Doctrina Christiana in the Spanish Colonial Era

Overview of Philippine Literature

• Philippine literature is a reflection of humanity itself
• It is expressed in verbal or written form and can be categorized into prose and poetry
• The literature has undergone changes and developments throughout various periods in Philippine history

Pre-Colonial Period (-1565)

• Philippine literature during this period consisted of epics, legends, riddles, idioms, and proverbs
• Ancient Filipinos were animistic, believing in anitos, diwatas, good and bad spirits
• Types of songs:
  • Uyayi: lullaby
  • Kundiman: melancholic love song
  • Harana: courtship song
  • Mambayu: Kalinga rice-pounding song
  • Subli: dance ritual song of courtship/marriage
  • Tagulaylay: songs of the dead
• Functional folk epics: lengthy narrative poems revolving around supernatural events, heroic deeds, or folk heroes
  • Examples: Biag ni Lam-ang (Ilocano), Ibalon or Handiong (Bicolano), Ulalim (Kalinga), Hinilawod (Sulod)
• Functional myths: fictional stories that try to explain how things came to be through supernatural beings
  • Examples: The Creation Myth (Tagalog), Bakit Maliwanag and Araw kaysa Buwan, Bakit Kumukulog at Kumikidlat?
• Functional legends: deals mainly with the origin of local phenomena or happenings
• Fables: deals with animals and inanimate beings made to speak and act like rational beings, teaching morals
• Fantastic stories: deals with the unseen world or the underworld, and with odd, whimsical, or grotesque characters
• Folktales: deals with humorous or heroic stories about native culture heroes, village idiots, tricksters, tramps, and Spanish

Spanish Colonial Period (1565-1872)

• Literature became centered on the Christian faith
• Stories about natural phenomena became all about the lives of the saints and other religious hymns
• "Alibata/Baybayin" was substituted by the Roman alphabet
• Spanish language contributed numerous words to the Filipino language
• The Doctrina Christiana: one of the earliest books printed in the Philippines using moveable type
• Corrido: a legendary religious narrative form that usually details the lives of saints or history of a tradition
• Awit: a chivalric poem about a hero, usually about a saint
• Pasyon: a narrative poem about the life of Jesus Christ, beginning from His death
• Moro-moro or Comedia De Capa y Espada: a blood-and-thunder melodrama depicting the conflict of Christians and Muslims
• Carillo: a play that uses shadows as its main spectacle
• Tibag: the dramatic reenactment of St. Helena's search for the Holy Cross
• El Renacimiento (The Rebirth): a newspaper founded by Rafael Palma in 1901

American Period (1900-1942)

• Short stories:
  • "Dead Stars" by Paz Marquez-Benitez: theme of forbidden love
  • "Footnote to Youth" by Jose Garcia Villa: story of a young man who decided to marry his beloved lover at 17
• Plays:
  • "Walang Sugat" by Severino Reyes: revolves around the injustices endured by Filipinos during the Spanish colonial era
• Novels:
  • "Banaag at Sikat" by Lope K. Santos: reflects the conflict between different forces that arose in the early years of the American empire

Japanese Colonial Period (1942-1945)

• Literature was censored, and all publications except The Tribune and Philippine Review were banned
• Writers turned to writing in Filipino
• Liwayway magazine was produced, but eventually placed under strict surveillance and managed by a Japanese
• Literature during this period was described as pessimistic and bitter
• Topics and themes often dealt with life in the provinces to escape Japanese control and censorship
• Poetic forms:
  • Haiku: a poem made up of 17 syllables divided into three lines
  • Tanaga: a traditional Filipino poetic form composed of four lines with seven syllables each
• Dramas:
  • "Pula sa Puti" by Francisco "Soc" Rodrigo: a play that dives deep into themes of corruption, power, and morality