Philippine Literature

Traditions

1. Ethnic Tradition

2. Spanish Colonial Tradition

3. American Colonial Tradition

4. Contemporary Period

Ethnic Tradition

• Comprises oral lore identifiably precolonial in provenance and works that circulate within
contemporary communities of tribal Filipinos, or among lowland Filipinos that have maintained
their links with the culture of their non-Islamic or non-Christian ancestors

Spanish Colonial Tradition

• Consists of works that how Spanish derivation or influence in the themes and forms employed,
and these may include literary works that are translations of original Spanish writings or
adaptations of the same

American Colonial Tradition

• Comprises works showing the impact of American colonial control, which facilitated through the
educational system the entry into Philippine literature of forms and themes from the literature
of England and the United States

Contemporary Period

• May show a merging of these three traditions as these are employed by creative artists in giving
literary expression to their response to historical and sociocultural forces that have shaped
Philippine society since the Pacific War
 Ethnic Tradition

Philippine ethnic literature is a rich repository of ideas, ideals, and sentiments, preserved through
centuries of oral transmission. From the samples that exist, ethnic literature may be classified into three
groups:

1. folk speech

2. folk songs

3. folk narratives.

Folk Speech

1. Riddles

– A puzzle in which an object to be guessed is described in terms of another, unrelated

– Because it reveals subtle resemblances between two unlike objects, the riddle whets
one’s wits and sensitizes one’s perceptions of things often taken for granted.

2. Proverbs and Aphorisms

– instill values and teach lessons.

– short sayings which encapsulate and preserve a community’s beliefs, norms, and codes
of behavior.

– Usually, a commonplace object or incident is used to illustrate an accepted truth or

– Example: Gaano man ang tibay ng piling abaka ay wala ring lakas kapag nag-iisa.

3. Tanaga

– Extended form of wise saying

– Monoriming quatrain, which expresses insights and lessons on living

Ex. Ang sugat ay kung tinanggap Di daramdamin ang antak Ang aayaw at di mayag Galos
lamang magnanaknak.
Folk Songs

• Lullabyes

– sung to put children to sleep; called oyayi by the Tagalog; often repetitive and
sonorous.

- Many lullabyes are didactic; some are plaintive, expressing the hardships of life, a
few express hope in the future

• Love Songs

• Drinking Songs

• Religious Songs

• Death Songs

Folk Narratives

• Folk Tales – generally called kuwentong bayan among the Tagalog, are of different types: myths,
legends, fables, and trickster tales.

• Epics

• Less humorous, loftier and much lengthier

• Revolve around supernatural events or heroic deeds, and they embody or validate the
beliefs, customs, and ideals of a community.

• Either sung or chanted during communal affairs such as harvest, weddings, or funerals,
by bards chosen for their wisdom or age.

Folk Tales

Myths– often regarded as sacred, explain the origin and the goal of the cosmos; usually involve
divinities and spirits who interact with humans.

Legends (alamat) – about more recent events; used to teach lessons in life.

Fables – short tales, usually involving animals, which teach a moral lesson.

Trickster Tales – recount the adventures of clever heroes who outwit authority figures, usually
coming from the upper classes.
 Spanish Colonial Tradition

• Written literature is a legacy of Spanish colonial rule.

• Written literature following the examples introduced by the colonial rulers was to set the forms
and the content of mainstream Philippine literature beginning in the 17 th century.

Categories of Literature

1. Religious prose and poetry

– Lyrics and narratives

– Lyrics – include complimentary verses, or verses that praise the book in which they
appear to attract readers.

– Many complimentary verses were written by the so-called ladino, poets versed in both
Spanish and Tagalog.

Sample Ladino Poetry:

Salamat nang ualang hanga

gracias se den sempiternas

sa nagpasilang nang tala

al que hizo salir la estrella:

macapagpanao nang dilim

que destierre las tinieblas

sa lahat na bayan natin

de toda esta nuestra tierra.

Fernando Bagonbanta, 1605

2. Secular prose and poetry

– Romantics lyrics, metrical romance (awit and korido), propagandist and nationalistic
prose and poems
Religious Lyric

• Meditative verses attached to religious works, such as novenas and catechisms

• Example: Dalit

– Being rather generic, the dalit has no fixed meter nor rime scheme-although a number
are written in octosyllabic quatrains-and ar eidentifiable only by their solem tone and
spiritual subject matter.

PASYON

• Recounts the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ in octosyllabic quintillas

– Ang Mahal na Passion ni Jesu Cristong Panginoon Natin na Tola (Gaspar Aquino de
Belen, 1704)

– Casaysayan Nang Pasiong Mahal ni Jesucristong Panginoon Natin na Sucat Ipag-alab

– El Libro de la Vida (Aniceto de la Merced, 1852)

Religious Narrative Prose

• Consists of prose narraties written to prescribe proper behavior

• Includes such forms as the dialogo (dialogue), the manual de urbanidad (conduct book), the
ejemplo (exemplum) and the tratado (tratado)

Examples

• Dialogo: La Teresa (1852) by Antonio Ubeda de la Santisima Trinidad

• Manual de Urbanidad: Pagsusulatan nang Dalawang Binibini na si Urbana at si Feliza (1864) by

• Ejemplo: Ang Bagong Robinson (1879) by Joaquin Tuason/Barlaan at Josaphat (1712) by Antonio
de Borja

• Tratado: Si Tandang Basio Macunat (1885) by Fr. Miguel Lucio Bustamante

• Romantic secular lyrics

– Oh Kaawaawang Buhay Ko sa Iba by Jose de la Cruz (Huseng Sisiw)

– Labindalawang Sugat ng Puso by Francisco Balatazar

– Kay Celia (preface to Florante at Laura)

– Sa Kinakasi Niyaring Buhay by Francisco Balatazar

– Daniw ti Maysa a Balasang a Nakisina iti Caayan-ayatna by Leona Florentino

• Metrical Romance

– Awit (dodecasyllabic quatrain)

– Korido (octosylabic quatrain)

• Examples: Gonzalo de Cordoba, Sute Infantes de Lara, Ibong Adarna

• 229 Tagalog romances have been recovered, several of which have versions in
other loca languages; 69 romances in Bicol have been recovered, 66 in Ilongo,
65 in Pampango, 48 in Ilocano, and 5 in Pangasinan.

• Jose de la Cruz penned numerous romances, although only a handful, and none
of them complete, survive.

• Florante at Laura (ca. 1838-1861) remians the most famous romance in

Reformist or Revolutionary Poetry

• A las flores de Heidelberg (Jose Rizal)

• Mi ultimo adios (Jose Rizal)

• Pag-ibig sa Tinubuang Lupa (Andres Bonifacio)

Trilogy

1. Hibik nang Filipinas sa Inang Espana (Hermenigildo Flores)

2. Sagot nang Espana sa Hibik nang Filipinas (Marcelo H. del Pilar)

3. Katabusang Hibik ng Pilipinas (Andres Bonifacio)

• Pasyong Dapat Ipag-alab nang Puso nang Tauong Baba sa Kalupitan nang Fraile (Marcelo H. del
Pilar, ca. 1885)

• Fray Botod (Graciano Lopez Jaena, ca. 1889)

• La Soberania monacal en Filipinas (Marcelo H. del Pilar, 1888)

• Sobre la indolencia de los Filipinos (Jose Rizal, 1890)

• Filipinas dentro de cien anos (Jose Rizal, 1889)

• Ang Dapat Mabatid ng mga Tagalog (Andres Bonifacio)

• Liwanag at Dilim (Emilio Jacinto, 1896) – collection of essays

• Ninay (Pedro Paterno, 1885) – first Filipino novel.

• Noli me tangere (Jose Rizal, 1887)

• El filibusterismo (Jose Rizal, 1891)

Finest Books of Spanish Poems

1. Bajo los cocoteros (Under the Coconut Tree, Claro M. Recto, 1911)

2. Rimas Malayas (Malay Rimes, Jesus Balmori, 1904)

3. Mi casa de nipa (My Nipa Hut, Jesus Balmori, 1938)

4. Melancolias (Sad Verses, Jose Palma, 1912)

5. Crisalidas (Chrysales, Fernando Ma. Guerrero, 1914)

6. De Mactan a Tirad (From Mactan to Tirad, Flaviano Zaragoza Cano, 1940)

7. Pentelicas (White Marble, Cecilio Apostol, 1941)

Notable Fictionists in Spanish

1. Enrique Laygo – wrote the anthology Caretas (Masks, 1925)

2. Benigno del Rio – had the collection Prejicio de raza (Racial Prejudice)
 3. Jesus Balmori – mastered the art of prosa romantica or romantic prose, writing in mellifluous
prose and employing images intricate and sensuous

Notable Novels in Spanish

1. Bancarrota de almas (The Bankcruptcy of Souls, Jesus Balmori, 1910)

2. Se deshoso la flor (The Flower Was Stripped of Its Petals, Jesus Balmori, 1915)

3. La oveja de Nathan (Nathan’s Sheep, Antonio M. Abad, 1929)

4. La vida secreta de Daniel Espena (The Secret Life of Daniel Espena, Antonio M. Abad, 1960) –
probably the last novel in Spanish

Legacies: Spanish Colonial Period

1. Didacticism

2. Romanticism

3. Social realism