Grade 7 Unit 1: Literature during the Precolonial Period Table of Contents Introduction 3 Unit Objectives 3 Lesson 1: The Precolonial Period 4 Warm-up! 4 Learn About It! 4 Check Your Understanding 7 Let’s Step Up! 7 Lesson 2: Features of Myths, Proverbs, and Legends 8 Warm-up! 8 Learn About It! 8 Check Your Understanding 12 Let’s Step Up! 12 Lesson 3: Elements Specific to Genres of Philippine Colonial Literature 13 Warm-up! 13 Learn About It! 14 Check Your Understanding 18 Let’s Step Up! 18 Lesson 4: Feature Selection: Myth 19 Warm-up! 19 Learn About It! 19 Check Your Understanding 20 Let’s Step Up! 22 Performance Task 23
Transcript
Grade 7 Unit 1: Literature during the Precolonial Period
Table of Contents
Introduction 3
Unit Objectives 3
Lesson 1: The Precolonial Period 4 Warm-up! 4 Learn About It! 4 Check Your Understanding 7 Let’s Step Up! 7
Lesson 2: Features of Myths, Proverbs, and Legends 8 Warm-up! 8 Learn About It! 8 Check Your Understanding 12 Let’s Step Up! 12
Lesson 3: Elements Specific to Genres of Philippine Colonial Literature 13 Warm-up! 13 Learn About It! 14 Check Your Understanding 18 Let’s Step Up! 18
Lesson 4: Feature Selection: Myth 19 Warm-up! 19 Learn About It! 19 Check Your Understanding 20 Let’s Step Up! 22
Literature during the Precolonial Period Philippine history is rich with fascinating stories. It presents the lives and belief systems of our ancestors that are reflected on their arts and literature. Even before the Spaniards invaded our country, Filipinos already had a firm and unique way of expressing themselves through words and texts. In this unit, you will learn about the common literary texts used by our ancestors prior to the colonization era. You will also learn about the common elements and devices that make up a typical narrative structure.
Unit Objectives
In this unit, you should be able to: ● discover literature as a means of connecting to a significant past; ● describe the different literary genres during the precolonial period; ● identify the distinguishing features of proverbs, myths, and legends; and ● explain how the elements specific to a genre contribute to the theme of a particular
Have you ever wondered how Philippine literature started? Our ancestors did not have any pen and paper nor any gadget to be able to write their thoughts. How did we manage to have our own literature, then? Let’s find the answer out in this lesson!
Warm-up!
With a seatmate, share how you think our ancestors explained the following natural phenomena--back in the time when science was not studied yet and the internet was not yet invented.
1. why the skies are up high 2. why the makahiya plant closes when touched 3. why there is a solar eclipse
Learn About It!
Most literary works during the precolonial period were passed down by word of mouth. This form of transmission is called the oral tradition. But in some cases, our ancestors were able to make use of a writing system to pen down some works of literature. However, these written forms were destroyed by Spanish friars. The literary forms that survived to this day were restored because of resistance and geographical isolation.
The writing system used by Filipinos during the precolonial period is the baybayin. This was derived from Kavi, a Javanese (Indonesian) script.
The ancient Tagalog script had seventeen basic syllables composed of three vowels and fourteen consonants. The vowels were a, e/i, and o/u. The consonants were ba, ka, da/ra, ga, ha, la, ma, na, nga, pa, sa, ta, wa, and ya.
Because resources are communally owned, oral literature reflects the community. The subject matter deals with common experiences of the people such as food-gathering, work in the home, field, forest or sea, and caring for children.
Communal authorship means that a community claims ownership of a literary work since these are recited or sung by different performers and the original author is not emphasized in the narration.
Formulaic repetitions mean the regular use of certain words to convey an essential idea. For instance, the epic Hinilawod repetitively made use of “Alunsina of the Eastern Sky” and “Labaw Denggan, radiant as the sunrise.” The phrases “of the Eastern Sky” and “radiant as the sunrise” are used to associate with the characters Alunsina and Labaw Denggan. Formulaic repetitions in folk narratives and folk lyrics are needed to aid the performers to recall the pieces.
Stereotypical characters also aid the performer to remember the narratives. The epic heroes of Filipinos are stereotypical characters for they are expected to be possessing extraordinary powers or wit. They are also expected to triumph over evil or win any battle at the end of the story. The hero “Lam-Ang” in the epic “Biag ni Lam-Ang” already possesses extraordinary powers upon birth just like ”Hercules” in Greek mythology.
Another convention is regular rhythmic and musical devices which appear in epics and folk songs and speech.
The last three conventions facilitate oral transmission of poems, songs, narratives, and sayings and insure their survival to the next generations. Types of Literature in the Precolonial Period A. Folktales – are inspiring stories of human travails and triumphs depicting all kinds of emotion. These tales are written to entertain and teach morals.
Example: The Moon and the Sun
B. Epic – is a long, poetic form that speak about the valor and bravery of heroes with admirable traits embodying their adventures and success in wars.
Example: Hudhud ni Aliguyon
C. Folk Songs – are poetic in nature that illustrate historical and cultural background of a certain group.
D. Proverbs – are also commonly known as salawikain. These are short statements that teach good conduct and lessons.
Check Your Understanding
1. How different is the ancient Tagalog’s alphabet with the English alphabet? 2. Which of the characteristics of precolonial literature help the poets recall the
details and events of the story when they recite it? 3. Name one type of literature during the precolonial period that shares a moral
Lesson 2: Features of Myths, Proverbs, and Legends
In Lesson 1, you learned about the different types of literature that existed during the precolonial period. In this lesson, you will learn more about these literary forms and how they are unique from each other.
Warm-up! On a one-fourth sheet of paper, write a narration of one incident in your life wherein you made a huge mistake and your parents taught you an important lesson after that. What did they exactly tell you? How did they make sure you will remember to do it right the next time?
Learn About It!
Narratives such as folktales and legends were created to explain natural phenomena and the origin of things long before science came to be known.
Myths are stories that attempt to explain how the world was created or why the world is the way it is. It normally involves religion that is first spread by oral tradition and then written down. Myths are stories that make use of gods, goddesses, and other fantastical creatures as
characters. There are many versions of the creation of the world. One of which is “The Creation Story” of the Tagalogs.
1. Purposes of Myths
• Originally created as entertaining stories with a serious purpose of either explaining the nature of the universe or instructing the members of the society to function successfully in a culture. • Explain the origin of a country’s own people and enhance their nationalistic spirit. • Help explain the continued existence of good and evil. • Teach its members the right attitudes, behavior, and values reflected from that culture.
2. Kinds of Myths
An explanatory myth is the outcome of naïve guesses and superstitions to satisfy the curiosity of primitive and unenlightened people. An aesthetic myth elicits emotions: sympathy, tears, and laughter for characters and events remote from commonplace experience. Read the story below and explain why it is considered to be a myth.
Creation Myth: How the Moon and Stars Came to Be (Bukidnon) One day in the times when the sky was close to the ground a spinster went out to pound rice. Before she began her work, she took off the beads from around her neck and the comb from her hair, and hung them on the sky, which at that time looked like coral rock. Then she began working, and each time that she raised her pestle into the air it struck the sky. For some time, she pounded the rice, and then she raised the pestle so high
that it struck the sky very hard. Immediately the sky began to rise, and it went up so far that she lost her ornaments. Never did they come down, for the comb became the moon and the beads are the stars that are scattered about.
Legends are accounts regarded as historical but not verifiable. Below is a list of the characteristics of legends.
● Legends are tales about a specific person or place. ● The presence of mythical creatures is common in legends. ● These tales, although involving the supernatural, are believed to be true by some
cultures in some way. ● Legends show us the origins of things particular to a culture.
Below is an example of a legend.
Legend of the Pineapple In a tiny hut in the village, there was a woman who had a daughter named Pina. They were poor and the woman worked day and night to make both ends meet. But her daughter Pina was a very lazy kid and wouldn’t even help her with the chores. Whenever she asks her daughter to do some errands, she would always make excuses like she can’t find the object needed for completing the work. Once her mother got sick and asked her to cook some porridge for her. But Pina complained and said she couldn’t find the ladle and so she couldn’t cook. The mother felt hopeless about Pina. Out of anger, she said, “I wish you had a thousand eyes all over your head so you can find what you’re looking for!” The mother heard no reply from Pina. She thought her daughter left because she was asked to do chores again. When the mother recovered, she got out from her room and looked for Pina. She asked the neighbors if they had seen her but no one did. Pina was nowhere to be found. Months passed and Pina was still missing. While sweeping in the backyard, she noticed a
plant growing where Pina used to play. It was a fruit with a thousand eyes all around it. The mother suddenly remembered the words she said to her daughter the day she disappeared. Her daughter had somehow turned into this plant. In memory of Pina, she took care of the plant until it bore more and more fruits and became popular among the village. She named the plant after her daughter, Pina. The name later evolved to Pinya, or pineapple in English. This is how the fruit came into being according to folklore.
Proverbs (salawikain) are short sayings enveloped in rhymed verse that are meant to give advice to the young, offering words of wisdom or stating how one should live. Below are some of the sayings that reflect Filipino values and ideologies.
Examples: Kapag may tinanim, may aanihin This proverb means that when one invests either his talent or time, he will gain something in the future as an exchange for his actions. Hanggat makitid ang kumot, matutong mamaluktot. (While the blanket is short, learn how to bend.) This proverb is about frugality that Filipinos are known for. It means to be satisfied with what you have. Huwag magbilang ng sisiw hanggang di pa napipisa ang itlog. (Don’t count chicks until the eggs are hatched.) This proverb means one must not rely on something good happening before you know that it has actually happened. Matibay ang walis, palibhasa’y magkabigkis. (A broom is sturdy because its strands are tightly bound.)
This proverb means having cooperation within the members of a group or organization is necessary to accomplish something effectively.
Check Your Understanding
1. Which precolonial form talks about the origin of a place or a thing in a specific culture? 2. Which form in verse offer words of wisdom for the young people? 3. Which form commonly involves divine creatures as characters in its story? 4. Which type of myth talks about the naive guesses of our ancestors of the strange
occurrences in their surroundings? 5. What is common about the purpose of myth, legend, and proverbs in a culture?
Lesson 3: Elements Specific to Genres of Philippine Colonial Literature
You learned about the different literary forms during the precolonial period and their features. What makes these stories very interesting to read are the elements that make a story complete and the techniques that the writers use in telling a captivating story.
Warm-up!
List down in the book below what makes a story interesting for you that would make you finish its ending. Share your answers in class.
Literary texts are organized using different techniques of categorization. In a broad sense, Philippine literary works are categorized by the time of their production or publication: precolonial, colonial, and postcolonial. However, when the time of publication is unavailable, it is important to understand that literature can be analyzed through the inspection of its elements. Here is a brief review of elements of a narrative to guide you in analyzing a selection:
1. Elements of a Narrative
● Point of View – this refers to the speaker of the story. This could be first person that uses the pronoun “I” which signify from the personal, intimate, and subjective impression of the speaker, while the omniscient point of view refers to a third-person storytelling in which one recounts everything who is not part of the story, but someone who sees and hears everything that happened in the narrative.
● Setting – this element of narrative describes the time and place of the story.
Recognizing the milieu and context of the story is important in deciphering the theme and motives of the speaker. One particular understanding of the setting is by looking at the local color, pertaining to the specific lifestyle, practices, traditions, and speech expressions of a certain region.
● Plot – this part presents the series of events that happened in the story. The following are divisions of plot: ▪ Exposition or Rising Action – setting the background of the story ▪ Climax - significant turning point of the story ▪ Denouement – falling action
● Conflict – this is where the problem and tension occurs between the characters and
among the various factors in the story. There are different types of conflict. ▪ Man versus Man ▪ Man versus Nature ▪ Man versus Society
● Character – this pertains to the people or inanimate beings where the story revolves. There are different types of characters. ▪ Static – unchanging and predictable character ▪ Round – complex and usually changing character Characters may take on different roles. ▪ Protagonist - main entity of the story ▪ Antagonist – character whom the protagonist has a conflict with ▪ Foil - similar to the protagonist but it has less striking qualities to make the protagonist more interesting and appealing.
● Mood – this describes the overall feeling and ambience that pervades the story. ● Tone – this refers to the narrator’s attitude toward his subject and audience ● Theme – this is the universal truth that guides the author in developing and binding all
the elements in the story. This could be a positive or negative statement that depict realities of life.
● Moral – this refers to the positive values that the reader may learn based on the experiences of the characters and the outcome of the story.
● Irony – this is a kind of contrasting statement that depicts differences between what is happening or what is being said from the actual and intended meaning. There are three kinds of irony. ▪ Verbal Irony – saying the opposite of what you really mean ▪ Dramatic Irony – the audience knows the truth except the protagonists ▪ Situational Irony – the anticipated and the usual outcome are different
2. Common Literary Devices for Narrative ● Foreshadowing – a literary technique that gives clues in the beginning part of the
story about the forthcoming events in the story. ● Flashback – recalling a prior event that will facilitate the understanding of the
present storyline. ● Cliffhanger – a narrative device that creates a feeling of suspension among
readers, for not completely revealing the actual ending of the story, leaving it to the imagination and speculation of readers.
● Plot Twist - an unexpected change in the storyline or at the end of the story, which
is called twist ending. ● En Medias Res - the story begins in the middle of the story, which does not
typically follow the usual story grammar structure. ● Poetic Justice – gives a sense of fairness when the good one is awarded while the
wicked are punished as the story reaches its finale.
In the context of precolonial literature, there are certain elements exclusive to it that can be traced back to the time or place it was inspired from. In the same way, there are elements specific to a genre that can contribute to the establishment of the theme of a certain text.
Philippine precolonial literature talks about nature and human behavior. This is because precolonial literary texts are commonly about the origins of natural phenomenon and the natural way of life of the people in that era. Hence, if a text contains elements pertaining to nature and naturalism, the text is establishing its theme to the ways of nature and human life.
Common themes of precolonial texts include: - geography - ideals - experiences in nature - physical environment - the social and economic organization of people - culture - religion
A precolonial text that contains imagery of geography and nature may have keywords like, mountains, trees, rivers, air, leaves, land, soil, valleys, and others. A text that contains ideas about human behavior, how to live life, what is good or bad, can be classified as a text with the theme of human aesthetic ideals. There are also precolonial texts that explore common experiences in nature and how humans survive like, hunting, eating, moving, walking, climbing. There are also texts that talk about the existence of kinship, family, government, practices of a particular tribe or community.
Precolonial literature also had fables and narratives that instill proper behavior to its readers and listeners through using animals as its characters. All of these themes can be identified by analyzing the elements present in a text.
Read the following selection and identify the elements of a narrative and literary devices used after.
The Sun and the Moon Once upon a time the Sun and the Moon
were married, and they had many children who were the stars. The Sun was very fond of his children, but whenever he tried to embrace any of them, he was so hot that he burned them up. This made the Moon so angry that finally she forbade him to touch them again, and he was greatly grieved. One day the Moon went down to the spring to do some washing, and when she left she told the sun that he must not touch any of their children in her absence. When she returned, however, she found that he had disobeyed her, and several of the children had perished. She was very angry, and picked up a banana tree to strike him, whereupon he threw sand in her face, and to this day you can see the dark marks on the face of the Moon. Then the Sun started to chase her, and they have been doing so ever since. Sometimes he gets so near that he almost catches her, but she escapes, and by day she is far ahead again.
Answer the following questions with your partner based on the details from “The Sun and Moon.”
1. What type of characters does the story have? Why do you say so? 2. What is/are the two characters’ difference in attitude or values? 3. How does the conflict affect the relationship between the two characters? 4. Which events showed a change in the mood of the story? 5. What situation in your life at home or in school can you relate the moral of the story
In Lesson 3, you learned what makes up a story in order for it to be interesting to its audience. You will apply the concepts you learned in this lesson as you read a myth and examine its unique features.
Warm-up!
Ask your parents or grandparents this question: “How did your town come to be? Where did it come from based on stories of long ago?” Share the story you got from them with your classmates.
Learn About It!
In reading myths, it is important to understand it in the context of its place of origin while discussing elements of fiction. The myth below comes from Bukidnon in the Mindanao Region.
Creation Myth: How the Moon and Stars Came to Be (Bukidnon)
One day in the times when the sky was close to the ground a spinster went out to pound rice. Before she began her work, she took off the beads from around her neck and the comb from her hair, and hung them on the sky, which at that time looked like coral rock. Then she began working, and each time that she raised her pestle into the air it struck the sky. For some time, she pounded the rice, and then she raised the pestle so
high that it struck the sky very hard. Immediately the sky began to rise, and it went up so far that she lost her ornaments. Never did they come down, for the comb became the moon and the beads are the stars that are scattered about.
Check Your Understanding
Read the myth below then answer the questions that follow:
The Creation Story
When the world first began, there was no land—there were only the sea and the sky, and between them is a crow. One day, the bird, which had nowhere to land, grew tired of flying around, so she stirred up the seas until it threw its waters against the sky. The sky, in order to restrain the sea, showered upon it many rocks, forming islands until the sea could no longer rise but instead flow back and forth, making tides. Then the sky ordered the crow to land on one of the islands to build her nest and to leave the sea and sky in peace.
Now at this time, the land breeze and the sea breeze were married, and they had a
child, which was a bamboo plant. One day when the bamboo was floating about on the water, it struck the feet of the crow, who was on the beach. The bird, angry that anything should strike her, pecked at the bamboo, and out of one section came a man and from the other a woman.
Then the earthquake called on all the birds and fish to see what should be done with
the man and woman, and it was decided that they should marry. Many children were born to the couple, and from them came all the different races of people.
After a while, the parents grew very tired of having so many idle, useless children
around. They wished to get rid of them, but they knew of no place to send them. Time went on, and the children became so numerous that the parents enjoyed no peace. One day, in desperation, the father seized a stick and began beating them.
The children became frightened and began to hide. Now it happened that those who
went into the hidden rooms of the house later became the chiefs of the islands, and those who concealed themselves in the walls became slaves, while those who ran outside were free men. Those who hid in the stove became dark-skinned people. Those who fled to the sea were gone many years, and when their children came back, their skins were white. Questions:
1. How would you describe the setting of the myth? 2. What makes the characters of the story perfect for a myth? 3. What is the climax of the story? 4. What moral is the story trying to teach the audience or readers? 5. How similar or different is this creation story from the ones you have heard before
Goal: • Your task is to help preserve a myth or legend in your province or town through literature. Role: • You are a young comic strip artist who would like to help your province or town preserve your precolonial literature that is slowly being forgotten by the young generation. Audience: • Your client(s) is (are) the people of your province or town, especially the youth of the next generation who might be able to read your comic strip. Situation: • The challenge involves research on the details of the story by asking the elderly in your town or province to help you piece out the story. Product/Performance and Purpose: • Research first on a beautiful precolonial literature that you would like to preserve by going to your town library or asking elders in your town or province. • Then, create a comic strip with at least 10 frames ion short bond paper about it. You can use any coloring material for your art. Be ready to share your work with your classmates. Standards & Criteria for Success: • Your work will be judged by looking at the following:
Criteria Beginning
(0-12 points)
Developing
(13-16 points)
Accomplished (17-20 points)
Score
Content (Complete plot elements)
Lacks 2 or more plot elements
Lacks one plot element
Has all the complete plot elements
Framing and Organization (Logical progression of
Two or more frames are not in their right order, making the
1. Philippine Literature in During the Precolonial Period
Oral Tradition: folktales, epic, folk songs, epigrams, riddles
2. Features of Myths, Proverbs and Legends
Myth - creation stories; Legends - unverified historical accounts; Proverbs - short statements that share words of wisdom
3. Elements and Literary Devices
Elements of the Narrative point of view, setting, plot, conflict, character, mood, tone, theme, moral, irony Literary Devices foreshadowing, flashback, cliffhanger, plot twist, en medias res, poetic justice Common themes of Philippine literature during the precolonial period include geography, ideals, experiences in nature and physical environment, the social and economic organization of people, culture, and religion.
Bibliography
Cole, Mabel Cook. 1916. “Philippine Folk Tales.” Austrian Philippine Website. Accessed June
