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Philippine literature is the body of works, both oral and written, that Filipinos,
whether native, naturalized, or foreign born, have created about the experience of
people living in or relating to Philippine society. It is composed or written in any
of the Philippine languages, in Spanish and in English, and in Chinese as well.
Philippine literature may be produced in the capital city of Manila and in the
different urban centers and rural outposts, even in foreign lands where descendants
of Filipino migrants use English or any of the languages of the Philippines to
create works that tell about their lives and aspirations. The forms used by
Filipino authors may be indigenous or borrowed from other cultures, and these
may range from popular pieces addressed to mass audiences to highly
sophisticated works intended for the intellectual elite.
Having gone through two colonial regimes, the Philippines has manifested the
cultural influences of the Spanish and American colonial powers in its literary
production. Works may be grouped according to the dominant tradition or
traditions operative in them. The first grouping belongs to the ethnic tradition,
which 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. The second grouping consists of works that show
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. A third grouping comprises works belonging to the
American colonial tradition. Literary production under this tradition shows the
impact of American colonial control, which facilitated through the educational
system the entry into Philippine literature of forms and themes from the
literatures of England and the United States.
In contemporary Philippine writing, one may observe a merging of these three
traditions as these are employed by literary artists expressing their response to
historical and sociocultural forces that have shaped Philippine society since the
Pacific War.
The 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: folk speech, folk songs, and
folk narratives.
The most amusing form of folk speech is the riddle, called tigmo in Cebuano,
bugtong in Tagalog and in Pampango,
burburtia in Ilocano,
paktakon in Ilongo,
and patototdon in Bicol. A puzzle in which an object to be guessed is described in
terms of another unrelated object, the riddle relies on
talinghaga or metaphor.
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.
This
bugtong ingeniously describes, in an apt personification, the motion of feet:
Pampango:
Adua lang mikaluguran
Tagalan nong tagalan
Two friends
In an endless chase.
Some riddles verge on the obscene, referring to sex-related images to describe what
are actually “innocent” objects.
Gaddang:
Gongonan nu usin y amam
Maggirawa pay sila y inam. (Campana)
If you pu1l your daddy’s penis.
Your mommy’s vagina, too, screams. (Bell)
But the opposite process also occurs. Everyday objects are used to suggest sex or
the genitals, as in this riddle, (Alburo et al 1988:13):
Ibanag:
Kasikallan y levu na
Bawang y tanggna na. (Fuki)
It’s surrounding is a forest,
It’s center is mud. (Vulva)
While riddles enrich the imagination and sharpen the senses, proverbs and aphorisms
instill values and teach lessons. Called aramiga or sasabihan among the Bicol,
panultihon or pagya among the Cebuano, humbaton or hurobaton among the Ilongo,
pagsasao among the Ilocano, kasebian among the Pampango, and salawikain or
kasabihan among the Tagalog, proverbs are short, pithy 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 cherished
ideal.
The idea, strength in unity, is expressed through the figure of the abaca, a
commodity in the Tagalog area.
Tagalog:
Gaano man ang tibay ng piling abaka
Ay wala ring lakas kapag nag-iisa.
However sturdy the abaca,
It is weak when it is alone.
An egg is used to symbolize virginity.
Mandaya:
Yang ataog aw madugdug Di da mamauli.
An egg once broken Will never be the same.
Perseverance is taught through nature imagery.
Bicol:
An gapo na matagas,sa tinuto-tuto nin tubig malalagas
The hardest stone is eroded by constant dripping of water.
Other proverbs are more direct in admonishing or in extolling virtues such as
gratitude, diligence, and restraint.
Pangasinan:
Say koli pakalmoay liket.
Say ngiras pakalmoay irap.
Industry is the sibling of prosperity;
Laziness is the sibling of starvation.
A rather extended form of wise saying is the Tagalog tanaga, a monorhyming
heptasyllabic quatrain, which expresses insights and lessons on living. It is,
however, more emotionally charged than the terse proverb, and thus has affinities
with the folk lyric. One example reflects on pain and the will:
Ang sugat ay kung tinanggap
di daramdamin ang antak
ang aayaw at di mayag
galos lamang magnanaknak.
Submission to wounding
makes the intensest pain bearable;
unwillingness
makes the merest scratch fester.
Among the Bukidnon, the basahanan are extended didactic sayings; among the
people of Panay, the daraida and the daragilon. These verse forms often employ
a central metaphor to convey their thesis.
The appeal to the intellect of the various kinds of folk speech is matched by the
appeal to the emotions of folk songs. Among the different forms of folk lyrics are
lullabyes, love songs, drinking songs, religious songs, and death songs.
Lullabyes are sung to put children to sleep. Called oyayi by the Tagalog, ili-ili by
the Ilongo, duayya by the Ilocano, tumaila by the Pampango, baliwayway by the
Isinay and Ilongot, and andang by the Aeta, lullabyes are often repetitive and
sonorous. Many lullabyes are didactic; some are plaintive, expressing the
hardships of life; a few express hope in the future. In this lullabye, the parent
hopes that the child becomes a good adult:
Ilocano:
Maturog, duduayya
Maturog kad tay bunga,
Tay lalaki nga napigsa
Ta inton dumakkel tay bunga,
Isunto aya tay mammati
Tay amon a ibaga mi.
Go to sleep, dear little one
Will my child please sleep
This strong boy
So when the child grows big
He will obey
Everything that we say.
Many children’s songs may be sung and danced to. Sometimes senseless, always
playful and light, they reflect the child’s carefree world. Called ida-ida a rata in
Maguindanao, tulang pambata in Tagalog, cansiones para abbing by the Ibanag,
and langan bata bata by the Tausug, these are often sung as accompaninent to
children’s games. A popular children’s song is “Pen pen de sarapen,” which is
sung while the child’s fingers are spread and counted.
Romantic love is a frequent concern of many a folk lyric. The bulk of love lyrics,
however, was suppressed or sanitized by the missionaries. Some verse forms are
sad lyrics about unrequited love, such as the panawagon and balitao. But this
laji, a generic term of the Ivatan for lyric, celebrates the lovers’ power to
demolish—or at least their will to demolish—whatever barrier divides them:
Nangayan mo kakuyab? Pinangalichavus
ko na imo su dumibu a panahehsan ko nimo,
am dichu mo a dali. Madali mo yaken
du chinulung da yaken da ama kani luyna koy’
du vitas nu dahurapen, as sineseng da yaken
mu yunut nu maunged a niuy, as valivaliwangen
aku ava nu dima, as valivaliwangen
aku nu addaw ko nimoy’mo nadinchad ko a lipus.
Where did you go yesterday? 1 have asked all
the passersby about you,
but in vain. How could you find me?
I was hidden by my father and my mother
in the hollow of a bamboo; they stopped it
with the husk of a young coconut;
and I may not be opened
with the hands, but I may be opened
by love for you, my beloved.
Courtship songs are many in the ethnic literatures. The Aeta have the aliri; the
Tagalog have the diona; the Cebuano and other groups have the harana or
serenade. Many of them celebrate the beloved’s beauty while expressing the
lover’s disconsolation without her.
The Mangyan ambahan, a poem with seven syllables per line, the ending syllables
following a rhyme scheme, frequently deals with love, though not always romantic
love, as some are about parental love and friendship. Many of the more popular
ambahan, however, are exchanges between lovers:
Tunda pagpangumrawan
No sa yangko itungpan
Payi mamabunlagan
No bunlag di tukawan
No bunlag bay kar-ayan
Una way si suyungan
Una way si bansayan
Padi yag pangambitan.
My boy, busy courting me,
frankly, I will tell you then;
I don’t want to give you up.
As long as you are with me,
It will only be through death!
And even my mother dear
or my father, let them try,
all their prayers would not help!
The ambahan is also used as a form of social entertainment and as a tool for teaching
the young. Other forms of love lyrics are the Mandaya and Maranao bayok, the Ibanag
pinatalatto cu ta futu cao (literally, “pounding in my heart”), the Manobo and
Bukidnon mandata, the Bilaan ye dayon, and the Ilocano badeng.
While love lyrics form or strengthen bonds between lovers, work songs foster
cohesiveness within the community. They depict the different forms of livelihood
in the country—farming, fishing, embroidery, salt making, pottery, hunting,
rowing, woodcutting. They are often sung to synchronize the movements of
workers. The Ivatan kalusan is sung while a group is rowing at sea or is clearing a
farm. The Tagalog soliranin is another rowing song. The Kalinga mambayu is a
rice-pounding song. The Manobo manganinay is a bee-hunting song. This
mannamili or pot-making song among the Ilocano is spiced with double entendre:
Boy: Ading ko, maluksawak
Ta nabuong tay banga.
Girl: Maisublim pay ita
tay patguek nga banga?
No di mo tinippay saan a nabuong.
Agalwad ka ta ipulong ka ken nanang.
Boy: Mano, ading, ti bayad na
ay damili nga banga?
Nangina ken nalaka, itured ko latta.
Girl: Nalaka, manong, no sika
la ket gapuna.
Boy: Nalaing, ading,
Dios, unay ti agngina.
Boy: I broke your pot my ading,
I am sorry.
Girl: Do you think you can still
put back my precious pot ?
If you had not tipped it,
it would not have broken.
You’ll see, I’ll tell mother what you’ve done.
Boy: How much ading, is this well-made pot?
I will do all I can to pay for it, whether dear or cheap.
Girl: For you manong, I’ll give it cheap.
Boy: Good. Thank you very much.
Drinking songs are sung during carousals. Often brief, always merry, almost
hedonistic, many of them originated in the Bicol area, where they are called tigsik.
In Cebuano and Waray, they are called tagay. In the tagay, everyone drinks from
the same cup and partakes of the hors d’oeuvre.
Waray:
Igduholduhol ngan palakta na it nga tagay
Ayaw pagatrasar kay mabutlaw na ug mauhaw
Ayaw palalapos didimdim hahadki namanla anay
Ayaw man pagibigla, ayaw man pagbigla
bangin ka lumnunay
Sugod man it aton sumsuman sahid gud
mamorot kay basi pa dugngan
Kanugon hadton inagonon konkabuwasan
pa di na daw makakaon.
Pass now that glass of tuba,
For we are tired and thirsty.
Don’t let it pass without taking a sip;
Don’t take too big a gulp because you might
drown.
Everyone eat, for the fish will be wasted
If we do not consume it.
There are lyrics for more solemn affairs, such as religious rites and deaths. They
have a prayer of thanksgiving called ambaamba and an exorcism chant called
bugyaw. The Kalinga have entreaties called tubag; the Aeta, magablon. A good
harvest is requested in the dag-unan; and blessings are asked for in the Cebuano
harito:
Maluoy dili ninyo kuhaan
Kining akong ginsakpan
Labing maayo nga inyong dungagan
Sama niining kadaghanan.
Pity, do not reduce
These my members
Better if you will add
Like these multitudes.
Deaths occasion the singing of dirges or lamentations, in which the deeds of the
dead are recounted. Dirges are called dung-aw among the Ilocano, kanogon among
the Cebuano, annako among the Bontoc, and ibi among the Kalinga.
Folk narratives include folk tales and epics. Folk tales, generally called kuwentong
bayan among the Tagalog, are of different kinds: myths, legends, fables, and
trickster tales. Myths, often regarded as sacred, explain the origin and the goal of
the cosmos. They usually involve divinities and spirits who interact with
humans. From among the pantheon of gods and goddesses, one is regarded as
supreme—called Bathala among the Tagalog, Mangetchay among the Pampango,
Gugurang among the Bicol, Kabunian among the Bontoc, and Laon among the
Visaya. The gods live in the skyworld, sometimes depicted as having several
layers.
Creation myths are numerous. According to one version, the world was the
product of a conflict between the sky and the sea. A bird, tired of flying and
having nowhere to land, provoked the sky and the sea to fight. The sky threw
rocks and stones at the sea, which eventually formed islands. The tired bird
finally found a place to rest. One version of the myth about the origin of people
also has a bird responsible. It pecked a bamboo open, and from it rose the first
man and woman. The Ilongot believe that the world was populated when the first
couple had children who married one another.
There are myths to explain the greed and violence of the crocodile, the sweet taste
of lanzones, the many “eyes” of the pineapple, and the inestimable height of the
heavens. Other myths are associated with geographical features like waterfalls,
volcanoes, and mountains, or with flora and fauna, like the dama de noche and the
shark.
Legends are believed to be about more recent events and, like myths, they explain
the origin of things. They are also used to teach lessons in life. Legends are called
alamat in Tagalog,
osipon in Bicol,
sarita in Ilocano,
istorya in Pangasinan,
gintunan in Kinaray-a and Ilongo. Many supernatural beings figure in legends,
such as the aswang (witch), the engkanto (fairy), and the sirena (mermaid). A
popular engkantada (fairy/enchantress) is Mariang Makiling. Beautiful and
generous, she is said to dwell in Mount Makiling, assisting the people and
rewarding the good folk. But she now hides herself from humans, after being
betrayed by the man she loved.
Fables are short tales, usually involving animals, which teach a moral lesson.
Usually, a comparison between two animals is made to highlight the moral. In
“The Monkey and the Turtle,” for example, the slow-moving but quick-witted
turtle contrasts sharply with the lithe but dull-witted monkey. A similar fable,
though more grim, is “The Carabao and the Shell,” in which a carabao learns never
to judge anything by its size. The huge carabao challenges the little shell to a race.
Ever and again, the carabao calls out to his opponent, unaware, however, that he is
responded to by a different shell lying along the way. Thinking that the shell is
quicker than he is, the carabao runs faster, only to die of exhaustion.
The trickster tale recounts the adventures of a clever hero who outwits authority
figures, usually coming from the upper classes. Some of the most celebrated
tricksters are Pilandok of the Maranao, Juan Pusong of the Visaya, and Juan
Tamad of the Tagalog. An example of a trickster tale is “Pusong and the Leaping
Frog.” When Pusong realizes that he has prepared too much food for himself, he
buried seven pots of chicken and seven pots of pork in the beach, and toys with a
frog. A boat is anchored, and the curious captain asks Pusong about the frog. He
tells the captain that the frog is magical; wherever it lands is where food is. When
the captain and his crew begin to dig by the shore where the frog lept, they find
Pusong’s buried food. Believing that the frog is magical, the captain exchanges his
cargo for it.
Less humorous, loftier, and much lengthier than the folk tales are the epics. Called
guman in Subanon,
darangen in Maranao,
hudhud in Ifugao, and
ulahingan in
Manobo, they revolve around supernatural events or heroic deeds, and they
embody or validate the beliefs, customs, and ideals of a community. Epics are
either sung or chanted during communal affairs such as harvest, weddings, or
funerals, by bards chosen for their wisdom or age. Sometimes, the performance of
an epic is accompanied by musical instruments and dancing.
A popular Philippine epic is the Ilocano Lam-ang. The hero Lam-ang dreams that
his father is being killed by the Igorot, the traditional enemies of the Ilocano, and
awakes to slaughter a group of Igorot. He returns to his hometown, where the