ANCIENT
FILIPINO POETRY
Is an extension of earlier
cultures of Southeast Asia,
the ancestral home of most
Filipino Malays.
These early poems are comparatively
few, and most hold little literary value.
Products of a formative age, they are
nevertheless important as tangible
evidence of the existence of an ancient
Filipino culture.
Ancient poetry sprang from
sources close to the religious
and political organizations of
the ancient Filipinos. It also
arose from personal
relationships and social
institutions.
There were metrical accounts of
native Filipino gods and their deeds.
Songs and verses filled early
religious practices: to express
devotion, to atone for sins, to
minister to the sick, and to bury the
dead. Verses were composed also o
pray for abundance and happiness:
in the home, on the farm, on the
sea, and elsewhere.
In like manner, verses aired love for and loyalty
to the barangay and its rulers. These were
supplemented by accounts of battle (kudanag),
songs of victory (tagumpay, talintad), songs of
hanging a captured enemy (sambotan,
tagulaylay), and songs expressive of manliness.
The home led also to the
fabrication of verses dealing
with courtship, betrothal, and
wedding.
BALAYANG
-wedding ballad in Batangas
PAPURI
Meaning praise was
known in Tayabas (now
Quezon Province).
ONSEGUEP,BANSAL, PAGATIN
are Pangasinan terms
referring to pre-marital
and post-marital
ceremonies.
Ancient Filipino songs touched on
labor and industry, domesticity,
infants, and children. Verses of
time-tested wisdom, including
riddles, tickled the imagination of
the barangay dwellers.
Ancient Filipino verse
was addressed to the
ears rather than to the
eyes.
Verses composed and sung
by them (ancient poets) were
regarded as group property.
As such, they were usually
sung or chanted collectively.
To maintain the tempo of the
verses, the ancient Filipinos
commonly used metal bells and
gongs. At times, they employed
native musical instruments-
kudyapi or kulintang- in keeping
the beat or rhythm.
ANCIENT
FILIPINO SCRIPT
Baybayin is one of the precolonial
writing systems used by early
Filipinos. The term “baybayin”
comes from the tagalog root word
baybay, which means “to spell”.
Technically, the Baybayin was called
an alphasyllabary. Each character is
based on a consonant letter, with a
vowel notation indicating the
corresponding sound. It has 14
syllabic consonant characters (15 if
“da” and “ra” consonants are
separated, and three vowel
characters (a, e-i, o-u).
Each consonant character
combines the consonant sound
and the vowel sound “a”. To
change this to the “e-i” sound, a
kudlit or mark is placed on the top
of the character; for the “o-u”
sound, the mark is placed at the
bottom.
RIDDLES
Riddles were quite common
to early Filipinos. They were
quite popular in weddings,
feasts, baptisms, and
mournings. They still survive
today.
EXAMPLE:
Sa araw ay bungbong,
sa gabi ay dahon.
Banig
MAXIMS
A close kin to the riddle in
verse, are epigrammatic
verses usually written in
couplets.
EXAMPLE:
It is truth universally
acknowledged, that a single
man in possession of a good
fortune, must be in want of a
wife.
SAWIKAIN
A Tagalog proverb or maxim that
conveys a lesson or reflects a
community’s belief, traditions, and
norms. Sawikains are often poetic and
forceful expressions that can also be
euphemisms.
EXAMPLES:
• Nakalutang sa ulap (masaya)
• Mababaw ang luha (iyakin o
medaling mapaiyak)
SALAWIKAIN
A Filipino (Tagalog) word for
“proverb” or ‘maxim’, with the
additional connotation of
wisdom being passed down
from your ancestors, which is a
beautiful way to think of
proverbs.
EXAMPLES:
• Ubos-ubos biyaya,
pagkatapos ay
nakatunganga
• “Ang lumakad nang
matulin, kung matinik
ay malalim”
KASABIHAN
(SAYING)
Is a broader term that
encompasses any brief
expression or phrase,
whether it imparts wisdom,
humor, or general insight.
EXAMPLES:
• Ang batang makulit, napapalo
sa puwit.
• Ang gumagawa ng kabutihan,
hindi matatakot sa kamatayan.
• Ang batang hindi tapat, ay
masahol pa sa isang ahas sa
gubat.
ENCHANMENT
Something that is
thought to have
magical power over
someone: spells and
enchantment.
THANK
YOU
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