Philippine Literature during

Pre-colonial Period
PRE-COLONIAL PERIOD (before the
arrival of Spaniards)

 Certain events in the Philippines during pre-

colonial period started to be recorded in the year
1521. Our rich past was reflected in "folk
speeches, folk songs, folk narratives and
indigenous rituals and mimetic dances that
affirm our ties with our Southeast Asian
neighbors" (Godinez-Ortega, n.d)
 In terms of government, Filipinos were ruled by chieftains of
different barangay. The Malacañang Palace considered this as more
on "alliance networking rather than territorial" (malacanang.gov.ph).
There was no formal education. Learning was merely through
imitation and practice.
In general, the following were commonly practiced:
✔ Early Filipinos heavily believed on spirits and supernatural
entities (animism).
✔ Social ranking and classes were practiced.
 ✔ Economic and political dimensions involved trading, marriage,
feasting, and alliance
 Dimensions of Pre-colonial Literature

 ✔ Philippine literature during the pre-colonial era is mostly based on oral traditions passed
down from generation to generation.
 ✔ The language used pertains to daily life.
 ✔ Common forms of oral literature are riddles, proverbs, and songs to express a thought or
emotion.
 ✔ Epic was considered as the most exciting poetic and narrative form of literature in which the
ASEAN-sponsored study of Filipino asserted that there are more than 100 epics discovered
where majority came from Palawan (as cited by Quindoza-Santiago, n.d.).
✔ Majority of proverbs, epigrams, and proverbs collected by
researchers come from Tagalog, Cebuano, and Ilocano dialects.
✔ The ancient pre-Spanish form of writing called Baybayin which
was often cited in the work of Pedro Chirino during the 1500s, was
later on approved as the National Writing System of the Philippines
through House Bill No. 1022.
✔ The experiences of the people during pre-colonial period such as food
hunting, work at home, caring for the children, and creatures or objects of
nature served as the common subject in oral literature.
✔ Anyone who knew the language and the convention and forms could be a
poet, singer, or storyteller.
✔ All important events such as rites and ceremonies reflect religious
observance where people commonly recite, sing, or utter a chant.
 Types of Pre-colonial Literature

✔ Folk Tales. These are stories which can be characterized as

anonymous, timeless, and placeless tales circulated orally among a
group of people.
✔ Legends. These are a form of prose which deal with the origin
of a thing, location or name.
✔ Myths. Unlike legends where the characters
have realistic human qualities, the characters here
usually have supernatural powers where the main
purpose is to provide explanation about the
existence of something or someone.
 Epics.These pertain to a type of a long narrative poem mainly
focusing on the heroic achievements and deeds of the main
character.
✔ Folk Songs. These can be considered as the oldest forms of
Philippine literature that mirror the culture which expresses hopes,
aspirations, lifestyles, and emotions of early Filipinos. Some
examples are kundiman, kumintang, oyayi or hele and some
drinking songs.
✔ Other Forms. Some examples are proverbs (salawikain),
riddles (bugtong), chant (bulong), maxims or those with
rhyming couplets of 5, 6, or 8 syllables, sayings (kasabihan),
and idiom (sawikain). Tanaga is another favorite poem
consisting of four rhyming lines of 7 syllables each.
 LOOKING BACK!

 Theterm literature is derived from the Latin word "littera"

which means "a letter of the alphabet".
 According to the website Britannica, literature is traditionally
defined as body of written works associated to imaginative and
creative works of poetry and prose and can be classified according
to variety of systems such as language, national origin, historical
period, genre and subject matter.
Literature can either be in oral or written form. The oral
literature handed down from one generation to another, then
later on transformed into written form. The products of
written literature are called literary text. A text can be
considered literary if it has the elements of psychological
characterization and chronology.
 characteristics of literary text
(1) it narrates a story;
(2) it expresses feelings, thoughts, and ideas which can
either be based from the imagination or real life
experiences of the author or other people; and
(3) it delivers significant information and crosses
boundaries of time, places, cultures and languages.
 Literary structure refers to the organizational method used in
literature in which the most common type is the narrative. Parts
of the narrative structure (or plot) are the exposition, rising
action, climax, falling action, and resolution (denouement).
Two Major Forms of Literature

 1. Poetry. This literary type is usually written in lines and

is characterized by having the element of rhythm, sound,
imagery, and form. Its main purpose is to express
feelings, thoughts, and ideas. It can be divided into three
types: narrative, dramatic, and lyrical poetry.
 a.Narrative Poetry. This poetry tells a story and has the elements of a
narrative such as characters, setting, conflict, etc.
 b.Dramatic Poetry. This is an emotionally appealing drama written in verse
that tells a story and is intended to be recited or sung in front of the audience
by a character speaking in poetry.
 c.Lyric Poetry. It is the most common type of poetry that focuses on
expressing feelings rather than telling a story.
 Prose.In contrast to poetry, this literary piece
applies a natural flow of speech and grammatical
structures which are mainly consisting of
complete sentences arranged logically and
sequentially in a paragraph form
 a. Fiction. This serves as a product of the writer's wild imagination and
creative thinking where the characters react to the conflict and various issues
central to the main idea of a literary work. Its three types are: short story,
novel, and novella. The main genres are crime, fantasy, romance, science
fiction, western, inspirational, historical fiction and horror. b. Non-fiction.
These are stories inspired by real events where the writers aim to present,
interpret, or describe experiences based on facts. The judgments, opinions,
and commentaries of the writers may be presented in the form of essays,
journals, diaries, feature articles, editorials, and the like.
 Genre refers to the forms of literature.
 Literaryelements refer “to particular identifiable characteristics
of a whole text.
 The common elements of a story are setting, character, conflict, theme, point of
view, POETRY NARRATIVE Epic Ballad Metrical Tales DRAMATIC Dramatic
Monologu e Soliloquy LYRIC Haiku Ode Elegy Sonnet Song PROSE FICTION
Short Story Novel Play Legend Fable NON-FICTION Biography/ Autobiography
Narrative Essay Memoir Diaries and Journal 8 CO_Q1_21st Century Lit SHS_
Module 1 and plot. Plot also has its own elements such as exposition, rising
action, climax, falling action, and resolution or denouement /ˌdeɪˈnuːmɒ̃ /. In
poetry, there are four essential elements: form, imagery, rhythm, and sound.
"Traditions" refers to the specific traits of literary
works that define a generation or period in history.
Historically speaking, Philippine literature can be
divided into three most important periods: pre-
colonial, colonial, and post-colonial.
 All literary works produced before the Spanish colonization such as
chants, proverbs, songs, and folk narratives are considered under pre-
colonial period which are mostly of oral traditions.
 This is not because early Filipinos did not have system of writing yet but
due to the unavailability of printing materials. Life was simple and so is
literature during this period.
 Our forefathers also valued words of wisdom for teaching values
as evidenced by numerous proverbs or salawikain
 Storytelling was used to explain phenomenon and to teach
lessons as well.
 bugtong or riddles was also a favorite past time and listening to
narratives of bravery, magic, and heroism in epics was a box office
hit.
 The focus of literature suddenly changed upon the arrival of Spaniards.
 Anemphasis on morality and religion was common in literary forms
such as Corrido, Pasyon, and Cenaculo.
 Theproduction of printed materials started but it was mostly of religious
purposes and themes. It was made in an attempt to instill traditional
Spanish ways and cultures among the native Filipinos.
 Literacy paved the way to develop sense of nationalism among
Filipinos during the latter part of Spanish colonization.
 Filipinos started to write about oppression, corruption, and other
social ills such as in the works of Dr. Jose P. Rizal entitled Noli
Me Tangere and its sequel El Filibusterismo.
The literary production during the American
Period was inspired by the developments in
education and culture. Knowledge and
information became accessible to all
Filipinos because of the free public
education.
During the apprenticeship period, the Filipino
writers imitated English and American
models.
All forms of literature were explored by
Filipino writers. During this period, short
stories were the most prevalent literary form.
 With the new knowledge of English language,
many writers started to gain recognition both
locally and internationally like Jose Garcia Villa
who earned the International title, “Poet of the
Century" as an example.
 Philippine Literature was interrupted in its development when we
were conquered by Japan between 1941-1945 since freedom of
expression was uncommon back then. Filipino writers in the
Philippines were forbidden to write anything against the
government and only those who were in exile had the privilege to
do so. As a result of banning the English language, short stories
written in the vernaculars flourished in the country.
The three most influential foreign invaders to the types of
literature produced during colonial periods are Spanish,
American, and Japanese wherein the common themes and
subject mostly tackle about oppression, religion, freedom,
or anything that reflects the experiences of Filipino people
under the colonizers.
Post-colonial is the period after the rebirth of freedom in
the Philippines up to the present. One of the most
unforgotten and controversial periods during this era is
having Martial Law during the Marcos regime. All of the
periods mentioned are essential towards understanding the
types of literature being produced in the Philippines.