What are the Literary Genres in the Philippines?

The multiplicity of Philippine literature progressed alongside the country’s rich

history. Its themes are rooted in the context of the Philippine’s pre-colonial cultural
traditions and the socio-political histories of its colonial and contemporary ways.
However, some Filipinos encounter unfamiliarity with the literature of the past essentially
due to what has been taught upon us, that our country was ‘discovered’ and, hence,
Philippine ‘history’ began in March 1521.
Through the comprehensive works of archaeologists, anthropologists, and
ethnologists, we have known more information about our pre-colonial times established
against loads of material about early Filipinos as recorded by chroniclers of the past. Let
us now look into the different Philippine literary genres that emerged through time:
The Pre-colonial Period
The Pre-colonial Filipinos demonstrated rich-lived experiences orally expressed in
their folk speeches, songs, narratives, and indigenous rituals and mimetic dances. These
are passed down from generation to generation. The most common of these are:

a. Riddles – These are mystifying statements or questions phrased and rhymed to

require ingenuity in determining their answer. These are presented as a game and
considered as forms of entertainment during the earlier times. Talinghaga or metaphor
is dominant in any riddles as it discloses subtle comparisons between unlike things,
thus, wit and observation are required in this mental exercise.

For the Visayans, these are called tigmo, for the Tagalogs, bugtong. For the
Ilongos, paktakon and for the Bicolanos, atototdon. Here are the examples:

Tigmo
Baboy sa lasang (A wild pig in the forest,)
Ang tunok puro lansang. (Is covered with spikes)
Answer: Nangka (Jackfruit)

Paktakon
Ano nga tuboran Masulog sa tag-init, (What spring flow in summer)
Ginabubsan kong tag-ulan?. (and run dry on rainy days?)
Answer: Balhas (Sweat)

b. Proverbs - These are called sawikain or salawikain in Tagalog or sarsarita in Ilocano.

Philippine proverbs are wise sayings that prescribe codes of behavior, mirror societal
norms, traditions, and beliefs and impart lessons in brief, rhyming verse. Read the
examples below:
 Ilocano on Guilt Hiligaynon on Suffering
Ti agutak, (He who cackles) Kon indi ikaw mag-antos (If you don’t sacrifice) Isut
nagitlog. (laid the egg.) Indi ka gid magsantos.( You can’t be a saint.)
c. Songs – These are forms of folk lyric which speak volumes of the typical rural lives
and reflect people’s aspirations and lifestyles. Here are some song categories of our
ancestors:
Folk Songs
Lullaby Serenade
(Awit ng
(Oyayi) (Harana)
Bayan)

i. Folk Songs (Awit ng Bayan) – These are songs with lines often described
as repetitive, didactic, and sonorous. The following are examples of
famous Filipino folk songs:

Magtanim ay di Biro Dandansoy

(Tagalog Folk Song) (Visayan Folk Song)
Magtanim ay di biro Dandansoy, bayaan ta ikaw
Maghapong nakayuko Pauli ako sa payag
Di man lang makaupo Ugaling kung ikaw hidlawon
Di man lang makatayo Ang payag imo lang
lantawon.
Braso ko’y namamanhid
Baywang ko’y nangangawit. Dandansoy, kung imo
Binti ko’y namimitig apason
Sa pagkababad sa tubig. Bisan tubig di magbalon
Ugaling kung ikaw uhawon
Sa umaga, paggising Sa dalan magbubon-bubon.
Ang lahat, iisipin
Kung saan may patanim Kumbento, diin ang cura?
May masarap na pagkain Munisipyo, diin justicia?
Yari si dansoy makiha.
Halina, halina, mga kaliyag, Makiha sa pag-higugma
Tayo’y magsipag-unat-unat.
Magpanibago tayo ng lakas Ang panyo mo kag panyo ko
Para sa araw ng bukas Dal-a diri kay tambihon ko
(Bisig ko’y namamanhid Ugaling kung magkasilo
Baywang ko’y nangangawit. Bana ta ikaw, asawa mo
Binti ko’y namimintig ako.
Sa pagkababad sa tubig.)

Kay-pagkasawing-palad
Ng inianak sa hirap,
Ang bisig kung di iunat,
Di kumita ng pilak.
 ii. Lullaby (Oyayi) – These are soothing songs often sung to put babies to
sleep. The following is an Ilocano lullaby with its English translation:

Maturug, duduayya Go to sleep, dear little one

Maturog kad tay bunga, Will my child please sleep,
Tay lalaki nga napigsa This strong boy
Ta inton dumakkel tay bunga, So when the child grows big
Isunto aya tay mammati He will obey
Tay amon a ibaga me. Everything that we say.

iii. Serenade (Harana) – These are courtship songs used by young men to
capture the heart of the girl they love.

d. Chants (Bulong) – These are used to give respect, excuse, or apology to unseen or
other elemental spirits our ancestors believed in to deliver them from danger or harm.
Moreover, these are utilized in enchantments and even in withcfraft. Read the
examples below:

Tabi-tabi po, Ingkong, makikiraan po lamang (Tagalog)

Bari-bari po, Apo, umisbo la ting tao. (Ilokano)
Ikaw ang nagnanakaw ng bigas ko
Lumuwa sana ang mata mo
Mamaga sana ang katawan mo
Patayin ka ng mga anito.

e. Epics – These are long narrative accounts of heroic exploits. Examples of these are
Darangen in Maranaw, Aliguyon at Hudhud in Ifugao, Ibalon in Bicol.
Below is a guman or epic of the Subanen people of Zamboanga, which is chanted
during Buklog or festivals.
Ag Tobig Nog Keboklagan (The Kingdom of Keboklagan)
The epic begins with Timoway’s quandary as to how to support his wife who is
about to giving birth. He decides to earn money by being a whetter of tools in the
neighboring villages. He leaves Sirangan with his assistant Kasangolan and fifteen datus.
However, their boat refuses to move until Timoway beheads one of his companions.
In the village Batotobig, Datu Sakandatar decides to join Timoway, although his
wife, like Timoway’s, is pregnant. While they are cruising, Diwata Pegeraman- the
goddess of wind, lighting, and thunder-invites them to her abode to chew mamaq, betel
nut. Rejected by the datu, she creates a storm that breaks Timoway’s vessel and kills
Timoway and his companions. The broken and now empty vessel returns to Sirangan.
Learning about the incident, Timoway’s wife, Balo Libon, cries so intensely that
she gives birth to a boy. At this same instance, Sakadanbar’s wife in Batotoy also gives
birth to a boy. Balo Libon names her son Taake. He grows quickly, and after seven
months, Taake asks about his father. When he is told that his father’s death was not
caused by a mortal, he becomes happy. Learning that his father was a fisher, Taake asks
for his father’s hook and line. With the aid of his magic, he establishes himself as an
excellent fisher.
One day, Taake, now a young man, ask his mother for clothes to go deep-sea
fishing. The request surprises her, for Taake has never asked for clothes. Questioned, he
explains that he is embarrassed to be naked in the company of ladies. Balo Libon then
grooms her son.
At sea, Taake hooks a fish with golden scales, but it drags him farther and farther
away from the shore. The tug of war lasts for months, until an eel warns Taake to go
home and offers him help to get there. But Taake only kills the eel. A storm develops, and
Taake sinks. He sees a shore under the sea and sets foot on it. Finding a horse with his
hook and line in its mouth, he pursues it with karisan or sword, but the animal escapes
him. Taake has reached Keboklagan.
Taake sees a tower. He climbs a ladder with golden rungs to reach the top of the
tower. There, he finds a woman, nearly naked, sewing. Called the Lady of Pintawan, she
invites him to chew mamaq. As they chew, their eyes meet an exchange message of love.
Taake courts her for seven days. Finally, the Lady of Pintawan accepts Taake’s offer of
marriage. However, the romance is blocked by two men, Towan Salip and Soratan
Domatong, who abhor the idea of the Lady of Pintawan marrying a Subanon. The two
rally the folks of Keboklagan and urge them to kill Taake. The Lady of Pintogan, a close
friend of the Lady of Pintawan, learns about the plot and flies on her monsala or scarf to
the Lady of Pintawan’s place. She advises Taake to take his wife to Sirangan. Taake
however, insists on his innocence and refuses to leave Keboklagan. He fights the people
who attack him.
In Sirangan, the Datu Tomitib Manaon dreams of a lone Subanon fighting in
Keboklagan. When he awakes, he prepares to help Taake, whom he discovers has been
away from Sirangan for a long time. Accompanied by two other datus, he proceeds to
Keboklagan. Although they lose their way at first, they finally arrive at Keboklagan,
following Taake’s route. Taake approaches Tomitib for fighting without first asking for the
reason for the fight. Saulagya Maola, the datu of Keboklagan and the Lady of Pintawa’s
brother arrive. The Ladies of Keboklagan explain to him the cause of the fight. He recalls
his promise to his sister that anyone who can climb the ladder with rungs of blades shall
be his sister’s husband. Saulagya Maola tells the two datus about the promise, but they
insist on fighting. Saulagya, therefore, divides his kingdom between those who decide to
fight and those who decide to withdraw from the battle.
Tomitib Manaon asks Saulagya Maola if he can marry the Lady of Pintogan. But
because of his incivility, she rejects Tomitib. Tomitib runs back to the crowd and starts
fighting. Datu Liyo-liyo, hearing about the fight, rides his horse and proceeds to the
battleground. Datu Liyo-liyo engages Tomitib in a hand-to-hand battle. Eventually, the
datu of Sirangan defeats the datu of Keboklagan.
The datus then proceed to other kingdoms to fight further. First, they challenge the
chief of Dibaloy, Datu Bataqelo. Lilang Diwata, his sister, renames Taake Malompyag, or
“he fights in all places”. Taake and Tomitib would have exterminated the whole kingdom
had compassion not overtaken them after half of the population had fallen to their sword.
In Todong-todong, Taake and Tomitib are invited by its chief to chew mamaq before they
start fighting. After the chew, they annihilate the kingdom. The datus then proceed to
Walo Sabang, ruled by Egdodan Magsorat and Egdodan Sabagan, who themselves do
not fight. Their subjects, however, are sufficient, for they get resurrected after having been
killed. Taake tires after seven months of fighting and falls asleep, leaving Tomitib to fight
alone. In Taake’s dream, a girl instructs him to disguise himself as Towan Salip Palasti
and to go to the Tower of Walo Sabang to get magical medicines by which to prevent the
enemies from coming back to life. When he awakes, he does as instructed, and he and
Tomitib defeat the army of Walo Sabang. At one point in the battle, Tomitib falls dead, but
the women of Keboklagan restore him to life.
The massive destruction disturbs the god Asog. He descends to the earth and
reprimands the Sirangan. He instructs them to go home and hold a buklog, in which each
of them will be given his partner. Asog fans his kerchief, bringing the dead to life. The
datus return to Sirangan, where Taake finds his mother dying of longing for him. He kisses
her and she revives. All the datus of the different kingdoms are invited to a buklog, and
Asog gives each of them a partner in life.

f. Myths – These are symbolic narratives, usually of unknown origin and at least partly
traditional, that ostensibly relate actual events and are especially associated with
religious belief. Ancient Filipino myths include The Story of Bathala, and Ang Pag-
aaway ng Dagat at Langit.

g. Legends – These are stories that explain the origin of things and phenomena in the
surrounding world. Some of the most famous legends are: The Legend of Maria
Makiling, The Legend of Mayon, and The Legend of Sampaguita.

h. Fables – These are brief stories for the children of the native Filipinos. These talk
about supernatural or extraordinary people and usually follow in the form of narration
that demonstrates a useful truth. These stories use animals as characters to represent
a particular attribute or characteristic. One of the most orally narrated Filipino fables
is Ang Kuneho at ang Pagong.

i. Folk tales (Kwentong Bayan) – These are stories that deal with the power of nature-
personified, their submission to a deity (Bathala), and how the deity is responsible for
the blessings and the curses in the form of calamities. These are often passed on from
generation to generation by word of mouth.

After knowing the literary genres of the Pre-colonial Philippines, can you cite local/
regional examples of riddles, proverbs, songs, epics, myths, and folktales? Share it in
class.

The Spanish Period

The Spanish colonizers ruled the country for over 300 years. They used the cross
to influence and impose their religion upon the natives. For more than three centuries of
colonization in the Philippines, not only was our history as a nation altered but also our
traditions, lifestyles, and belief systems. This has immensely influenced our literature. A
shift of interest from writing about nature to writing about the Christian faith – of hymns,
saints, miracles, and the teaching of the church, took place. Most of the writings were
religious, secular, and at the latter part, propaganda and revolutionary.

Religious matters were in the form of prose such as prayer books, novenas,
biographies of saints, and the likes. Senakulo, a Filipino dramatization of the life and times
of Jesus Christ presented during the Lent, was widely held. Pasyon, Philippine epic
narrative of the life of Jesus Christ, was written in stanzas with five lines of eight syllables
each and focused on his Passion, Death, and Resurrection. Dalit (psalm), a song praising
God or the Virgin Mary and containing a philosophy of life, also became popular.

Secular or Non-religious literature also flourished. These are prominently tales

of valiance and adventure. They include the following:
a. Awit (Song) – These have measures of twelve syllables (dodecasyllabic) and
are slowly sung to the accompaniment of a guitar or banduria. Francisco
Baltazar’s Florante at Laura is the best example for this.
b. Kurido (Corrido) – These are metrical romances and tales that follow a
structure of a poem. These have measures of eight syllables (octosyllabic) and
recited to a martial beat. More often, these are tales of chivalry where a knight
saves a princess. Ibong Adarna is an example of this.
c. Karagatan – This is a poetic vehicle of a socio-religious nature celebrated
during the death of a person.
d. Duplo – This is a poetic joust in speaking and reasoning.
e. Prose Narratives – These are instructional materials that teach Filipinos
proper decorum. Pagsusulatan ng Dalawang Binibini na si Urbana at Feliza
(1864) is an example.
f. Sarswela – This is a type of drama that originated in Spain. It includes singing
and dancing on stage with lyrics alternatively spoken and sung in operatic and
popular styles.

The exposure of the Filipinos to Europe’s liberal idealism, the martyrdom of

GomBurZa, the Cavite Mutiny in 1872 and the Spanish Revolution in 1868 led to Filipino
consciousness (Martin, Guevarra, del Campo, 2016). This gave birth to two crucial and
historic movements during this time–the Propaganda movement and the Revolutionary
movement which awakened nationalism. The Propaganda movement was reformatory in
objective and its members were Jose Rizal, Marcelo H. del Pilar, and Graciano Lopez-
Jaena. They have published news, editorial, and satires that attacked Spanish rule.

The exposure of the evils of the Spanish rule in the Philippines was because of
Rizal’s novels: Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo and has paved the way to a
revolution against Spain. Del Pilar’s essays and editorials in Diariong Tagalog which he
founded with Lopez-Jaena’s articles in La Solidaridad (where he was an editor) reflected
nationalism that was dominant at this time. Lopez Jaena’s Fray Botod (1876) exposed
how some friars were greedy, immoral, and ambitious. Del Pilar’s Dasalan at Tocsohan
(Prayers and Jokes) was similar to that of a catechism but sarcastically done against the
Spanish priests.
 Revolutionary literature also loomed with exposés that sparked revolution and
resistance among the Filipinos. Andres Bonifacio’s Katungkulang Gagawin ng mga Anak
ng Bayan (Obligations of our Countrymen) outlined the obligations of Filipinos toward
nationalism. Apolinario Mabini’s essay titled El Desarollo y Caida de la Republica Filipina
(The Rise and Fall of Philippine Republic) highlighted the establishment of Philippine
Republic and its subsequent downfall due to disunity among the Filipinos. Emilio Jacinto’s
collection of essays called Liwanag at Dilim (Light and Darkness) was on work, faith,
freedom, government, and patriotism.

The American Period

The Philippines had a great leap in education and culture during the American
colonization. During their time in the country, public school system was introduced and
the usage of both English and Filipino was practiced.

The literature during the American period was imitative of the form of American
writing. Forms of poetry still followed the old structure but had contents that ranged from
free writing to societal concerns under the American regime. Some poems focused on
non-traditional themes such that of Jose Corazon de Jesus’ Mga Gintong Dahon (1920).
This is a collection poem that tackled themes on passion-slaying, grief-induced insanity
and lovers’ suicide. Drama also became popular as it was used to degrade the Spanish
rule and immortalized the heroism of Filipinos who fought under the Katipunan. Remake
novels also took up Dr. Jose Rizal’s portrayal of social conditions under colonial
repression.

Severino Reyes led the movement to supplant the komedya with a new type of
drama, the sarswela (adaptation of the Spanish zarzuela). Sarswelas such as Juan
Abad’s Tanikalang Guinto (1902), Juan Matapang Cruz’s Hindi Ako Patay (1903), and
Aurelio Tolentino’s Kahapon, Ngayon, at Bukas (1903) allegorically presented the history
of nationalist struggle.

The Japanese Period and the Republic

With the coming of the Japanese invaders, Philippine literature came to a halt. The
English language was banned and the Filipino language was mandated under Japanese
rule. For some, this seemed to be a problem but for others it was a blessing in disguise.
Filipino literature was given a break in this period as many wrote plays, novels, poems,
short stories with themes circling on life in the province, the arts, nationalism, and the
likes. Many plays were reproduced from English to Tagalog.

Writing during the Japanese reign were journalistic in nature. People felt
suppressed but the spirit of nationalism slowly seeped into their consciousness. Thus,
essays were composed to glorify Filipinos and to figuratively attack the Japanese.

21st Century Literature of the Philippines

All literary works written and published at the later part of the 21st century (from
2001 onwards) are often characterized as gender sensitive, technologically alluding,
culturally pluralistic, operating on the extreme reality or extreme fiction, and questioning
conventions and supposedly absolute norms.

Just as technology advanced in the 21st century, Filipinos have also adapted,
invented, and written some literary innovations far different from the ones before.
Philippine literature, nowadays, deals with current themes on technological culture and
traces artistic representation of shared experiences. These works are characterized as
gender sensitive, technologically alluding, culturally pluralistic, operating on the extreme
reality or extreme fiction, and questioning conventions and supposedly absolute norms.
There are a lot of new forms from the basic genres of literature, thus proving how far the
literature in the Philippines has gone and how far it can go from here.

The following are the most notable literary genres in the 21 st century:

a. Drama – It is the genre of literature with stories composed of verse or prose which is
meant to be dramatically or theatrically performed. Its emotions and conflicts are
expressed through dialogue and movements or actions.

b. Creative Nonfiction – It is also known as literary nonfiction or narrative

nonfiction. It is a genre of writing that uses literary styles and techniques to
create factually accurate narratives.

c. Blog – It is a web log containing short articles called posts that can be changed
regularly. Some blogs are written by one person (called blogger) containing
his/her hobbies or interests, opinions, and experiences, while others are written
by many different people.

d. Poetry – It is a verse and rhythmic writing with imagery that evokes an emotional
response from the reader. Mina Roy defines poetry as “prose bewitched”. If fiction is
concerned with plot action, poetry is “life distilled” through words and language. Poetry
works via suggestion, implication, and ambiguity rather than straightforward
communication. The art of poetry is rhythmical in composition, written or spoken.
Poetry is for entertaining and exciting pleasure by beautiful, imaginative, or elevated
thoughts.

i. Mobile Phone Text Tula - A particular example of this poem is a tanaga, a

type of Filipino poem, consisting of four lines with seven syllables each with
the same rhyme at the end of each line—that is to say a 7-7-7-7 syllabic
verse, with an AABB rhyme scheme. The modern tanaga still uses the 7777
syllable count, but rhymes range from dual rhyme forms: AABB, ABAB,
ABBA; to freestyle forms such as AAAB, BAAA, or ABCD. Tanagas do not
have titles traditionally because the tanaga should speak for itself. However,
moderns can opt to give them titles. Text tula is often read on cellular
phones.
ii. Hyperpoetry – It is a form of digital poetry that uses links using
hypertext mark-up. It is a very visual form, and is related to hypertext
 fiction and visual arts. The links mean that a hypertext poem has no
set order, the poem moving or being generated in response to the
links that the reader/user chooses. It can either involve set words,
phrases, lines, etc. that are presented in variable order but sit on the
page much as traditional poetry does, or it can contain parts of the
poem that move and/or mutate. It is usually found online. The earliest
examples date to not later than the mid-1980s.
iii. Spoken word poetry – It is a poem that has made its way into the hearts
and souls of thousands of Filipinos especially the millennials. It is a type of
poem performed or read in artistic and emotive manner which can be
accompanied by music or presented in the streets or bars, even cafés and
coffee shops. It is an oral art that focuses on the aesthetics of word
play such as intonation and voice inflection. It is a "catch-all" term that
includes any kind of poetry recited aloud, including poetry readings, poetry
slams, jazz poetry, and hip hop, and can even include comedy routines and
prose monologues. The most viewed YouTube Filipino spoken word artist
is Juan Miguel Severo whose original poems have been performed in TV
dramas like On The Wings of Love.

e. Fiction - Fiction has genres that can be defined as narrative literary works whose
content is produced by the imagination and is not necessarily based on fact. In fiction,
something is feigned, invented, or imagined; a made-up story.

Examples are the following:

i. Short Story – This is brief fiction that can be read in one sitting and is not
able to support any subplots.
ii. Chick-Lit – This is a genre which addresses issues of modern womanhood,
often humorously and light-heartedly. The genre became popular in the late
1990s, with chick-lit titles topping best seller lists and the creation of imprints
devoted entirely to chick-lit. Although it sometimes includes romantic
elements, chick-lit is generally not considered a direct subcategory of the
romance novel genre, because the heroine's relationship with her family or
friends is often just as important as her romantic relationships.
iii. Flash fiction – This is a style of fictional literature or fiction of extreme
brevity. There is no widely accepted definition of the length of the
category. Some self-described markets for flash fiction impose caps
as low as three hundred words, while others consider stories as long
as a thousand words to be flash fiction.
iv. Realistic Fiction – It is a story that can actually happen and is true to real
life.
v. Historical Fiction – It is a story with fictional characters and events in a
historical setting.
vi. Horror – These are frightfully shocking, terrifying, or revolting stories.
vii. Mystery – It deals with unraveling of secrets and the solution of a crime.
viii. Illustrated Novels – These are stories through text and illustrated images.
ix. Graphic Novels – These are narratives in comic book formats.
x. Speculative Fiction – It is a term encompassing the more fantastical fiction
genres, specifically science fiction, fantasy, horror, weird fiction,
supernatural fiction, superhero fiction, utopian and dystopian fiction,
apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, and alternate history in literature
as well as related static, motion, and virtual arts.
a. Science Fiction – It is a story based on the impact of potential science,
either actual or imagined and is set in the future or on other planets.
b. Fantasy – It is the forming of mental images with strange or other worldly
settings or characters and invites suspension of reality.
c. Humor – It is the faculty of perceiving what is amusing or comical. It is
fiction full of fun, fancy, and excitement which is meant to entertain. This
genre of literature can actually be seen and contained within all genres.