Republic of the Philippines

MARINDUQUE STATE COLLEGE

SCHOOL OF GOVERNANCE
Panfilo Manguera Sr. Rd., Tanza, Boac, Marinduque 4900 (Main Campus)
Tel. No.: 332-03-23 Email Address: icje@mscmarinduque.edu.ph
Website: www.marinduquestatecollege.edu.ph

Module 1.2

Chapter 1: Scope of Philippine Literary History from Pre-colonial to Contemporary

Learning Objectives:

 Identify the geographic, linguistic and ethnic dimensions of Philippine literary history
from pre-colonial to the contemporary.
 Infer literary meaning from literal language based on usage.
 Differentiate/compare and contrast the various 21st century literary genres and the ones
from the earlier genres/periods citing their elements, structures and traditions.

Chapter Outline:

1. The Literary Forms in Philippine Literature (essay) by Christina Godinez-Ortega (Region

10- Northern Mindanao)

2. Tungkung Langit and Alunsina (myth, Pre-colonial Period) Anonymous

3. To The Flowers of Heidelberg (poem, Spanish Colonial Tradition) by Jose Rizal (Region 4A
- Calabarzon)

4. Day on the Farm (poem, American Colonial Period) by Luis G. Dato (Region 5- Bicol
Region)

5. The March of Death (poem, Literature under the Republic) by Bienvenido Santoos (National
Capital Region)

6. Legend of the Seafoam (poem, Literature after EDSA) by J. Neil Garcia (National Capital
Region, 1969)
 The Literary Forms in Philippine Literature
(Essay)
by Christine F. Godinez-Ortega
Region 10- Northern Mindanao

The diversity and richness of Philippine literature evolved side by side with the country's
history. This can best be appreciated in the context of the country's pre-colonial cultural
traditions and the socio-political histories of its colonial and contemporary traditions

The average Filipino's unfamiliarity with his indigenous literature was largely due to
what has been impressed upon him: that his country was "discovered" and, hence Philippine
"history" started only in 1521.

So successful were the efforts of colonialists to blot out the memory of the country's
largely oral past that present-day Filipino writers, artists and journalists are trying to correct this
inequity by recognizing the country's wealth of ethnic traditions and disseminating them in
schools and in the mass media.

The rousing’s of nationalistic pride in the 1960s and 1970s also helped bring about this
change of attitude among a new breed of Filipinos concerned about the "Filipino identity."

Pre-Colonial Times

Owing to the works of our own archaeologists, ethnologists and anthropologists, we are
able to know more and better judge information about our pre-colonial times set against a bulk of
material about early Filipinos as recorded by Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, and other chroniclers of
the past.

Pre-colonial inhabitants of our islands showcase a rich past through their folk speeches,
folk songs, folk narratives and indigenous rituals and mimetic dances that aftirm our ties with our
Southeast Asian neighbors.

The most seminal of these folk speeches is the riddle which is tigmo in Cebuano.
bugtong in Tagalog. paktakon in llongo and patototdon in Bicol. Central to the riddle is the
talinghaga or metaphor because it "reveals subtle resemblances between two unlike objects" and
one's power of observation and wit are put to the test. While some riddles are ingenious, others
verge on the obscene or are sex-related:

Gaddang:

Gongonan nu usin y amam If you pull your daddy's penis

Maggirawa pay sila y inam. Your mommy's vagina, too, screams.

(Campana) (Bell)
 The proverbs or aphorisms express norms or codes of behavior, community beliefs or
they instill values by offering nuggets of wisdom in short, rhyming verse.

The extended form, tanaga, a mono-riming heptasyllabic quatrain expressing insights

and lessons on life is "more emotionally charged than the terse proverb and thus has affinities
with the folk lyric." Some examples are the basahanon or extended didactic sayings from
Bukidnon and the daraida and daragilon from Panay.

The folk song, a form of folk lyric which expresses the hopes and aspirations, the
people's lifestyles as well as their loves. These are often repetitive and sonorous, didactic and
naive as in the children's songs or lda-ida (Maguindanao), tulang pambata (Tagalog) or
cansiones para abbing (Ibanag).

A few examples are the lullabyes or Ili-ili (llongo); love songs like the panawagon and
balitao (longo); harana or serenade (Cebuano); the bayok (Maranao); the seven-syllable per line
poem, ambahan of the Mangyans that are about human relationships, social entertainment and
also serve as a tool for teaching the young; work songs that depict the livelihood of the people
often sung to go with the movement of workers such as the kalusan (Ivatan), soliranin (Tagalog
rowing song) or the mambayu, a Kalinga rice-pounding song the verbal jousts/games like the
duplo popular during wakes.

Other folk songs are the drinking songs sung during carousals like the tagay (Cebuano
and Waray); dirges and lamentations extolling the deeds of the dead like the kanogon (Cebuano)
or the Annako (Bontoc)

A type of narrative song or kissa among the Tausug of Mindanao, the parang sabil, uses
for its subject matter the exploits of historical and legendary heroes. It tells of a Muslim hero
who seeks death at the hands of non-Muslims.

The folk narratives, i.e. epics and folk tales are varied, exotic, and magical. They explain
how the world was created, how certain animals possess certain characteristics, why some places
have waterfalls, volcanoes, mountains, flora or fauna and, in the case of legends, an explanation
of the origins of things. Fables are about animals and these teach moral lessons.

Our country's epics are considered ethno-epics because unlike, say, Germany's
Niebelunginlied, our epics are not national for they are "histories" of varied groups that consider
themselves "nations."

The epics come in various names: Guman (Subanon); Darangen (Maranao); Hudhud
(Ifugao); and Ulahingan (Manobo). These epics revolve around supernatural events or heroic
deeds and they embody or validate the beliefs and customs and ideals of a community. These are
sung or chanted to the accompaniment of indigenous musical instruments and dancing performed
during harvests, weddings, or funerals by chanters. The chanters who were taught by their
ancestors are considered "treasures" and/or repositories of wisdom in their communities.
 Examples of these epics are the Lam-ang (llocano); Hinilawod (Sulod); Kudaman
(Palawan); Darangen (Maranao); Ulahingan (Livunganen-Arumanen Manobo); Mangovayt
Buhong na Langit (The Maiden of the Buhong Sky from Tuwaang-Manobo); Ag Tobig neg
Keboklagan (Subanon); and Tudbulol (T"boli).

The Spanish Colonial Tradition

While it is true that Spain subjugated the Philippines for more mundane reasons, this
former European power contributed much in the shaping and recording of our literature. Religion
and institutions that represented European civilization enriched the languages in the lowlands,
introduced theater which we would come to know as komedya, the sinakulo, the sarswela, the
playlets and the drama. Spain also brought to the country, though at a much later time, liberal
ideas, and internationalism that influenced our own Filipino intellectuals and writers for them to
understand the meanings of "liberty and freedom."

Literature in this period may be classified as religious prose and poetry and secular prose
and poetry.

Religious lyrics written by ladino poets or those versed in both Spanish and Tagalog were
included in early catechism and were used to teach Filipinos the Spanish language. Fernando
Bagonbanta's "Salamat nang walang hangan/gracias de sin sempiternas" (Unending thanks) is
a fine example that is found in the Memorial de la vida cristiana en lengua tagala (Guidelines
for the Christian life in the Tagalog language) published in 1605.

Another form of religious lyrics is the meditative verses like the dalit appended to
novenas and catechisms. It has no fixed meter nor rime scheme although a number are written in
octosyllabic quatrains and have a solemn tone and spiritual subject matter.

But among the religious poetry of the day, it is the pasyon in octosyllabic quintillas that
became entrenched in the Filipino's commemoration of Christ's agony and resurrection at
Calvary. Gaspar Aquino de Belen's "Ang Mahal na Passion ni Jesu Christong Panginoon
natin na tola" (Holy Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ in Verse) put out in 1704 is the country's
earliest known pasyon.

Other known pasyons chanted during the Lenten season are in locano, Pangasinan,
Ibanag, Cebuano, Bicol, Ilongo, and Waray.

Aside from religious poetry, there were various kinds of prose narratives written to
prescribe proper decorum. Like the pasyon, these prose narratives were also used for
proselitization. Some forms are: dialogo (dialogue), Manual de Urbanidad (conduct book);
ejemplo (exemplum) and tratado (tratado). The most well-known are Modesto de Castro's
"Pagsusulatan ng Dalawang Binibini na si Urbana at si Feliza" (Correspondence between the
Two Maidens Urbana and Feliza) in 1864 and Joaquin Tuason's "Ang Bagong Robinson (The
New Robinson) in 1879, an adaptation of Daniel Defoe's novel.
 Secular works appeared alongside historical and economic changes, the emergence of an
opulent class and the middle class who could avail of a European education. This Filipino elite
could now read printed works that used to be the exclusive domain of the missionaries.

The most notable of the secular lyrics followed the conventions of a romantic tradition:
the languishing but loyal lover, the elusive, often heartless beloved, the rival. The leading poets
were Jose Corazon de Jesus (Huseng isiw) and Francisco Balagtas. Some secular poets who
wrote in this same tradition were Leona Florentino, Jacinto Kawil, Isabelo de los Reyes and
Rafael Gandioco.

Another popular secular poetry is the metrical romance, the awit and korido in Tagalog.
The awit is set in dodecasyllabic quatrains while the korido is in octosyllabic quatrains. These
are colorful tales of chivalry from European sources made for singing and chanting such as
Gonzalo de Cordoba (Gonzalo of Cordoba) and Ibong Adarna (Adarna Bird). There are
numerous metrical romances in Tagalog. Bicol, Ilongo, Pampango, and Ilocano and in
Pangasinan. The awit as a popular poetic genre reached new heights in Balagtas' "Florante at
Laura" (ca. 1838-1861), the most famous of the country's metrical romances.

Again, the winds of change began to blow in 19th century Philippines. Filipino
intellectuals educated in Europe called ilustrados began to write about the downside of
colonization. This, coupled with the simmering calls for reforms by the masses gathered a
formidable force of writers like Jose Rizal, Marcelo H. del Pilar, Mariano Ponce, Emilio Jacinto
and Andres Bonifacio.

This led to the formation of the Propaganda Movement where prose works such as the
political essays and Rizal's two political novels, Noli Me Tangere and the El Filibusterismo
helped usher in the Philippine revolution resulting in the downfall of the Spanish regime, and, at
the same time planted the seeds of a national consciousness among Filipinos.

But if Rizal's novels are political, the novel Ninay (1885) by Pedro Paterno is largely
cultural and is considered the first Filipino novel. Although Paterno's Ninay gave impetus to
other novelists like Jesus Balmori and Antonio M. Abad to continue writing in Spanish, this did
not flourish.

Other Filipino writers published the essay and short fiction in Spanish in La Vanguardia,
EI Debate, Renacimiento Filipino, and Nueva Era. The more notable essayists and fictionists
were Claro M. Recto, Teodoro M. Kalaw, Epifanio de los Reyes, Vicente Sotto, Trinidad Pardo
de Tavera, Rafael Palma, Enrique Laygo (Caretas or Masks, 1925) and Balmori who mastered
the prosa romantica or romantic prose.

But the introduction of English as medium of instruction in the Philippines hastened the
demise of Spanish so that by the 1930s, English writing had overtaken Spanish writing. During
the language's death throes, however, writing in the romantic tradition, from the awit and korido,
would continue in the novels of Magdalena Jalandoni. But patriotic writing continued under the
new colonialists. These appeared in the vernacular poems and modern adaptations of works
during the Spanish period and which further maintained the Spanish tradition.
The American Colonial Period

A new set of colonizers brought about new changes in Philippine literature. Ne literary
forms such as free verse [in poetry], the modern short story, and the critical essay were
introduced. American influence was deeply entrenched with the firm establishment of English as
the medium of instruction in all schools and with literary modernism that highlighted the writer's
individuality and cultivated consciousness of craft, sometimes at the expense of social
consciousness.

The poet, and later, National Artist for Literature, Jose Garcia Villa used free verse and
espoused the dictum, "Art for arť's sake" to the chagrin of other writers more concerned with the
utilitarian aspect of literature. Another maverick in poetry who used free verse and talked about
illicit love in her poetry was Angela Manalang Gloria, a woman poet described as ahead of her
time. Despite the threat of censorship by the new dispensation, more writers turned up "seditious
works" and popular writing in the native languages bloomed through the weekly outlets like
Liwayway and Bisaya.

The Balagtas tradition persisted until the poet Alejandro G. Abadilla advocated
modernism in poetry. Abadilla later influenced young poets who wrote modern verses in the
1960s such as Virgilio S. Almario, Pedro I. Ricarte and Rolando S. Tinio.

While the early Filipino poets grappled with the verities of the new language, Filipinos
seemed to have taken easily to the modern short story as published in the Philippines Free Press,
the College Folio, and Philippines Herald. Paz Marquez Benitez's "Dead Stars" published in
1925 was the first successful short story in English written by a Filipino. Later on, Arturo B.
Rotor and Manuel E. Arguilla showed exceptional skills with the short story.

Alongside this development, writers in the vernaculars continued to write in the

provinces. Others like Lope K. Santos, Valeriano Hernandez Peña, and Patricio Mariano were
writing minimal narratives similar to the early Tagalog short fiction called dali or pasingaw
(sketch).

The romantic tradition was fused with American pop culture or European influences in
the adaptations of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan by F. P. Boquecosa who also penned Ang
Palad ni Pepe after Charles Dicken's David Copperfield even as the realist tradition was kept
alive in the novels by Lope K. Santos and Faustino Aguilar, among others.

It should be noted that if there was a dearth of the Filipino novel in English, the' novel in
the vernaculars continued to be written and serialized in weekly magazines like Liwayway,
Bisaya, Hiligaynon, and Bannawag.

The essay in English became a potent medium from the 1920's to the present. Some
leading essayists were journalists like Carlos P. Romulo, Jorge Bocobo, Pura Santillan
Castrence, etc. who wrote formal to humorous to informal essays for the delectation by Filipinos.
 Among those who wrote criticism developed during the American period were Ignacio
Manlapaz, Leopoldo Yabes and I.V. Mallari. But it was Salvador P. Lopez's criticism that
grabbed attention when he won the Commonwealth Literary Award for the essay in 1940 with
his "Literature and Society." This essay posited that art must have substance and that Villa's
adherence to "Art for Art's Sake" is decadent.

The last throes of American colonialism saw the flourishing of Philippine literature in
English at the same time, with the introduction of the New Critical aesthetics, made writers pay
close attention to craft and "indirectly engendered a disparaging attitude" towards vernacular
writings-a tension that would recur in the contemporary period.

The Contemporary Period

The flowering of Philippine literature in the various languages continues especially with
the appearance of new publications after the Martial Law years and the resurgence of committed
literature in the 1960s and the 1970s.

Filipino writers continue to write poetry, short stories, novellas, novels and essays
whether these are socially committed, gender/ethnic related or are personal in intention or not.

Of course, the Filipino writer has become more conscious of his art with the proliferation
of writers' workshops here and abroad and the bulk of literature available to him via the mass
media including the internet. The various literary awards such as the Don Carlos Palanca
Memorial Awards for Literature, the Philippines Free Press, Philippine Graphic, Home Life
and Panorama literary awards encourage him to compete with his peers and hope that his
creative efforts will be rewarded in the long run.

With the new requirement by the Commission on Higher Education of teaching of

Philippine Literature in all tertiary schools in the country emphasizing the teaching of the
vernacular literature or literatures of the regions, the audience for Filipino writers is virtually
assured. And, perhaps, a national literature finding its niche among the literatures of the world
will not be far behind.
Chapter Exercises 1.2
Reflection Paper

Write your reaction or reflection on the given history of Philippine Literature.

(Times New Roman, 12, Microsoft Word) Minimum of 300 words.

“What are the changes in Philippine Literature on Pre-Colonial Times to the Contemporary
Period? And How literature evolve in Philippine History?