Genres of

Literature
Philippine Lit

Prepared by
Roginette F. Eusala
 Genres of Literature
50-Proverbs
1 50-Riddles
15-Folksongs(backgrounds)
2 15-Myths
Gods and Goddesses
3 15-Legends
15-Fables
4
15-Epics(origin)
Cambria
10
Narrow
1.5-
Softcopy
Deadline-performance
 Proverbs
Embodied the wisdom of the ages past the practical observation
and practical philosophy of everyday life. e.g.
Ang dila ay hindi patalim. . .
Ngunit kung sumugat ay malalim!

Bahay man ay palasyo

Kung laman ay kuwago;
Mabuti pa ang kubong
Laman ay tao.

Hangga't makitid ang kumot,

matutong mamaluktot.
 Riddles

Expressed in poetic form, riddles are still very popular today.

Filipino love riddling because it is really a battle of wits among the
participant. The Tagalogs have the great number of collected riddle.

E.g.

Narito si Amba
Sulong-sulong ang dampa
 Folksongs
Some of them were spontaneous and informal expressions of our
ancestors personal experiences. They were also lullaby songs, courtship
songs, thanks-giving songs, songs to bury the dead, songs for the sick
and dying.
E.g. Hele or Oyayi!
Matulog ka bunso
Ang ina moy malayo;
At hindi ka masundo,
Daay walang magturo
Tulog na matulugin,
Hindi kita gigisingin,
Hindi kita pupuyatin
At unsoy palalayawin
 Magtanim ay di biro
Magtanim ay Di Biro (Planting Rice is Not a Joke) is a popular
Tagalog folk song. This classic song was composed by Felipe
De Leon.

Magtanim ay di biro
Maghapong nakayuko
Di naman makatayo
Di naman makaupo
Bisig ko'y namamanhid
Baywang ko'y nangangawit.
Binti ko'y namimintig
Sa pagkababad sa tubig.
Kay-pagkasawing-palad
Ng inianak sa hirap,
Ang bisig kung di iunat,
Di kumita ng pilak. Sa umagang
pagkagising
Lahat ay iisipin
Kung saan may patanim
May masarap na pagkain.
Halina, halina, mga kaliyag,
Tayo'y magsipag-unat-unat.
Magpanibago tayo ng lakas
Para sa araw ng bukas
(Braso ko'y namamanhid
Baywang ko'y nangangawit.
Binti ko'y namimintig
Sa pagkababad sa tubig.)
 Sitsiritsit
This traditional Filipino folk song is a humorous song
that describes a flirtatious woman threatening the
storeowner that ants are going to get him if he is not
going to extend credit.

Sitsiritsit, alibangbang Salaginto at salagubang.

Ang babae sa lansangan,
Kung gumiriy parang tandang.
Santo Nio sa Pandakan
" Puto seko sa tindahan.
Kung ayaw mong magpautang, Uubusin ka ng langgam.
Mama, mama, namamangka, Pasakayin yaring bata.
Pagdating sa Maynila, Ipagpalit ng manika.
Ale, ale namamayong " Pasukubin yaring sanggol.
Pagdating sa Malabon, Ipagpalit ng bagoong.
Sitsiritsit, alibangbang, Salaginto at salagubang. Ang
babae sa lansangan,' Kung gumiriy parang tandang.
 Paruparong bukid
Paruparong bukid na lilipad-lipad
Sa gitna ng daan papagapagaspas
Isang bara ang tapis
Isang dangkal ang manggas Paroparong Bukid, which means farm
Ang sayang de kola butterfly, is another popular Tagalog folk
song composed by Felipe De Leon.
Isang piyesa ang sayad
May payneta pa siya uy!
May suklay pa man din uy!
Nagwas de-ohetes ang palalabasin
Haharap sa altar at mananalamin
At saka lalakad nang pakendeng-kendeng.
 Leron, Leron, Sinta

This popular classic traditional folk song composed

by Alberto Florentino. This folk song is about a man named
Leron and her sweetheart Neneng. The song revolves
around the adventures of the two sweethearts as they pick
fruits from a Papaya and a Tamarind trees. The first verse is
the most famous.
 Leron, Leron, Sinta

Halika na Neneng at tayoy magsimba

At iyong isuot ang baro mot saya
Ang baro mot sayang pagkaganda-ganda
Kay ganda ng kulay berde, puti, pula.
Leron, Leron, sinta
Buko ng papaya Akoy ibigin mo, lalaking matapang
Dala dala'y buslo Ang sundang koy pito, ang baril koy
Sisidlan ng bunga siyam.
Pagdating sa dulo'y Ang lalakarin koy parte ng dinulang.
Nabali ang sanga, Isang pinggang pansit, ang aking kalaban!
Kapos kapalaran
Humanap ng iba.

Halika na Neneng, tayoy manampalok

Dalhin mo ang buslo, sisidlan ng hinog
Pagdating sa duloy uunda-undayog
Kumapit ka Neneng, baka ka mahulog.
 Myths
ancient story: a traditional story about heroes or supernatural beings,
often attempting to explain the origins of natural phenomena aspects of
human behavior.
The origin myths explained the origin of the surrounding world the
beginning of the sky, the sea, the earth and other natural phenomena.
The Creation (Igorot).
How the Moon and the Stars Came to Be (Bukidnon).
Origin (Bagobo).
The Story of the Creation (Bilaan).
In the Beginning (Bilaan).
The Children of the Limokon (Mandaya).
The Creation Story (Tagalog).
 The Creation
Igorot
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 these 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, but 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. These, in turn, married and had many children. 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. But these
people could not understand the directions of the Great Spirit, and the next time he visited them, they had not touched
the salt.
Then he took it away from them and gave it to the people of a place called Mayinit. These did as he directed, and
because of this 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, and 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. When he told the people there what to do, they did
just as he said, and their jars were well shaped and beautiful. Then the Great Spirit 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.
 How the Moon and the Stars Came to
Be
Bukidnon (Mindanao)
One day in the times when the sky was close to the ground a
spinster went out to pound rice. Before she began her work, she took
off the beads from around her neck and the comb from her hair, and
hung them on the sky, which at that time looked like coral rock.
Then she began working, and each time that she raised her pestle into
the air it struck the sky. For some time she pounded the rice, and then
she raised the pestle so high that it struck the sky very hard.
Immediately the sky began to rise, and it went up so far that she lost
her ornaments. Never did they come down, for the comb became the
moon and the beads are the stars that are scattered about.
 The Story of the Creation
Bilaan (Mindanao)
In the very beginning there lived a being so large that he cannot be compared with any known thing.
His name was Melu, and when he sat on the clouds, which were his home, he occupied all the space above. His
teeth were pure gold, and because he was very cleanly and continually rubbed himself with his hands, his skin
became pure white. The dead skin which he rubbed off his body was placed on one side in a pile, and by and by
this pile became so large that he was annoyed and set himself to consider what he could do with it.Finally Melu
decided to make the earth; so he worked very hard in putting the dead skin into shape, and when it was finished
he was so pleased with it that he determined to make two beings like himself, though smaller, to live on it.
Taking the remnants of the material left after making the earth he fashioned two men, but just as they were all
finished except their noses, Tau Tana from below the earth appeared and wanted to help him.
Melu did not wish any assistance, and a great argument ensued. Tau Tana finally won his point and
made the noses which he placed on the people upside down. When all was finished, Melu and Tau Tana whipped
the forms until they moved. Then Melu went to his home above the clouds, and Tau Tana returned to his place
below the earth.
All went well until one day a great rain came, and the people on the earth nearly drowned from the
water which ran off their heads into their noses. Melu, from his place on the clouds, saw their danger, and he
came quickly to earth and saved their lives by turning their noses the other side up.
The people were very grateful to him, and promised to do anything he should ask of them. Before he
left for the sky, they told him that they were very unhappy living on the great earth all alone, so he told them to
save all the hair from their heads and the dry skin from their bodies and the next time he came he would make
them some companions. And in this way there came to be a great many people on the earth.
 The Children of the Limokon
Mandaya (Mindanao)

In the very early days before there were any people on the earth, the
limokon (a kind of dove ) were very powerful and could talk like men though they
looked like birds. One limokon laid two eggs, one at the mouth of the Mayo River
and one farther up its course. After some time these eggs hatched, and the one
at the mouth of the river became a man, while the other became a woman.
The man lived alone on the bank of the river for a long time, but he was
very lonely and wished many times for a companion. One day when he was
crossing the river something was swept against his legs with such force that it
nearly caused him to drown. On examining it, he found that it was a hair, and he
determined to go up the river and find whence it came. He traveled up the
stream, looking on both banks, until finally he found the woman, and he was very
happy to think that at last he could have a companion.
They were married and had many children, who are the Mandaya still living along
the Mayo River.
 Tagalog
When the world first began there was no land, but only the sea and the sky, and between them was a kite
(a bird something like a hawk). 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 light on one of the islands to build
her 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 child which was a bamboo. One day when this 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,
and out of one section came a man and from the other a woman.
Then the earthquake called on all the birds and fish to see what should be done with these two, 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, and 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.
This so frightened the children that they fled in different directions, seeking hidden rooms in the house -- some
concealed themselves in the walls, some ran outside, while others hid in the fireplace, and 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.
Gods and Goddesses
Philippine Mythology
Bathala or Batala

Also known as Abba, this highest-

ranking deity was described as may
kapal sa lahat, or the creator of
everything. His origin is unknown
but his name suggests Hindu
influences.

According to William Henry

Scott,Bathalawas derived from the
Sanskritbhattarawhich means noble
lord.
Dimangan

Dumangan was the Tagalog

sky-god of good harvest,
the husband of Idianale, and
father to Dumakulem and
Anitun Tabu.
Anitun Tabu

Among ancient Tagalogs,

Anitun Tabu was
known as the fickle-
minded goddess of the
wind and rain. Shes
one of the two children of
Dumangan and Idianale.
Dumakalem

Dumakulem was the son

of Idianale and
Dumangan, and brother of
wind goddess Anitun
Tabu. The ancient
Tagalogs revered him
as the guardian of the
mountains. He is often
depicted as a strong and
skillful hunter.
Lakapati / Ikapati

was the Tagalog goddess

of fertility. F. Landa Jocano
described her as the
goddess of the cultivated
land andthe benevolent
giver of food and
prosperity.
Mapulon

In Tagalog mythology,
Mapulon was the god
of seasons. F. Landa
Jocano, in the book
Outline of Philippine
Mythology, described
Mapulon as one of the
lesser divinities assisting
Bathala.
Anagolay

Pre-colonial Tagalogs who

were hopelessly looking
for their missing stuff
prayed to Anagolay, the
goddess of lost things.
She was the daughter of
two major Tagalog deities
Ikapati and Mapulon.
Apolaki

Roman god Mars, Apolaki appeared

in several ancient myths.The
Tagalogs revered Apolaki as
the sun god as well as patron
of the warriors. He shares almost
the same qualities with the
Kapampangan sun god of war and
death, Aring Sinukuan.
Early people of Pangasinan claimed
that Apolaki talked to them.
Diyan Masalanta

If the Greeks had Aphrodite, our

Tagalog ancestors had Dian
Masalanta. The patron goddess
of lovers and childbirth, this
deity was the brother of the
sun god Apolaki to parents
Anagolay and Dumakulem.
Amanikable

Depending on what book you read,

Amanikabli (Amanikable or
Aman Ikabli in other sources)
could either be the ancient
Tagalog patron of hunters or
god of the sea.
 Tala

Once upon a time,Bathalafell in

love with a mortal woman. She
died after giving birth to three
beautiful daughters. Of
course,Bathaladidnt want
anything bad to happen to his girls
so he brought all three of them to
the sky to live with him.
Mayari/ Bulan
Hanan
Manggagaway

Just like Bathala, the vicious Sitan

was also assisted by other lesser
deities or mortal agents. First was
Mangagaway, the wicked
shapeshifter who wore skull
necklace and could kill or heal
anyone with the use of her
magic wand. She could also
prolong ones death for weeks or
even months by simply binding a
snake containing her potion around
the persons waist
 Kasamaan
Ancient Tagalog counterpart of Hell
TheKasanaanis a place of punishment ruled by Sitan, which
shares striking similarities with Christianitys ultimate villain,
Satan.
 Sitan
Just like Bathala, the vicious Sitan
was also assisted by other lesser
deities or mortal agents. First was
Mangagaway, the wicked
shapeshifter who wore skull
necklace and could kill or heal
anyone with the use of her
magic wand. She could also
prolong ones death for weeks or
even months by simply binding a
snake containing her potion around
the persons waist
Mangkukulam

Equally frightening were Hukluban

and Mankukulam.
In William Henry
ScottsBaranggay,the former was
dethe most powerful kind of witch,
able to kill or cause
unconsciousness simply by
greeting a person.
Hukluban
 Legends
Old story: a story that has been passed down
for generations, especially one that is presented as
history but is unlikely to be true.
 The Code of Kalantiaw
was a legendary legal code in
the epic story Maragtas. It is said to
have been written in 1433 by Datu
Kalantiaw, a chief on the island of
Negros in the Philippines. It was
actually written in 1913 by Jose E.
Marco as a part of his historical fiction
Las antiguas leyendas de la Isla de
Negros (Spanish, "The Ancient
Legends of the Island of Negros"),
which he attributed to a priest named
Jose Maria Pavon.
 Article I

You shall not kill, neither shall you

steal, neither shall you do harm to
the aged, lest you incur the danger
of death. All those who infringe
this order shall be condemned to
death by being drowned in the
river, or in boiling water.
 Article II

You shall obey. Let all your debts

with the headman be met
punctually. He who does not obey
shall receive for the first time one
hundred lashes. If the debt is
large, he shall be condemned to
thrust his hand in boiling water
thrice. For the second time, he
shall be beaten to death.
 Article III

Obey you: let no one have women

that are very young nor more than
he can support; nor be given to
excessive lust. He who does not
comply with, obey, and observe
this order shall be condemned to
swim for three hours for the first
time and for the second time, to
be beaten to death with sharp
thorns
Leonardo Manicio,
Sr. a.k.a. Nardong Putik was
a Filipino gangster turned folk
hero. An hoodlum
from Cavite province, Putik
credited his ability to survive and
escape numerous ambushes and
gunfights to his anting-
anting (amulet). Nardong Putik's
ability to elude the law and his
enemies made him a legend to
many people.
ccording to Caviteos, Putik got
that name as he was known to
submerge himself in mud paddies,
among carabaos, using bamboo or
papaya stalks as breathing tubes,
whenever he had to evade a police
or military dragnet.
 Fables
story that teaches lesson: a short story with
a moral, especially one which the characters
are animals.
 Ang Uwak na
Nagpanggap
Isang uwak ang nakakita ng mga lagas na balahibo ng pabo sa
lupa. Pinagmasdan niya iyon at nasiyahan sa iba't ibang kulay na taglay
niyon. At dahil sawa na siya sa pagiging isang itim na ibon, iyon ay kanyang
pinulot isa-isa at saka idinikit sa kanyang katawan.
Iyon lang at dali-dali siyang lumipad patungo sa grupo ng mga pabo at
nagpakilala bilang kauri ng mga ito.
Ngunit sadyang kilala ng mga pabo ang kanilang kauri, kaya naman
hindi rin nagtagal ay nabisto ng mga ito ang nagkukunwaring uwak.
Dahil dito, inalis ng mga pabo ang iba't ibang kulay na balahibong nakadikit
sa katawan ng uwak. Pagkuwa'y pinagtutuka nila ito hanggang sa takot na
lumisan.
Nang magbalik ang uwak sa kanyang mga kauri, hindi na rin siya
tinanggap ng mga ito. At sinabing, "Hindi namin kailangan ang isang tulad
mong walang pagmamahal sa sariling anyo!"
 ANG ASO AT ANG UWAK
May ibong uwak na nakakita ng karne na nakabilad sa araw.
Tinangay niya ito at lumipad nang malayo.
Sa dulo ng sanga ng isang puno, sinimulan niyang kainin ang
karne.
Ngunit narinig niya ang malakas na boses ng isang aso na
nagsabi: Sa lahat ng ibon, ang uwak ang pinaka-magaling.
Walang kakumpara!
Natuwa ang uwak at binukas ang bibig para humalakhak.
Ang nangyari ay nalaglag ang karne mula sa kanyang bibig.
Nahulog ito sa lupa kung saan kaagad sinunggaban ng aso.
Ngayon alam na natin na ang papuri ay maaaring uri ng
panloloko rin.
 Epics
dominated the literature of this period. Filipino epics are long
poetic compositions recounting the heroic exploits of
characters displaying superhuman strength. From these epics,
readers came to learn about the Filipino national traditions
and aspirations at certain stages of the life history of the
people. Epic poems of great proportions and lengths were
found all over the islands.
Biag ni Lam-ang (Ilocos Region)
Hudhod ni Alim (Ifugao)
Kabunlan and Bendian (Ibaloys)
Kumintang (Tagalogs)
Maragtas and Hinilawod (Panay-Bisaya)
Haraya and Lagda (Sibuhanon and Samar-Leyte Bisaya)
Hari sa Bukit (Negros Bisaya)
Ronsay (Kuyunon Bisaya)
Dagoy and Sudsud (Tagbanuas of Palawan)
Bantugan, most popular darangan of the (Muslims)
Daramoke-A-Babay, its sequel and
Indarapatra at Sulayman of Maguindanao
Bidasari, adapted from Malays by Muslims
Parang Sabil (Sulu Muslims)
Tatuaang (Bagobos of south Mindanao)
Ulanginin and Seleb (Manobos)