Module 2 - THE LITERATURE OF THE PHILIPPINES

Module 2 – THE LITERATURE OF THE PHILIPPINES

Lesson 3: Luzon

Luzon was coined after the Tagalog

word kalusunan (which means northern part). It is the

country’s largest island with an area of 42,458 square

miles, and has the greatest population among the three

island groups (Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao). With its

huge area, it was subdivided into four major areas —

Northern Luzon, Central Luzon, Southern Luzon, and the

National Capital Region (NCR); and this island is presently

the country’s center of economic, social, cultural, and

financial development (Valdeavilla, 2018).

➢ In addition, according to Domingo Goan Landicho (a

most-awarded writer in the Philippines), Luzon Island

is considered as the birthplace of a rich tradition of

Philippine culture in language, politics, economy and

literature; and the most prominent ethno-linguistic

groups are Ilocano, Kapampangan, Bicolano, Tagalog

and Pangasinense.

Here are some of the literary forms, representative

texts and notable authors from the regions of Luzon:

I. NCR (National Capital Region) – Metro Manila, it is

made up of the following cities: Manila, Caloocan, Las

Piñas, Makati, Malabon, Mandaluyong, Marikina,

Muntinlupa, Navotas, Quezon City, Pasay, Pasig,

Para ñaque, San Juan, Taguig, Valenzuela, and Pateros.

❖ From the pre-colonial period up to the present, Metro

Manila served as the center for everything –

settlements, colonial power, commercial trade, and

developments (economic, social, cultural, and financial

development). Moreover, it was here in Manila that the

nationalist movement (during the Spanish period)

gradually gathered strength and spread; and that even the

introduction of the public-school system (during the

American Period) with English as the medium of

instruction had started and intensified. No wonder that

this region is so rich of noted literary works, and here

are some of these:

a. Ang Dapat Mabatid ng Mga Tagalog by Andres

Bonifacio – pointing out the continuing oppression of the

people by Mother Spain.

b. Aking Bayan by Jose Corazon de Jesus – identifies the

things that the author recognized as his country’s own,

which gave him a sense of rootedness to his own country;

and this became the lyric of a song entitled Bayan Ko

(1929).

c. The Wound and the Scar (1937) by Arturo B. Rotor – is

a collection of short stories, which was about the people in

the city depicting their increasing alienation (as a result

of modernity and progress), and rendering of human

relationships (superficial and mechanical).

d. A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino (1952) by the National

Artist Nick Joaquin – also known as “A Portrait of the

Artist as Filipino: An Elegy in Three Scenes “, which is a

literary play written in English and narrated by the

character named Bitoy Camacho recalling 1941, when the

country was on the brink of war.

e. Pinaglahuan (1907) by Faustino Aguilar – is a novel

about Manila being a place of oppression (where Filipinos

were exploited by foreign businessmen and fellow

Filipinos).

Even after wars, Filipino writers remain undaunted to

express their feelings and observations, and here are some of

the contemporary works:

a. Sa Mga Kuko ng Liwanag (In the Claws of Light) by

Edgardo Reyes – is like a gripping metaphor of the way

the city “swallows up” the naïve and the weak.

b. May Buhay sa Looban by Pedro Daandan – is about

slum life, which is a dominant feature of the life in

Manila.

c. Sa Yapak Mo, Kabihasnan by Benjamin V. Condino – is

about ambivalence in the face of modernization and

progress.

d. The Hand of the Enemy by Kerima Polotan – is about

the disintegration of the protagonist’s dream of an ideal

family in the face of her husband’s ambition to make it

big in the city.

e. Ang Aklasan by the National Artist Amado V.

Hernandez – asserts the correctness and justness of the

strike as weapon of exploited workers.

f. The Flowers of May by the National Artist Francisco

Arcellana – depicts the silent grief of the father over the

death of a daughter.

g. Where’s My Baby Now by the National Artist NVM

Gonzalez – explores the tensions between husband and

wife living in a small apartment in the heart of the city.

h. Alms in Noon Traffic by Emmanuel Torres – explores

the psyche of the middle class who is confronted by

poverty.

i. Ayos Lang ang Buhay sa Maynila by the National Artist

Bienvenido Lumbera – uses “ayos lamang” (everything is

fine) as a stinging ironic comment on the cultivated

insensitivity and uncaring attitude of people in the city.

II. Region I (Ilocos Region) – Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La

Union, and Pangasinan.

❖ Two of the most prominent ethno-linguistic groups

are here in this region: Ilocano and Pangasinense, which

made this region rich in oral literature. In addition,

since Ilocos is far to reach because of mountains

separating them from the center of colonial power, Iluko

literature became a witness to the life of people that is

linguistically different from the rest of the country –

and Leona Florentino (considered as the mother of

Philippine women’s literature and the bridge from

oral to literary traditions) became the inspiration of

young writers to see literature as a vehicle for giving a

voice to women and showcasing literary traditions.

Aside from Leona Florentino, the following notable

writers inspired young writers, and considered their works

as social responsibility:

1. Constante Casabar

2. Artemio Ramel

3. Juan S.P. Hidalgo Jr.

4. Rey Duque

5. The brothers Lorenzo and Herman Tabin

6. Hermie Beltran

7. Cles Rambaud

8. Linda Lingbaoan

Here are some of the oral literatures in this region:

1. Iluko literature

a. “Lam-ang” is an epic that has survived

colonization; and was written down around 1640 by a

blind Ilocano bard named Pedro Bukaneg.

b. Ilokano Myths – gods, goddesses and the anitos

(ancestor or nature spirits)

2. Pangasinense literature

a. Pangasinense’s early literatures are embodied by the

following characters: Princess Urduja (mythical warrior),

Juan de la Cruz Palaris (a rebel), and Andres Malong (a

rebel)

b. Other literatures are called Uliran (legend), Diparan

(maxims), Pabitla or Bonikaw (riddles)

Some of the noted literary works are:

c. Pito-Pito Combibe! (Pito-Pito Halt) – tells about the

misadventure of a husband with the civil guards while

looking for his wife.

d. Rosing Songs (Rosing is Pangasinan’s counterpart

to the Visayan’s Inday, Iluko’s Manang Biday and the

Tagalog’s Neneng)

e. Malinac Lay Labi (Clear is the Night) – a love song,

and the great favorite among Pangasinenses.

f. One of the versions of the origin of Hundred Islands

refers to one hundred warriors who died in the defense

of the Kingdom of Alaminos in pre-Spanish times.

Unlike Ilocos, Pangasinan is near to the center of

colonial power and here are the influences of Spaniards:

a. Alingado (Christmas Carol)

b. Gozos (Novena verses in songs)

c. Pabasa (reading or chanting of the passion)

But when the Americans came, Pangasinense lost their

oral traditions: Anlong (poetry) and Tongtong (narratives).

Moreover, Parayno Hermanos Publishing House gave

way for the Pangasinan and Iluko Literature to be known.

III. Region II (Cagayan Valley Region) – Batanes,

Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, and Quirino,

and CAR (Cordillera Administrative Region) – Abra,

Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga-Apayao, and Mountain

Province

➢ Before the Spanish explorers traced the northern coast

and landed at the mouth of the Pamplona River (1572),

early Cagayanos reveled in a civilization of their own;

and when Gobernador Gonzalo Ronquillo de Penaloza

sent Juan Pablo Carreon to the north to drive away a

Japanese fleet under the command of Taifusa (1581), the

Spanish occupation was recorded and started to influence

Cagayanos and the Northern Luzon (Ilocos Region).

Carreon succeeded in his mission and made a name for

himself in the process.

Nu Nunuk Du Tukun (or The Nunuk on the Hill) and

Y Paggafuanan na Lunig (or What Causes Earthquakes or

the Legend of Bernard Carpio – as the considered hero) are

some of the important literary pieces in this region.

Cagayan Valley Region and Cordillera Administrative

Region, were rich in oral tradition -and classified into

ritualistic and non-ritualistic types.

a. Ritualistic literature – consists of songs, chants, and

narratives which can only be performed or recited in a

religious context.

b. Non-ritualistic literature – consists of secular forms

which can be performed on any occasion.

In addition to the Cordillera Literature, two long heroic

narratives in verse (epic poetry) originated here, which

were preserved and fully documented: Hudhud (Ifugao)

and Ullalim (Kalinga).

And here are the other literary forms and pieces in

the region:

1. Songs and Chants

a. Dongdong–ay – a song not restricted to any

particular function or event

b. Aa–po – recorded in Ifugao some fifty years ago; a

song expressing lamentation

c. Dujung – a chant from Ibaloy; performed in wakes

d. Ayoweng and Charngek – from Bontok; being sung

in the rice field while working

e. Bajun and Chajang – from Ifugao; sung in warfare

2. Myths, Legends and Folk Tales -more on the sacred of

nature

3. Proverbs and Riddles

a. “It is the stomach that gives advice.” – is a Kalinga

proverb that indicates how hunger controls human

behavior.

b. “A person, if alone, is afraid of the enemy.” – is

another Kalinga proverb that probably a comment on

boasters but also a statement on human independence

c. “Joy is like rain.” – An Ibaloy proverb because they

believe that people are nourished by the things that

make them happy.

IV. Region III (Central Luzon Region) – Bataan, Bulacan,

Nueve Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, and Zambales

➢ This region is known as the fertile central plains or the

rice basket of the Philippines, no wonder that the early

literature (riddles, sayings, folksongs, children’s rhymes,

legends and folktales) reflected the flora, fauna, and the

geographic features of the region. This is also one of

the earliest areas converted into Christianity (first in

Pampanga, and extended to the other parts of the

region); and the two types of literature that flourished

during this period were literature introduced through the

Spanish-speaking elites, and literature introduced by the

native-speaking friars.

Since Pampanga Literature is the most flourished in

the region, here are the literary forms and pieces (with the

authors) in the province:

1. Ing Bangkero – is a folk song from Macabebe,

Pampanga that takes pot shots at the snobbish

practices of the upper class. It satirizes the irrelevance

of abstract knowledge which the returning college

student learned in his Manila school.

2. Don Gonzalo de Cordova by Padre Anselmo Jorge de

Fajardo – was a produced komedya

3. Others novenas, pasyon, sinakulo and kuriru translated

in Capampangan (dialect in Pampanga)

During the American Period (considered as the Golden Age

of Capampangan literature)…

4. Why Should I Sing (1907) – laments the absence of

justice and peace with a reference to the conditions of

Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere.

5. Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow (1911) – chronicles

the life of Mother Philippines from her past happy life,

her present enslavement, and her future liberation.

6. I Still Love You (1935) – professes undying and

immeasurable love for the motherland referred to as the

dove, a pearl, and the beloved.

7. A Pleas To The Muse (1918) – celebrates the ability of

the poet to elicit love of country, art, romance and

justice through the muse of poesy.

8. I Desire (1936) – the poetess favors among other simple

things the beloved town Guagua.

9. Magdalena (1930) – offers a love that honors the

beloved despite her questionable past.

During the Japanese Period (since English literature was on

halt), cultural propaganda (arm of the Hukbalahap) used

the Dizon pasyon and songs to consolidate their influence on

the people –to inspire them to hope and fight for a brighter

future.

10. Arise, Laboring Children of Sweat – rallies the

working class to fight the rich for the happiness of the

country.

11. The Country That Endured Misery – calls on the people

to fight the treacherous aliens for the freedom of the

Motherland.

During the Contemporary Period…

12. A Life without Trace (1974) by Jose M. Gallardo –

laments the emptiness of his life that would end

without a legacy to leave behind.

13. Malikwatas by Jose M. Gallardo – considered as a

magic poem for the author explored the possibilities of

the language, and stretched the language to its limit

(each line in his four-line stanzas can be split and

rearranged into innumerable stanzas).

V. Region IV-A (CALABARZON) – Cavite, Laguna,

Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon, and Region IV-

B (MIMAROPA) – Occidental Mindoro and Oriental

Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan.

➢ Region IV-A has a rich history. The Philippines’

independence from Spain was first declared here (1898).

In addition, birthplace of noted persons in the downfall

of the colonization are here: Jose Rizal (from Calamba,

Laguna), Emilio Aguinaldo (from Kawit, Cavite),

Apolinario Mabini (from Tanauan, Batangas) and

Miguel Malvar (from Sto. Tomas, Batangas); and the

works of Rizal influenced most of the writers, which led

in national consciousness writings.

Furthermore, some of the literature here in Region IV

(Region IV-A and Region IV-B) reflected the geographical

features of the region; and most of the literary

works/pieces focused on Rural Life.

1. Ang tubig ma’y malalim… – is an early short poem of

the Tagalog found in the Vocabulario de la lengua

tagala of Juan de Noceda and Pedro Sanlucar. Written as

a quatrain, it likens the errand of fathoming the

river’s depth with the precious task of recognizing

another man’s good will.

2. Soliranin sa Pamamangka – is a boating song singles out

the lover’s passion as the one goad that can allow him

to span the formidable distance of deep-sea water.

3. Sa Tabi ng Dagat by Ildefonso Santos. He inspires the

lovers to frolic and gather the sea’s bounty in clams,

oysters, and seashells and points out, paradoxically, to

their sunburned bodies bowing out to the long haul of

time, their hearts surrendering to the truth of mortality

during the deepest moment of ecstacy.

4. Takipsilim at Lumang Lambat by Teo Baylen – regards

memory as a net, hauling the prickling hurt of youth

while calling the sea the deep vessel of the unconscious,

yielding the elemental causes which give shape to the

present.

5. Laboratoryo at Dambana by Teo Baylen – the author

grieves at the violence and bloody schemes of modern

times, a lyric voice of the conscience exhorting the

reader to return to the field and the farmer’s

peaceable life.

6. Suyuan sa Tubigan (a short fiction) by Macario Pineda –

unfolds a scene of local color and the planting customs

of the Tagalog –ankle-deep and singing in the waters

of the rice paddies. In this understated story, courtship

becomes a show of skills.

7. Their old war song and poem of bravery,

“Kumintang,” calls attention to the thing which entices

the marauding enemies- their rice fields.

8. Oyaying Tagalog by the National Artist Virgilio Almario

– aims to remember the charms of rural life, the

nourishing milk and ditties of mothers, the power of

herbs, the legends of Tagalog life which were the same

nurturing forces that raised Rizal, Mabini, and Bonifacio

into the nation’s bravest heroes.

9. Kung Baga sa Pamumulaklak (a fictional piece) by

Macario Pineda – illustrates the coming of age of young

men and women in the village and their awakening to

human passions.

VI. Region V (Bicol Region) – Camarines Norte, Camarines

Sur, Albay, Catanduanes, Masbate, and Sorsogon

➢ Some of the native literary traditions have been kept in

the Bicol Region, and most of these can be found in their

living oral traditions (proverbs, riddles, songs, and folk

natives) -which are mostly focused on the majestic

Mayon and the occasional temperamental outbursts

that have evoked mixed feelings of fear, awe, and

admiration from the Albay residents and visitors

(example: The Story of Daragang Magayon). When the

Spaniards came, many saints’ legends as well as stories

about supernatural beings and environmental spirits

proliferated; and Bikolanos are as superstitious as they

are religious. But, only after about two centuries later

did the people begin to write poems and plays adapted

from Biblical stories.

1. Humorous stories (example: about the lazy giant

Colacog and the bumbling simpleton Juan Osong)

2. Songs (some of which have been made popular by such

noted singers as Carmen Camacho and Nora Aunor)

▪ Katurog na Neneng – is a typical countryside

lullaby, the singer is warning the child that if it

does not sleep, the engkanto, in the form of a

blackbird, would carry it away.

▪ Si Nanay, si Tatay – is a familiar song with filial

devotion as a theme. The song speaks of a child’s

awareness of the “precious debt” he or she owes

the parents and of the deep loss they would suffer

should he or she leaves them.

▪ Sarung Banggi – is the most popular Bicol love

song composed by Potenciano B. Gregorio Sr. of

Sto. Domingo Albay in 1910.

3. Comedias – often derived from the popular corridos,

and usually the entertainment fare during town

fiestas.

4. Zarzuela (came to Bicol in 1892 when a touring group of

players from Manila presented Spanish plays in Naga)

▪ Katipunan and Teniente Virginia by Timoteo Ortile

▪ Zarzuela Bicolana and An Marhay na Sorsogon by

Nicolas Arrieta

5. Bikol fiction -and the prominent writers are the

following:

▪ Delfin Fresnosa – a prolific writer whose works

were cited by Jose Garcia Villa in his annual Roll

of Honor as among the outstanding ones

▪ Hermel Nuyda – the author of “Pulse of the Land”

that won a prize in the Free Press short story

contest.

▪ Clemente Roxas

▪ Socorro Federis Tate

▪ Vicente Rivera Jr. – a Palanca awardee for his

short stories; and he used to edit the literary

section of Focus Philippines.

▪ Paulino Lim Jr. – won the Asia week award for the

Best Asian short story in 198

▪ Azucena Grajo-Uranza- received the Carlos

Palanca Award for the novel in English in 1989 for

“Bamboo in the Wind”

Lesson 4: Visayas

Visayas (also known as Visayan group of islands). It

is considered the smallest in terms of land area, but plays

an important role in the Philippine History –for when

Ferdinand Magellan (a Spanish explorer) discovered the

country during his expedition, he landed in Samar

(Valdeavilla, 2018). Therefore, the island on these days

widely celebrate religious traditions as part of cultural

events (Dinagyang, Ati-atihan, and Sinulog festivals).

And the three major languages are Cebuano, Waray,

and Hiligaynon.

Here are some of the literary forms, representative

texts and notable authors from the regions of Visayas:

I. Region VI (Western Visayas Region) – Aklan, Antique,

Capiz, Guimaras, and Iloilo; and Negros Occidental (part

of NIR (Negros Island Region))

This region is dominated by native speakers –

and Hiligaynon is the considered lingua franca of the

Western Visayas; but the mother language is Kinaray-

a or Hiraya. Hiligaynon doesn’t only refer to the language,

but to the culture as well of the Ilongo -people who inhabit

Iloilo, Capiz, Guimaras, and Negros Occidental. However,

the term has come to connote the more formal and literary

language, as it is used in schools and by the older generation

of speakers and writers, so Ilongo is now being used to refer

the more popular and informal use of the language.

Literature here is also known as “Panayanon

literature”, which includes that written or oral transmitted in

the provinces into which Panay island is divided: Iloilo,

Capiz, Antique, Aklan, Negros Occidental and Guimaras.

Here are the literary forms and pieces (with some

authors) in the region:

Pre-colonial Period

1. Folk literature

a. brief riddles (paktakon)

b. proverbs (hurubaton)

c. ditties

d. ritual chants (to elaborate love songs, or which are

delivered by the babaylan or healer to please

the diwata or supernatural beings or spirits in exchange

for good health and luck in the home and the fields

during planting and harvest seasons)

e. poem (binalaybay)

f. tales (asoy or sugilanon) ; and asoy may be a legend or a

tale about a folk hero or a local happening

g. Extensive epics (examples: Labaw Donggon and

the Hinilawod).

2. Folksongs (ili–ili or lullaby)

a. ambahan – long song alternately sung by a soloist & a

chorus

b. siday – a long poetic joust between two paid poets

respectively representing the two families in a marriage

suit (siday sa pamalaye)

c. balitaw – a jocose love song sung in a debating manner

by a man and a woman

Spanish Colonial Period

3. Religious literature: “vidas” (saints’ lives), sermons,

dialogues, exempla (moral anecdotes), and gozos (hymns) –

these forms were later to contribute to both the didactic and

aesthetic impulses of Philippine literature

4. Literature of Reform, Revolution and Patriotism –

There were series of small and major rebellions conducted

by the native Panayanons against the Spanish government

culminated in their participation in the Katipunan revolt of

1896.

• A source of great patriotic pride among the Panayanons

is Graciano Lopez Jaena who, albeit writing in Spanish

during the Reform and Propaganda period of the 1890s,

exemplified the Hiligaynon literary tradition of socio–

political consciousness.

5. Theater forms – moro-moro and zarzuela

American Colonial Period

6. Short Story – following the Formalist guidelines like

characterization, local color and irony. Noted authors in this

form are:

a. Nilo P. Pamonag

b. Lucila V. Hosillos

c. Mario L. Villaret

d. Romeo Garganera

e. Ner E. Jedeliz, Jr.

f. Quin Baterna

g. Jose Ali Bedaño – wrote under the name of Julius Flores

Contemporary Period

• Yuhum (a magazine in Iloilo City by La Defensa Press,

and of the short-lived Kasanag by Diolosa Publications,

kept literature not only alive but strong) stopped

publication in the sixties, and resumed during Martial

law. Hiligaynon closed during Martial law and

resurrected in 1989.

• The Cory Revolution of 1986 is an important

milestones in the history of Hiligaynon literature. It is

because of the new management of the Cultural Center

of the Philippines and the creation of the Presidential

Commission for Culture and the Arts which later became

the National Commission for Culture and the Arts – in

which new writings and new writers have been born.

Most significant is the inclusion of the Hiligaynon short

story, alongside that of Cebuano and Iluko, in the

Palanca Awards since 1997.

The Cory Revolution has also ushered in these historical

landmarks in the literature of West Visayas:

3. The emergence of Kinaray-a writing;

4. The emergence of Aklanon writing;

5. The emergence of writing in Filipino (Visayan-based);

6. The ferment of campus writing in these languages;

7. The emergence of multilingual writing in the region.

Important young writers in West Visayas today include:

Hiligaynon–

a. Alicia Tan-Gonzales

b. Peter Solis Nery

c. Edgar Siscar

d. Resurreccion Hidalgo

e. Alfredo Siva

f. Alain Russ Dimzon

Kinaray-a —

a. Ma. Milagros C. Geremia Lanchica

b. Alex C. de los Santos

c. John Iremil E. Teodoro

d. Jose Edison C. Tondares

e. Maragtas S. V. Amante

f. Ma. Felicia Flores

Aklanon –

a. Melchor F. Cichon

b. Alexander C. de Juan

c. John E. Barrios.

All of these writers are either bilingual or multilingual.

Moreover, Western Visayas literature has opened itself to a

national readership through the development of Filipino as a

national language and through translations.

II. Region VII (Central Visayas Region) – Bohol, Cebu, and

Siquijor; and Negros Oriental (part of NIR (Negros Island

Region))

Central Visayas Region is also dominated by native

speakers – and Cebuano is their mother tongue (not only in

Cebu but in Bohol, Leyte, Negros Oriental, and most parts

of Mindanao). Their Literatures refer to as “Cebuano

literature” –showcases rich oral tradition that was

participative and part of everyday life and every social

occasion (for people had the ability to extemporize, and

could draw from the well of shared experiences, images, and

meanings).

Here are the literary forms and pieces during the

precolonial period in the region:

1. Folktales

a. Legends associated with specific locales, like the Maria

Cacao legends of southern Cebu and those of Lapulapu and

his father Datu Manggal of Mactan;

b. Fable like “Haring Gangis ug Haring Leon“, which

warns of abusive behavior by the dominant group.

• Many of the tales carry lessons, but just as many

suggest, the value of humor, keeping of one’s wit

and resourcefulness are emphasized, as in the Juan

Pusong trickster tales.

2. Poetry – among the early poetic forms

are garay (verses), harito (shaman’sprayers), tigmo (riddles)

and panultihon (proverbs) as described by the Jesuit

Francisco Alzina (1668).

The generic form for poetry is balak , characterized by

the presence of enigma or metaphor

called balaybay or sambingay –or tanghaga (a Cebuano

version of “talinhaga” in Tagalog).

Most of the poems are sung, like the occupational songs and

lullabies.

Example: The balitaw is an extemporaneous poetic debate

between man and woman that is sung and danced

simultaneously.

Like in the other regions, colonialism succeeded in

erasing much of pre-colonial Cebuano Literature by

supplanting this with religious literature that revolved

around the Church calendar such as the “tulindao”,

“daygon” and “pastores ”, which were sung and enacted to

celebrate the birth of Christ; the passion and the

“cenaculo” or “penitencia”, which were chanted and staged

during Lent; the “sinulog” performed as thanksgiving to

the Sto. Nino; and the “gozos” or narratives of the lives of

saints, which were recited as part of a novena.

Moreover, during the American Period, formal education

alienated the Cebuanos from the richness of their oral traditions

and from their natural ability to extemporize and create poetry; and

new aesthetics transformed Cebuano poetry -experimenting with

new forms, and refining the Cebuano language to capture its

nuances and musicality:

a. Kon (If, 1936) by Gardeopatra Quijano – one of the few

published women poetries, and the magical quality of its art

as a soother of pain and giver of joy and beauty is

celebrated.

b. Bulak sa Daplin sa Dalan (Flower by the Wayside, 1952)

by Hilda Montaire – was about the discovery of a

deepening eternal enchantment for a seemingly ordinary

face in a crowd.

c. Mga Gasa sa Kagabhion (Gifts of the Night, 1968) by

Ricardo Baladjay – unveils the intoxicating power of

poetry that transforms ordinary nature into objects of awe

and wonder until the poet is jolted back to reality.

III. Region VIII (Eastern Visayas Region) – Samar and

Leyte

The literature of Eastern Visayas refers to the literature

written in Waray and Cebuano. Of the two, it

is Waray literature that has been collected, recorded, and

documented by scholars and researchers. It is in this light

that whenever East Visayan literature is written about, it is

usually Waray literature that is being described.

Here are some of the literary forms and pieces in the region:

1. Poetry – candu, haya, ambahan, canogon, bical, balac,

siday and awit

a. tigotigo (a riddling game) – wherein the player who joins

the game must have a number of titigohon with him. More

than just an element in a game, the titigohon is a gnomic

poem – made up of two lines, which describes the object,

but the description is stated in a metaphor. (During vigils at

wakes, people used to recite riddles to each other to drive

sleep away.)

b. Amoral or Ismayling– is a poem that the form can be

traced to the ancient “balac”. It is a poetic love between a

man and a woman, and often chanted or sung (usually dealt

with matters of the heart).

c. Folk songs represent the folk poetry of the Waray. Their

themes range from one-sided love, extolling the wonders of

tuba (coconut wine), up to love of country (An Iroy Nga

Tuna – is one of the few nationalistic songs that have

survived).

• Many of the folk songs in Waray, which have been

documented, deal with love, and did serve for a time

as the means to express the feelings of in love. In the

past, face-to–face profession of one’s love, which in our

time has become straightforward, was not the norm at

the start of courtship. Ex: Ha Kan Inday – a song in

which the voice is a suitor, who sings of his unrequited

love, who takes his condition with a sense of humor.

2. Narratives – susumaton and posong

• Hi Antusa, An Asawa San Agta and Donya Maria Ngan

Don Felipe – are examples of “susumaton” as an oral

form. “Susumaton” means a story that people like to

tell and retell. Many of these stories were explanations

of the existence of things or recollections of experiences

and events from a fabled past.

• With three centuries of Spanish colonization and another period

of American occupation, old rituals, poetic forms and

narratives had undergone reinvention.

3. Theater Tradition – in the performance of poetry, rituals,

and mimetic dances (dances mimed the joys and activities

of the ancient Waray)

4. Drama – hadi-hadi and the zarzuela (hadi–hadi antedates

the zarzuela in development)

5. Fiction but has not flourished because it lacks a venue

for publication.

Here some of the publications in the region:

a. An Kaadlawon – the first Waray newspaper, saw the

flourishing of poetry in Waray

b. Eco de Samar y Leyte – a long running magazine in the

1900s; published articles and literary works in Spanish,

Waray and English

c. An Lantawan (Leyte) – has extant copies from 1931 to

1932; printed religious and occasional poetry

d. Leyte News and The Leader in the twenties – the first

local papers in English, brought about the increasing

legitimization of English as a medium of communication,

the gradual displacement of Waray and eventual

disappearance of its poetry from the pages of local

publications

• In addition, the growing acceptance of English as official

language in the country strengthened these writers’ loyalty to

the ethnic mother tongue as their medium for their art.

Contemporary Period

Newspapers published during this period carried with

them occasional essays and poetry in Waray. Appearance in

print nurtured the growth of Waray poetry. The poems that

stood out, along with the religious and didactic pieces, were

the satirical works, occasionally, poetry with nationalist

content got published.

a. “Pilipinas” – a poem written by Casiano Trinchera

b. “Disyimbri ika 30 Han 1896” – a peom written by

Vicente I. de Veyra

c. “Andres Bonifacio”–poem written by Eduardo Makabenta

With the organization of the Sanghiran San Binisaya in

1909, writers as well as the illustrados in the community

banded together for the purpose of cultivating the Waray

language. Under the leadership of Norberto Romualdez

Sr, Sanghiran’s members had literary luminaries that

included Iluminado Lucente, Casiano Trinchera, Eduardo

Makabenta, Francisco Alvarado, Juan Ricacho, Francisco

Infectana, Espiridion Brillo, and statesman Jaime C. de

Veyra. For a time, Sanbghiran was responsible for the

impetus it gave to new writing in the language.

Lesson 5: Mindanao

Mindanao is the second largest among the three

islands, which has a rich agriculture, fishing, forestry, etc.,

and located at the southernmost part of the Philippines.

Majority of Filipino Muslims live here; and since it is near the

island of Borneo, historians mentioned that Sultans of Mindanao

became acquainted with the leaders of Borneo who introduced

them to the Islam religion.

Mindanao Literature, unlike the other literature, is

dialects play an important role in their literature; and

with the use of their dialects they formed the following:

1. Epics – “Ag Tobig nog Keboklagan” (The Kingdom

of Keboklagan) – was collected among the Subanun

2. Riddles – or Tigum (Subanun Riddle)

Examples (translated in English):

A. I can’t see the lightning, I can only hear the thunder.

(By Agdino Guilingan)

Answer: A BLIND PERSON

B. A pond in something round, that dead leaves do not

fall into. (By Basilia Quimol Lantas)

Answer: COCONUT.

3. Story – The White Horse of Alih by Mig Alvarez

Enriquez (a story of shame, dishonor, and redemption;

and about about the quaint Spanish/American colonial

culture of the people of Zamboanga set picturesquely

against an Islamic background

4. Essay – Maratbat and the Maranao by Nainobai D.

Disomangcop

II. Region X (Northern Mindanao Region) – Bukidnon,

Camiguin, Lanao del None, Misamis Occidental, and

Misamis Oriental

Majority of the region’s inhabitants are migrants from

Cebu and Iloilo. There are also inhabitants of Waray,

Tagalog and Maranao descent. Some of their works are: