INTRODUCTION TO PHILIPPINE LITERATURE

INTRODUCTION TO PHILIPPINE LITERATURE

Philippine literature withstood time and periods and has evolved through generations.  For every period that passed, different genres appeared, and these literary works rooted from all regions reflecting their culture, society and lifestyle.

STAGES OF FILIPINO LITERATURE

The early stages of Filipino Literature consist of the Pre-Spanish period, the Spanish period and the Propaganda and Revolutionary Periods.

Pre-Spanish period

In the Pre-Spanish period, literature was in oral form as technology of printing wasn’t available yet. Works such as epics, legends, folklore, salawikain, bugtong, sawikain, songs such as the Oyayi or Hele are passed on from generations to generations and they are still well-known up to this day as they are being taught in schools.

Epics Legends Folklore

Epics, legends, and folklore are forms of traditional narrative that have been passed down through generations, often orally, and are deeply rooted in the cultural heritage of a people. While they share some similarities, each genre has distinct characteristics.

Epics

Long narrative poems or stories that recount the deeds of a heroic figure or group, often with a focus on their struggles and triumphs.

Typically feature a single, central character or protagonist, such as Gilgamesh, Rama, or Beowulf.

May be based on historical events or mythological stories, but are often embellished and fictionalized.

Examples: The Epic of Gilgamesh, The Ramayana, The Mahabharata, Beowulf.

Legends

Stories that are often based on historical events or figures, but have been embellished and mythologized over time.

May feature supernatural or miraculous elements, such as divine intervention or magical powers.

Typically focus on the exploits of a particular individual or group, such as saints, heroes, or legendary leaders.

Examples: The legend of King Arthur, The story of Saint George and the Dragon, The legend of Robin Hood.

Folklore

Collectively refers to the traditional stories, legends, myths, and customs of a particular culture or region.

May include tales of supernatural beings, magical creatures, and everyday people, as well as stories about natural phenomena and the land itself.

Often features recurring themes, motifs, and characters, such as tricksters, wise elders, and magical objects.

Examples: African folktales about Anansi the Spider, European folktales about Cinderella, Native American stories about Coyote and the Trickster.

Key similarities and differences

All three genres are rooted in oral tradition and have been passed down through generations.

Epics tend to focus on heroic figures and grand, sweeping narratives, while legends often center on historical events or figures with supernatural elements. Folklore encompasses a broader range of stories and themes.

Epics are typically longer and more formalized than legends and folklore, which may be shorter and more varied in tone and style.

Examples from around the world

African epics: The Sundiata Epic (Mali), The Mwindo Epic (Congo)

Asian epics: The Ramayana (India), The Mahabharata (India), The Shiji (China)

European legends: The legend of King Arthur (UK), The story of Saint George and the Dragon (Europe), The legend of Robin Hood (UK)

Folklore from various cultures: African folktales (e.g., Anansi the Spider), European folktales (e.g., Cinderella), Native American stories (e.g., Coyote and the Trickster)

These genres continue to captivate audiences worldwide, offering insights into the cultural, social, and historical contexts in which they were created.

Philippine Folklore and Epics

Philippine folklore and mythology are rich and diverse, reflecting the country’s complex cultural heritage. Here are some key aspects:

Epics

1. Hinilawod: A Hiligaynon epic from the Visayas region, telling the story of Labaw Donggon, Humadapnon, and Dumalapdap, demigod brothers with extraordinary abilities.
2. Biag ni Lam-ang: An Ilocano epic from the northern region, featuring Lam-ang, a superhuman hero with remarkable abilities, including defeating monsters and returning from death.
3. Darangen: A Maranao epic from Mindanao, focusing on the exploits of Bantugan and his clan, with stories of battles, journeys, and romantic pursuits.
4. Ullalim: A Kalinga epic from the Cordillera region, revolving around Banna, a legendary warrior known for his bravery and combat skills.

Legends

1. Dayang Kalangitan: A legendary queen from Tondo, said to have co-ruled with her husband and later become sole ruler.
2. Madlawe: A Subanen prince who saved a kingdom called Pagkatolongan and was revived by the maiden Pagl’lokon.
3. Tomitib Manaon: A friend of Subenen hero Taake, who perished in battle and was revived after his wife and sister “fished back” his soul from a tonawan (pot of melted iron).

Mythical Creatures

1. Aswang: A shape-shifting creature that preys on humans, particularly unborn children.
2. Tikbalang: A creature with a human body and animal legs, often depicted as mischievous and eerie.
3. Engkanto: A type of supernatural being, often associated with nature and the forest.

Folklore and Superstitions

1. Anting-anting: Amulets believed to possess magical powers, often worn to ward off evil spirits or bring good luck.
2. Supernatural healers: Traditional healers believed to possess mystical abilities, such as the ability to communicate with spirits.
3. Rituals and ceremonies: Various rituals and ceremonies are still practiced today, often aimed at appeasing spirits, ensuring good harvests, or protecting against evil.

Regional Variations

1. Visayas: The central Visayan islands are home to epic traditions like Hinilawod, featuring prominent sea deities reflecting the maritime nature of these island cultures.
2. Mindanao: The southern island of Mindanao showcases a blend of indigenous animist traditions and Islamic influences, particularly among groups like the Maranao, Maguindanao, and Tausug.

Preservation and Promotion

1. UNESCO Recognition: The Hudhud and Darangen epics have been inscribed on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists, raising awareness about the importance of preserving these traditions.
2. Education and Research: Efforts are being made to document and study Philippine mythology, folklore, and epics, as well as to promote their cultural significance and importance.

Overall, Philippine epics, legends, and folklore offer a rich tapestry of stories, beliefs, and traditions that continue to shape Filipino culture and identity today.

Spanish Period

Philippine Literature changed during the Spanish Period. It was centered on Christian faith. Pre-Spanish literary types continued to develop; however, there was a gradual shift of interest from nature and natural phenomena to the lives of the saints, hymns, miracles and invocations based on the teachings of the Catholic Church. The works during this time are imitative of the Spanish theme, forms, and traditions. The corrido, awit, dalit, cenaculo, moro-moro, duplo and karagatan, and zarzuela are reflective of the said characteristics. Religious matters were in prose as novenas and prayer books, biographies of the saints, tales and novels.

Propaganda and the Revolutionary Period

The Filipinos were able to retain their native traditions and poems in the field of poetry reflected as lyrical folksongs and riddles. Some examples of songs are Bahay Kubo, kundiman, and tapat. Francisco Baltazar also was popular during this time because of his “Florante at Laura”. Events such as the exposure of the Filipinos to Europe’s liberal idealism, the opening of the Suez Canal, the Spanish Revolution in 1868, and the martyrdom of Gomburza led to Filipino nationalism. This gave birth to two movements during this time – the Propaganda movement and the Revolutionary movement. The Propaganda movement was reformatory in objective and its members are college students mostly based in Spain. The primary propagandists were Jose Rizal, Marcelo H. del Pilar, and Graciano Lopez-Jaena. The exposure of the evils of the Spanish rule in the Philippines was because of Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo and has paved the way to a revolution against Spain. Del Pilar’s essays and editorials in Diariong Tagalog which he founded with Lopez-Jaena’s articles in La Solidaridad which he was an editor reflected nationalism that was dominant at this time.

The Revolutionary movement took over as the propagandists failed to get much reforms. This was of course more violent, and it demands complete independence from Spain. The Katipunan was founded by Andres Bonifacio who was inspired by Rizal’s novels. The articles written in tagalog (which was a form of revolution) was published in the Kalayaan, the newspaper of the society. The literature at that time was more propagandistic than literary as the situation and events at that time needed such purpose for liberation.

The three periods mentioned are the core of our history and literature. History has a very important role in literature as literature not only reflects facts with aesthetic language but more importantly, it displays the ideas and feelings of the people living at that time. Not only does literature exhibit history but so as the hope that people have. It shows what they hope for the nation, or for themselves, may it be about nationalism, love, or other aspects going on in life. As the Philippines underwent a lot of history, as well as changes, literature also evolved. In the similar case as the first three periods, literary genres also evolve depending on the influence, state and the condition that our country is in. From epics to folksongs, to the cenaculo and Noli Me Tangere, to Tagalog and English short stories, essays, poetry, to the Palanca Awards entries, drama and film, to Wattpad and blogs – these are all reflective of the history, evolution, and developments or mishaps of the Filipino nation. Each period has its own distinct genre and unique artists that everyone remembers.

21st century literature per se, is anything that was written and published in the year 2000s. It is a bit too early to give a definite and elaborate description of the 21st century literature in the Philippines and the world. It is possible, however, to approach contemporary literature as a reaction to and dialogue with existing forms of expressive culture. As we engage in technology more and more, we create and discover more existing forms of expressive culture as well. We have a wide range of resources through the internet and this gave opportunities to people, especially the youth, to begin writing and expressing their thoughts, ideas, and feelings. A perfect example would be WattPad.  It became popular to the Filipino youth in 2006.

The idea is to create an e-book reading application, as e-books are becoming in demand during that time, however, the founders thought that it would be time consuming to maintain their own catalog, so they decided to let the community decide what they want to read, and they can also upload their works and content into the application. This had made it possible for the youth to read more and to start creating their own compositions.

It has become a network.

Here are more examples of literary genres in the 21st century Philippine literature:

Creative nonfiction

It’s a rich mix of flavors, ideas, and techniques, some of which are newly invented and others as old as writing itself. Creative nonfiction can be an essay, a journal article, a research paper, a memoir, or a poem; it can be personal or not, or it can be all of these.

Some of the creative nonfiction in the Philippines are:

1. “The Cardinal’s Sins, the General’s Cross, the Martyr’s Testimony, and Other Affirmations” by Gregorio C. Brillantes
2. “Manananggal Terrorizes Manila and Other Stories” by Jessica Zafra
3. “Sapay Koma” by Jhoanna Lynn Cruz

Hyper poetry

Hypertext poetry and hypertext fiction are new genres of literature that use the computer screen as medium, rather than the printed page. The literary works rely on the qualities unique to a digital environment, such as linked World Wide Web pages or effects such as sound and movement. Hypertext “poetry” can consist of words, although not necessarily organized into lines and stanzas, as well as, sounds, visual images, movement or other special effects. Although the poem may be dazzling with sounds, perhaps of a lawnmower, while the words “mowing,” “stop,” “Sunday,” and “morning” float across your computer screen in pseudo-three-dimensional letters, one will have been hard pressed to identify the use of any formal poetics.

Mobile phone text tula

A cell phone novel, or mobile phone novel is a literary work originally written on a cellular phone via text messaging. This type of literature originated in Japan, where it has become a popular literary genre. However, its popularity has also spread to other countries internationally, especially to China, United States, Germany, and South Africa. Chapters usually consist of about 70-100 words each due to character limitations on cell phones.

Chick lit

This is genre fiction, which “consists of heroin-centered narratives that focus on the trials and tribulations of their individual protagonists”. The genre often addresses issues of modern womanhood – from romantic relationships to female friendships to matters in the workplace – in humorous and lighthearted ways.

Some of the chick lit in the Philippines are:

1. Spotlight New Adult by Mina V. Esguerra
2. Tall Story by Candy Gourlay
3. All’s Fair in Blog and War by Chrissie Peria

Speculative fiction

It covers all stories from fantasy to science fiction to slipstream to magic realism to urban fantasy — so on and so forth. In other words (or in other worlds), it encompasses all the stories that are removed from the reality that we are currently living in. As the introduction states, “speculative fiction is a type of story that deals with observations of the human condition but offers the experience through a different lens…and challenges us to see what tomorrow could be like or what the mythic past of our imagination actually is.”

Some of the speculative fiction in the Philippines are:

1. Smaller and Smaller Circles by FH Batacan
2. Sink by Isabel Yap
3. The Secret Origin of Spin-Man by Andrew Drilon

Flash fiction

Flash fiction goes by many names, including microfiction, microstories, short-shorts, short short stories, very short stories, sudden fiction, postcard fiction and nanofiction. While it can be difficult to pinpoint an exact definition of flash fiction based on word count, consideration of several of its features can help provide clarity, like its brevity, length, background and purpose.

Some of the flash fiction in the Philippines are:

1. 100 Kislap, by Abdon M. Balde Jr.
2. Karapote: Antolohia Dagiti 13 a Nasuerte A Sarita, by Ariel S. Tabag

Blog

A blog (shortening of “weblog”) is an online journal or informational website displaying information in the reverse chronological order, with latest posts appearing first. It is a platform where a writer or even a group of writers share their views on an individual subject.

Graphic novels

The ‘graphic novel’ has existed as an art form arguably from the time our species learned how to paint. However, the term has only been in use since the 1960’s, and though it’s often a hotly debated issue, it’s generally accepted that a graphic novel is a longer work or collection of works presented in ‘comics’ style.

Some of the graphic novels in the Philippines are:

1. The Mythology Class (Nautilus comics) by Arnold Arre
2. Light (Anino comics) by Rob Cham
3. Sixty Six (Anino comics) by Russell Molina
4. Maktan 1521 by Tepai Pascual

Contemporary writers often consciously draw inspiration and ideas from the writers who have come before them. As an outcome, many works of 21st literature deal with the events, movements and literature of the past in order to make sense of the current times. In addition, the technological developments of the 21st century have directed other writers to theoretically write about the future, usually to comment on the present and suggest introspection.

There are various themes and topics that the contemporary literature addresses. One of which is Identity. With increasing globalization, intersections of cultures and more vocal discussions of women’s rights and LGBT rights, identity has become a common theme in 21st century literature. In a world that is now able to exchange ideas more quickly than ever before via the Internet and other technological advancements, people have relatively more freedom to draw from multiple cultures and philosophies and question the concept of the self and its relation to the body, brain and “soul.” Another theme is history and memory. Often contemporary literature explores the notion of multiplicities of truth and acknowledges that history is filtered through human perspective and experience. Another main theme is technology. Today, technology is more integrated into people’s lives than ever before. Dreams of what technology could potentially help people become and anxieties regarding the demise of humanity because of technology can be seen in 21st century literature. Additionally, many 21st century works of literature explore what it means when all of humanity’s experiences are filtered through technology. These are just among many themes that 21st century literature covers. Among these are of course, love, sex, family, religion, but approached in a different way. They are more liberal and unfiltered in a sense, just like the world we live in. For this reason, the language and tone that are commonly used doesn’t really follow a rule just like the traditional and classical works, as long as it is able to express and convey the authenticity and the essence of the meaning of the work and the identity of the characters. Examples of this would be the works of Bob Ong, Ricky Lee, and Bebang Siy. The poems of Maria Cecilia dela Rosa are perfect examples of 21st century literature as she conveys a different flavor and turn to her works.

The previous periods had already established canon writers and their works which, until now, are being studied in schools and universities. As times change, people need to innovate and become more aware of the present time and condition, as well as the events that recently directed us to be at the current circumstances that we stand. Modernization, invention, expression and a wider point of view are results of the arising awareness people have. Modern day Filipinos, as well as the youth of today become more conscious of what’s happening, primarily because of easier access to education and technology. Print, we might say, is gradually dying but our appetite for information continues to grow and of course literature, along with technology still thrives.  All of this paved the way to the 21st  century Literature, with various genres, themes and voices.  The Philippines continues to develop in many aspects and as a liberal and democratic country, we are part of the worldwide innovation of ways on how to exchange and share ideas about the present events which have much similarities in each country.

Since we are in the age of technology, we use them to impart and experience literature to make it more interesting especially to the young ones. They grew up using technology as a primary learning tool and for them to be more engaged in literature, technology such as the internet and gadgets play a huge role for them in acquiring knowledge and information.

Literature continues to change with society and although we are in the 21st century and are binded with technology, authors are still trying to address absolute human questions in new ways and therefore, reconcile them with the ever-changing technology that surrounds us; hence, the birth of the different 21st century literary genres.

In the new educational system that the Philippines is currently under which is the K+12 program, students are also entitled to learn the new literary genres that we have in the 21st century. In this guide, we will find the different characteristics of the 21st century literature in the Philippines and their genres, along with their representative texts that tackles their relevance to our current situation.