Yuson, Cassey C. - Written Work 3

 Based on the given articles, identify and discuss the literary forms/elements from the following:

a.    Early Philippine Literature

 

Before the Philippines was colonized by other countries, it had its own culture, values, and beliefs. Native Filipinos often relied on oral tradition to pass down their way of life. However, that does not mean that they did not possess a method of writing. An alphabet was established by our ancestors, and it was called Baybayin.

Baybayin is a language writing system with characters that represent syllables rather than one letter sounds, as compared to the English alphabet. It was used to write Early Philippine Literature, and is a part of our heritage, although forgotten and considered outdated. It was this language that Native Filipinos used before the transition to Roman alphabet was undertaken.

There are a multitude of literary genres a piece of literature can be categorized as. Unfortunately, every piece of Early Philippine Literature cannot be accounted for because some were not found and translated. One literary genre that persevered from the pre-colonial period is awit. Awit literally translates to song, and is a poetry form that is sung with native tunes and melodies. There are sixteen forms of awit recorded, and they were all used in different situations. Here are ten of the sixteen forms with their corresponding occasions.

The first form is uyayi or hele. With the translation “Close your eyes now,” it is easy to identify as a lullaby. They are sung by mothers and are used to put children to sleep. It is filled with soothing words and music to help the young calm down. They are usually repetitive in nature and is passed down from generation to generation (Filipinas Heritage Library, n.d.).

The second form is soliranin. It is used by travelers, usually those who row, in their journeys. It is a monotonous song sung on hot days. The third form is talindaw. A song used by seafarers. The fourth form is kumintang. It is a war song sung to inflame the spirits of warriors. And in the year 1734, the kumintang dance was invented with the same connotation as its counterpart. The fifth form is maluway. It is sung by workers in collective labor, thus considered work songs (Quindoza-Santiago, n.d.).

The sixth form is kundiman. It is a melancholic love song and stands as one of the most popular genres of Filipino music to this day. It is a serenade sung to express their undying love to the object of their affections (Rosario, 2022).

The seventh form is dalit, a song-ritual usually sung to the rhythm of dance. The eighth form is panambitan, a courtship song. The ninth form is pamanhikan. It is used by the groom to ask his future wife’s family for her hand in marriage and the blessing of their union (Kapit Bisig, 2022). And the tenth form is subli, a dance-ritual song of courtship and marriage.

Of course, even if awit is the most prominent literary genre during this period, it is not the only thing Early Philippine Literature has to offer. The Philippines is also known for their riddles, locally known as bugtong. It is a sentence or a question that is intentionally phrased to have a double meaning. It can be solved through not jumping to assumptions and thinking about both the literal and figurative meaning of the words.

To better understand, let us analyze an example. Dalawang batong itim, malayo ang nararating. The use of the word bato, or rock is meant to throw people off the real meaning. With the real answer being eyes, it goes to show the word bato was not literal. This is the essence of a bugtong, confusing, yet fun all the same.

Other types of literary genres include ambahan, and tanaga. Both are indigenous forms of poetry, with the only difference being the length. Ambahan belongs to the Hanunuu-Mangyan ethnic group in Mindoro. It is inscribed onto bamboo segments, nodes, musical instruments, or other materials using the tip of a knife. It has seven syllables and represents a Mangyan’s personal thoughts, feelings, and desires (National Commission for the Culture and the Arts, 2014). On the other hand, we have the tanaga. It also has seven syllables, but is constrained to four lines. With such a heavy restriction, poets use tanaga as the ultimate test of skill. To create a beautiful poem under limitations that still rhymes and is measured is a testament to their ability.

Tagalog proverbs called salawikain contain sayings that leave lessons and philosophies to the readers. It can be about anything the writer wants it to be, but usually it falls under these six categories. Proverbs about life and the laws that govern life. Proverbs about ethics. Proverbs about a system of values. Proverbs about general truths and human nature. Amusing proverbs and miscellaneous proverbs. Like a poem, salawikain usually has rhyme, but in terms of length, it is shorter.

And finally, the most exhilarating literary genre in Early Philippine Literature, epics! It is considered the highest point of development for Philippine folk literature. It is a long narrative poem about the adventures of different tribal heroes. These epics have been produced by chanting; therefore, many are still unwritten today. Editors mention that most epics have similarities in the way they are arranged and the topics they include. Epics are episodic in nature and there is a repetition of scenes per episode. Supernatural characters are always included. And, epics reflect the society of where they originate. Famous examples include Aliguynon and Biag ni Lam-ang.

Considering that the pre-colonial period was 500 years ago, there is a huge possibility that we lost a lot of indigenous literature. They were either destroyed by the colonizers or was kept in the mind and was only passed through oral tradition. However, we should still be thankful that we retained some of our ancestor’s culture and traditions, for it is our job to immortalize these pieces of literature and pass it on to the next generation.

 

b.    Philippine Literature in Spanish Colonial Period

 

With the colonization of the Philippines, came the Spanish’s need to teach the Filipinos their ways. Their culture, beliefs, and traditions. With their goal of changing the essence of Filipinos, our culture slowly died down. Baybayin was eradicated and written literatures were destroyed. Spanish was being taught to replace Tagalog as the foremost language and many more.

The most notable action was the Spaniards conversion of Filipinos to Christianity. They pushed religion so much as part of their colonization project, so that they can hide their economic and political motives. Therefore, it was not so hard to believe that the first piece of literature in the Spanish Colonial Period was a prayerbook. Those that followed were also religious in nature.

In the 18^th century, new literary genres started to appear. Komedya was created, inspired by the medieval ballads from Spain. It is a play depicting the conflict between the Christians and the Muslim. There are two types of komedya. Secular and religious. Religious komedya centers around Christian saints and is performed in churches. Secular komedya is performed in local fiestas and is about the search of the Holy Cross.

Although the Spaniards wanted to keep the Filipinos as uneducated as possible to prevent an uprising, the Filipinos still found a way to fight against their colonizers. Francisco Baltazar known as a master of traditional Tagalog poetry, writes narrative poems to inform his fellow Filipinos about the tyranny of the Spaniards. His work Florante at Laura is most known for this

As printing became more and more common, novels started to appear. The first Filipino novel was titled Ninay, and it was written in Spanish. Eventually, our national hero, Jose Rizal, began to venture in writing as well. He chose to challenge the government by writing a novel depicting the corruption and the cruelty of the Spaniards to the Filipinos. It was controversial and the government ordered to take all copies of the novel out. However, it was eye opening, and encouraged many fellow Filipinos to take action and rebel against the administration. The novel Noli me Tangere and its sequel El Filibusterismo remains, to this day, the most important pieces of literature in the Philippines.

After Jose Rizal was executed, the idea of freedom was still heavy in people’s minds. With this inspiration, other notable characters such as Andres Bonifacio and Emilio Jacinto, started to write poetry and political essays, all showing their support to Rizal’s ideologies. Essentially, literature in the Spanish Colonial Period is either really religious or really patriotic, just in different literary genres.

 

c.     Philippine Literature in American Period

 

After the Spanish Colonization Period was over, language began to shift once again. Since Spanish was not a popular language anyway, English was established pretty quickly. Authors could not help but imitate the American style of writing at the early stages, since there was still no time to ingrain Filipino culture in the pieces of literature. Poems were the literary form used to adapt to Philippine Literature written in English. Short stories also flourished in this period.

 Once Filipino authors finished their journey of self-discovery, other literary forms started to appear. Novels written in English but filled with Filipino customs and traditions were the norm back then. “His Native Soil” and “How My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife” are some examples of the major novels in the American Period.

When newspapers were established, English columns were common to see. That is not to say that the Filipinos abandoned their native languages. It just means that there is more variety to the literature of the country.

During the early American Period, zarzuelas were popularized. It is a play with songs and dances depicting romantic love among idealized Filipino characters. It also incorporates social, political, economic, or cultural issues for relevance and interest (Tiongson, 2012). Some classic zarzuelas such as “Tanikalang Ginto” and “Hindi ako Patay” were directed against American Imperialists.

To hail Francisco Balagtas, the nation’s foremost poet, a new form of literature was invented. The Balagtasan. A debate in the form a poetic joust. Just like a regular debate, one side argues the pros of an issue, while the other side argues the cons. However, a balagtasan is done in verse. It is poetic and it rhymes.

There are more literary forms in the American Period compared to the Spanish Colonial Period because there was more freedom in the topics that were allowed to be published. There was no government censoring what was allowed to be read by the masses. Therefore, there was more creativity to be nurtured and the creation of new literary genres was possible.

 

Discuss the significant developments of the following periods:

a.    Early Philippine Literature

 

During the Pre-Colonial Period, our ancestors, the Native Filipinos, established an alphabet to use for written literature. Baybayin is an alpha syllabary belonging to the family of Brahman scripts. Its origin is unclear and there are multiple theories as to what country’s script it was influenced by. It is written from left to right, just like our current alphabet. However, each character ends with the vowel “A.” There are 14 base consonants and 3 independent vowels in the script.

In these days, showcasing Filipino culture was prominent, and it was used in day-to-day life. From working, to travelling, to putting a baby to sleep, Early Philippine Literature can be seen. They were so immersed in their culture. Mostly, they tended to use oral traditions to pass on the stories from the earlier generation to the next. However, some were jotted down, and today, they were translated to get a better picture of how it was back then.

Mythology and folklore were also ordinary to hear about. It is a body of stories and epics that depicts indigenous Philippine folk religions. They illustrate mythical beings, animals, and heroes. Creatures such as multo, kapre, tikbalang, manananggal, and others are mentioned in these stories. And to this day, their tales are still being spread around. Some even believe that they have sighted mythical beings in the night.

 

b.    Philippine Literature in Spanish Colonial Period

 

The colonization of the Spaniards over the Philippines brought about a host of changes in Filipinos. Clothing, architecture, language, religion, and many others. In the span of 333 years, things were bound to be different. However, the Filipinos under this period did not forget their roots, and they retained the most important characteristic of all, resilience.

During this time, the Spaniards were cruel and tyrannical. Our citizens were abused and used for labor, slavery, and sexual abuse. They were in complete control of the country and its citizens. They were too powerful to overthrow. So, the citizens used the available methods to them: literature. Jose Rizal’s greatest contribution to the Philippines was his novels. Novels with a meaning so deep and inspirational they provoked a change in society. An eye-opener to show everybody the truth behind the Spanish’s treatment. Even if he was executed for speaking against the government, he inspired Filipinos all over to commit an insurrection.

A large number of Filipino heroes are authors. They motivated so many people to stand up against persecution. The quote “The pen is mightier than the sword” is proven because the words written by these heroes inspired and freed Filipinos from an oppressive rule.

 

c.     Philippine Literature in American Period

 

After the Filipinos were freed from the reign of the Spaniards, the Americans established the public school system. It is free public instruction for all school aged children. Now, knowledge and information are easily accessible for anyone who wants to learn. One of the first universities to be built by the Americans is still considered to be the number one school in the country today. On June 18, 1908, the University of the Philippines was founded.

And as American values and languages are taught in schools, slowly but surely, the decline of the Spanish language occurred. English was then established as another national language, with over 80% of Filipinos knowing the language alongside Filipino, and sometimes another dialect. With the rise of English speakers in the country, Philippine Literature written in English started to appear. Novels, poems, short stories, and other literary forms written by Filipino authors slowly rose in number.

With interests so high, universities started to create literature summer workshops for anyone who wants to hone their skills in writing. Now, these classes are nationally acclaimed and renowned in the industry.

To give recognition to Filipino writers, awards were created to acknowledge quality literature. Some examples are The Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards – a new writer’s passage to fame in the literary industry and The National Artist Awards – government recognition of literary merit.

During this period, Philippine Literature was more diverse, in terms of topics, forms, and languages. There were a lot of developments in the way of life, as well. The most favorable of all being the freedom from the rule of the Spaniards.

 

How have these literary periods shaped our;

a.    Ideological perspectives

 

The three literary periods discussed in the material are different in terms of beliefs. During the Pre-Colonial Period, religions like animism, and other indigenous religious beliefs and mythologies were practiced. However, once the Spaniards invaded the country, they converted most Filipinos to Christianity. Although, the main protagonist isn’t war-like or sexually attractive like the protagonists from Philippine epics, He still possesses superior magic: the promise of eternal life for everyone. Eventually, Christianity became the primary religion in the country.

We wouldn’t have known these facts without the literature from the different literary periods. Because of these documents, we can see the situation from a different perspective, thus changing our opinions.

Therefore, my conclusion is that the literary periods shape our ideological perspectives based on the number of people who believe in a certain body of ideas. For example, a child born in a Christian household will most likely teach their children the Christian religion and values. The sheer amount of people who believe in one thing influences the opinion of someone else on the same thing. Their perspective will only change if they are taught a different set of values, and even then, they may not change their minds.

 

b.    Societal values

 

By reading the pieces of literature that depicts the society in the literary period it was written, readers can experience what the authors lived through in those times. The dynamics, institutions, traditions, and beliefs can be seen in a different point of view. After reading and analyzing these written works, they may discover a lot of things about how the world worked back then.

This may influence a person’s view on justice, freedom, respect, community, and responsibility. And with this new perspective, people can apply these values on themselves. They may also spread these societal values to others.

 

c.     Political views

 

Different literary periods affect our political views because they depict other political ideologies in a new light. The written works during different literary periods portray the political ideologies in action. The readers may see how society copes in different circumstances compared to the ones we have today.

For example, because of our history with the Spaniards, Filipinos prefer democracy because it gives us the chance to choose our leaders knowing their backgrounds, beliefs, and goals. Compared to the system we had during the Spanish Colonial Period, where we had no control over our government, our citizens would rather have a democracy.

It is a matter of experience. Because we know the effects of a certain political ideology, we know whether we like it or not. But we can also have the opposite. While reading a piece of literature where a political ideology is shown in a good light, a person’s political view may change for the better.