ORAL LORE FROM PRE-COLONIAL TIMES —1564

LAS ISLAS FILIPINAS

BEGINNING OF THE CHRISTIAN ERA

GOLD TEXTILES

IRON

GLASS

HISPANIZATION OF THE PHILIPPINES

JOHN L. PHELAN WILLIAM HENRY SCOTT

“… Filipinos were wearing bark and woven cloth and gold, bronze, stone and shell hair ornaments, earnings, pectoral disks, bracelets, finger rings and imported beads, and mined and worked gold for jewelry and iron for tools and weapons; they filed, stained, blackened or chipped their teeth and decorated them with gold, and had been chewing betel nuts for 3,000 years; they owned tens of thousands of valuable Chinese porcelain jars and plates but cooked in a type of local pot with a history going back to 1,000 B.C.; they deformed skulls, removed them, preserved them, and buried their dead supine, prone or flexed in caves, graves, jars or coffins, and disinterred them, reburied and venerated their bones.”

BARK AND WOVEN CLOTH

CHINESE PORCELAIN JARS AND PLATES

BLACKENED TEETH AND BETEL NUTS

Through these studies, much can be reliably inferred about pre-colonial Philippine Literature from an analysis of collected oral lore of Filipinos whose ancestors were able to preserve their indigenous culture by living beyond the reach of Spanish colonial administrators and the culture of sixteenth-century Europe.

“NATIVES,” “ETHNIC MINORITIES”, “TRIBAL FILIPINO”

FOLK SONGS

PamulinawemPamulinawen

usok indengam manToy umas-asug

Agrayod'ta sadyam.Panunotem man

Inka PagintutulnganToy agayat, agukkoy dita sadiam.

Paruparong Bukid

Paruparong bukid na lilipad-lipadSa gitna ng daan papaga-pagaspas

Isang bara ang tapisIsang dangkal ang manggas

Ang sayang de kolaIsang piyesa ang sayad

May payneta pa siya — uy!May suklay pa man din — uy!

Nagwas de-ohetes ang palalabasinHaharap sa altar at mananalamin

At saka lalakad nang pakendeng-kendeng. 

Leron, Leron Sinta

Leron, Leron, sinta Buko ng papaya Dala dala'y buslo Sisidlan ng sinta

Pagdating sa dulo'y Nabali ang sanga, Kapos kapalaran Humanap ng iba.

Halika na Neneng, tayo'y manampalokDalhin mo ang buslo, sisidlan ng hinog

Pagdating sa dulo'y uunda-undayogKumapit ka Neneng, baka ka mahulog.

Halika na Neneng at tayo'y magsimbaAt iyong isuot ang baro mo't saya

Ang baro mo't sayang pagkaganda-gandaKay ganda ng kulay -- berde, puti, pula.

Ako'y ibigin mo, lalaking matapangAng baril ko'y pito, ang sundang ko'y siyam

Ang lalakarin ko'y parte ng dinulangIsang pinggang pansit ang aking kalaban.

As literary woks created in the setting of society where the resources for economic subsistence—land, water and forest—were communally owned, the oral literature of the pre-colonial Filipinos bore the marks of the community.

At this phase of literary development, any member of the community was a potential poet, singer, or story-teller as long as he knew the language and had been attentive to the conventions of the forms.

CONVENTIONS OF THE VARIOUS ORAL LITERARY FORMS

• Formulaic repetitions• Stereotyping of characters• Regular rhythmic• Musical devices

OWNERSHIP OF LITERARY COMPOSITION

Not emphasized in the process of oral transmission

Conceivable Communal authorship

NATIVE SYLLABARY

3 vowel (a, e-i, u-o) and 14 consonants (b, d,g, h, k, l, m, n, ng, p, s, t, w, and y)

No way of indicating the consonantal ending words

Disuse of Syllabary•Information about pre-colonial culture was LOST.•Fewer Filipinos kept the record of their oral lore•Fewer and fewer can decipher•Destroyed by the missionaries

2 WAYS BY WHICH THE UNIQUENESS OF INDIGENOUS CULTURE SURVIVED THE COLONIZATION

1. By resistance to colonial rule Maranaws, Maguindanaws and the

Taosug of Mindanao, Igorots, Ifugaos, Bontocs and Kalingas of the Mountain Province

2. By virtue of isolation from centers of colonial power Tagbanwas, Tagabilis, Mangyans,

Bagobos, Manuvus, Bilaan, Bukidnons and Isnegs

RIDDLES AND PROVERBS

•simplest forms of oral literature•Started early in the 17th century

Ambahan-is the traditional poetry of the

Hanunuo Mangyans of Oriental Mindoro.

-The syllabic script and the ambahan poetry have complemented each other, contributing to their continued existence today.

AMBAHAN

-It is usually written on bamboo in the Surat Mangyan, a centuries-old pre-Spanish script.

TANAGA

The Tanaga is a type of Filipino poem, consisting of four lines with seven syllables each with the same rhyme at the end of each line.

"Katitibay ka TulosSakaling datnang agos!Ako'y mumunting lumotsa iyo'y pupulupot."

PROSE NARRATIVES IN PREHISTORIC PHILIPPINES

Myths Hero tales Fables Legends

DRAMA

Philippine theater-Mimetic dances imitating natural cycles and

activities

• Ch’along -is part of a wedding rite, involving the propiatiation of evil spirits who might bring harm upon the couple.

RIDDLES

Lucy had it first Ethel had it last Mary Lungel had it twice until she married Peter Stupid and never had it again. What is it?

Answer: L The queen tilt her head but the crown

did not fall Answer: Guava

RIDDLES

Five coconut trees, one stands out. Answer: Fingers A deep well that is full of chisels. Answer: Mouth What can travel around the world while staying in

a corner? Answer: Stamp What kind of tree can you carry in your hand? Answer: Palm How many of each species did Moses take on the

ark with him? Answer: None, Moses wasn't on the ark Noah was.

PROVERBS

"The pen is mightier than the sword.“Trying to convince people with ideas and words is more effective than trying to force people to do what you want

"Necessity is the mother of invention."When you're really in need, you think of creative solutions to your problems.

"The darkest hour is just before the dawn."There is hope, even in the worst of

circumstances.

FOLK EPICS

E. ARSENIO MANUEL

he surveyed “ethnoepics” (folk epics) 1962: he was able to describe a total of

19 epics found in the Philippines: 13: PAGAN Filipinos 2: CHRISTIAN Filipinos 4: MUSLIM Filipinos

COMMON FEATURES OF FOLK EPICS: (ACCD. TO MANUEL) Narratives of sustained length Based on oral tradition Revolving around supernatural events

or heroic deeds In the form of verse (chanted or sung) With a certain seriousness of purpose

LAM-ANG

1889: first recorded Christian Ilokos

INES KANNOYAN

RARANG

TUWAANG

1956: discovered Pagan epic among Manuvus of Central

Mindanao “The Maiden of the Buhong Sky” “Tuwaang Attends a Wedding” (1957)

Tuwaang

The Maiden

Giant (Pangumanon)

HINILAWOD

Recorded only recently Pagan epic: Sulod of Panay Longest epic so far recorded in the

Philippines Noted for it’s richly inventive narration

and magnifence of it’s fantasy. Composed of 2 parts:

HINILAWOD

1ST PART: 2ND PART:

Labaw Denggan Aso Mangga Buyung Buranogan

Buyung Humadapnon Buyung Dumalapdap

Humadapnon Nagmalitung Yawa

BANTUGAN

Maranaw epic Central character (the prince) is the

most popular hero of the Muslim epic song

A prince who excels not only as a valiant warrior but also a fabulous lover

More than 15 songs are said to detail his exploits

Thank you!!!