PRE COLONIAL LITERATURE PERIOD

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. “What fine, rich guavas you must have had! They have made 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 headbasket 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.