|
|
|
|
Literature of the Philippines
|
| |
|
| |
The literature of the Philippines started with fables, and legends of prehistory, and colonial legacy of the Philippines, written in both indigenous, and hispanic writing system. Most of the notable literatures of the Philippines were written during the Mexican, and Spanish period. Philippine literature is written in Spanish, Filipino, English, and other native Philippine languages.
Compared to other Asian countries, the Philippine Islands has very few artifacts that show evidence of Asian writing.
Discussion
Ask a question about 'Literature of the Philippines' Start a new discussion about 'Literature of the Philippines' Answer questions from other users |
Encyclopedia
The literature of the Philippines started with fables, and legends of prehistory, and colonial legacy of the Philippines, written in both indigenous, and hispanic writing system. Most of the notable literatures of the Philippines were written during the Mexican, and Spanish period. Philippine literature is written in Spanish, Filipino, English, and other native Philippine languages.
Compared to other Asian countries, the Philippine Islands has very few artifacts that show evidence of Asian writing. However literacy, with a script called (Baybayin), was widespread in Luzon when the Spaniards settled the islands in 1521.
The Spaniards recorded that indigenous people in Manila, and among other native groups in the Philippines, wrote on bamboo, and specially prepared (Arecaceae palm) leaves, using knives, and styli. They were using the ancient Tagalog script which had 17 basic symbols, three of which were the vowels a/e, i, and o/u. Each basic consonantal symbol had the inherent a sound: ka, ga, nga, ta, da, na, pa, ba, ma, ya, la, wa, sa, and ha.
A (diacritical mark), called "kudlit", modified the sound of the symbol. The kudlit could be a dot, a short line, or even an arrowhead. When placed above the symbol, it changed the inherent sound of the symbol from a/e to i; placed below, the sound became o/u. Thus a ba/be with a kudlit placed above became a bi; if the kudlit was placed below, the symbol became a bo/bu.Ba Be Bi Bo Bu
Classical Literature in Spanish (19th Century)
In 1863 a Spanish decree introduced universal education creating free public schooling in Spanish. This had an important role in the rise of an educated class called the "Ilustrado" (meaning, well-informed) such as the Philippine National hero José Rizal, who wrote important literary works in Spanish, and is considered Philippine Classical Literature. Some members of this cultural elite include: José Rizal and Pedro Paterno. Major historical documents such as the national anthem, the Malolos Constitution or Constitución Política de Malolos and revolutionary propaganda is also considered classical literature. Nationalism was first propagated in the Spanish language, especially in the writings of Marcelo H. Del Pilar or "Plaridel" in the La Solidaridad publications. In Cebu City, the first Spanish newspaper, "El Boletín de Cebú" (The Bulletin of Cebu), was published in 1886. Liwayway Magazine then was first named as "Flora Sentino" by Orlando Agnes
Modern Literature (20th and 21st century)
Ironically, the greatest portion of Spanish literature by native Filipinos was written during the American period, because the Spanish language was still predominant among the Filipino intellectuals. One of the country's major writers, Claro M. Recto, continued writing in Spanish until 1946. Other well-known Spanish-language writers, especially during the American period were Isidro Marfori, Cecilio Apostol, Fernando Ma. Guerrero, Flavio Zaragoza Cano, Jesús Balmori, Enrique Fernandez Lumba, Francisco Zaragoza; and in the latter half of the 20th century, Fernandez, Rivera, Estrada, Farolán, Licsi, and Castrillo, among others.
Among the newspapers published in Spanish were "El Renacimiento", "La Democracia", "La Vanguardia", "El Pueblo de Iloilo", "El Tiempo", and others. Three magazines, "The Independent", "Philippine Free Press", and "Philippine Review" were published in Spanish, and English.
In 1915, the local newspapers began publishing sections in English. Cebu had its share of writers in Spanish, most of whom flourished during the early decades of the century. Although their output would diminish in later years, José del Mar won a Zobel Prize (Premio Zobel) for his work "Perfiles" in 1965.
In Asian literature, Filipinos especially excel in literature. Leon Comber, the former British publisher of the Heinemann Writing in Asia Series and the head judge for the Asiaweek Short Story Competition commended the Filipino writers in his introduction to the book "Prize Winning Asian Fiction", published in 1991 by Times Book International. He wrote: "Many of the best short stories came from the Philippines... because Filipino writers felt at ease using English as a medium of expression. In fact, their country is the third-largest English-speaking nation in the world and they take to writing in the language as a form of "artistic expression" and show just as much zest and natural talent for it as they do for painting, music and the other arts."BYG
Notable People
Notable Works
- Biag ni Lam-ang - Ilocano epic.
- Ibong Adarna
- Florante at Laura
- Doctrina Christiana
- Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo - both written by José Rizal in Spanish, created controversy among the Spanish authority in the Philippines. They were instrumental in creating a Filipino sense of identity during the Spanish colonial period.
- Manuvu's Tuwaang
- Sulod's Hinilawod
- Maranaw's Bantugan
- by Antonio de Morga
- Maragtas - A collection of legends of ten chiefs (datus) who escaped from the tyranny of Datu Makatunaw of Borneo to the island of Panay. The chiefs and followers are believed to be ancestors of the Visayans. The arrival is celebrated in the festival of the Ati-atihan ni Kalibo, Aklan. While they are legends, they are also based on actual facts and events. The legends were compiled into a book by Pedro Alcántara Monteclaro in 1907.
- The Good Fight - Manuel L. Quezon
- Herbarium aliarumque stirpium in insula Luzone Philippinarum by Georg Joseph Kamel
External links
- Full text, online collection of selected 100 Tagalog novels published by
- The first Filipino novel written by Pedro Paterno published by
- Example of a Filipino short story during the early American period
|
| |
|
|
