SAGCAL, Caselyn M. Dr.

Johnny Cabanias

MA-ESL Literary Theory

The Manifestation of Vladimir Propp’s Morphology of Folktale in the Philippine Tale, The
Good Prince Bantugan

Vladimir Propp, a Russian formalist, was well- known of his notable analysis of various
folktales. According to him, there are similar themes that are evident from the tales. Propp’s
morphology of folktales is commonly used in scrutinizing tales because many writers and critic-
writers believe that numerous functions among the 31 functions Propp described are widely seen
in all the tales.

One of the Philippine Tales which uses Propp’s Morphology is the story of The Good
Prince Bantugan. It is about a prince who is adored by everyone in their kingdom Bumbaran
because of his undeniable charm and kindness. The king of Bumbaran, his eldest brother, envies
him because the people shower the good prince with praises and show him respect, but not to the
king. Because of the king’s jealousy, he convinced Prince Bantugan to go in a battle and fight for
their palace. As the good prince is away, the envious king convinced his people to ignore
Bantugan, lest they will suffer from a severe punishment- death. When Prince Bantugan
returned, the people disregarded him. This saddens the good prince and it pushes him to leave the
kingdom Bumabaran.

In his travels, he heard of a beautiful place called the Kingdom-between-Two-Seas. He

travelled through rivers and mountains until he reached that kingdom. When he was there, he felt
weak and eventually died. The king of this kingdom, togother with his sister, Princess
Datimbang witnessed the body of the good prince lying in front of their gate. Princes Datimbang
felt sorry for the death of the princes and wishes him to have known him before he died. With the
help of a parrot, the body of Prince Bantugan was returned to the kingdom of Bumbaran. The
king heard the news and remorse his rude treatment towards Bantugan. Prince Madali, the other
brother of the good prince did all that he can to bring his brother back to life. He went to the
heaven to get his soul. When he was able to trick the guard of the death, he stole the soul of his
brother and returned to the kingdom. As he pours out the soul to the dead body of the good
prince, it suddenly stirred and Prince Bantugan brought back to life again. This good prince
married Princess Datibmang and they lived prosperously.

A table below shows indications of Propp’s morphology of folktale that could be seen in
the said tale.
 Vladmir Propp’s Morphology of Folktale Events in the Epic, “The Good Prince
Bantugan”
1. A member of a family leaves home Not evident
(the hero is introduced);

2. An interdiction is addressed to the Not evident

hero (’don’t go there’, ‘go to this place’);

3. The interdiction is violated (villain Not evident

enters the tale);
4. The villain makes an attempt at Not evident
reconnaissance (either villain tries to find the
children/jewels etc; or intended victim
questions the villain);

5. The villain gains information about Not evident

the victim;

6. The villain attempts to deceive the Not evident

victim to take possession of victim or victim’s
belongings (trickery; villain disguised, tries to
win confidence of victim);

7. Victim taken in by deception, The king of Bumbaran deceived his youngest

unwittingly helping the enemy; brother, Prince Bantugan to go to another place
and fight their enemies. However, the real
intention of the king is to warn the people in
their kingdom to ignore the good prince and
not follow the prince’s commands
8. Villain causes harm/injury to family Not evident
member (by abduction, theft of magical agent,
spoiling crops, plunders in other forms, causes
a disappearance, expels someone, casts spell on
someone, substitutes child etc, commits
murder, imprisons/detains someone, threatens
forced marriage, provides nightly torments);
Alternatively, a member of family lacks
something or desires something (magical
potion etc);

9. Misfortune or lack is made known, Not evident

(hero is dispatched, hears call for help etc/
alternative is that victimized hero is sent away,
freed from imprisonment);

10. Seeker agrees to, or decides upon Not evident

counter-action;

11. Hero leaves home This is where Prince Bantugan left the
kingdom Bumbaran because his eldest brother
ordered the people in the said kingdom to
avoid talking to him, lest they will die. This
saddens Prince Bantugan so he left his palace
and go to an unknown place.
12. Hero is tested, interrogated, Not evident
attacked etc, preparing the way for his/her
receiving magical agent or helper (donor);

13. Hero reacts to actions of future Not evident

donor (withstands/fails the test, frees captive,
reconciles disputants, performs service, uses
adversary’s powers against them);

14. Hero acquires use of a magical Not evident

agent (directly transferred, located, purchased,
prepared, spontaneously appears, eaten/drunk,
help offered by other characters);

15. Hero is transferred, delivered or led Not evident

to whereabouts of an object of the search;

16. Hero and villain join in direct Not evident

combat;

17. Hero is branded (wounded/marked, Not evident

receives ring or scarf);

18. Villain is defeated. Not evident

19. Initial misfortune or lack is resolved Prince Bantugan brought back to life as Prince
(object of search distributed, spell broken, slain Madali puroed out the soul of the good prince
person revived, captive freed); to his dead body.

20. Hero returns; The king of the Kingdom-Between-Two-Seas,

together with his sister, Princess Datimbang
brought the dead body of Prince Bantugan
back to the kingdom Bumbaran.
Prince Madali, the other brother of the good
prince made a way to bring Prince Bantugan
back to life.
It was a success for the good prince’s body
stirred and he was suddenly alive again.
 21. Hero is pursued (pursuer tries to Not evident
kill, eat, undermine the hero);

22. Hero is rescued from pursuit Not evident

(obstacles delay pursuer, hero hides or is
hidden, hero transforms unrecognizably, hero
saved from attempt on his/her life);

23. Hero unrecognized, arrives home or During his travels, Prince Bantugan heard
in another country; about the beautiful place called “Kingdom-
Between-Two-Seas.” Thus, when he decided to
leave the kingdom of Bumabaran, he also
decided to go to this place yet to be discovered.
24. False hero presents unfounded Not evident
claims;

25. Difficult task proposed to the hero When Prince Bantugan left the kingdom
(trial by ordeal, riddles, test of Bumbaran, he travelled through the forest and
strength/endurance, other tasks); across rivers and mountains to be in the
Kingdom-Between-Two-Seas. Here, his
strength and endurance were tested. The proof
of it was when he felt weak after reaching the
gate of the latter palace. He fell on the ground
and died all of a sudden.
26. Task is resolved; Not evident
27. Hero is recognized (by mark, brand, The king of Kingdom-Between-Two-Seas
or thing given to him/her); recognized that the body of the man lying in
front gate belongs to royalty because of his
clothes.
28. False hero or villain is exposed; Not evident

29. Hero is given a new appearance (is Not evident

made whole, handsome, new garments etc);

30. Villain is punished; Not evident

31. Hero marries and ascends the When Prince Bantugan was alive again, he
throne (is rewarded/promoted). undoubtedly married the beautiful princess of
the Kingdom-Between-Two Seas, Princess
Datimbang who became kind to him even
before he came back to life.
 Analyzing the tale, The Good Prince Bantugan paved way to prove that Vladimir Propp’s
Morphology of Folktale really exists. Eight out of 31 elements are present in the said tale. It just
proves that tales are similar in nature when regards to the themes. By using Vladimir Propp’s
Morphology of Folktale, readers and writers can easily understand the flow of the story.
Moreover, they can have inter-textuality upon reading a specific tale because of the identical
characteristic of that tale to others.

In conclusion, Vladimir Propp’s Morphology of Folktale is useful and vital when

comprehending and appreciating a certain tale.

References:
Department of Education, English Learner’s Material 7 (pp.73-76). Pasig City: FEP Printing
Corp.

Vladimir Propp’s fairy tale functions. Retrived from

file:///C:/Users/pc/Documents/MaEd/Vladimir%20Propp's%20Morphology%20of
%20Folktale.pdf