Name & Section:

Philippine Literature during the Pre-Colonial

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1
Era
I. Preliminay Activity
A. Cut out (or you can draw/sketch) a picture from a magazine or any source of something that represents the pre-
colonial literature for you as a student. This is the period when we did not have papers and pens to use. Below
the pictures, answer the following questions:
1. How do you think did our ancestors write their literary works and pieces?
2. How do you think did they communicate their stories?
II. Lecturette/Concept Notes
Pre-Colonial Literature (before 1564)
 Characterized mainly by oral tradition; crude on ideology and phraseology; shows our customs and traditions in
everyday life; and focuses on self-expression
 Oral and written literatures were present in our culture even before colonizers came. Our ancestors also had their
own alphabet which was different from that brought by the Spaniards. The first alphabet (Alibata) used by our
ancestors was similar to that of the Malayo-Polynesian alphabet. The written literary forms did not last because of the
materials used such as: 1) leaves, 2)bamboo canes, and 3) the ground. Such materials did not last long because of its
organic composition. But the oral literature continued and passed down from generation to generation by word of
mouth like: 1) riddles, 2) proverbs, 3) folksongs and folktales, 4) myths and legends, etc.
- LITERARY WORKS:
1. Riddles (Bugtong) – a statement or question having double or veiled meanings.
Ex. Heto na si Kaka, bubuka-bukaka. (Here comes Kaka, walking with an open leg.) [Ans. Spider]
2. Proverbs (Salawikain) – wise sayings with metaphors that serves as lessons.
Ex. Kung walang tiyaga, walang nilalga. (If you don’t persevere, you can expect no reward.)
3. Folk Songs – one of the oldest forms of Philippine Literature. beautiful songs that are informal expressions of
our ancestors’ experiences in life. These range from courtship (which they sing in a harana or a serenade for a
girl), to lullabies or Ili-ili, harvests, funerals, and others.
4. Myths – stories on how things happened or how things possess certain characteristics. This is told to explain a
belief, a practice, or a natural phenomenon. Ex. The Creation
5. Legends – origin of things which is presented as history but is unlikely to be true.
Ex. The Flood Story (A Bukidnon Legend)
6. Fables – stories with animal characters. Ex. The monkey and the tortoise
7. Epics – narratives of certain lengths based on oral tradition revolving on supernatural events. This narrative poem
Write your celebrates
answertheon a separate
adventures sheet of
and achievements of abond paper.
hero. Ex. WriteBiag
Darangen (Maranao), your answer
ni Lam-ang on a
(Ilocano)
8. Folktales (Kwentong-bayan)
separate sheet of bond paper. – a characteristically anonymous, timeless, and placeless tale circulated orally
among a people. Ex Juan Tamad, Juan Pusong and his Father’s Cows

III. Activities
A. Below are examples of riddles from different regions and ethnic groups. Choose the best answer from
the right and place the letter of your answer on the space before the number.
1. Ilocano: Ajjar tangapakking (When you cut it)
Awaya ipagalliuk (It is mended without a scar)
2. Aklanon: Nagabuka owa‘t baba (It opens though it has no mouth) A. Sili (chilli pepper)
Nagahiyom-hiyom (It smiles quietly) B. boat
Matsa may sikreto. (There seems to be a secret.) C. pineapple
3. Visaya: Baboy sa lasang (A wild pig of the forest) D. flower
Ang tunok puro lansang. (Covered with spikes) E. water
4. Bondoc: Wada san duay sing-anag-I (There are two brothers) F. ears
Menkasidkugda. (They turn their backs on one another.) G. earrings
5. Tagalog: Nang hatakin ko ang baging (When I tugged on the vine) H. Bell (kampana)
Nagkagulo ang mga matsing. (The monkeys went crazy). J. eyes
6. Badjao: Daing-daing ai bang kekita, (What kind of fish is this that)
Angekit kita? (When we bite, it bites us?)
7. Aeta: Muminuddukam. A ningngijjitan. (It wears a crown but isn’t a queen. It has scale but isn’t a fish.)
8. Tagalog: Dalawa kong kahon; Buksan walang ugong (My two boxes are opened without a sound)
9. Bisaya: Gipalit ko bisan ug mahal, (I bought it and it‘s costly)
Apan magpulos lamang ug magbitay. (But I use it for hanging only.)
10. Bisaya: May ligon nga balay, (What sturdy house)
Ang haligi atua sa taas, (that has post on top,)

ZAGMNHS-SHS (344536) 1| 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World by ILT
21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World
 Ang atop atua sa ubos, (A roof at the bottom,)
Ang ulan gikan usab sa ubos? (While the rain comes from below?)
B. List down some proverbs or salawikain that you may have heard from your elders. Then give the lesson that it
is trying to impart on us.
Ex. Proverb: Kung may tinanim, may aanihin. (If you plant, you harvest.)
Lesson: Plan ahead because your future will be the result of your actions.
Proverb1. _____________________________________________________
Lesson _____________________________________________________
Proverb 2. _____________________________________________________
Lesson _____________________________________________________
Proverb 3. _____________________________________________________
Lesson _____________________________________________________
Proverb4. _____________________________________________________
Lesson _____________________________________________________
Proverb 5. _____________________________________________________
Lesson _____________________________________________________
C. “Tungkung Langit and Alunsina” as adapted by F. Landa Jocano.
One of the stories about the creation of the world, which the old people of Panay, especially those living near the
mountains, do not tire relating, tells that in the beginning there was no sky or earth, only a bottomless deep and a
world of mist. Everything was shapeless and formless. The earth, the sky and the sea were almost mixed up. In a
word, there was confusion. Then, from the depths of this formless void, there appeared two gods, Tungkung Langit
("Pillar of the Sky") and Alunsina ("The Unmarried One). Just where these two deities came from, it was not known.
However, it was related that Tungkung Langit had fallen in love with Alunsina; and after so many years of courtship
they got married and had their abode in the highest realm of ethereal space, where the water was constantly warm and
the breeze was constantly cool. It was in this place where order and regularity first took place. Tungkung Langit was
an industrious, loving and kind god whose chief concern was how to impose order over the whole confused set-up of
things. He assumed responsibility for the regular cosmic movement. On the other hand, Alunsina was a lazy, jealous
and selfish goddess whose only work was to sit by the window of their heavenly home and amuse herself with her
pointless thoughts. Sometimes, she would go down the house, sit down by a pool near the doorsteps, and comb her
long jet-black hair all day long. One day, Tungkung Langit told his wife that he would be away from home for some
time to put an end to the chaotic disturbances in the flow of time and the position of things. However, despite this
purpose, Alunsina sent the breeze to spy on Tungkung Langit. This made the latter very angry upon knowing about
it. Immediately after his return from his trip, he called this act to her attention, saying that it as ungodly of her to be
jealous, there being no other creature in the world except the two of them. This reproach was resented by Alunsina
and a quarrel between them followed. Tungkung Langit lost his temper. In his rage he divested his wife of powers
Write your answer
and drove onHea did
her away. separate sheet
not know where of bond
Alunsina paper.
went; she WriteSeveral
merely disappeared. yourdaysanswer on ahad
after Alunsina
separate sheet of bond paper.
left, Tungkung Langit felt very lonely. He realized what he had done. Somehow, it was too late even to be sorry
about the whole matter. The whole place, once vibrant with Alunsina's sweet voice, suddenly became cold and
desolate. In the morning when he woke up, he would find himself alone; and in the afternoon when he came home,
he would feel the same loneliness creeping deep in his heart because there was no one to meet him at the doorstep or
soothe the aching muscles of his arms. For months, Tungkung Langit was in utter desolation. He could not find
Alunsina, try hard as he would. And so, in desperation, he decided to do something in order to forget his sorrows. For
months and months he thought. His mind seemed pointless; his heart weary and sick. But he must do something
about his lonely world. One day, while he was sailing across the regions of the clouds, a thought came to him. H
would make the sea and the earth, and lo! The earth and the sea suddenly appeared. However, the somber sight of the
lonely sea and the barren land irritated him. So he came down to earth and planted the ground with trees and flowers.
Then he took his wife's treasured jewels and scattered them in the sky, hoping that when Alunsina would see them
she might be induced to return home. The goddess's necklace became the stars, her comb the moon and her crown the
sun. However, despite all these Alunsina did not come back. Up to this time, the old folk say Tungkung Langit lives
alone in his palace in the skies. Sometimes, he would cry out his pent-up emotion and his tears would fall down upon
the earth. The people in Panay today say the rain is Tungkung Langit's tears. Incidentally, when it thunders hard, the
old folk also say that it is Tungkung Langit sobbing, calling for his beloved Alunsina to come back, entreating her so
hard that his voice reverberates across the fields and the countryside. (End)

Compare and contrast the story of creation as told by the story of Tungkung Langit and Alunsina to the
story of creation that appears in Genesis from the Catholic religion bible.
1. Write the similarities and differences of the god mentioned in Tungkung Langit and Alunsina to the god
mentioned in the Catholic bible.
2. What are the similarities and differences in the creation of the universe in both stories?
3. How about the similarities and differences in the creation of man?
Similarities Differences
God / Supernatural Being

ZAGMNHS-SHS (344536) 1| 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World by ILT
21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World
 Creation of the Universe
Creation of Man

ZAGMNHS-SHS (344536) 1| 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World by ILT
21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World