The Literature of The Philippines
Samuel Coronado
Introduction:
The Philippines is an archipelago located in South East Asia, in the Pacific Ocean. While a relatively small country by geography, it is one of the largest island nations in the world, the 5th largest by land area. It is also one the most populated nations in the world, both by total population and population density. In the most recent census (2015), the country had a population of just over 100 million. The major language of the Philippines is considered to be both Filipino (A standardised version of Tagalog and other regional dialects) and English. The Philippines is also a rare case among Asian countries, being one of few Catholic majority nations. It is though, a secular state.
Historical/Cultural Overview:
The Philippines draws inspiration and influence from many foreign bodies, however the one perhaps most evident is its strong Spanish heritage. The Philippines often bridges Eastern and Western cultures, most significantly Malay and Chinese with Spanish and American influences. Most evident from the Philippines’ Hispanic legacy is the Spanish names and surnames. This doesn’t necessarily indicate Hispanic genetic heritage, rather it is the result of colonial systematic recharacterization (renaming population).
In terms of literature, the Philippines carries a rich a varied history which spans multiple eras and uses many languages. In pre-colonial times, specifically pre-dating Spanish inquisition, the literary works of the Philippines’ are mostly unrecorded, save for few epics which have withstood the test of time. Such epics were often passed down orally, generation to generation. An example of this is Darangen of the Maranao people, which comprises 8 volumes and around 72,000 lines written in Iambic Tetrameter. The author of the epic is unknown, it is thought to have come from multiple and been transcribed by wealthy families of the island of Mindanao. Immediately following this was the colonial era under Spain. Here, the literature often varied between both Filipino and Spanish. A significant author of this time was Jose Rizal, who is often lamented as a national hero for his defiance of Spanish rule. Some of his significant works include poem ‘To the Filipino Youth’ (from Spanish), patriotic novel Noli me Tangere and the poem written before his execution, Mi ultimo Adios. Succeeding this, in the post-colonial era, Filipino writers began to experiment with the newly introduced language, English. This began with 1921’s A Child of Sorrow by Zolio Galang. These early 20th century writings were characterised by melodrama and an emphasis on colour. Later on, these writings began to explore themes such as national identity, especially trying to bridge the influential cultures of the past, at that time being Spanish and American, with the existing Asian one. Significant authors of this period include Manuel Arguilla, Jose Garcia Villa and Bienvenido Santos. Significant works include The Rosales Saga, The Pretenders, How My Brother Leon Brought Home A Wife, The Anchored Angel and Scent of Apples.
Short Stories:
How My Brother Leon Brought Home A Wife by Manuel Arguilla
Manuel Arguilla’s How My Brother Leon Brought Home A Wife details mostly the romantic relationship between characters Leon and Maria, husband and wife. It is told from the first person, from Baldo, Leon’s brother. It is set in the 1930’s. It tells of Leon’s bringing of his wife Maria home to meet his family. Alongside him on this journey is Leon’s brother Baldo. The story weaves in and out of developing and revealing the facets of the relationship and the course of the narrative, as they travel by bull and cart to the boys’ home. The story explores mostly a theme of love and romantic connection, as well as family. It details how Maria has forgone her familiar city life to live in the provinces with Leon. It compares and contrasts the difficulties of Maria’s decision, with her incentives to make such a choice, with those factors being her sense of comfort, the stark difference between urban and rural life, Leon’s family accepting her and especially his father. It suggests that Maria’s choice was weighed up between those difficulties and her love for her husband. It goes on to say that this sacrifice is, in the end, justified, as the relationship between the two characters is highlighted in a way to highlight the positives of Maria’s choice. While the story does not convey much about Philippine culture, it details some of the intricacies of early 20th century life in the Philippines, especially regarding differences between rural and urban differences and even the nature of Filipino people (love trumps all, importance of family).
Dead Stars by Paz Marquez Benitez
http://www.sushidog.com/bpss/stories/stars.htm
Dead Stars, a short story by Paz Marquez Benitez, explores love in detail through a story about a man, his betrothed (and later married) and another woman. It is told from the omnipotent perspective. The story details how a man, named Alfredo, who is engaged to a woman, named Esperanza, falls in love with another woman, Julia. Alfredo is a lawyer, who on a business trip meets Julia, and proceeds to fall in love with her. The story is split into three sections, with each section providing a ‘what if’ narrative on the complications of love. The first outlines a course of actions which involves falling deeply in love with another woman, while engaged to one at present. It explores issues of commitment, faith, social perceptions, norms and notions, moral obligation and value driven obligation. While he initially rejects his feelings, they surface again years later when he once again meets Julia. This brings upon a critical analysis of love itself. Dead Stars, in its entirety, presents a deeply analytical presentation of love, specifically of aspects regarding its abstract nature, its intangibility, its cruelty and, sometimes ironically, its fidelity. It suggests that love needn’t abide by many of the pre-conceived societal notions, rather it often flows without reason or rhyme. In the latter half of the narrative both the character of Alfredo and love itself are tested, with regards to which is stronger; which will persevere. In the end, no concrete answer is given. Alfredo is left a mess of a man, though his life remains mostly intact. The title ‘Dead Stars’ is reference to Alfredo’s lost love, and youthful ambitions. As love itself is finite, such are stars. However, stars burn, and burn brightly for millennia, millions of years at a time. This is likened to love, which, at times, may be supressed or attempted to, yet perseveres on. The story also provides some small insights onto the society it was written from. It details a strictly patriarchal, male-oriented world. Part of why Alfredo doesn’t want to abandon his fleeting love and marriage is because of how it would paint him as a man. Esperanza, on the other hand, doesn’t want to abandon Alfredo because she is the woman, and it is not her place to act out against the man. Dead Stars conveys many insightful commentaries on the nature of love, through the lens of 20th century Philippines.
Poems:
Mi Ultimo Adios by Jose Rizal (trans. by Encarnacion Alzona & Isidro Escare Abeto from Spanish)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mi_%C3%BAltimo_adi%C3%B3s#Poem
Jose Rizal’s Mi Ultimo Adios or ‘My Last Farewell’ is a poem written immediately preceding the author’s execution. As the title suggests, the poem is a farewell of sorts, to the country, the people and his followers. Jose Rizal was a Filipino nationalist, who advocated against the Spanish rule. He is considered a national hero. This poem was someone of a final address, exploring themes such as nationalism and patriotism especially. It delves deeper into themes of mortality, especially toward the later stanzas. The poem has many implications telling of Philippine culture and life. They suggest of the hardships that the Filipino people were subject to by Spanish rule. This is evident throughout the course of the entire poem, and while never explicitly detailing anything specific, it remains a consistent message throughout.
When I Was No Bigger Than A Huge by Jose Garcia Villa
http://www.seasite.niu.edu/tagalog/literature/Poems/Others/jose_garcia_villa.htm
One of Jose Garcia Villa’s signature ‘comma’ poems from which he developed quite a reputation from, When I Was No Bigger Than A Huge asks mostly questions of existentiality, as well as divine existence. The poem itself, though, is presented in mostly an abstract light. The style of writing is extremely unorthodox, with an exaggerated overuse of commas, so much so that the writing itself can be considered grammatically incorrect. However, the meaning is still preserved, somewhat. Although the words itself and thus some meaning is able to be read, a lot of the context is concealed or completely removed in its entirety, leaving the reader to assume their own stances and interpretations of the piece. However, it seems as if Villa means to ask questions of existence and omnipotence. This is evident throughout from lines with intentionally contrasting things, as if to say there is doubt to whether or not he exists. He frequently contradicts himself, perhaps in order to convey this. This poem does not suggest anything about Philippine culture.
The Way We Live by Danton Remoto
http://www.seasite.niu.edu/Tagalog/Literature/Short%20Stories/The_WAY_WE_LIVE.htm
The Way We Live by Danton Remoto is a portrayal of a lifestyle that seems distinctly youthful, reckless, bashful and unashamedly wild. The poem details several scenarios which all present similar tones and themes. Each stanza besides the first and last two describes a particular scene, painting a vivid image of a certain location or situation. A common motif among all these stanzas is the presence of the word of to begin each one. The poet links the stanzas and thus the situations they describe in this way. They are also connected by their common themes, in particular the exploration of human connection, togetherness and later in the piece, loneliness. It suggests that the time humans spend with other people, forming bonds and connections, is the time people spend living. However, a lot of the descriptions of these connections are presented in a manner where they convey a superficial or ingenuine bond rather than a true one. This could mean to suggest that the poet believes that part of the human condition is forming loose bonds if only to fulfil something within themselves; a selfish desire to repair their own, individual loneliness. While it could be said that this poem presents a lifestyle common throughout Filipinos or Philippine culture, this piece and its messages can be universally applied to almost any country, and thus this work conveys little about the country.
Bienvenido by Ricardo de Ungria
https://bombmagazine.org/articles/two-poems-ungria/
Ricardo de Ungria’s Bienvenido or ‘Welcome’ tells a tale of experience, living and more importantly how poetry and writing has affected the poet’s life. In the early stanzas he talks of his poems and him as a collective effort, a team of sorts, using personal pronouns like ‘we’ to describe themselves and their work. He goes on to discuss what he has discussed himself in his poetry, themes of nationalism, life and beauty are mentioned. Following this, though, he states that the light of poetry has now been vanquished; he has said everything he could say. He discusses the pitfalls of a pursuit of and devotion to writing. He mentions a lost lover as an example. Yet despite this, he still mentions how his writing was able to reveal or uncover where the emotion began. He concludes the poem by questioning whether or not his writing is complete. He expresses the desire to be immortalised, as his stories and stories in general have been. He then proceeds to question whether or not life itself is able to be conveyed through written expression. Perhaps he means to suggest that poetry and writing themselves are an incomplete medium, as is any form of art. Living itself is the complete experience. No amount of writing can convey the same meaning. The final two stanzas are a reflection on just that, what the poet finds valuable in living. He expresses a desire to be surprised and moved by some of life’s simple trivialities. Then, in the final stanza, he states that he longs for connection again, no longer to be distant for the sake of his writing. He concludes by stating what he has learned, highlighting how he has become wise after all this time. This poem only details as much about the Philippines as its author says he does in his poetry, within the context of the poem. He states that poetry has allowed him to discuss issues of national identity and the likes, while there are also some subtleties in the writing which allude to specifically refer to the Philippines.
Restless by Cecilia Borromeo
http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/cecilia_borromeo/poems/21841
Restless revolves around a theme of knowledge, as Cecilia Borromeo spins a short verse describing the human desire to explain and understand. The poem, which is quite simple by comparison against many of the multi-stanza pieces that frequent poetry collections, packs much meaning into its few lines. The poem opens with description of a space between life and death. The poet intentionally highlights the mystery of such a place, before concluding the description by stating that such a place remains invisible. She then goes on to suggest that its in the human condition to want and desire to explain what we believe we understand, without ever truly grasping such concepts. However, in the later lines of the piece, she expresses how she has come to doubt those believes, and in reference to the place mentioned in the poem’s beginning, her very place within it all. This poem portrays very little about the Philippines, the ideas and themes presented cannot be considered unique to the nation in any way.
Conclusion:
The works studied throughout this project convey various insights into both the culture and literary workings of the Philippines. The rich history of the nation is portrayed well throughout its literary exports, with the vastly different eras of its existence coming up across various eras of literature. The writings of pre-colonial times differ greatly from those during, after and now, in the modern age. What has remained constant, however, is a prevailing sense of national pride and love for the country and people. During the colonial era, literature and writing became an outlet for speaking out against injustice, and in many ways, preserving the identity of the nation itself. Besides this, post-colonial writings would describe the ways that the Philippines bridge different cultures and influences. Modern writing continues to detail the lives of the Filipino people, telling of the hardships that common people face especially. The literary works of the Philippines portray as much about the history of the nation as any other form of recorded writing, with the experiences of the people themselves being expressed as poems, short stories and novels, for generations to come to read and learn.
Bibliography:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine_literature
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippines
http://public.over-blog.com/2016/02/philippine-literature.html
http://bauangtgis.gov.ph/about-us/manuel-arguilla/
https://poets.org/poet/jose-garcia-villa
http://www.fsioniljose.com/works.html
http://www.fsioniljose.com/about.html
https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/darangen-epic-of-the-maranao-people-of-lake-lanao-00159
