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Philippine Literature. and the Spanish occupation. E xisting Philippine written records has been destroyed I ncluding the Philippine alphabet R eplaced by Catholic teachings in Spanish The passion of Christ was forced on indigenous communities
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Philippine Literature and the Spanish occupation
Existing Philippine written records has been destroyed • Including the Philippine alphabet • Replaced by Catholic teachings in Spanish • The passion of Christ was forced on indigenous communities • Those who were to become part of the colonial ruling elite were taught Latin script.
The only surviving documents written in the ancient Tagalogalphabet are not works of literature • LaguneCopperplate Inscription from 900AD which is a receipt for payment of a debt, • DoctrinaChristiana of 1593. • Literature in the Philippines in written form is only known from times well into the colonial period. • Many of the works written in the early colonial period were religious in nature extolling the virtues of Christianity to a population that had previously followed local polytheism.
Chants and poems that could be read or memorized for use in church or in local festivities were actively encouraged • the “Memorial De La Vida Cristiana en LenguaTagala” by Fernando Bagonbanta in 1605 contained many lyrics that could be sung. • In 1640 an ancient epic, Biagni Lam-ang was published by Pedro Buceneg, a blind Filipino poet who related the ancient fable to a monk from his local parish. • 1705 saw Gaspar Aquino de Belen write a series of quintillas that were more subdued and serious in nature than those of his predecessor Bagonbanta, emphasizing the solemnity of the life of Christ.
Philippine poetry and literature was written in Spanish • Tagalogbeing frowned upon as a base language not worthy of great works of writing. • One of the Philippines greatest writers of any era Francisco Balagtas, a man likened with William Shakespeare for the prolific and profound nature of his works, refused to write in Spanish for which he was persecuted during his lifetime.
Pasyon • A narrative of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ woven into a poem with stanzas of five lines and each line having eight syllables. • The indigenization of the Pasyon was begun by Gaspar Aquino de Belén in AngMahalna Passion niJesuCristongPanginoonNatinnaTola (The poem of the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ), published in 1703 or 1704. • The more popular version of the pasyon is the CasaysayannangPasiongMahalniJesucristongPanginoonNatinnaSucatIpag-alabnangPusonangSinomangBabasa (The History of the Passion of Jesus Christ our Lord that will set afire the heart of whosoever reads it). • An 1852 erudition by Aniceto de Merced, El libro de la vida (The Book of Life), did not, however become popular with the masses.
The tradition of chanting the pasyon does not owe anything to its Mexican or Spanish origins but is connected to the singing of epics during cultural celebrations among indigenous Filipinos. • The pasyon is usually chanted acapella though occasionally the chanters may be accompanied by guitars or a rondalla band. • Many innovations in pasyon singing have been introduced, like the use of the guitar or rondalla for accompaniment and the use of the accordion by a traveling group of pasyon singers. • Singing of the pasyon is performed in two basic group formations. • two people or groups of people sing alternately. • each of the singers take their turns in singing a stanza of text.
Senakulo • from the Spanish cenaculo • a Lenten play that depicts events from the Old and New Testaments related to the life, sufferings, and death of Christ. • traditionally performed on a proscenium-type stage with painted cloth or paper backdrops that are called telon. • It takes at least eight nights - from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday - to present the play. • Christ is presented traditionally as meek and masochistic, submitting lamblike to his fate in obedience to authority.
Modernized senakulo • for only one or two hours • presented in different types of venues: on the traditional stage, on the streets, in a chapel, in a large room, or out in the open. • Comedy, courtship, and special effects may be incorporated • tend to focus not on Christ’s submissiveness, but on his reason and resolve in courageously standing up for the downtrodden against their oppressors, perhaps suggesting how current problems may be resolved.
Street senakulos • another form of penance where the people are walking with the procession. • Locals act as Roman soldiers with their menacingly painted masks and armors, pounding on doors to search for Jesus. • The routine of the reenactment has not changed, but its presentation is infused with a fresh flavor to reach the modern-world absorbed consciousness of the new generation.
The senakulo of Morong, Rizal • Started in 1993 • PangkalinangangKilusanngmgaTaga-Morong (PAKITAMO), the local cultural society in Morong, Rizal • The play entitled "AngTagapagligtas" is largely based on the four gospels. • Christ's nativity, • His youth, • His public ministry • suffering, death and resurrection. • Fictional characters and dialogues are used as details to link the gaps left open in the Bible. • The play is in three acts - one act presented each night from Holy Wednesday to Good Friday. • A verse is sung in the traditional pasyon manner as prologue to each act.
PAKITAMO has organized a theater group to undertake the annual presentation of the play at the town plaza. • Aside from its objective to develop artistic talents, the PAKITAMO-produced senakulo aims to preserve tradition, to promote brotherhood and to spread true Christian values through the theatrical presentation of the New Testament.
Awit at corido • Damiana Eugenio • metrical romances • long verse narratives on chivalric-heroic, religious, legendary and folkloric themes. • They are of uniform stanza pattern, monoriming and vary in length, from a few hundred to several thousand lines.
Trinidad H. Pardo de Tavera • stories in verse about historic events, falsified and fanciful, and love tragedies full of wonderful events mixed with divine prodigy and diabolical magic • lengthy, exaggerated, puerile, and absurd in the extreme. • Not one of the characters is native. All are Turks, Arabs, knight-errant, ambassadors, dukes, warriors in armor, provided with magic arms and with balsams like the famous one of Fierabras, good Castilians and bad strangers.
The korido is a declaration or narration on falling in love and the struggles of a heroic character, which is also filled with mystery. • The awit, on the other hand, is a narration of friendship and struggles of the characters with the absence of mystery
Komedya • A colorful theatrical tradition that describes the conflicts between the Muslims and the Christians. • It was used by the Spanish as a method to spread Christianity in the country.
Types • Secular Komedya - performed at the local fiestas. • Moro-Moro is a type - portrays the clash between the Muslims and the Christians where the forbidden romance between the prince and the princess is settled by having the non-Christian be converted to christianity or by his or her death followed by a resurrection through divine intervention. • Tibag or Arakya - featured during the annual Santacruzan. The story evolves on the search for the Holy Cross by Queen Helena and her son, Emperor Constantino. • Religious Komedya – (Komedya de Santo) centers on the life of Christ or of any saint. It usually seen during church celebrations. The actors move in a stylized way, have extravagant costumes and elaborately choreographed war scenes
The Komedya instantly spread in various parts of the country through the help of the landlords and to the Hispano-Christian values incorporated in the Filipino culture • But it was eventually criticized for lack of realism and national importance. • The Komedya's popularity decreased as the number of feudal lords shrank and modern forms of theather emerged.
Duplo at karagatan • Duplo - a means introduced in the celebration to relieve the monotony and sadness of the prayers for the dead. • Karagatan - a native play; less formal than the duplo. Among the Visayanskaragatan is a parlor game.
The duplo and karagatan are by no means plays possessing a high artistic quality. • They have no character delineation. • They are both religious and social significant.
Printing • Printing in the Philippines had been established just seventeen years prior, with the appearance of the DOCTRINA CHRISTRIANA... by Juan de Vera in 1593. • Thomas Pinpin - the first ethnic Filipino printer.
Vocabulario De La LenguaTagala • was printed by Spanish missionaries from wood blocks in 1593 • Pedro De San Buenaventura, OFM • a gem of Spanish-Philippine literature. • Its rarity makes it one of the very few number of Filipino incunabula – works printed in the Philippines between 1593 and 1643 – of which there are still copies. In this case, there are only two. • it is the first thesaurus or dictionary of a Philippine language printed by Spanish missionaries.
Arte de la Lengua Tagala y Manual Tagalog • Sebastian de Totanes • Binondo: Miguel Sanchez, 1865
Arte y Reglas de la Lengua Tagala • San Jose, Fray Francisco Blancas de • A 19th-century reprint of the first guide to the Tagalog language
Literature • The first Philippine literature book to be printed from type-Pastrimirias, by Father Francisco De San Jose- appeared only a few years after Vocabulario… • Most of the early Philippine literary works had religious themes and were written by Spaniards.
The best known of the early native writers was Francisco Balagtas (1789-1862) • the prince of Filipino poets – the father of Tagalog poetry • Balagtas' classic political satire, Florante at Laura, was written in the mid-19th century
During the last half of the 19th century, Spanish schools were opened to Filipinos. • Shortly afterward, publications in Spanish by Filipino authors began to appear.
