Precolonial Literature

of the Philippines.
 Objective

 At the end of this lesson, you should

be able to identify the characteristics
of precolonial literature of the
Philippines.
 Perform literary literature
Learn about it!
 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.
This is a characteristically
anonymous, timeless, and placeless
tale circulated orally among a
people.

faklotel
folktale
This features animal characters
or inanimate objects that
behave like people.

lafbe
fable
This is presented as history
but is unlikely to be true.

glende
legend
This is told to explain a
belief, a practice, or a natural
phenomenon.

thym
myth
This narrative poem
celebrates the adventures and
achievements of a hero.

ciep
epic
GROUP PRESENTATION
Criteria

Content 4

Creativity 3

Collaboration 3

Total: 10 points
 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
 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.
1.This story is passed down from generation to
generation, and it becomes part of a tradition of
a community. What do you call this narrative?
 epic
 folktale
 legend
 myth
2. This story is told to explain a belief, a
practice, or a natural phenomenon.
What do you call this narrative?
 epic
 fable
 legend
 myth
3. This story is presented as history but
is unlikely to be true. What do you call
this narrative?
 epic
 fable
 legend
 myth
4. Folk narratives were passed on from
generation to generation by printed
books.
 Type TRUE if the statement is true. If it

is false, type the right phrase to

replace the underlined phrase.
5. What is the title of your presentation?
1. This story is passed down from generation to
generation, and it becomes part of a tradition
of a community. What do you call this
narrative?
 epic
 folktale
 legend
 myth
2. This story is told to explain a belief,
a practice, or a natural phenomenon. What do
you call this narrative?
 epic
 fable
 legend
 myth
3. This story is presented as history but is
unlikely to be true. What do you call this
narrative?
 epic
 fable
 legend
 myth
4. Folk narratives were passed on from
generation to generation by printed books_.
Type TRUE if the statement is true. If it is
false, type the right phrase to replace the
underlined phrase.
 Correct answer
 word of mouth
 Which of the following statements is not true about the
precolonial literature of the Philippines?
 Correct answer
 Precolonial literature includes chants, proverbs, and
songs.
 Precolonial literature includes folk narratives like
folktales, epics, and myths.
 Precolonial literature includes literature that were
passed on from generation to generation through the
word of mouth.
 Precolonial literature depicts the livelihood, customs,
and traditions of the Filipinos during the Spanish
occupation.
 What is likely the purpose of “Juan Gathers
Guavas”?
 Correct answer
 to teach a lesson
 to amuse its listeners
 to give emphasis on a virtue
 to educate the readers about society
 Fables often teach a lesson. What is likely the
lesson taught by “The Monkey and the Croco-
dile”?
 Correct answer
 Trust everyone.
 Beware of the deceitful.
 Your cunning can take you anywhere.
 Being clever is better than being strong.
 What does the excerpt suggest about the so-
ciety of the native Filipinos?
 Correct answer
 Parents should be strict.
 There are different classes of people.
 Idle and useless people should be punished.
 Beating children is a way to teach them how

to behave properly.
 Match the statements to the right creation myth.
 Correct answer
 Creation Myth of the Igorot
 People are made from reeds.
 The Great Spirit creates salt and pottery.
 Creation Myth of the Tagalog
 There was no land at the beginning, and there
were only the sky and the sea.
 The first man and woman had children that later
became chiefs, slaves, and other types of
people.
Wasp
1. This features animal
characters or inanimate
objects that behave like
people.
2. This is presented as history
but is unlikely to be true.
3. This is a characteristically
anonymous, timeless, and
placeless tale circulated orally
among a people.
4. This is told to explain a
belief, a practice, or a natural
phenomenon.
5. This narrative poem
celebrates the adventures
and achievements of a hero.