PRE-COLONIAL PHILIPPINES:

SOCIAL ORGANIZATION,
CULTURE, AND ECONOMIC
ACTIVITY
 KINSHIP

• Early Spanish dictionaries of Visayan languages often list Cebuano, Hiligaynon, or Samareno
variants under a single entry. This is especially true of kinship terminology. Thus, the word:
• Father – amahan, amay, and anduyon without distinction, though with a Cebu variant of amba or
ambuyon;
• Mother- inahan, indayon, and iloy, with a Kiniray-a variant, Inang.
• Ama and Ina or Inda were terms of special respect used as proper nouns, and often extended to
nonparents for that purpose, while “Mama” was what people called their own father. Father were
also addressed affectionately as “Baba”, thus himaba was a gift to a go-between by a suitor who
wished to establish such a relationship with his prospective father-in-law.
• Uncles – yoyo, oyo-an, or bata
• Aunts- iyaan, or dada.
• Husband and wife were both called asawa in Leyte and Samar, but in Cebu and Panay the term was
restricted to the wife (the man was bana) – or, more accurately, the chief wife: any others were sandil,
whether of slave, timawa, or datu stock. A son-in-law was nugang and his parents-in-law, ugangan; and
numigang was for him to render bride-service to them prior to marriage. Both son- and daughter-in-law
were umagad, a term which emphasized their role in uniting their two families into one.
• Bayaw was a brother-in-law, hipag was sister-in-law. If two men were married to sisters, they called each
other bilas, while women married to brothers called each other idlas. Parents who married their children
off to one another’s children were balaye.
• Sisters called their brothers oyo; brothers called their sisters akay; and older brothers were addressed as
magulang, ubo, or aso, older sisters as umbo.
• Parents, especially mothers, also addressed their daughters with terms of endearment like owa, wawa, or
paki; in Cebu, mothers called their daughters bubu (actually, “madame”) or ipi in Candaya, and umboy,
idi, or didi in Samar, with titi being a local Giwan word. And between man and wife, oto or otoy was an
affectionate name for the husband; while an only son was fondly called boto (penis).
 THE
POSITION
OF WOMEN
IN THE
PRE-COLONIAL
PHILIPPINES
 THE POSITION OF WOMEN

• Women before the coming of the Spaniards enjoyed a unique position in

society that their descendants during the Spanish occupation did not enjoy.
Customary laws gave them the right to be the equal of men, for they could
own and inherit property, engage in trade and industry, and succeed to be
the chieftainship of a barangay in the absence of a male heir. Then, too,
they had the exclusive right to give names to their children. As a sign of
deep respect, the men, when accompanying women, walked behind them.
 PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

• Women were generally lighter than men due to occupations like

weaving which kept them less exposed to the sun. In particular, the
secluded daughters of ranking datus were said to be as light as
European ladies, and so were the slave girls who danced naked to
entertain royal visitors. Children were also light at birth, and when
men stripped, they revealed a pale area under their G-strings.
MARRIAGE
CUSTOMS
• There was a custom, not so strictly followed, in which a man belonging to one
class married a woman of the same class. Thus, a chief married a woman of his
rank; a noble that of his class; and the dependent that of his status. Nevertheless,
this custom was not rigid, and it was possible for a noble to marry a dependent or
a woman of the chieftain class, and a dependent to marry a woman outside his
rank. A man’s wife was his legitimate wife and was called asawa, while the other
women were euphemistically called “friends”. Only the children of the wife were
regarded legitimate and legal heirs, whereas the children of the other women or
“friends’’ were not considered legitimate, and, therefore, barred from inheriting
any property from the illegitimate father.
 PANINILBIHAN
• It took patience and a spirit of dedication on the part of a man to win the hand of his fair lady. For the
custom of the period, a custom that as persisted to this day in some remote areas, required that he serve
the girl’s parents for months and even years. He chopped wood, fetched water, and did chores required
for him. He was not supposed to talk to his fair lady; only their eyes met occasionally to exchange
mute messages of love.
• There was no chance for them to meet clandestinely, for the girl was
zealously guarded by the parents or by the grandparents, who were
always on the lookout for any sign of mischief on the part of the
suitor or their girl.
• After having satisfied themselves that the suitor would make a good
son-on-law and husband, the parents finally gave their consent to the
marriage.
• But the man must meet several conditions before the marriage.
 BIGAY-KAYA

• The first was to give a dowry, called bigay-kaya, consisting of land, gold, or
dependents. In the absence of these, any valuable article would do.
 PANGHIMUYAT

• The poor man must also give the bride-to-be’s parents a certain
amount of money, known as panghimuyat, as payment for the
mother’s nocturnal efforts in rearing the girl to womanhood.
 BIGAY-SUSO

• Another form of “bribe” called bigay-suso, was to be given to the

girl’s wet-nurse who fed the bride during her infancy with milk from
her own breast.
 HIMARAW AND SAMBON

• The man must also give the girl’s parents another sum of money,
called himaraw, as reimbursement for the amount spent in feeding the
girl during her infancy. Among Zambals, there was another “bribe”
that the man must give to the girl’s relatives. It was called sambon.
• The girl’s parents arranged all these payments not directly with suitor,
but with his parents. It was not an easy matter to make such
arrangements, for it usually happened that the suitor’s financial status
was such that he could not comply with the wishes of the girl’s parents.
It was the duty of his parents to haggle and to make the final
arrangements for the marriage ceremony. This state of the courtship
immediately before the marriage was and is still called pamumulungan
or pamamalae. (Pamamanhikan)
 MARRIAGE CEREMONY

• The marriage ceremony differed according to the status of the contracting parties.
• Amon the nobles, a go-between was employed by the groom to bring the bride to him. With a lance,
the go-between fetched the bride from her house. Having arrived at the foot of the groom’s steps, the
bride pretended to be coy and bashful and would refuse to ascend the stairs. The groom’s father then
gave her a gift to persuade her to go up into his house. The bride then obligingly ascended and having
entered the house now refuse to sit down. Another gift was given her. She refused to eat or drink and
consequently the groom’s father had to shell out something for her. Groom and bride now drank from
one cup. At this stage, and old man announced that the ceremony would begin. An old priestess then
made her bow to the guests and, taking the hands of the couple, she joined them over a plate of
uncooked rice. With a shout she threw the uncooked rice to the guests. The latter responded with a
loud shout and the ceremony was over.
• Marriage was not allowed among first-degree kin but niece
is allowed to marry her uncle. The causes for the dissolution
of marriage were incompatibility, neglect, and misconduct.
A man can attract back his wife who had fled to her relatives
by a gift called pangoli.
• At the birth of a child, when a pregnant woman feels the first birth pains, she
move to the bank of the stream or river sometimes without assistance. There she
gives birth to her child and she enters the water to wash herself and her baby. She
wraps the baby in cloth and moves back to her house to attend to her chores and
her child. Some prehispanic Filipinos were known to commit infanticide. Among
the Gaddangs, when a child is born breech, it is considered a bad omen and the
child is buried alive. Abortion was practiced to preserve a family lineage and
because of poverty. It was a common form of Family Planning. This is done by
massaging with the use of strong herbal medicines or by probing with a stick. The
Visayans are known to abandon their babies if they had debilitating defects
prompting Spanish chronicles like Fr. Francisco Colin, S.J. who noted that the
Visayans were never born crippled or blind.
• At an early age, the boys are taught to do light household chores
while the girls do chores in the household as a preparation for their
adult lives. Premarital contact allowed and usually unpunished unless
the girl’s relatives demand a shame payment. Some sexual liaisons
were known publicly and were a substitute for marriage. Unmarried
women who are either virgins or not were called dalagas. Those that
were chaste and known for their virginity are called bugus while
those who gave their sexual favors were called kiral or lewd.
GOVERNMENT
AND
LAWS
 GOVERNMENT
• The barangay was the unit of government and consisted of from 30 to 100
families. The tagalog word barangay was derived from the Malay balangay, a
boat, which transported them to these shores. Each barangay was independent and
was ruled by a chieftain. There was no king in those days, although some
chieftains were more powerful than others and consequently respected by other
chiefs. The multiplicity of barangays implies that there was no national or central
government. It was the primary duty of a chieftain to rule and govern his subjects
and to promote their welfare and interests. What he received from them must be
kept well and venerated.
• The relationship between the datu and his subjects was one of
accommodation. The datu was expected to lead and govern in his
community. He was obliged to solve problems in the barangay, protect
his subjects from enemies, and lead them in battle.
• In exchange, the datu was paid in services and taxes by his people. His
subjects tilled and harvested his farmland, and served in his house and
seacraft. They also gave him a share of the harvest from their own
fields. He was also accorded utmost respect.
• The datu also played the very important role of judge in the barangay.
As judge, he heard and decided on cases in public. If he was unable to
rule on the basis of testimonies in the hearing, the datu sought counsel
from the elders in the barangay. Any decision of the datu as judge could
be appealed to a group of elders chosen form other barangays.
 SANGDUGUAN

• A treaty of friendship and alliance was concluded by means of the

blood compact or sangduguan in which the contracting parties drew
blood from their arms and mixed the blood thus drawn with the wine
in a cup. The contracting parties then drank form the same cup,
thereby making them “blood-brothers”.
WARFARE, WARRIORS, AND WEAPONS
• Antonio de Morga, a Spanish official in the colonial administration,
wrote about the battles fought between rival barangays. In “Sucesos
de las Islas Filipinas”, he wrote:

“when they go in pursuit of their opponent, they show great

dexterity in seizing his hair with other hand, while with other
they cut of his head with one stroke of the bararao, and carry it
away. They afterward keep the heads suspended in their houses,
where they may be seen; and of these they make a display, in
order to be considered as valiant, and avengers of their enemies
and of the injuries committed by them.”
 REASONS FOR WAR
• One of the qualities of the ancient barangay is its capability to wage war. For
most of the barangays, the following were just causes for engaging in war:

Betrayal or failure Swindling or

Attacks by other to abide by cheating of traders
barangays; agreements and of allied
alliances barangays;

Killing or robbing
revenge
by an outsider
• Any of these reasons justified war against another barangay. There
were , however, other reasons for war. For example, a barangay may
attack another barangay to get slaves to be sold or killed in a sacrifice
for a datu who has died. A barangay may also raid another barangay in
a bid to forge an alliance. If the other barangay is unable to fight back,
then it became an ally of the victorious barangay. A barangay may also
plunder another barangay.
• Whatever the reason may be, war was endemic in prehispanic
communities.
 RAIDS AND ATTACKS
• One of the main forms of warfare conducted by ancient barangays was the raid.
Slaves and loot taken from a raid on another barangay benefited everyone,
especially the datu who led the attack.
• Slaves, bronze gongs, porcelain, and even women taken for marriage were
brought back to the barangay by the raiders. They also brought severed heads of
enemies whom they killed in battle. These were displayed on spears stuck to the
ground in front of the home of the warrior to serve as warning to other people.
• There are times when raids were done for adventure by the datu who enticed his
subjects to joint him by offering a share of the loot.
 WEAPONS
• Warriors prepared well for battle. They wove a baluti or armor made of
carabao leather or thick abaca braid. Each one carried a long spear or a
knife. Visayan warriors had full-body tattoos to scare their enemies.

Their tattoos to scare their enemies. Their

tattoos extended up to their eyelids.
The main weapons then were knives, daggers, swords, spears, and blowpipes.
Slingshots and darts made of wood were also used by ancient warriors. Their
shields were made of light wood with shell decorations or hair cut from fallen
enemies.

It was customary for all males in the barangay to carry sharp bladed
weapons with them. The datu’s weapons, however, stood out from
the rest because they were adorned with gold and precious jewels.
 CODE OF
KALANTIAW: A
HOAX
• In the famous epic story of Maragtas, there was this mythical legal code called “The Code of Kalantiaw”. It
was named after its supposed author, Datu Kalantiaw, who allegedly wrote it in 1433. Datu Kalatiaw was a
chief on the island of Negros. It was written about by Jose E. Marco in 1913 in his historical fiction “Las
Antiguas Leyendes de la Isla de Negros” (The Ancient Legends of the Island of Negros). He ascribed its
source to a priest named Jose Maria Pavon.
• The historian Josue Soncuya wrote about the Code of Kalantiaw in 1917 in his book "Historia Prehispana de
Filipinas" (Prehispanic History of the Philippines) where he transferred the location of the origin of the Code
from Negros to Panay because he contended that said Code may have been related to the Binirayan festival.
• The story on this Code has been recognized through the ages by known authors. In 1968, however,
historian William Henry Scott called this a "hoax" in his book "Prehispanic Source Materials for the
Study of Philippine History". Consequently, Filipino historians agreed to expunge the Code of Kalantiaw
in future materials on Philippine history.
• Although the said Code ceases to be part of the texts of Philippine history, however, many still believe its
validity.
ARTICLE I
You shall not kill, neither shall you steal, neither shall you do harm to the aged, lest you incur the
danger of death. All those who infringe this order shall be condemned to death by being drowned
in the river, or in boiling water.
ARTICLE II
You shall obey. Let all your debts with the headman be met punctually. He who does not obey shall
receive for the first time one hundred lashes. If the debt is large, he shall be condemned to thrust
his hand in boiling water thrice. For the second time, he shall be beaten to death.
ARTICLE III
Obey you: let no one have women that are very young nor more than he can support; nor be given
to excessive lust. He who does not comply with, obey, and observe this order shall be condemned
to swim for three hours for the first time and for the second time, to be beaten to death with sharp
thorns.
ARTICLE IV
Observe and obey; let no one disturb the quiet of the graves. When passing by the caves and trees
where they are, give respect to them. He who does not observe this shall be killed by ants, or beaten to
death with thorns.
ARTICLE V
You shall obey; he who exchanges for food, let it be always done in accordance with his word. He
who does not comply, shall be beaten for one hour, he who repeats the offense shall be exposed for
one day among ants.
ARTICLE VI
You shall be obliged to revere sights that are held in respect, such as those of trees of recognized
worth and other sights. He who fails to comply shall pay with one month's work in gold or in honey.
ARTICLE VII
These shall be put to death; he who kills trees of venerable appearance; who shoot arrows at night at old
men and women; he who enters the houses of the headmen without permission; he who kills a shark or a
streaked cayman.
ARTICLE VIII
Slavery for a doam (a certain period of time) shall be suffered by those who steal away the women of
the headmen; by him who keep ill-tempered dogs that bite the headmen; by him who burns the fields of
another.
ARTICLE IX
All these shall be beaten for two days: who sing while traveling by night; kill the Manaul; tear the
documents belonging to the headmen; are malicious liars; or who mock the dead.
ARTICLE X
It is decreed an obligation; that every mother teach secretly to her daughters matters pertaining to lust and
prepare them for womanhood; let not men be cruel nor punish their women when they catch them in the
act of adultery. Whoever shall disobey shall be killed by being cut to pieces and thrown to the caymans.
ARTICLE XI
These shall be burned: who by their strength or cunning have mocked at and escaped punishment or who
have killed young boys; or try to steal away the women of the elders.
ARTICLE XII
These shall be drowned: all who interfere with their superiors, or their owners or masters; all those who
abuse themselves through their lust; those who destroy their anitos (idols) by breaking them or throwing
them down.
ARTICLE XIV
These shall be made slave for life: who have beautiful daughters and deny them to
the sons of chiefs, and with bad faith hide them away.
ARTICLE XV
Concerning beliefs and superstitions; these shall be beaten: who eat the diseased flesh
of beasts which they hold in respect, or the herb which they consider good, who
wound or kill the young of the Manaul, or the white monkey.
ARTICLE XVI
The fingers shall be cut-off: of all those who break idols of wood and clay in their
alangans and temples; of those who destroy the daggers of the tagalons, or break the
drinking jars of the latter.
ARTICLE XVII
These shall be killed: who profane sites where idols are kept, and sites where are buried the sacred
things of their diwatas and headmen. He who performs his necessities in those places shall be burned.
ARTICLE XVIII
Those who do not cause these rules to be obeyed: if they are headmen, they shall be put to death by
being stoned and crushed; and if they are agorangs they shall be placed in rivers to be eaten by sharks
and caymans.
 PAG-ANITO,
BELIEFS AND
RITUALS
 BELIEFS
• In the Visayas, the word “anito” (idol) means
a formal ritual lead by a babaylan. A babaylan
is the person in the barangay whose function
is to hold rituals particularly offerings to the
spirits. For the Tagalog, the anito is an idol
that is the subject of worship. But the word
“pag-anito” means the worship or offering of
ritual through an intermediary or go-between.
 WORSHIP
• Worship may be done in any place- in the house, cemetery, or by a stream. There was no
temple or church at that time to hold idols or images representing gods or spirits. These
idols showed the creative expertise of our ancestors in woodcarving. Like the images of
the Santo Niños of today, our ancestors also dressed an made up their idols.
• Rituals were done according to petitions of those praying to the gods or spirits they
worshipped. There were rituals for a rich harvest, for good relations between the newly-
married, or for the birth of healthy and normal children. There were rituals also asking for
rain; victory in war; or a successful raid.
• The rituals were led by a man or a woman who acted as the bridge to the gods.
 CREDIT TO: CEBUANO ARTIST FLORENTINO "JUN" G. IMPAS, JR
( FROM THE OFFICIAL FACEBOOK PAGE OF NATIONAL
QUINCENTENNIAL COMMITTEE, REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES)
 BABAYLAN/KATALONA

• Those who led the rituals were called Babaylan in the Visayas while
they were called Katalona by the Tagalog. They could be male, female
or asog/bayugin (gay). They were the mediators who communicated to
the spirits they could also help look for missing souls or those who
wish to talk to the loved ones they left behind.
• They led rituals in the barangay for childbirths, burials, weddings, and
even for the first day of menstruation of a woman. They knew all the
diseases and their cure. There were also some of them who knew about
hexes (kulam).
 BURIAL
PRACTICES
 BURIALS

• Because of their beliefs in the afterlife and in the worship of ancestors, many of the
barangays gave importance to the preparations of the dead for burial. They were
carefully made up like the living, dressed up with jewelry, and all of their
possessions were buried with them. If a datu dies, several of his slaves are offered
for sacrifice, executed, and buried with him.
• One unusual tradition if our ancestors was the secondary burial for the dead. When
only bones remain, these are taken and cleaned up during a ritual. Then these are
placed in a jar and brought home by the family. In some barangays, the jar is buried
in a cemetery plot where jars containing the remains of other family members are
kept.
MAITUM JARS
MANUNGGUL JAR
HANGING COFFINS IN SAGADA
IFUGAO BURIAL PRACTICES
 KABAYAN MUMMY BURIAL CAVES
• Kabayan is one of the Municipality of Benguet Province in the Cordillera Mountain Ranges of northern Luzon.
The municipality is recognized as a center of Ibaloi Culture. The Ibaloi, the dominant ethno-linguistic group,
of Kabayan have a long traditional practice of mummifying their dead. Mummification began prior to the
Spanish colonization. Individuals from the higher societal stratum of the Ibaloi of Kabayan used to be
mummified through a long ritual process over a long period of time. The process of mummification using salt
and herbs and set under fire may take up to two years. When the body is finally rid of body fluids, the mummy
is placed inside a pinewood coffin and laid to rest in a man-made cave or in niche dug-out from solid rock.
During the Spanish period, Christianity spread and took a foothold in the mountains of Benguet and the
practice of mummification and cave burial was abandoned. The remains are then placed in wooden coffins
and interred in man-made burial niches in rocks or rock shelters and/or natural caves.

• Strategically located in the mountain slopes of the municipality of Kabayan, more than 200 man-made burial
caves have been identified and 15 of which contain preserved human mummies.
KABAYAN MUMMIES
OTHER BELIEFS
 ANTING-ANTING/ AGIMAT/ GAYUMA

• Some Filipinos, however, were lucky in possessing amulets or charms. They were supposed to be
insured against dangers. The anting-anting or agimat insured a man against weapons of every kind;
• Gayuma made a man lovable to all the ladies;
• Odom, a charm similar to the Tagalog tagabulag, made the Bicolano invisible;
• The Visayan wiga and the Tagalog sagabe (sa gabe) would make the possessor of this charm walk
in a storm or swim in a river without getting wet;
• and the Bicolano tagahupa was mixed in a drink and made the unfortunate drinker a sort of vassal
to the man with the magic potion.
OTHER PRACTICES
• Filipinos had different alcoholic beverages
such as tapuy, baya, of the Igorots as well as
the pangasi which were made from rice.
Basi is made from sugar cane. Alak or arak
is distilled from sugar cane or coconut sap.
The lambanog of the Tagalogs which is
called aguardiente by the Spaniards is made
from tuba. It was comparable to brandy but
its production was banned in the Marianas
because it caused ill nature among its
drinkers.
• Filipinos especially the Visayans do not drink alone nor appear drunk in public. Both men and
women drink alcohol. Often in the beginning of a drinking session the first glass is offered to a
Diwata or spirit. The glass is poured through the bamboo slats in the floor as offering. A proposal
to somebody’s health or gasa usually of the opposite sex is offered.
• Salabat was a toast in which the cup itself is offered. The drinkers drink from the same jar like
two babies nursing from the same breast. Abog was when a timawa offers the datu a cup of wine
from which he himself had taken a few sips. Sumsum is taken with meat or pulutan.
• Deals and family affairs are discussed during drinking sessions. The drinkers could get noisy
with singing. However, the Filipinos would never pass out from drunkenness and would always
find his way home.
 BETEL NUT
• Betel nut chewing was a favorite pastime among the prehispanic Filipinos. The
preparation, exchange, and serving of betel nut is one of the important acts of the
Filipinos. Visitors entering a house are always offered betel nut and it is
considered an insult not to offer it.
LAND AND PROPERTY
 LAND AND PROPERTY

• Spanish silence on the subject of Philippine land ownership is noteworthy. The first generation of
colonists, both mis? sionary clergy and civil officials, submitted extensive reports to the King on
local products and economy, and on native customs and class structure. But they mention no
landholding elite nor any dependent classes working land belonging to other people. This is
especially significant since in Spain and Spanish colonies in the Americas, the possession of land
was the very root of class differentiation. Instead, they describe an institution of debt slavery
under which debtors were legally reduced to slavery but were not deprived of the land they were
farming. Quite the opposite, they continued to support themselves and occupy their own houses,
but owed their mas? ters - or creditors - a portion of their crops.
LAND USE UNDER THIS SYSTEM WAS DESCRIBED
BY FATHER JUAN DE PLASENCIA IN 1589 AS
FOLLOWS:
• The lands where they lived, they divided among the whole barangay, and thus
each one knew his own, especially what is irrigated, and nobody from an?
other barangay worked them unless he had bought or inherited them. In the
tin gues [hills] they were not distributed, but only by barangays; and so, so
long as one was from that barangay, even if he came from another town when
it was time to harvest the rice, the one who first opened the land planted it,
and no one else could take it away from him (Plasencia 1589:24).
ANCIENT PHILIPPINE
LITERATURE
 EPIC
Refers to a long narrative poem which tells of heroic deeds or events. It
also edify religious tales, animal stories, or philosophical and moral
theories.
 BIAG NI LAM-ANG
• One of the epics that were able to survive with the help of
oral transmission was Biag ni Lam-Ang (Life of Lam-
Ang). It was said to be a composite work of various poets
who passed it from generation to generation, and was first
transcribed around 1640 by a blind Ilocano bard named
Pedro Bucaneg.
• The Ilocano epic consists of 1477 lines and 206 stanzas
(this is the Llanes version of the epic; Leopoldo Yabes’s
version consists of 305 stanzas) revolved around the
main character named Lam-ang, who was blessed with
the gift of speech the moment he was born. He grew up
with supernatural strength and has a pet cock and a
dog.
 EPIC OF BIAG NI LAM-ANG

• The epic was divided into four parts:

• Prologue: The Birth of Lam-ang (line 5-108)
• The Quest for the Father (lines 109-192): Lam-ang’s quest to find the Igorots who
murdered his father and seek revenge
• The Quest for a Wife (line 455-1300): The story of Lam-ang and his love interest Ines
Cannoyan, as well as Lam-ang’s encounter with Sumarang and Saridandan, and the
wedding
• Epilogue: The Death and Restoration of the Hero (lines 1301-1477): tells the death and
resurrection of Lam-ang.
 LABAW-DONGGON

• This Visayan epic follows the adventures of Labaw

Donggon, the son of the goddess Alunsina and
Datu Paubari, a mortal. His adventures include
slaying a giant with a hundred arms and facing the
Lord of Darkness – all in order to win various
maidens.
 FOLK SONGS

Folk songs originated in traditional popular culture or have been written in such style. They are one of the
oldest forms of literature in the Philippines, and have been an important part of the Filipino culture since the
ancient times.

They have a wide range of folk songs, for a variety of occasions. Examples of these are Kundiman (love
song), Diana (wedding song), Oyayi or Hele (Lullaby), and Kumintang o Tagumpay (war song).
 EPIGRAMS (SALAWIKAIN)

An epigram is a rhetorical device, a witty, ingenious, or pointed saying that is tersely expressed.
They are memorable, brief, interesting, and in the Philippines, they served as laws or rules on
good behavior by ancient Filipinos. They are an expression of truths, ethics, and good morals.
• Matibay ang walis, sapagkat mahigpit ang
pagkakabigkis;
• ‘Pag may tyaga, may nilaga;
• Bagong hari, bagong ugali.
Isang supot ng uling Naroo’t bibitin-bitin. Hindi hayop, hindi tao Walang gulong
tumatakbo.
(ANSWER: DUHAT)
(ANSWER: AGOS NG TUBIG)

RIDDLES (BUGTONG)
The riddle is a mystifying, misleading or puzzling question posed as a problem to be solved or
guessed. It is rhythmic and parable.
Riddles were a form of entertainment among Filipinos during Pre-Spanish period, and even until
today. They do not just serve to amuse the Filipinos. Riddles also improves quick thinking, and it
also helped in broadening the vocabulary. It is usually done during special occasions, be it harvest
time or a funeral.