21st-Lit-Lesson, a Lesson for every student that need it

PRE-SPANISH
LITERATURE OF
THE PHILIPPINES
21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World
Lesson 1

LEARNING
GOALS
In this lesson, you are expected to:
Identify the geographic, linguistic, and ethnic dimensions of
Philippine literary history from precolonial to contemporary
Write a close analysis or critical interpretation of literary texts
Show a sense of adaptability of the Philippine Literary History

Based on the picture, describe the kind of life
Filipinos had before the period of colonization.

Fact or BLuff
The Philippines is an archipelago
made up of 7,641 islands.

Fact or BLuff
Baybayin was the pre-colonial
writing system in the Philippines.

Fact or BLuff
The Philippines had not established
their own identity not until the
Spaniards came.

Fact or BLuff
Ancient Philippine literature
reflects the religious beliefs and
ceremonies of the time

Fact or BLuff
The Spaniards introduced riddles
(bugtong) to Filipinos.

Fact or BLuff
Much of pre-colonial Philippine
literature was written.

Fact or BLuff
As the Philippines has many islands
and is inhabited by different ethnic
groups, Philippine legends and myths
are very diverse.

Fact or BLuff
The early Filipinos wrote on clay,
bark of trees, bamboo tubes, or palm
leaves - materials that were easily
destroyed thus, explaining the lack
of written literature.

This module gives a taste of the literature of the
past which is developed into the literature that
we have today. Though their origin is oral
tradition, these literatures served to give moral
and ethical lessons, and also functioned as
entertainment.

Since the riddles were handed down from mouth to mouth and also
translated, the extent of accuracy and the changes in the original form
are unknown. The riddles in <A Little Book of Filipino Riddles” were
chosen by Frederick Starr for their local appeal. They are reflective of
the lives and communities of Filipinos.
RIDDLES

The archaic spelling of the riddles above were retained. In
the introduction of the book, Starr said that <many
Filipinos know how to read and write their native
language, although few had an actual instruction in doing
so.=, thus the errors and inconsistencies exist in the
spelling of these riddles.
RIDDLES

Let's try the following riddles!

(Ilocano)
Uppat iti adiguina, maysa iti baotna, dua iti paypayna,
dua iti boneng.
Four posts, one whip, two fans, and two bolos.
(Gaddang)
Nu mat-tut-lud ay atanang udde;
nu mat-tadag ay ibbafa.
If he sits down he is high; if he stands up he is low.

(Tagalog)
Kahoy cong Marigundong, na sangay ualang dahon.
My tree in Marigundong has branches but no leaves.
(Ilocano)
Nagcapa dimet nagpadi; Nagcorona dimet nagari.
Gown but not priest; crown but not king.

(Tagalog)
Naligo ang capitan hindi nabasa ang tian.
The captain took a bath without his belly getting wet.
(Bisaya)
Isa ca bungsud nga pito ang iya buho.
A small hill having seven holes.

(Ilocano)
Iti nacapocao agayayat quet iti nacabiroc agong onget
Who loses it is glad; who finds it is mad.
(Tagalog)
Kung babayaan mong ako ay mabuhay yaong kamatayay dagli kong
kakamtan, ngungit kung akoy pataing paminsan ay lalong lalawig
ang ingat kong buhay.
If you let me live I shall soon die; if you kill me I shall live long.

(Tagalog)
Bumili ako nang alipin mataas pa sa akin.
I bought a slave, taller than myself.
(Tagalog)
Nag saeng si pusong, sa ibabao ang gatong.
The clown cooked rice with the fire above.

(Pampanga)
Metung a bulsa mitmu yang paminta.
A pocket full of peppercorns.
(Pangasinan)
Na labi mansacabac; no agueo manpilatae.
At night closed; in day open.

(Pampanga)
Begut nc ing andang tinuki ya ing ubingan.
He pulled out a stick and it was followed by a snake.
(Pampanga)
Picabaluan de ding malda alang maca ibic uaga.
He is known everywhere but no one can explain what he is.

DALIT
The dalit is a type of short Filipino poem,
consisting of four lines with eight
syllables each.

DALIT SA PAGKAKAIBIGAN
Examples of Dalit
Hindi yaman ang sukatan
Ng matapat na kaybigan
Kundi subók nang samahan
Tapat at walang iwanan
Takot pag naalala ko
Dating mga "R" na bagyo
Lakas walang sinasanto
Ruping, Rosing, Reming, 'nay ko!
SA LETRANG "R"

TANAGA
The tanaga is an indigenous type of Filipino poem that is
used traditionally in the Tagalog language. The modern
tanaga is used in a variety of Philippine languages and
English due to popularity in the 20th century.

Ang hating-gabing kulay
Tulad ng aking buhay
Kailan magkakatunay
Ang pag-ibig na tunay?
This poetic art uses four lines, each line having seven syllables
with the same rhyme at the end of each line.
(AAAA rhyme scheme)
TANAGA

"Catitibay ca tolos
sacaling datnang agos!
aco’I momonting lomot
sa iyo’I popolopot."
Some tanagas however, use AABB rhyme scheme.
IN THE OLD TAGALOG
ORIGINAL:
Katitibay ka Tulos
Sakaling datnang agos!
Ako'y mumunting lumot
sa iyo'y pupulupot.
IN THE MODERN TAGALOG
SYLLABICATION:

Oh be resilient you Stake
Should the waters be coming!
I shall cower as the moss
To you I shall be clinging.
ENGLISH TRANSLATION
IN THE OLD TAGALOG
ORIGINAL:
"Catitibay ca tolos
sacaling datnang agos!
aco’I momonting lomot
sa iyo’I popolopot."

These pre-colonial poetries exemplify teachings,
idioms, feelings, and ways of life. It contains many
figures of speech.

Write a riddle using the formula of a dalit (4 lines with 8 syllables
each line). The riddle should be witty or funny. Make the answer
unpredictable.
Write a riddle using the formula of tanaga (4 lines with 7 syllables
each line and AAAA rhyme scheme). The riddle should be serious
and formal. Make the answer unpredictable.
LET'S PRACTICE!

LITERATURE OF THE PRE-CHRISTIAN
TRIBES OF THE PHILIPPINES

Some indigenous tribes of our country never assimilated foreign cultures for
they were not colonized, but eventually had interactions with foreign visitors,
thus, the folktales and myths that saw print had hints of being modernized. There
were still some tales that were lost in time since not all were orally passed onto
the next generation. The tales were either narrated, dramatized, sang, or chanted
around the campfire as a community.
LITERATURE OF THE PRE-CHRISTIAN
TRIBES OF THE PHILIPPINES

was the author of
Traditions of the Tinguian: A Study in Philippine
Folklore.
He also worked as Assistant Curator of Malayan
Ethnology of the Field Museum of Natural History
in Chicago.
He collected Tinguian stories from 1907 to 1908
when he stayed with the Tinguian in Abra for a year
and four months. He credited the help of a
Tinguian tribesman, Dumagat.
FAY-COOPER COLE

MABEL COOK COLE
was the compiler and annotator of
Philippine Folk Tales published in 1916.
She was the wife of Fay-Cooper Cole and
he contributed his photographs of the
Philippine communities in her book. She
spent 4 years with the different tribes in the
Philippines.

THE WIDOW'S SON
Subanun (Mindanao)

In a little house at the edge of a village lived a widow with her only
son, and they were very happy together. The son was kind to his
mother, and they made their living by growing rice in clearings on the
mountain side and by hunting wild pig in the forest.
One evening when their supply of meat was low, the boy said:
"Mother, I am going to hunt pig in the morning, and I wish you would
prepare rice for me before daylight."

So the widow rose early and cooked the rice, and at dawn the boy
started out with his spear and dog.
Some distance from the village, he entered the thick forest. He walked
on and on, ever on the lookout for game, but none appeared. At last
when he had traveled far and the sun was hot, he sat down on a rock to
rest and took out his brass box to get a piece of betel-nut. He prepared
the nut and leaf for chewing, and as he did so he wondered why it was
that he had been so unsuccessful that day. But even as he pondered
he heard his dog barking sharply, and cramming the betel-nut into his
mouth he leaped up and ran toward the dog.

As he drew near he could see that the game was a fine large pig, all
black save its four legs which were white. He lifted his spear and took
aim, but before he could throw the pig started to run, and instead of
going toward a water course it ran straight up the mountain. The boy
went on in hot pursuit, and when the pig paused he again took aim, but
before he could throw, it ran on.
Six times the pig stopped just long enough for the boy to take aim, and
then started on before he could throw. The seventh time, however, it
halted on the top of a large flat rock and the boy succeeded in killing it.

He tied its legs together with a piece of rattan and was about to start
for home with the pig on his back, when to his surprise a door in the
large stone swung open and a man stepped out.
"Why have you killed my master's pig?" asked the man.
"I did not know that this pig belonged to anyone," replied the widow's
son. "I was hunting, as I often do, and when my dog found the pig I
helped him to catch it"

"Come in and see my master," said the man, and the boy followed him into
the stone where he found himself in a large room. The ceiling and floor were
covered with peculiar cloth that had seven wide stripes of red alternating with
a like number of yellow stripes. When the master of the place appeared his
trousers were of seven colors, as were also his jacket and the kerchief about
his head.
The master ordered betel-nut, and when it was brought they chewed
together. Then he called for wine, and it was brought in a jar so large that it
had to be set on the ground under the house, and even then the top came so
high above the floor that they brought a seat for the widow's son, and it raised
him just high enough to drink from the reed in the top of the jar. He drank
seven cups of wine, and then they ate rice and fish and talked together.

The master did not blame the boy for killing the pig, and declared
that he wished to make a brother of him. So they became friends,
and the boy remained seven days in the stone. At the end of that
time, he said that he must return to his mother who would be worried
about him. In the early morning he left the strange house and started
for home.

At first he walked briskly, but as the morning wore on he went more
slowly, and finally when the sun was high he sat down on a rock to
rest. Suddenly looking up, he saw before him seven men each armed
with a spear, a shield, and a sword. They were dressed in different
colors, and each man had eyes the same color as his clothes. The
leader, who was dressed all in red with red eyes to match, spoke first,
asking the boy where he was going. The boy replied that he was
going home to his mother who would be looking for him, and added:
"Now I ask where you are going, all armed ready for war."

"We are warriors," replied the man in red. "And we go up and down
the world killing whatever we see that has life. Now that we have met
you, we must kill you also."
The boy, startled by this strange speech, was about to answer when
he heard a voice near him say: "Fight, for they will try to kill you," and
upon looking up he saw his spear, shield, and sword which he had left
at home. Then he knew that the command came from a spirit, so he
took his weapons and began to fight. For three days and nights they
contended, and never before had the seven seen one man so brave.
On the fourth day the leader was wounded and fell dead, and then,
one by one, the other six fell.

When they were all killed, the widow's son was so crazed with
fighting that he thought no longer of returning home, but started out to
find more to slay.
In his wanderings he came to the home of a great giant whose house
was already full of the men he had conquered in battle, and he called
up from outside:
"Is the master of the house at home? If he is, let him come out and
fight."

This threw the giant into a rage, and seizing his shield and his spear,
the shaft of which was the trunk of a tree, he sprang to the door and
leaped to the ground, not waiting to go down the notched pole which
served for steps. He looked around for his antagonist, and seeing only
the widow's son he roared:
"Where is the man that wants to fight? That thing? It is only a fly!"
The boy did not stop to answer, but rushed at the giant with his knife;
and for three days and nights they struggled, till the giant fell,
wounded at the waist.

After that the widow's son stopped only long enough to burn the giant's
house, and then rushed on looking for someone else to slay. Suddenly he
again heard the voice which had bade him fight with the seven men, and this
time it said: "Go home now, for your mother is grieved at your absence." In a
rage he sprang forward with his sword, though he could see no enemy. Then
the spirit which had spoken to him made him sleep for a short time. When he
awoke the rage was spent.
Again the spirit appeared, and it said: "The seven men whom you killed
were sent to kill you by the spirit of the great stone, for he looked in your
hand and saw that you were to marry the orphan girl whom he himself
wished to wed. But you have conquered. Your enemies are dead. Go home
now and prepare a great quantity of wine, for I shall bring your enemies to
life again, and you will all live in peace."

So the widow's son went home, and his mother, who had believed
him dead, was filled with joy at his coming, and all the people in the
town came out to welcome him. When he had told them his story,
they hastened to get wine, and all day they bore jarful to the widow's
house.
That night there was a great feast, and the spirit of the great stone,
his seven warriors, the friendly spirit, and the giant all came. The
widow's son married the orphan girl, while another beautiful woman
became the wife of the spirit of the stone.

Discussion Questions:
According to the story, what is being rewarded?
What is the Voice’s or the Spirit’s function in the story?
Why is there a giant in the story? Fairy tale like <Jack and the Beanstalk= also has giants.
What is the symbolism of the giant in stories?
What are your observations regarding your relationship with your mom? How do you
treat each other?
Have you ever experienced the need to be angry? Do you get that anger out of the way
before moving on from a situation?
Explain the term "feeding the anger".
Do you believe that both envy and jealousy can make a person unreasonable? Explain
your answer.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

HOW THE MOON
AND THE STARS
CAME TO BE
Bukidnon (Mindanao)

One day in the times when the sky was close to the ground a spinster went
out to pound rice. Before she began her work, she took off the beads from
around her neck and the comb from her hair, and hung them on the sky,
which at that time looked like coral rock.
Then she began working, and each time that she raised her pestle into the
air it struck the sky. For some time she pounded the rice, and then she raised
the pestle so high that it struck the sky very hard.
Immediately the sky began to rise, and it went up so far that she lost her
ornaments. Never did they come down, for the comb became the moon and
the beads are the stars that are scattered about.

1.Why do you think a spinster is used in this myth? What is
the symbolism of the spinster?
2.Why do you think the sun is not included in the myth?
What is the significance of its absence in the myth?
3.Is the myth simple or complicated? Explain your choice.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

As a grade 11 Filipino learner,
in what way can you show a
sense of adaptability to the
diverse Philippines Literary
History?
State your answer in a 5
paragraph essay.
LET'S ESTABLISH IDEAS!

In the very early days before there were any
people on the earth, the limokon (a kind of dove )
were very powerful and could talk like men
though they looked like birds. One limokon laid
two eggs, one at the mouth of the Mayo River and
one farther up its course. After some time these
eggs hatched, and the one at the mouth of the
river became a man, while the other became a
woman.
THE CHILDREN OF THE LIMOKON
MANDAYA (MINDANAO)

The man lived alone on the bank of the river for a long time,
but he was very lonely and wished many times for a companion. One
day when he was crossing the river something was swept against his
legs with such force that it nearly caused him to drown. On
examining it, he found that it was a hair, and he determined to go up
the river and find whence it came. He traveled up the stream, looking
on both banks, until finally he found the woman, and he was very
happy to think that at last he could have a companion.
They were married and had many children, the Mandaya,
who are the still living along the Mayo River.

Use your creativity
and draw your
answers for each
question.
Make your drawings
clear and colorful.
Based on the story, the Mandaya tribe
came from a dove limokon. What if you
originated from a creature, what creature
could it be? Explain your choice.
The man found the woman because of her
hair. If it were not the hair, what other
object could you think of to replace the
hair? Why would you choose this object?

END OF LESSON 1
Thank you for your participation!
21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World

21st-Lit-Lesson, a Lesson for every student that need it

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