Oral Lore from Precolonial Times (-1564)

Flashcards defining key vocabulary terms, literary forms, scholars, and folk epics from precolonial Philippine literature.

Tabon Man

Human remains discovered in a cave in Palawan in 1962 that allowed Philippine prehistory to be dated as far back as 50,000 years ago.

"Philippinization" of Spanish Catholicism

A phrase coined by historian John L. Phelan to describe the cultural interaction during Spanish conquest, highlighting the massive pre-existing body of prehistoric Filipino culture.

William Henry Scott

A scholar who noted a considerable discrepancy between what is actually known about the prehispanic Philippines and what has been written about it.

Precolonial Native Syllabary

An early writing system used near sea coasts containing 3 vowels (a, i-e, u-o) and 14 consonants (b, d, g, h, k, l, m, n, ng, p, s, t, w, y), lacking any way to indicate consonantal word endings.

Communal Authorship

A characteristic of precolonial oral literature resulting from unemphasized individual ownership, where performers feel the work expresses their own beliefs, attitudes, and emotions.

Talinghaga

The analogue, metaphor, or figure that forms the heart of primordial indigenous poems like riddles and proverbs.

Vocabulario de la lengua tagala

A 1754 Tagalog-Spanish dictionary by Pedro de Sanlucar and Juan de Noceda that serves as a rich source of precolonial Tagalog riddles, proverbs, and short poems.

Ambahan

A poetic form of the contemporary Hanunoo-Mangyans that is often chanted without a predetermined pitch or musical accompaniment.

Tanaga

A Tagalog poetic form found in the Vocabulario consisting of a four-line stanza, considered a Hispanized descendant of the ambahan or a related form.

Ch'along

An Ifugaw wedding ritual involving propitiation of evil spirits and the story of the goddess Bugan, demonstrating the evolution of rite and plot into early drama.

Ethnoepics

A category of folk epics surveyed by E. Arsenio Manuel in 1962, defined as long oral narratives in verse revolving around supernatural events or heroic deeds.

Lam-ang

An epic first recorded among the Christian Ilokos in 1889 about a hero endowed with speech and supernatural strength who is eaten by a monster fish and brought back to life.

Rarang

The monster fish in the epic Lam-ang that swallows the hero during a town fishing ritual.

Tuwaang

A pagan epic discovered in 1956 among the Manuvus of Central Mindanao by E. Arsenio Manuel, detailing the heroic adventures of its namesake central warrior.

Hinilawod

A pagan epic recorded among the Sulod of Panay, recognized as the longest epic recorded in the Philippines.

Bantugan

A Marañaw epic centered on a valiant prince and lover who serves as the most popular hero of the Muslim darangan.

Darangan

The epic song tradition of Muslim Filipinos, featuring legendary characters such as Prince Bantugan.