1. Philippine Pre-Colonial
Literature
Rona C. Catubig 1

2. Pre-colonial literature may be
classified into :
• floating or oral;
• written literature
Rona C. Catubig 2

3. songs, dance and the drama probably
developed simultaneously
most of the pre-colonial drama was held in
the sambahan or places of worship
these dealt with various subjects including
love, war, legends, the memory of the
deceased, and war heroes
Pre-colonial Literature
Rona C. Catubig 3

4. dramas developed into different forms such as the
pagbati, karagatan, tagayan, pananapatan, sabalan,
and tibaw
the karagatan was a debate in verse in which a
problem is resolved; it developed into the duplo
during the Spanish period and then into the
balagtasan in 1924 during the American period
tibaw on the other hand is perform during the
pasiyam
Pre-colonial Literature
Rona C. Catubig 4

5. Tagalog Literature
bugtong (riddle)
suliranin and indulanin (street songs)
sabi (maxim)
sawikain (saying)
talindaw (boat songs)
diyuna (song of revelry)
kumintang (war song which evolved into a love song),
dalit and umbay (dirge)
tagumpay, balikungkong,
dupayinin and hiliraw (war songs)
uyayi and hele (lullabies)
 ihiman (bridal song),
tagulaylay(mournful song)
 tigpasin (rowing song), tingad (household song)
kutang-kutang (couplets usually chanted by the blind)
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6. Ilocano Literature
has many kinds of songs sung on different
occasions;
this include dal-ot (song during baptismal party,
wedding, or a feast),
badeng (love song sung in a serenade), and
dung-aw (dirge)
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7. Maranaw Literature
inspired by Islam
consisted of tutul (folk tale)
tubad-tubad (short love poems)
pananaro-on (sayings and proverbs)
sowa-sowa-i (drama)
antoka (riddle or puzzle), and
darangan (epic poetry)
Rona C. Catubig 7

8. Pre-colonial Epics
• Filipinos were fond of composing epic poetry,
which is why the country is unique for having
more than twenty epic poems.
Examples:
Hudhud and Alim (Ifugao),
Biag ni Lam-Ang (The Life of Lam-Ang /Ilocano)
Bantugan, Indarapatra and Sulayman,
and Bidasari (Moslems)
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9. Igorots reciting Hudhud
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10. Prince
Bantugan
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11. Indarapata
& Sulayman
Rona C. Catubig 11

12.  stories originating in popular
culture, typically passed on by word
of mouth.
 prose narratives which are regarded
as fiction
 they are not considered as history,
they may or may not have happened
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13. Aponibolinayen and the Sun
The Monkey and the Turtle
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14.  myths form an important genre of folk
literature
 "a sacred narrative explaining how the world
and man came to be in their present form"
 Philippine myths show that our ancient
peoples believed in one supreme god and in a
number of lesser gods and goddesses
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15.  The Good God and the Bad God
 Why the Sky is High
 Tungkung Langit and Alunsina
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16. are usually very old stories with little or
no evidence to prove them.
 are often passed on by word-of-mouth.
They are very similar to myths.
 tell stories of where certain things came
from
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17. The Legend of Rice
 The Legend of Mount Kanlaon
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