This document summarizes the history and development of Bikol literature in the Philippines. It discusses how Bikol writing has roots in ancient folkways and myths but was stifled during colonization. It began to reemerge in the late 1800s with newspapers, religious poems, and protest plays. Popular genres that developed included corridos, comedias, zarzuelas, and narrative poems. The works often dealt with social and political themes of the times. Several notable Bikol writers and their works from different periods are highlighted.

1. Ibalon (Three Heroes of the Bicol Epic)
When the hero Baltog came to the rich land of Ibalon, many monsters still roamed around in its
very dark forest. Baltog, born in Baltavara to the brave clan of Lipod, was the first to cultivate
the fields in the rich land of Ibalon.
2 Then the Tandayag attacked and destroyed Baltog‘s fields and crops. The Tandayag was a
monstrous wild boar but the hero Baltog was not afraid. One night, he waited for the Tandayag
and wrestled with it with all his might. The Tandayag had very long fangs. The earth shook at the
Tandayag‘s step. But Baltog was strong and brave. He was able to pin down the monstrous wild
boar and tear out its mouth.
3 Baltog carried the Tandayag and hung it on a talisay tree in front of his house in Tondol. The
people celebrated when they learned of the victory of their king Baltog. The clans of Panicuason
and Asog came over to marvel at the monstrous wild boar in Ibalon.
4 At that time the hero Handiong came with a band of warriors to the land of Ibalon. Handiong
and his men had to fight thousands of battles, and face many dangers to defeat the monsters.
They first fought the one-eyed giants in the land of Ponon. They fought without rest for ten
months until all the one-eyed giants were killed.
5 They went to the lair of the giant flying fishes called Tiburon which had slimy, scaly, and
hardy flesh and sawlike teeth that could crush rocks. Handiong and his men did not stop until
they vanquished every Tiburon.
6 They tamed the fierce tamaraws. They drove away the giant Sarimaw which was larger than an
elephant and very fierce. They used their spears and arrows to kill all the crocodiles which were
bigger than boats. The savage monkeys were frightened and hid when they
saw the rivers and swamps of Ibalon turn red with blood.
7 Oriol was the hardest to kill. A serpent with a beautiful voice, Oriol could change its image to
deceive enemies. Oriol had escaped every trap and disappeared.
8 All by himself, Handiong looked for Oriol in the heart of the forest. He followed the beautiful
voice and was almost enchanted by it in his pursuit. It is said that Oriol admired Handiong‘s
bravery and gallantry. Thus, the serpent taught the hero how to conquer the monsters until peace
came to the whole Ibalon.
9 Handiong built a town in Isarog and a season of progress followed. Under Handiong‘s
leadership, the people planted rice which they named after him. He built the first boat to ride the
waves of Ibalon seas. Because of his good example, inventors came forth from his people.
Ginantong made the plow, harrow, and other farming tools. Hablom invented the first loom for
weaving abaca clothes. Dinahon, an Aeta, created the stove, cooking pot, earthen jar, and other
kitchen utensils. The brilliant Sural thought of the alphabet and started to write on white rock. It
was a golden period in Ibalon when even slaves were respected under the laws of Handiong.
10 But there came the big flood freed by Unos, with earthquakes and the eruption of the
volcanoes of Hantik, Kolasi, and Isarog. Rivers dried up and the seas receded. The earth parted,
mountains sank, and many towns in Ibalon were destroyed.
11 Then appeared the giant Rabot, half-man half-beast, with terrible powers.
Bantong, Handiong‘s good friend, was ordered to kill the new monster in Ibalon. He took with
him a thousand warriors to attack Rabot‘s den. Bantong used his wisdom against Rabot. He did
not attack the giant‘s den right away but instead observed Rabot‘s ways. He saw many rocks
around the den. They were people turned into rock by Rabot.

2. 13 He also learned that Rabot loved to sleep. When Rabot slept very soundly, Bantong was able
to go near him. The giant died with a single stab by the brave and wise Bantong. Ibalon was at
peace once more.
The legend of the Mayon
The legend of the Mayon volcano says that a long time ago, there used to live a beautiful girl
called Darang Magayon, who had many guys after her from various tribes, one of them was
Pagtuga, the tribal chief from Iriga, who was also a great hunter. But Darang Magayon was not
interested on him.
One day, Darang Magayon was bathing in the Yaw river, and she slipped on the rocks. She did
not knew how to swim, but then Panganoron, son of Rajah Karilaya, from the Tagalogs, saved
her while he was walking by the river.
After saving her life, Panganoron started to court her, and after some days she finally accepted
his proposal, and so Panganoron decided to ask Darang Magayon's father, Rajah Makusong for
her hand in matrimony. The father accepted him.
The legend says that when Pagtuga heard of the news he got very angry, so he decided to
kidnapped Rajah Makusong and took him to the mountains, then he told everyone that he
would release him if Darang Magamon would marry him. Afraid that Pagtuga would hurt her
father, she accepted to be his wife.
When Panganon knew about the situation , he asked to his warriors to follow him to the
mountains to fight against Panganoron. The battle was fierce. Panganoron killed Pagtuga, but
later he was killed by an arrow thrown by one of Pagtuga's warriors. Sadly another arrow
pierced Darang Magayon when she was running to the arms of his love, killing her.

3. After the battle was over, Rajah Makusong dug a grave and laid the bodies of both lovers in it.
As days passed by, people who went to the grave to pay respect, saw that the grave was rising,
turning into a land form and they started to call it Mayon (short for Mayon).
While some says that the eruptions on the Mayon volcano, are the sings of the love between
the lovers. Other says that the spirit of Darang Magayon lives on the volcano, and the spirit of
Panganoron lives on the clouds above, and all year long disperse rain to keep the flowers and
plants fresh, so it stays beautiful.
Remigo Lagumo
Carlos Ojeda Aureus
Jose Q. Pleta
His most famous Bicolano work is called The Story of Juan Osong. The old folklore story concerns a child,
Juan, who was born a monkey and who was hidden from the world by his parents. Jose also wrote
'Beliefs of the Bikol People' in 1919.
Bikol Literature in the Philippines
Maria Lilia F. Realubit
Bikol is the language of almost 5 million people in the provinces of Albay, Camarines Norte,
Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Masbate and Sorsogon that constitute the Bikol Region. The Bikol
people have a writing tradition with roots in its ancient folkways. Still extant are charm verses
exploiting the possibilities of words in folk poems and narratives with mythical content, and
bound with early historical fragments which form part of the people's lives.
Colonization stifled native writing, however. Only after about two centuries later did the
people begin to write poems and plays adapted from Biblical stories - this time in the Spanish
writing system. These dramatic tropes were street presentations during May festivals,
Christmas, Easter and Lent. In 1890, the first Bikol newspaper An Parabareta (the Newsman)
was published by Mariano Perfecto, who also established the first printing press. Imprenta de
Nuestra Señora de Peñafrancia. In the midst of numerous devotionals and religious poems,
there appeared two protest plays - "An Pagguiao kan mga pastores can pagcamondag ni Jesus
duman sa portal sa belen" (The awakening of the shepherds of Jesus birth) by Mariano Perfecto
and "Comedia na dapit sa Dios o magna cahayagan can pagcamondag ni Jesus" (A play about
God or matters concerning the birth of Jesus). The first play says that the people accepted the
faith but not the Spaniards; the second tries to localize the character Mary, humanize Herodes
and make the coronation of Mary an occasion of revelry through two comic characters.
Corridos or metrical romances became the main reading fare for many years. Translation
from Spanish to Bikol were eagerly awaited that writers switched to translating for the money it
brought them. In time, Bikol corridos were written. The most popular was Magamang Pobre

4. (The Poor Father and Son).
The comedia or moro-moro stayed for a long time. Almost every town boasted of a
comedia writer and a theater group. The lavish and pompus comedia that Juan Alvarez Guerra
saw in the 1880s in Albay has been so well described. Count on the Bikol to write protest
comedias - Comedia ni Hadeng Grimaldo sa Reinong Irlanda by Sabas Armenta and Drama en
Comedia de la Vida Conde Urbano by Juan Miraflor. The first is a deviation from the Moro as
villain theme; the second advocated democracy and favors electing town leaders.
The Commonwealth Period were years of poetic and dramatic productivity. The zarzuela
did not escape the Bikol's questioning bent. Asisclo Jimenez's Pagkamoot sa Banuang Tinoboan
(Love for the Native Land) demonstrated that national change can be affected through armed
revolt. Jimenez wrote 25 other zarzuelas in varying themes, mostly social criticism. Crowds
would attend the presentations.
By the mid-thirties, shorter plays became the fashion. The new themes were poor vs. rich,
laziness vs. hard work and Rizal and nationalism. Outstanding was Anti Cristo by Justino Nuyda
who wrote of the inevitable conflict between individual morality and material comfort. This
play is still presented today in schools in the region.
The rawitdawit or narrative poem was a vehicle of social and political criticism. Personal
poems were most plentiful. The period also produced about twenty translations of Jose Rizal's
Mi Ultimo Adios to Bikol. Four poets and their works stand out: Manuel Fuentebella's An Pana
(The Arrow), Clemente Alejandria's Pagaroanggoyong (Perseverance), Eustaquio Dino's
Balosbalos Sana (Retribution) and Mariano Goyena's Hare...Dali (No...Don't). Great sensitivity
and exquisite images are marks of these poems, reaching up to lyricism.
The Post-War Period was unproductive. It was the Cathedral Players of the Ateneo de Naga
that sparked the cultural scene. The students led by Rev. James Reuter, S.J. translated english
plays into Bikol and delighted the Naga folks with Sunday presentations at the plaza kiosk. In
the rural towns they played in church patios and plazas. If post-war writing was not as
significant, the Bikol milieu was not encouraging either. The stories and novels written in the
fifties were insipid and mere narrations; the novels fantastic and improbable. Writing in the
Rainbow journal were largely cerebral and critical of politics, church and society. It was the
people's interest in the folk story, Ibalon, that inspired two musicals the Handyong written and
presented by Orfelina Tuy and Fe Ico, and Ibalon Opereta written by Jose Calleja Reyes.
Contemporary writing has just began to burst with creative energy. The writers now
possess the courage to deal with big themes. It began with Francisco Penones, Jr. who sounded
a clarion call in his poem An Opon sa Ibalon: Kan mahale an Maskara (The Board in Ibalon
When Unmasked). Society, he declared, is the boar that brought hunger and poverty to the
land. For this poem, Penones received a CCP award. Merlinda C. Bobis in a masterly poetic
drama titled Daragang Magayon (Beautiful Maiden) overturns the passive maiden in the legend
and makes her decisive to do her part in changing society. In her poems, Bobis subtly presents

5. an idealism associated with remembering one's childhood, each of them a strong and evocative
protrait only thoughtful, sensitive poet can create. For this, she merited a Palanca award.
Carlos O. Aureus weaves together theology and philosophy to present Bikol values and a
panorama of Bikol scenes. In ten well-written stories, a novel and a play, he wins the coveted
Palanca, CCP, Free Press and Graphic literary awards. The young literary fictionists, Marco
Lopez, Alvin Yaban, Ulysses P. Aureus and Lorenzo D. Paran III are searches for self, identity and
nation.
The seasoned writers include Luis Cabalquinto, Gode Calleja and Ruby Alano. The young
writers are Home Life magazine winners Angelica Gonzales, Honesto Pesimo, Jazmin Llana,
Victor Velasco, Nino Manaog, Xavier Olin and Cynthia Buiza. Emelina G. Regis has a Palanca
Award for her environmental play Dalawang Mukha ng Kagubatan (Two Faces of the Forest).
Barbara Barquez Ricafrente writes poems and paints with rage. She is the first novel awardee
of the U.P. Creative Writing Center.
The Bikolano can write memorable and significant pieces. The native literary tradition has
been resurrected and kept. How to make the people aware and how to make them read as
well and how to multiply these writings so they can be disseminated have to be resolved.