21st Century Literature in Various Regions “What fine, rich guavas you must have had!
you must have had! They have made
PHILIPPINE LITERATURE DURING THE
PRECOLONIAL PERIOD
Objective
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to identify
the characteristics of precolonial literature of the
Philippines.
What texts are considered precolonial literature?
The precolonial literature includes all literature
produced before the Spanish colonization like chants,
proverbs, songs, and folk narratives. These were all
passed down from generation to generation by word of
mouth.
Philippine folk narratives are varied and distinct. They
depict the people’s livelihood, customs, and traditions.
1. Folktale – This is a characteristically
anonymous, timeless, and placeless tale
circulated orally among a people.
2. Fable – This features animal characters or
inanimate objects that behave like people.
3. Legend – This is presented as history but is
unlikely to be true.
4. Myth – This is told to explain a belief, a
practice, or a natural phenomenon.
5. Epic – This narrative poem celebrates the
adventures and achievements of a hero.
Folktales
 Folktales about Juan are very popular. Some
emphasize certain virtues, and some serve as
warning about behavior. Also, some are for the
reader’s amusement.
Example 1:
Juan Gathers Guavas (A Tagalog Folktale)
One day several neighbors came to Juan’s home to visit. His
father wanted to give the guests something to eat, so he sent
Juan to get some ripe guavas for them.
Full of mischief, Juan decided to play a joke on his father’s
guests. He went to get the guavas and ate all of them while
thinking of a good joke. Then he saw a wasp’s nest hung
nearby. With some difficulty he managed to take it down and
put it into a tight basket. He hastened home and gave the
basket to his father. Quickly he left the room where the guests
were and closed the door and fastened it.
As soon as Juan’s father opened the basket, the wasps flew
over the room. With the door locked, the people fought to get
out of the windows. After a while Juan opened the door. When
he saw the swollen faces of the people, he cried.
you all so fat!”
Example 2:
Juan Pusong and His Father’s Cows (A Visayan Folktale)
One day Juan Pusong's father put his cows out to pasture.
Juan slipped away from home and took the cows into the
forest and tied them there. When his father found out that the
cows were missing, he looked around for them. While looking,
he ran into his son.
“Where did you come from?” he asked.
“I just came from school, Father. How about you, where are
you going?”
“I am looking for our cows.”
“You don’t say!" said Juan.
By that time, everybody knew about Juan’s power as a seer.
So, he took a little book from his pocket and looked into it. He
said, “Our cows are tied together in the forest.” So, his father
went to the forest and found the cows.
Later on, people would discover that Juan could not read even
his own name. Consequently, his father beat him for the trick
he had played on him.
Fable
 The monkey is a common animal character in
Philippine fables. It is often depicted as a
cunning animal.
Example:
The Monkey and the Crocodile (A Tagalog Fable)
One day, a monkey saw a tall macopa tree laden with ripe
fruits, which stood by a wide river. It was hungry, so it
climbed the tree and ate all of the fruits. When it climbed
down, it could find no means by which to cross the river. Then
it saw a young crocodile who had just woken up from its
siesta. It said to the crocodile in a friendly way, “My dear
crocodile, will you do me a favor?”
The crocodile was greatly surprised by the monkey’s amicable
salutation. So, it answered humbly, “Oh, yes! If there is
anything I can do for you, I shall be glad to do it.” The monkey
then told the crocodile that it wanted to get to the other side of
the river. Then the crocodile said, “I’ll take you there with all
my heart. Just sit on my back, and we’ll go at once.”
The monkey sat firmly on the crocodile’s back, and they began
to move. In a short while they reached the middle of the
stream. Then the crocodile began to laugh aloud. “You foolish
monkey!” it said, “I’ll eat your liver and kidneys, for I’m very
hungry.” The monkey became nervous. Trying to conceal its
anxiety, it said, “I’m very glad that you mentioned the matter.
I thought myself that you might be hungry, so I have prepared
my liver and kidneys for your dinner. Unfortunately, in our
haste to depart, I left them hanging on the macopa tree. Let us
return, and I’ll get them for you.”
Convinced that the monkey was telling the truth, the crocodile
turned around and swam back to the direction of the macopa
tree. When they got near the riverbank, the monkey nimbly
jumped up onto the land and scampered up the tree. The
crocodile came to realize what happened and said, “I am a
fool.”
Legend
 There are different Filipino legends of the great
flood. The story of Bukidnon, for instance, tells
that a huge crab caused the water to rise by
going into the sea. On the other hand, the Igorot
story tells that the sons of Lumawig the Great
Spirit caused the flood.
Example 1:
The Flood Story (A Legend of Bukidnon)
A long time ago there was a very big crab which
crawled into the sea. When it went in, it crowded the
water out so that it ran all over the earth and covered
all the land.
Now about one moon before the flood happened, a wise
man had told the people that they must build a large
raft. They did as he commanded and cut many large
trees until they had enough to make three layers. These
they bound tightly together; when it was done, they
fastened the raft with a long rattan cord to a big pole in
the earth.
Soon after the raft was done, the flood came. White
water poured out of the hills, and the sea rose and
covered even the highest mountains. The people and
animals on the raft were safe, but all the others
drowned.
Soon the waters went down, and the raft was again on
the ground. It was near their old home, for the rattan
cord had held.
The people on the raft together with the animals were
the only ones left on the whole earth.
Example 2:
The Flood Story (A Legend of the Igorot)
Once upon a time, the world was flat, and there were no
mountains. There lived two sons of Lumawig, the Great Spirit.
The brothers were fond of hunting; since no mountains had
formed, there was no good place to catch wild pig and deer.
The older brother said, “Let us cause water to flow over all the
world and cover it, and then mountains will rise up.”
So, the brothers caused water to flow over all the earth. When
it was covered, they took the head-basket of the town and set
it for a trap. They were very much pleased when they went to
look at their trap, for they had caught not only many wild
pigs and deer but also many people.
Lumawig looked down from his place in the sky and saw that
his sons had flooded the earth. However, there was just one
spot which was not covered. All the people in the world had
been drowned except a brother and a sister who lived in Pokis.
Then Lumawig descended, and he called to the boy and girl,
saying, “Oh, you are still alive.”
“Yes,” answered the boy, “we are still alive, but we are very
cold.”
So, Lumawig commanded his dog and deer to get fire for the
boy and girl. The dog and the deer swam quickly away.
Lumawig waited a long time, but the dog and the deer did not
return. All the time the boy and girl were growing colder.
Finally, Lumawig himself went after the dog and the deer.
When he reached them, he said, “Why are you so long in
bringing the fire to Pokis? Get ready and come quickly while I
watch you, for the boy and girl are very cold.”
Then the dog and the deer took the fire and started to swim
through the flood. When they had gone only a little way, the
fire was put out.
Lumawig commanded the dog and the deer to get more fire,
and they did so. However, they swam only a little way again
when that of the deer went out. That of the dog would have
been extinguished also had not Lumawig gone quickly to him
and taken it.
As soon as Lumawig reached Pokis, he built a big fire which
warmed the brother and sister. The water evaporated so that
the world was as it was before, except that now there were
mountains. The brother and sister married and had children,
and thus there came to be many people on the earth.
Myth
 There are Philippine versions of the creation
myth. The Igorot’s story tells that Lumawig the
Great Spirit created people. On the other hand,
the Tagalog story tells that the first man and
woman came from a bamboo.
Example 1:
The Creation (An Igorot Myth)
In the beginning, there were no people on the earth. Lumawig,
the Great Spirit, came down from the sky and cut many reeds.
He divided the reeds into pairs which he placed in different
parts of the world, and then he said to them, “You must
speak.” Immediately the reeds became people, and in each
place was a man and a woman who could talk. However, the
language of each couple differed from that of the others.
Then Lumawig commanded each man and woman to marry,
which they did. By and by there were many children, all
speaking the same language as their parents. The children
married and had many children of their own. In this way,
there came to be many people on the earth.
Now Lumawig saw that there were several things which the
people on the earth needed to use, so he set to work to supply
them. He created salt and told the inhabitants of one place to
boil it down and sell it to their neighbors. However, the people
could not understand the directions. The next time he visited
them, they had not touched the salt. So, he took the salt away
from them and gave it to the people of a place called Mayinit.
The people of Mayinit did as Lumawig directed. Because of
their obedience, he told them that they should always be
owners of the salt and that the other peoples must buy of
them.
Then Lumawig went to the people of Bontoc and told them to
get clay and make pots. They got the clay, but they did not
understand the molding; the jars were not well shaped.
Because of their failure, Lumawig told them that they would
always have to buy their jars, and he removed the pottery to
Samoki.
Lumawig told the people of Samoki what to do, and they did
just as he said. Their jars were well shaped and beautiful.
Then Lumawig saw that they were fit owners of the pottery,
and he told them that they should always make many jars to
sell.
In this way, Lumawig taught the people and brought to them
all the things which they now have.
Example 2:
The Creation (A Tagalog Myth)
When the world first began there was no land. There were
only the sea and the sky, and between them was a kite. One
day the bird which had nowhere to light grew tired of flying
about, so she stirred up the sea until it threw its waters
against the sky. The sky, in order to restrain the sea, showered
upon it many islands until it could no longer rise, but ran back
and forth. Then the sky ordered the kite to alight on one of the
islands to build its nest, and to leave the sea and the sky in
peace.
Now at this time the land breeze and the sea breeze were
married, and they had a bamboo as their child. One day when
the bamboo was floating about on the water, it struck the feet
of the kite which was on the beach. The bird, angry that
anything should strike it, pecked at the bamboo. Out of one
section came a man and from the other a woman.
The earthquake called on all the birds and fish to see what
should be done with the man and the woman, and it was
decided that they should marry. Many children were born to
the couple, and from them came all the different races of
people.
After a while the parents grew very tired of having so many
idle and useless children around. They wished to be rid of
them, but they knew of no place to send them to. Time went
on, and the children became so numerous that the parents
enjoyed no peace. One day, in desperation, the father seized a
stick and began beating them on all sides.
The beating frightened the children so much that they fled in
different directions. Some seek hidden rooms in the house.
Some concealed themselves in the walls. Some ran outside,
while others hid in the fireplace. Several fled to the sea.
Now it happened that those who went into the hidden rooms
of the house later became the chiefs of the islands; and those
who concealed themselves in the walls became slaves. Those
who ran outside were free men; and those who hid in the
fireplace became negroes; while those who fled to the sea were
gone many years, and when their children came back they
were the white people.
Epic
 The Philippine epics are sung or chanted in
episodes. They feature supernatural characters
and reflect the society where they originated.
Also, there are different versions of a story.
Examples:
Biag ni Lam-ang
This Ilocano epic tells the adventures of Lam-ang, a
man with supernatural powers. He goes to war at nine-
months-old and seeks the killers of his father. He
embarks on a quest with his animal friends and meets
his future wife, Innes Kanoyan. He is swallowed by a
fish and resurrected from death by his animal friends.
Hinilawod
This epic is of the Sulod, a group of people living in the
mountains of central Panay. It tells the story of three
very strong men, namely, Labaw Donggon,
Humadapnon, and Dumalapdap. They are the sons of
Datu Paubari, the ruler of Halawod, and the goddess
Alunsina. The exploits of each son concerns beautiful
women that he wants to have as a wife.
Darangan
This Maranao epic depicts the adventures of a brave
warrior named Bantugan. He owns a magical sword
protected by a spirit. After a battle, he rests and
accidentally falls into the water. A crocodile finds him
and brings him to the enemies. He fights, regains his
strength, and wins the war.
SUMMARY
The precolonial literature of the Philippines includes all
literature produced before the Spanish colonization. It
includes chants, proverbs, songs, spells, and different
folk narratives like folk tales, fables, legends, myths, and
epics that were all passed down from generation to
generation through the word of mouth.