lit

• Most literary works during the precolonial period were transmitted through oral tradition
• Most literary works during the precolonial period were transmitted through oral tradition
• In some cases, our ancestors made use of a writing system to pen down some works of literature. Early literary written forms of pre-colonial Filipinos were destroyed by the Spanish friars
• In some cases, our ancestors made use of a writing system to pen down some works of literature. Early literary written forms of pre-colonial Filipinos were destroyed by the Spanish friars
• Surviving texts were restored because of resistance and geographical isolation
• Conventions of Oral Literature

  • Common experiences of the community as subject matter
  • Communal authorship
  • Formulaic repetitions
  • Stereotyping of characters
  • Regular rhythmic and musical devices
• Surviving texts were restored because of resistance and geographical isolation
• Mythological Age


  The period when our ancestors told stories about the creation of human beings and the world, natural phenomena, and deities and spirits
• Conventions of Oral Literature

  • Common experiences of the community as subject matter
  • Communal authorship
  • Formulaic repetitions
  • Stereotyping of characters
  • Regular rhythmic and musical devices
• Heroic Age

  • Ordinary mortals and cultural heroes became the chief subject matter in this period
  • Epics became a popular genre
  • Chanted during important events in the community to inspire people
  • Also performed to remind the community of their ideals and values
• Mythological Age


  The period when our ancestors told stories about the creation of human beings and the world, natural phenomena, and deities and spirits
• Folktales


  • Traditional stories that had humans, animals, and even plants as characters
  • Fictional tales that have been modified through successive retellings before they were finally recorded and written down
• Heroic Age

  • Ordinary mortals and cultural heroes became the chief subject matter in this period
  • Epics became a popular genre
  • Chanted during important events in the community to inspire people
  • Also performed to remind the community of their ideals and values
• Folktales


  • Traditional stories that had humans, animals, and even plants as characters
  • Fictional tales that have been modified through successive retellings before they were finally recorded and written down
• Baybayin


  • The ancient Tagalog script derived from Kavi, a Javanese (Indonesian) script
  • It is a syllabic script, which means each character stands for a syllable and is made up of a combination of basic shapes
  • Early Filipinos wrote on palm leaves or bamboo using knives as pens and sap from plants and trees as ink
  • The ancient Tagalog script had 17 basic syllables composed of three vowels and fourteen consonants
• Baybayin Vowels


  • a
  • e/i
  • o/u
• Baybayin


  • The ancient Tagalog script derived from Kavi, a Javanese (Indonesian) script
  • It is a syllabic script, which means each character stands for a syllable and is made up of a combination of basic shapes
  • Early Filipinos wrote on palm leaves or bamboo using knives as pens and sap from plants and trees as ink
  • The ancient Tagalog script had 17 basic syllables composed of three vowels and fourteen consonants
• Baybayin Consonants


  • ba
  • ka
  • da/ra
  • ga
  • ha
  • la
  • ma
  • na
  • nga
  • pa
  • sa
  • ta
  • wa
  • ya
• Baybayin Vowels


  • a
  • e/i
  • o/u
• March 16, 1521 - when the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan arrived in the Philippine soil
• Homonhon - an island in Eastern Samar where Magellan landed
• Limasawa - where the first Catholic mass in the country was celebrated
• Baybayin Consonants


  • ba
  • ka
  • da/ra
  • ga
  • ha
  • la
  • ma
  • na
  • nga
  • pa
  • sa
  • ta
  • wa
  • ya
• April 14, 1521 - when Fr. Pedro Valderrama baptized more than 500 natives along with Rajah Humabon
• March 16, 1521 - when the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan arrived in the Philippine soil
• Homonhon - an island in Eastern Samar where Magellan landed
• Limasawa - where the first Catholic mass in the country was celebrated
• Ruy López de Villalobos - named the archipelago Las Islas Filipinas in honor of Prince Philip of Asturias, who reigned as the King of Spain from 1556 to 1598
• 1565 - the year King Philip II of Spain officially colonized the country and assigned the new expedition to the first Governor- General Miguel López de Legazpi
• April 14, 1521 - when Fr. Pedro Valderrama baptized more than 500 natives along with Rajah Humabon
• Six years later, he established his capital in Manila
• Ruy López de Villalobos - named the archipelago Las Islas Filipinas in honor of Prince Philip of Asturias, who reigned as the King of Spain from 1556 to 1598
• Members of the Reform Movement and wrote for La Solidaridad

  • Dr. Jose P. Rizal (Dimasalang/Laong Laan)
  • Marcelo H. Del Pilar (Plaridel)
  • Mariano Ponce (Tikbalang/Kalipulako)
• Revolutionaries and Kalayaan writers

  • Andres Bonifacio (May Pag-Asa)
  • Emilio Aguinaldo (Dimasilaw)
• Ladino


  • A bilingual poem with religious themes, characterized by alternating lines or verses in Tagalog and Spanish
  • The term ladino also refers to Filipinos who were fluent in both Spanish and Filipino
• 1565 - the year King Philip II of Spain officially colonized the country and assigned the new expedition to the first Governor- General Miguel López de Legazpi
• Pasyon


  • A narrative poem about the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ
  • It replaced the precolonial oral tradition that the Filipino had since pasyon is recited in churches
  • It consists of five-line stanzas with eight syllables per line
• Six years later, he established his capital in Manila
• The earliest known pasyon is the Ang Mahal na Pasión ni Jesu Christong Panginoon natin na Tola in 1704
• Korido


  • A narrative poem that consists of eight syllables per line and four lines per stanza
  • It has a faster rhythm compared to an awit
  • An example is Ibong Adarna, which contains 1,722 stanzas and has five parts