served as
laws or rules on good behavior by our ancestors. To others, these are like
allegoriesorparablesthatimpartlessonsfortheyoung.
B
. Riddles(Bugtong) or Palaisipan.Thesearemadeupofoneor more
measuredlineswithrhymeandmayconsistoffourto12syllables.
C
. Chant(Bulong).Usedinwitchcraftorenchantment.
D
. Maxims.Somearerhymingcoupletswithverses5,6or8syllables,each line
havingthesamenumberofsyllables.
E
. Sayings(Kasabihan).Oftenusedinteasingortocommentonaperson’s
actuations.
F
. Sawikain(Sayingswithnohiddenmeanings)
12. The arrival of the Spaniards in 1565 brought Spanish culture and language. The Spanish
conquerors, governing from Mexico for the crown of Spain, established a strict class system that was
based on race and soon imposed Roman Catholicism on the native population. Augustinian and
Franciscanmissionaries,accompaniedbySpanishsoldierssoonspread Christianityfromislandtoisland.
G
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BeforeSpanishmovehereinthePhilippinesthey'vealreadysetgoalsknownas3G's,thegold,
gloryandgod.Goldistheaccumulationofwealth,GloryisthesupremacyofSpainoverPortugalasa
superpowerandthemostimportantamongthethreeistheGod.Itsaimistoconvertthenativesto
Christians.
ThespreadingofChristianitywasnevereasyforSpaniardssincetheyarealreadyMuslim
settlementinMindanao.However,peopleinthelowlandswereforcedtopracticedifferentceremonies
likemassbaptism,reductionpolicies.ThebeginningofPassionplay,andeventhecrucifixionof Christ.
Spainalsobroughttothecountry,thoughatmuchlatertime,liberalideasandan
internationalismthatinfluencedourownFilipinointellectualsandwritersforthemtounderstandthe
meaningoflibertyand freedom.
13. S
P
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I
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H I
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F
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N
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S ONPHILIPPINE
L
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E
The first Filipino alphabet called ALIBATA was replaced by the Roman
alphabet.
TheteachingoftheChristianDoctrinebecamethebasisofreligious practices.
TheSpanishlanguagewhichbecametheliterarylanguageduringthistimelent
manyofitswordstoourlanguage.
AncientliteraturewascollectedandtranslatedtoTagalogandotherdialects.
Many grammar books were printed in Filipino, like Tagalog, Ilocano
and Visayan.
Ourperiodicalsduringthesetimesgainedareligioustone.
Religiousthemesdominatedtheliteratureofthetime.
Europeanlegendsandtraditionsbroughtherebecameassimilatedinoursongs,
corridos,andmoro-moros.
14. DOCTRINA CRISTIANA (THE CHRISTIAN
DOCTRINE)
ThiswasthefirstbookprintedinthePhilippinesin1593inxylography.
NUESTRA SEÑORA DEL ROSARIO
Itcontainsthebiographiesofsaints,novenas,andquestionsandanswersonreligion.
LIBRO DE LOS CUATRO POSTRIMERIAS DEL
HOMBRE
Firstwrittenbookin typography
BARLAAN AT JOSEPHAT
BiblicalStoryprintedinthe Philippines
FirstTagalognovelprintedinthePhilippineseventhoughitisonlyatranslation
THE PASSION
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TB
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15. URBANA AT FELISA ModestodeCastro-FatherofClassicalProseinTagalog
Influencedgreatlythebehaviorofthepeopleinthe society
ANG MGA DALIT KAY MARIA (PSALAMS FOR MARY) CollectionofsongspraisingtheVirgin Mary
Arte y Reglas de la Lengua Tagala (Art and Rules of the Tagalog Language)
TranslatedtoTagalogbyTomasPinpinin1610&WrittenbyFr.BlancasdeSanJose
CompendiodelaLenguaT
agala(UnderstandingtheT
agalogLanguage)
WrittenbyFr.GaspardeSanAgustinin1703
V
ocabulariodelaLenguaT
agala(T
agalogvocabulary)firstTagalogdictionarywrittenbyFr.PedrodeSan
Bueneventurain1613.
Vocabulario de la Lengua Pampanga (Pampanga vocabulary) thefirstbookwrittenin
Pampango
writtenbyFr.Diegoin1732
Vocabulario de la Lengua Bisaya (Bisayan Vocabulary) BestVisayanlanguagebook
WrittenbyMataeoSanchezin1711
Arte de la Lengua Ilokana (The Art of the Ilocano Language) First Ilocano
grammar book by Francisco Lopez
Arte de la Lengua Bicolana (The Art of the Bicol Language) FirstbookintheBicol
LanguagebyFr.MarcosLibsonin 1754
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16. PROMINENTP
E
O
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DURINGT
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EHISPANIC
P
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D
FranciscoBaltazar(born Francisco
Balagtas y de la Cruz; April 2, 1788 –
February 20, 1862), also known as
Francisco Balagtas, was a prominent
Filipino poet, and is widely considered
one of the greatest Filipino literary
laureatesforhisimpacton
Filipino literature. The famous
epic,FloranteatLaura,isregardedas
hisdefiningwork.
Francisco
“Balagtas”
Baltazar
17. José Protasio Rizal
Mercado y Alonso Realonda
(June 19,1861 – December 30, 1896) widely
known as José Rizal, was a Filipino
nationalist and polymath during the tail end
of the Spanish colonial period of the
Philippines. An ophthalmologist by
profession, Rizal became a writer and a
key member of the Filipino Propaganda
Movement which advocated political
reforms for the colony under Spain.
He was executed by the Spanish
colonial government for the crime of
rebellion after an anti-dd revolution,
inspired in part by his writings, broke out.
Though he was not actively involved in its
planning or conduct, he ultimately
approved of its goals which eventually led
to Philippine independence.
José Rizal
PROMINENTP
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19. Andrés Bonifacio (November 30, 1863 –
May 10, 1897) was a Filipino revolutionary leader and
thepresidentoftheTagalogRepublic.Heisoften called
"TheFatherof thePhilippine Revolution".He wasone
ofthefoundersandlaterSupremo(Supreme Leader)of
the Kataas-taasan, Kagalanggalangang Katipunan ng
mgaAnakngBayanorsimplyandmore popularlycalled
Katipunan,amovementwhichsought theindependence
ofthePhilippinesfromSpanish colonialruleandstarted
the Philippine Revolution. He is considered a de facto
nationalheroof the
Philippines, and is also considered by some Filipino
historians to be the first President of the Philippines
(through the revolutionary government he established),
butofficiallyheisnotrecognizedassuch.
Andres Bonifacio
PROMINENTP
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21. WORKS
Her lyrical poetry in Spanish, and especially that in Ilocano,
gainedattentioninvariousinternationalforums inSpain,Parisand
St. Louis, Missouri. Her literary contributions - particularly 22
preserved poems- wererecognized whenshewas included in the
Encyclopedia Internationale des Oeuvres des Femmes
(International Encyclopedia of Women’sWorks) in 1889. She is
believed to be the first Filipina to receive this international
recognition, an homage that occurred after her death at a young
age.
23. R
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1
. Tibag–the wordtibag means to excavate. This ritual was brought here
by the Spaniard to remind the people about the search of St. Helena for
theCrossonwhichJesusdiedthroughadramaticperformance
2
. Lagaylay–thisisaspecialoccasionforthePilareñosofSorsogon during
Maytimetogettogether.Thisalsoshowspraise,respectand offeringlove
totheBlessedCrossbySt.Helenaandthemoundshedug in.
3
. The Cenaculo – this is a dramatic performance to commemorate the
passionanddeathofJesusChrist.
4
. Panunuluyan–thisis presentedbefore12:00onChristmasEve.Thisis
apresentation of thesearchoftheVirginMaryandSt. Josephfor aninn
whereintodeliverthebaby Jesus.
24. 9.
6
. Salubong–anEasterplaythatdramatizesthemeetingoftheRisenChristandhis
Mother.
7. Carillo (Shadow Play) – this is a form of dramatic entertainment performed on a
moonlessnightduringatownfiestaorondarknightsafteraharvest.Thisshadow play
ismadebyprojectingcardboardfiguresbeforealampagainstawhitesheet.The figures
aremovedlikemarionetteswhosedialoguesareproducedby someexperts.
8
. The Zarzuela – considered the father of the drama; it is a musical comedy or
melodrama three acts which dealt with man’spassions and emotions like love, hate,
revenge,cruelty,avariceorsomesocialorpoliticalproblem.
Sainete–ashortmusicalcomedythatwereexaggeratedandshownbetweenlong
plays.
10. The Moro-Moro – a play that depicts a Christian princess who is captured by the
Mohammedans. Thefatherorganizesarescuepartywherefightingbetweenthe Moros
andChristiansensues.
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