ORAL LORE
FROM
PRE-COLONIAL
PERIOD:
SHORT POEMS
EDRAD, DON PERFECTO II D. BSIT-1B
POEMS , POETRY , POET
POEM -
A poem is the arrangement of words that contain meaning and
musical elements. It is a piece of writing that expresses the
writer’s thought and feelings in order to set a mood; it can be
happy or sad, simple or complex. In just a few words, a poem can
say a lot. It can inspire and awe and can be a welcome escape
into something that is totally wonderful.
A poem can either be rhyming or non-rhyming. It uses
symbols and has lines and stanzas that have sentences,
fragments of sentences or both. It uses metaphor and
alliteration, especially in poems for children. There are several
types of poems including: Sonnets, which are poems about
love and is the most popular type of poem and Ode, which is a
lyrical poem with three parts; strophe, antistrophe and epode.
A poem can also be epic, narrative, dramatic, or lyrical. An
epic poem is one that is centered on mythical or heroic
figures, a narrative poem tells a story, dramatic poems are
written in verse, and lyrical poems describe the poet’s feelings
and thoughts.
POETRY-
Poetry existed long before people became literate.
Ancient poems were memorized and passed down from
one generation to another orally. Indian Vedas,
Zoroaster’s Gathas and Odyssey are examples of
ancient poetry.
Poetry is defined as a literary form of art, evoked in
language. It can be written on its own or in combination
with other arts as in poetic drama, poetic hymns, lyrical
poetry and prose poetry.
Poetry is distinguished from other forms of writing
by its use of repetition, verse, rhyme and
aesthetics. It uses words and speech in rhetoric,
drama, song and comedy.
It suggests alternative meanings in its words to
bring about an emotional or sensual response.
Poetry uses rhythm, alliteration and onomatopoeia,
which give it a musical effect. It uses symbolism,
metaphor, simile, metonymy, irony and ambiguity to
suggest different interpretations.
Poetry has many elements, some of them are:
Prosody, the study of the meter, rhythm and intonation of
a poem; Rhythm, the timing set by accents, syllables or
moras; Meter, a metric system used by poets; Rhyme,
alliteration and resonance, which are ways that create a
repetitive pattern of sound that can be identical (hard
rhyme) or similar (soft rhyme).
POET-
One who writes poetry : a maker of verses. : one
(such as a creative artist) of great imaginative
and expressive capabilities and special sensitivity
to the medium.
PRE-COLONIAL POETRY-
An indigenous oral tradition of bugtong (riddles) and sawikain
(proverbs) played a central part of community life in villages of
pre-colonial Philippines. Short four-line poems called tanaga
evolved from this oral tradition. Each line contained seven or
eight syllables, and at the heart of the poem was a cryptic
metaphor called a talinghaga. Popular folk musical verse was
divided into several categories: the diona, talindao, and auit
(songs sung at home); indolanin and dolayanin (street songs);
hila, soliranin, and manigpasin (rowing songs); holohorlo and
oyayi (cradle songs); ombayi (songs of sadness); omiguing
(songs of tenderness); tagumpay (triumphant songs);
dopayanin (boat songs); hiliriao (drinking songs); and
diona (wedding songs). Through these verses the local
history, politics, and culture were passed from
generation to generation. The most skilled poets would
memorize epic cycles that took two to four days to
recite during all-night dramatic performances. Two
examples of precolonial epics that survive today are
Biag ni Lam-ang (Legend of Lamang) in Ilocano (a
northern Luzon dialect) and Ibalon in Bicol (a southern
Luzon dialect).
TAGALOG POETRY
Was first transcribed or written down in the middle
of the 18th century by the Spanish friars Juan de
Noceda and Pedro de Sanlucar in their Vocbulario
de la Lengua tagala (Manila, 1754).
TYPES OF SHORT POEMS
AMBAHAN
The ambahan is the traditional poetry of the Hanunuo
Mangyans of Oriental Mindoro. It is usually written on bamboo
in the Surat Mangyan, a centuries-old pre-Spanish script. The
syllabic script and the ambahan poetry have complemented
each other, contributing to their continued existence today.
The ambahan is a literary product and poetic expression of
the Southern Mangyans of Mindoro, Philippines. Although
there are about seven different ethnic groups living in
Mindoro, collectively called the Mangyans, these groups are
quite distinct from each other as to language, customs, and
way of living. Only the ethnic group living in the south of
Mindoro, roughly comprising the areas within the
municipalities of Bulalacao (San Pedro), Mansalay, Oriental
Mindoro and San Jose, Occidental Mindoro, claims the name
Mangyan as the descriptive title of their tribe. To stress their
point, they might add the epiteth: "Hanunuo" Mangyan, that is,
a "truly, real, genuine" Manygan.
Ako mana manrigsan I would like to take a bath
sa may panayo pinggan Scoop the water with a plate
sa may tupas balian Wash the hair with lemon juice
ako ud nakarigsan but I could not take a bath
inambing bahayawan because the river is dammed
sinag-uli batangan with a lot of sturdy works
TANAGA-
The Tanaga is an indigenous type of Filipino poem, that is
used traditionally in the Tagalog language. Its usage declined
in the later half of the 20th century, but was revived through a
collectivity of Filipino artists in the 21st century. The poetic art
uses four lines, each line having seven syllables only.
The Tagalog tanaga, which dates back to 1500, has been
referred to as the Philippine equivalent of the Japanese haiku,
but this is totally wrong. Tanaga is a poem composed of four
lines with each line having seven syllables, written in aaaa or
aabb, abba, or abab rhyming pattern. Tanaga have no titles.
Here’s an example of a tanaga.
bango ay todo living life at full pelt
bigay rosas siyang donselya she is a rose so pure
tinik na kapamilya yet her own prickles
hindi man lang mapugay she just overlooks
DIONA-
Diona is a pre-Hispanic rhyming poem and another
indigenous or Native Tagalog fixed poetic form. It consist of
three lines with seven syllables in each line expressing a
complete thought.
Has been labelled by some Filipino literary enthusiast as
the Pinoy Haiku. As a domestic song could either be a
courting song or a wedding song. Here’s an example.
isang mapulang apol like a red apple
sa’yo lagi kong ungol each day I growled for
you
na ayaw kong pumatol
to depart from me
DALIT-
Dalit is another type of short Filipino poem,
composed of four lines with eight syllables in each
line. It was very popular during the Spanish period,
and the friars used dalit to promote Catholicism.
Here is of an example of dalit.
bakit sa banyagang dila why in a foreign tongue
bow nang bow, tula nang you often bow, verse after
tula
verse
ngunit sa sariling wika
but script of your own lips
isang kahig, isang tuka
you live hand to mouth
THE
END...
