Cimafranca, Ashley Dimples M. - Written Work 3
The Philippine Literature
3.1. Identify and discuss the literary forms/elements from the following: (a) Early Phil. Literature, (b) Phil Literature in Spanish Colonial Period, (c) Phil Literature in American Period
The Philippine Literature mirrors the rich history of the Philippines. It comprises literature from the pre-colonial period, colonial period, and up to the present time. Each of those eras consists of different literary forms or elements that cover the literature of the Philippines.
In the pre-colonial literature of the Philippines, according to Dr. Lilia Quindoza-Santiago, there are songs, riddles, proverbs, lyric poems, short poems, and epic poems that are written in baybayin. These are the literary forms that had emerged in the early literature. Looking deeper into the different literary forms in the early literature, the song or awit that consists of native tunes and lyrics was long-established. Various native groups have own unique song forms, from the Tagalogs, Ilocanos, Bontoc of Mountain Province, and Ivatan in the Batanes Islands. In the Tagalogs, sixteen song forms vary from different occurrences. These are the uyayi or hele, a form of lullaby; soliranin and talindaw, a rowing song; kumintang, a battle song; maluway, a unified song for labor; kundiman, a love song; Dalit, a hymn; and panambitan, pamanhikan, and subli which are courtship and marriage songs. In the Ilocanos, the most popular song forms are dallot, a song commonly sung by men to convey their love for a woman; duayya, a lullaby for love; and dung-aw, a funeral song. Then the bagbagto song form from the Bontoc of Mountain Province, a ritual song for harvest. Meanwhile, the laji, kanta, and kalusan are the prominent folk song forms of the Ivatan up in the Batanes Islands. Laji is a lyrical folk song that is sung after work, while kalusan is a song during work. Overall, the songs from the early literature intend to express ideas and emotions. It is associated with different occasions, commonly in the form of lullabies, work songs, burial songs, hymns, courtship and marriage songs, and battle songs. These comprise the musical tradition of various area groups in the early literature. Another literary form in the early literature is riddles or bugtong. A riddle can be a description or a question that serves as a verbal puzzle to a person or group of people (Victoria and Albert Museum, n.d.). It consists of rhymes and metaphorical language or talinhaga to conceal or give double meanings. There are also traditional forms of poetries that incorporate rhymes, meter, and figures of speech to convey a particular subject matter. One more literary form in the early literature is the Tagalog proverbs, traditionally termed salawikain or sawikain. Proverbs are sayings that relay essential values and lessons. It contains rhetorical devices such as alliteration, rhymes, imagery, repetition, and allusion (ReadWriteThink, 2003). In addition, Philippine epics, a narrative work of poetry developed in the early Philippine literature. The Filipino epics' plot is generally about adventures of tribal heroes and supernatural forces. Also, the majority of these epics are named after songs or chants. It is as well a social function from which they surfaced, but since it is in oral tradition, there are multiple versions of these epics.
Following the early literature, the Spanish conquest altered and made the Philippine literature more flourished. In the Spanish colonization in the Philippines, there was a conversion into Christianity. The culture of the vast bulk of Christianized people was dominated by religious themes. However, indigenous oral literature such as legends, sayings, riddles, epics, songs persisted. Hence, there is a proliferation of religious literature such as Church doctrines. A promising work of Church doctrine is the Doctrina Christiana, the first book published in the Philippines. It contains Christian teaching to disseminate to the Philippine archipelago. Various theatrical plays like zarzuela or sarswela and komedya were adapted. The zarzuela incorporated dramatic sing and dance scenes, while komedya is a theatrical tradition on which plots are about conflicts of Muslim and Christian heroes. Furthermore, there was a rise in publishing outlets that increased the publication of newspapers and fiction and poetry writings. Following this, the Propaganda Movement was carried out ushered in a flurry of literary activity. At this time, Filipinos wrote novels, books, and newspapers for political reforms. The most noteworthy work during that time was from Jose Rizal's Noli me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, which intends to give a societal message to the public. Plenty of essays and other works at that time were political and social messages. Then at the time of the golden age of Philippine literature in Spanish, the poetry advanced boldly. There were a lot of books of poetry published and a rise of publicly-performed poetic contests called balagtasan.
After the Spanish colonization, the American period then surged. The English language was the medium of instruction in the country. Therefore, it is very much utilized in different literary forms. With the escalating number of media outlets and publications in this period, various books, newspapers, and magazines were founded. Among those, English newspapers such as the Daily Bulletin, The Cablenews, and the Philippines Free Press were the popular one. Even today, some of these publications stills operates. The poetries, novels, collection of stories, volume of essays, and fiction written in English also surfaced. A lot of essay written by writers in this era have their topic focused on politics, governance, society, and literature. Moreover, English poetry and fictions continue to prosper. These works of literary writing adhere to the style and model of American writing. Nevertheless, unlike the previous periods in Philippine literature, it is written with complexity, sophistication, and depth of understanding. Yet, poetry, fiction, and novels continue to thrive and develop in different languages. In addition, theaters in English were established and presented through Broadway, a professional form of theatre, and small drama clubs.
3.2.
The written and oral literature are both prominent developments in early Philippine Literature. Those written pieces of literature are written in baybayin, a native alphabet. However, most of the early literature was oral literature and handed over by word of mouth. The prominent literary forms of early literature are songs, riddles, proverbs, lyric poems, short poems, and epics. The songs or awit have different characteristics depending on the various native groups. The Tagalog riddles and proverbs also have thrived at that point in time. The riddles propose logical thinking of the people due to its puzzle-like characteristics while proverbs as it impart morals and virtues. On the other hand, epics are considered a game-changer in Philippine folk literature. Even though a lot of it remains unwritten, it is still a notable narrative form of early literature due to its distinct characteristics. Furthermore, at that moment, considering the low-class civilization, the literature relies heavily on the customs and traditions of the different areas in the country. Yet, native groups managed to have a collective set of literary forms that make up the early Philippine literature.
In the Spanish colonial period, socio-economic changes were evident. Some literary works were written in the Spanish language and were translated into different languages. There was a large-scale conversion into Christianity. That being so, religious literature was prominent. The native oral tradition in this era was compromised and rendered into Passion of Christ. Even so, the native tradition continued to thrive in areas unreachable of the colonial power. On top of that, publishing was then developed in the country. The Doctrina Christiana is the first book ever published in the Philippines that started the advancement of literature. There was also an upsurge in journalism and the growth of the educational system based on letters. It resulted in the publication of the first newspaper, followed by a lot more. Even writing fiction and poetry further blossomed due to the escalating number of publishing outlets. Then in the formation of the Propaganda Movement, there was a new surge of literary activity. Filipino writers like Jose Rizal, the leading member of this movement, expressed their desire for political reforms. Afterward, poetry, especially traditional Tagalog poetry, further prospered this time. Publicly-performed poetic competition or commonly called balagtasan emerged and gained popularity. It is created by Francisco Baltazar, a prominent writer of poetry. He was also a well-known writer of narrative poems, which we still appreciate and study up to this date.
Further developments are seen in the American period. There are advancements in terms of education and culture in the Philippines. Free public education made knowledge and information attainable to a lot of people. The English language was utilized by an enormous number of masses. There are plenty of organizations that arose to support the mass publishing of books, magazines, and newspapers. The first collection of poetry in English was also published and followed by other anthologies. There is also a sprout of Filipino fiction writers in English. Yet, the constant publications result in the novels, fictions, and other literary forms being published in various languages. The emergence of a thriving literary tradition as a result of historical events did not stifle literary production in native or indigenous languages. Instead, there were significant literary works of all dominant languages in various literary genres. Besides, throughout the American period, poetry in all languages expanded rapidly in all areas of the country. In addition, the English theatrical plays were presented through Broadway remodeling, but there were also seditious plays that have emerged. Another notable development in the American period was the formation of organizations of English and Tagalog writers. The emergence of these organizations and writer's clubs encouraged more people to write and publish literary works. A noteworthy organization was the Philippine Writers League which is for politically-induced writers. These further increased the value of literature in society. In addition, there are also literature workshops that had emerged, in which up to this date, it is still greatly utilized to discover and develop the writing talents of the people.
3.3.
Looking into the early Philippine period, as far as we know, there is little to no civilization in the country. Thus, the literature at that very moment depends on each area's customs and beliefs. This period molded our ideological perspective by embedding cultural differences and the faith of different groups. It is as well visible on how people today believe in myths and other supernatural forces. Meanwhile, the societal values can be seen through literary forms such as the proverbs or salawikain, wherein it holds the values and morals of the Philippines up to this date. It can also be seen through folklores and ritual songs that signify the faith of the Filipinos. Then, the early period shaped our political views in a little sense that we need to stick to our accustomed set of principles. However, due to low-class cultivation in the early Philippine period, there isn't that much to prove of how it contributes to our political views in the present time.
The Spanish colonial period significantly changed the ideologies of the Filipinos. During this time, a large group of Filipinos was introduced and converted into Christians. Therefore, it added to the strong religious faith and traditions of the Filipinos. The Catholic ideologies, such as the sanctity of life and respect for hierarchy, continue to shape beliefs in Filipino society. Even at this moment in time, Christian church doctrines are very much imprinted and practiced. This period had shaped our societal values of inclusivity, wherein many writers remained and preserved their native traditions despite the foreign influence. Other are nationalism, equality, and independence. It is because, in this period, multiple propaganda's have been raised against the reign of the Spaniards. The Filipinos at this time sought political and social reforms and freedom. Thus, this also shaped the liberal political view of the people in the Philippines. It is blatant how we elect candidates that will not suppress the basic rights of all citizens and provide a people-centered government.
The American period instilled the Filipinos' perspective of universality and practicality. It is because even though the Americans impart the English language in the Philippine literature, the social identity of the Filipinos remained thriving. The continuous usage of other native languages in various literary works could attest to that. To simply put it, there was a side-by-side advancement of the Philippine literature in English and those in other languages of the archipelago. Since the education at this time offered English languages and much higher education for all, it strengthened the social value of people for education to attain a great level of knowledge and learning. Furthermore, the Americans have also strongly reinforced our political democracy. They rendered political training to transform the Philippine government into what it is today. It drives our strong will for fundamental rights, fairness, and democracy.
References:
ReadWriteThink. (2003). Proverb Definitions. Retrieved from https://www.readwritethink.org/sites/default/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson184/proverb_definition.pdf
Victoria and Albert Museum. (n. d.). Forms of verse: Riddle. Retrieved from http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/f/riddle/#:~:text=Characteristics%20of%20the%20riddle,than%20one%20kind%20of%20puzzle.
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