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Chapter 3: The Spanish Period

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 Historical background

It is an accepted belief that the Spanish colonization of the Philippines started in 1565 during
the time of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, the first Spanish governor-general in the Philippines.
Literature started to flourish during his time. This spurt continued unabated until the Cavite
Revolt in 1872. The Spaniards colonized the Philippines for more than three centuries.

During these times, many changes occurred in the lives of Filipinos. They embraced the
Catholic religion, changed their names, and were baptized. Their lifestyle changed too. They
built houses made of stones and bricks, used beautiful furniture like piano and used kitchen
utensils. Carriages, trains and boats were used as means of travel. They held fiestas to honor
the saints, the pope and the governors. They had cockfights, horse races and the theater
means of recreation.

This gave rise to the formation of the different classes of society like the rich and the
landlords. Some Filipinos finished courses like medicine, law, agriculture and teaching. Many
Filipinos finished their schooling in the Philippines because many schools already had been
established.

I. Sub-Topics

A. The Spanish Period

a. Spanish Influences on Philippine Literature
b. The first books
c. Literary compositions
d. Folk songs
e. Recreational Plays
f. The Moro-moro
g. Karagatan
h. Duplo
i. The Balagtasan
j. The Dung-aw
k. The Awit and the Corrido

II. Learning Outcomes

a. Identify literary works under The Spanish period

b. Discuss the first books, literary compositions, folksongs, and Recreational Plays
during Spanish Period.
c. Create a poster showing the historical contribution of The Spanish Period in
Literature.

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 III. Content

The Spanish Period

A. SPANISH INFLUENCES ON PHILIPPINE LITERATURE

1. The first Filipino alphabet called ALIBATA was replaced by the Roman alphabet.
2. The teaching of the Christian Doctrine became the basis of religious practices.
3. The Spanish language which became the literary language during this time lent
many of its words to our language.
4. European legends and traditions brought here became assimilated in our songs,
corridos, and moro-moros.
5. Ancient literature was collected and translated to Tagalog and other dialects.
6. Many grammar books were printed in Filipino, like Tagalog, Ilocano and Visayan.
7. Our periodicals during these times gained a religious tone.

B. THE FIRST BOOKS

1. ANG DOCTRINA CRISTIANA (THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE)-This was the first

book printed in the Philippines in 1593 in xylography. It was written by Fr. Juan de Placencia
and Fr. Domingo Nieva, in Tagalog and Spanish. It contained the Pater Noster (Our Father),
Ave Maria (Hail Mary), Regina Coeli (Hail Holy Queen), the Ten Commandments of God, the
CommanDments of the Catholic Church, The Seven Mortal Sins, How to Confess, and
Cathecism. Three old original copies of this book can still be found at the Vatican, at the
Madrid Museum and at the US Congress. It contain only 87 pages but costs $5,000.00.

2. Nuestra Senora del Rosario: the second book printed in the Philippines was
written by Fr. Blancas de San Jose in 1602, and printed at the UST Printing Press with the
help of Juan de Vera, a Chinese mestizo. It contains the biographies of saints, novenas, and
questions and answers on religion.

3. Libro de Los Cuatro Postprimeras de Hombre (in Spanish and Tagalog). This
first book printed in typography.

4. Ang Barlaan at Josephat: This is a Biblical story printed in the Philippines and
translated to Tagalog from Greek by Fr. Antonio de Borja. It is believed to be the first Tagalog
novel published in the Philippines even if it is only a translation. The printed translation has
only 556 pages. The Ilocano translation in poetry was done by Fr. Agustin Mejia.

5. The Pasion: This is a book about life and sufferings of Jesus Christ. It is read only
during Lent. There were 4 versions of this in Tagalog and each version is according to the
name of the writer. These are the Pilapil version by (Mariano Pilapil of Bulacan,1814), the de

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 Belen version by (Gaspar Aquino de Belen in 1704), the de la Merced by (Anecito de la
Merced Norzagaray, Bulacan in 1856) and the de Guia version (by Luis de Guia in 1750).
Chanters may take 2-4 nights singing the Passion with the chanters taking turns in shift of 3-4
hours each.
6. Urbana at Felisa: a book by Modesto de Castro, the so-called Father of Classic
Prose in Tagalog. These are letters from between two sisters Urbana at Felisa and has
influenced greatly the behavior of people in society because the letter dealt with good
behavior.
7. And Mga Dalit kay Maria (Psalms for Mary): a collection of songs praising the
Virgin Mary. Fr. Mariano Sevilla, a Filipino priest, wrote this in 1865 and it was popular
especially during the Maytime “Flores De Mayo” festival.

C. LITERARY COMPOSITIONS

1. Arte y Reglas de la Lengua Tagala: (Art and rules of the Tagalog language)
written by Fr. Blancas de San Jose and translated to Tagalog by Tomas Pinpin in 1610.
2. Compendio de La Lengua Tagala (Understanding the Tagalog language), written
by Fr. Gaspar de San Agustin in 1703.
3. Vocabulario de la Lingua Tagala (Tagalog vocabulary): the first Tagalog dictionary
written by Fr. Pedro de San Buenaventura in 1613.
4. Vocabulario de la Lengua Pampanga (Pampango vocabulary): the first book in
Pampango written by Fr. Diego in 1732.
5. Vocabulario de la Lengua Bisaya (Bisayan vocabulary): the best language book in
Visayan by Mateo Sanchez in 1711.
6. Arte de la Lengua Ilokana (The Art of the Ilocano language): the first Ilocano
grammar book by Francisco Lopez.
7. Arte de la Lengua Bicolana (The Art of the Bicol language): the first book in the
Bicol language and written by Fr. Marcos Lisbon in 1754.

D. FOLKSONGS

Folk songs truly manifest the artistic feelings of the Filipinos. They show the Filipinos’ innate
appreciation for love and beauty. Here is an example:

 Leron-leron Sinta (Tagalog)

 Pamulinawen (Iloko)
 Dandansoy (Bisaya)
 Sarong Banggi (Bicol)
 Atin Cu Pung Singsing (Kapampangan)

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 E. Recreational Plays

There were many recreational plays performed by Filipinos during the Spanish times. Almost
all of them were in poetic form. Here are examples:

1. Tibag- The word tibag means to excavate. This ritual was brought here by the
Spaniards to remind the people about the search of St. Helena for the Cross on which Jesus
died. It is a dramatic performance usually done even without a raised stage and held during
Maytime festivals.
2. Lagaylay- This is a special occasion for the Pilarenyos of Sorsogon during Maytime
to get together. As early as April, the participating ladies are chosen and sometimes, mothers
volunteer their girls in order to fulfill a vow made during an illness or for favor received.
3. The Cenaculo- This is a dramatic performance to commemorate the passion and
death of Jesus Christ. There are two kinds: the Cantada and the Hablada. In the Hablada,
the lines are spoken in a more deliberate manner showing the ryhtmic measure of each verse
and the rhyming in each stanza and is more dignified in theme; The Cantada is chanted like
the Pasion.
It is written in octosyllabic verse, with 8 verses to the stanza. Performers come in
costumes with wigs and performers are carefully chosen for their virtuous life. One performs
the role Jesus Christ and another the role of the Virgin Mary.
4. Panunuluyan- This is presented before 12:00 on Christmas Eve. This is a
presentation of the search of the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph for an inn wherein to deliver the
baby Jesus.
5. The Salubong (Panubong)- an Easter play that dramatizes the meeting of the Risen
Christ and his Mother. Two processions are held by the church at early dawn. One is made
up of men bearing on their shoulders the image of the Risen Christ, the other, women
carrying the heavily veiled image of the Blessed Virgin.
6. Carillo (Shadow Play)- This is a form of dramatic entertainment performed on
moonless night during a town fiesta or on dark nights after a harvest. This shadow play is
made by projecting cardboard figures before a lamp against a white sheet. These are called
by various in different places: CARILLO in Manila, Rizal, Batangas and Laguna; TITRES in
Ilocos Norte, Pangasinan, Bataan, Capiz and Negros; TITIRI in Zambales; GAGALO or
KIKIMUT in Pampanga and Tarlac; and ALIALA in La Union.
7. The Zarzuela- Considered the father of the drama; it is a musical comedy or
melodrama in three acts which dealt with man’s passions and emotions like love, hate,
revenge, cruelty, avarice or some social or political problem.
8. The Sainete- This was a short musical comedy popular during the 18 th century.
They were exaggerated comedies shown between acts of long plays and were mostly
performed by characters from the lower classes. Themes were taken from everyday life
scenarios.

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 F.THE MORO-MORO- This is performed during town fiestas to entertain the people and to
remind them of their Christian religion. The plot is usually the same that of a Christian
Princess or a nobleman’s daughter who is captured by the Mohammedans.
Ex. PRINSIPE RODANTE

G. KARAGATAN- This is a poetic vehicle of a socio-religious nature celebrated during the

death of a person. In this contest, more or less formal, a ritual is performed based on a legend
about a princess who dropped her ring into the middle of the sea and who offered her hand in
marriage to anyone who can retrieve it.

H. DUPLO- This is a poetic joust in speaking and reasoning. The roles are taken from the
Bible and from proverbs and sayings. It is usually played during wakes for the dead.

I. THE BALAGTASAN- This a poetic joust or contest of skills in debate on a particular topic
or issue.This replaced the DUPLO and is held to honor Francisco “Balagtas” Baltazar.

J. THE DUNG-AW- This is a chant in free verse by a bereaved person or his representative
beside the corpse of the dead. It is personalized and usually deal with the life, sufferings and
sacrifices of the dead and includes apologies for his misdeeds.

K. THE AWIT and the CORRIDO- Some use these two interchangeably because the
distinction is not clear. For purposes and comparison, we distinguish the two this way:
The corrido is in octosyllabic verse.
The awit is in dodesyllabic verse.
The corridos were usually on legends or stories from European countries like France,
Spain, Italy and Greece.
The awit are fabricated stories from writers’ imagination although the setting and
characters are European.
The corridor refers to narration.
The awit refers to chanting.
The corridor and the awit are both referred to as narrative poetry.

Example of an AWIT: FLORANTE AT LAURA by Francisco Balagtas

Example of the CORRIDO: IBONG ADARNA by Jose de la Cruz (Huseng Sisiw)

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 Assessment/Activity:

Directions: Provide what is being ask in the following. Write your answer on Microsoft word.

1. In the legend of the Tagalogs, how do you compare the bravery of Ilog in today’s
context? How about of Maria’s wittiness?
2. Give a brief explanation to the following Salawikain: “Mabuti pa ang Kubo, na nakatira
ay tao kaysa mansiyon ay nakatira ay kwago”
3. Collect the following:
- Summary of the epic Alim
- Kundiman (Awit ng Pagibig)
- Kumintang O Tagumpay
- Ang Oyayi
- Diana
- Soliraning
- Talindaw
- Five examples of popular Filipino Riddles

Note: Deadlines is on Feb. 14, 2022. Send your output on our google classroom in pdf file
format. Be creative! The use of images is advisable.

Suggested Reading/Sites:

https://www.academia.edu/28946696/PHILIPPINE_LITERATURE_INTRODUCTION
https://jacs.weebly.com/uploads/1/2/3/5/1235512/historical_literary_periods.pdf

References:

1. Kahayon, Alicia - H., Zulueta, Celia – A. (2003). Philippine Literature: Through the
Years
2. Quiros, Michael – N. (). Traditions in Philippine Literature and History: Synthesis and
Analysis

Learning Module Property of SMCC

Learning Module Property of SMCC