![Lam-Ang_Philippine_folklore_hero](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/Lam-Ang_Philippine_folklore_hero.JPG)
Philippine epic poetry is the body of
epic poetry
An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants.
...
in
Philippine literature
Philippine literature is literature associated with the Philippines from prehistory, through its colonial legacies, and on to the present.
Pre-Hispanic Philippine literature was actually epics passed on from generation to generation, o ...
. Filipino epic poetry is considered to be the highest point of development for
Philippine folk literature
Philippine folk literature refers to the traditional oral literature of the Filipino people. Thus, the scope of the field covers the ancient folk literature of the Philippines' various ethnic groups, as well as various pieces of folklore that ...
, encompassing narratives that recount the adventures of tribal heroes. These epics are transmitted through oral tradition using a select group of singers and chanters.
A study revealed that the Philippine folk epics, like those found in Asia, are often about a quest for a wife as well as the various ordeals linked to the founding of a family, hamlet, tribe or a kingdom.
The narratives would include voyages - on earth, sea, sky, and the underworld - to allow the hero or heroine to overcome the challenges faced. After their ordeals, the protagonists - through improvement of their personal qualities – would become ideals for their genders.
Form and motifs
E. Arsenio Manuel
Esperidión Arsenio Manuel (1909 - 2003), known as E. Arsenio Manuel, was a Filipino people, Philippine academic, historian, and anthropologist best known for his contributions to Philippine anthropology, history, literature, and linguistics. Duri ...
defines heroic narratives in verse as "folk epics" or "ethnographics" and describes their common characteristics:
# Narratives of sustained length
# Based on oral tradition
# Revolving around supernatural events or heroic deeds
# In the form of verse
# Either chanted or sung
# With a certain seriousness of purpose, embodying or validating the beliefs, customs, ideas, or values of the people
Within folk epic poems, common themes can be observed.
Epic Singing and Singers
Epics are generally sung during folk festivals and recreational gatherings such as weddings,
baptism
Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...
s, wakes, prestige rites, peace agreements, and the like.
They are sung primarily as entertainment, but can also serve to inspire the youth to emulate their heroes. Among some groups, such as the
Ifugao people
The Ifugao people are the ethnic group inhabiting Ifugao Province. They reside in the municipalities of Lagawe (capital of Ifugao), Aguinaldo, Alfonso Lista, Asipulo, Banaue, Hingyon, Hungduan, Kiangan, Lamut, Mayoyao, and Tinoc. The provinc ...
, certain types of ''Hudhud'' songs are prescribed for certain occasions, such as during the death of a prominent person, when ancestral bones are dug out to be blessed, or during harvest, like the ''
Hudhud hi Aliguyon''. The Palawan ''Kudaman'' is also sung on special occasions – as an offering to the lord of the chase when they can catch a wild boar, or to welcome a guest in their ''rurungan''.
The epic singer can be male or female, often learning the epics from older relatives or well-known singers in the community. The singing of epics usually takes place in the evening and is dictated by the singer's preference; the evening is quieter and it allows for deeper concentration on the singer, who sometimes sings for two to four hours as a time. Virgilio Resma reports that Perena, a female singer, sang ''The Tale of Sandayo'' from 9 PM to 3 AM for seven nights in 1980. Among the Ifugaos, the ''hudhud'' may sung during daytime as a harvest song.
Adventures of the Hero
Philippine folk epics describe the adventures of the hero and can be classified into two groups: ''epics of romance'', in which the main adventures consist of the hero's courting of specific women or his search for beautiful women he can marry, and epics in which the hero undertakes adventures mainly in the service of his family, his country, his people, and for others. Epics that prove the hero's valor and worth as a man also belong to the second group. These two groups are not mutually exclusive, and predominantly romantic epics also contain adventures of the other kind and vice versa.
Primary examples of epics in the first group are ''
Lam-Ang'', the ''Ulalim'', ''Labaw Donggon'', ''Bantugan'', ''Lumalindaw'', and ''Kudaman''. However, some of these epics are not exclusively of the first group. For example, Lam-Ang's first adventure was his quest for his father who had gone to fight the Igorots and never came back.
In the second group of epics, examples include the Agyu cycle of epics, The Maiden of the Buhong Sky, ''Tulalang'', the ''
Hudhud hi Aliguyon'', the three
Subanon epics, ''
Ibalon
Ibalon, or Ibalong, is the ancient name of the Bicol Region in the Philippines. The center of settlement is believed to be either beside the Bicol River at the present-day Libmanan, Camarines Sur (as based on the Ibalong Epic) or in Magallanes, ...
'', ''Tuwaang Attends a Wedding'', ''
Maharadia Lawana The Maharadia Lawana (sometimes spelled Maharadya Lawana or Maharaja Rāvaṇa) is a Maranao epic which tells a local version of the Indian epic Ramayana. Its English translation is attributed to Filipino Indologist Juan R. Francisco, assisted by Ma ...
'', and ''Tudbulul''.
Characteristics of the Hero
The Philippine epic hero, like counterparts in other countries, are strong and brave, of great fighting prowess, and possess a restless, adventurous spirit, great determination, and endurance. Philippine epic heroes are also endowed with supernatural or magic powers and possess magic objects and/or animals and even guardians or friendly spirits, sometimes voices, that advise them in moments of need.
The life of a Philippine epic hero usually follows a pattern,
similar to the
Hero's journey
In narratology and comparative mythology, the hero's journey, or the monomyth, is the common template of stories that involve a hero who goes on an adventure, is victorious in a decisive crisis, and comes home changed or transformed.
Earlie ...
:
# He is born of unusual circumstances.
# He undergoes miraculous growth into manhood and is possessed of a restlessness to set out on adventures.
# He lives a life of action and adventure, in the course of which he displays his heroic qualities.
# He is victorious in all his adventures, warlike or amorous.
# If he dies, he is brought back to life and lives happily ever after.
The Philippine epic hero is usually depicted as having an impressive physical appearance and is usually described as such. The Subanon hero, Sandayo, is described as:
A handsome datu
Radiant and resplendent
As if he stood not
On earthly ground
Straight as a tree
Like a son of Diwata
Like some rare flower
Beautiful to behold
Philippine epic heroes are also described as having loud voices which make men tremble. Lumalindaw was said to have a voice so strong that when he shouts at a crow, it falls in front of him; when he shouts at a coconut tree, the coconuts fall. They also stand out as acknowledged leaders in their respective communities, such as Tuwaang, or Bantugan, who while not the king of his realm, is described as having no rival among the lords of the kingdom.
Supernatural Powers
One of the most distinctive characteristics of Philippine epic heroes is their possession of supernatural powers, or magic animals and/or objects. The Ifugao hero, Aliguyon, is a notable exception to this rule, being the only one with no extraordinary power beyond his natural prowess.
The range of the hero's supernatural prowess ranges from the mild to the extraordinary. Except for their endurance, the heroes in the Ifugao ''hudhud'' are down-to-earth and benign in comparison to other heroes. In contrast, heroes in Central and South Philippine epics cannot continue without ''
mana
According to Melanesian and Polynesian mythology, ''mana'' is a supernatural force that permeates the universe. Anyone or anything can have ''mana''. They believed it to be a cultivation or possession of energy and power, rather than being a ...
'', or some supernatural being aiding them, or without the magical properties of the tools that they use.
Conventions
Philippine folk epics have some shared conventions that differ from other classical epics. Philippine folk epics may or may not have formal openings. ''Lam-Ang'', for example, opens with "Listen then while I narrate at length the life of Lam-Ang", while ''Aliguyon'' opens without much formality: "Aliguyon, son of Amtalao, who resided in Hannanga one early morning said, 'Where are you, comrades of Aliguyon, do what is done in Hannanga'"
Epics belonging to the Agyu cycle vary in that they have formal openings, called the ''ke`ppu`unpu`un'', which is the introductory part of the entire cycle of epics. Attached to this is the ''sengedurug'', which represents an account of a portion of Agyu's life in Nelendangan, the earth name of his paradise. The Taiwan cycle also has an introductory part called the ''tabbayanon'', consisting of two parts: the first is subjective and speaks of the singer's love, dreams, and frustrations. The prelude closes with a "tail", which serves to connect it to the main body of the story.
Philippine epics narrate the adventures of the hero in chronological order, many of them beginning with the hero's birth. None begin ''
in medias res
A narrative work beginning ''in medias res'' (, "into the middle of things") opens in the midst of the plot (cf. ''ab ovo'', ''ab initio''). Often, exposition is bypassed and filled in gradually, through dialogue, flashbacks or description of pa ...
'' like in the
Iliad
The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odysse ...
. The epics narrate the hero's life and adventures and end in happy endings. If the hero dies, he is brought back to life. In at least two epics, the hero brings his people to heaven. Only ''Lumalindaw'' diverts from this with a somber ending, where, after giving parting advice to his children, enters the cave where the Voice that has guided his life resides, and is seen no more.
Repetition
A common convention is the use of repetition of various kinds: repetition of a scene, repetition of lines, rituals, and formulaic passages. In ''Labaw Donggon'', the hero goes courting three times and the same lines he speaks to his mother are repeated.
Some motifs are also repeated under the significance attached to the number. Subanon epics, for example, hold the numbers 7 and 8 in special significance. In ''Ag Tobig nog Keboklagan'', Taake, when seven months old, cries for seven days and seven nights; sleeps for seven days and seven nights; goes fishing for seven days and seven nights; catching seven bins of fish; sleeps again for seven days and nights and awakes a young man; travels for seven months before reaching Keboklagan; courts the Lady of Pintawan for seven days before she accepts; the rumor of this marriage spreads for seven days before it reaches the Datus of Keboklagan, who plans to kill him within seven days; Taake and his companions rest in Dibaloy for seven nights; they journey back to Sirangan for seven days, and he holds a ''buklog'' for seven days.
In both ''Taake'' and ''Sandayo'', special attention is given to the hero's hair. Their hair is oiled, combed, and arranged to eight folds. Sandayo has his hair oiled and combed eight times, and wound eight times. When he sleeps, eight tiers of mosquito nets are placed over him. When he drinks wine, he empties eight wine jars. His robe has eight folds.
Otherworldly Journeys
Philippine folk epics sometimes extend to the realm of heavenly regions and the underworld. In ''Labaw Donggon'', the hero courts his wives across three worlds. Similarly, the Gaddang hero Lumalindaw seeks his fourth wife, Caligayan, in the Underworld, in a place called Nadaguingan, guarded by dwarfs. In ''Tuwaang attends a Wedding'', Tuwaang descends to the Underworld during his fight with the Young Man of Sakadna. In the ''Tale of Sandayo'', Bolak Sonday searches for Sandayo in the Underworld when he dies. When Bolak Sonday dies, Mendepesa is sent to look for her soul.
Developments
When Islamic missionaries came to Mindanao and converted the Moros, Mindanaoan epics changed to conform to the new faith. In the epic of Maranao, ''
Darangen
''Darangen'' is a Maranao epic poem from the Lake Lanao region of Mindanao, Philippines. It consists of 17 cycles with 72,000 lines in iambic tetrameter or catalectic trochaic tetrameter. Each cycle pertains to a different self-contained story. T ...
'', for instance, they have made Muslim prophet Muhammad as the forefather of the hero, Bantugen. Today, there are twenty-one epics that survived from Visayas and Mindanao, but others did not. Some of the epics, especially in Luzon, perceived to center on pagan beliefs and rituals, were burned and destroyed by Spanish friars during the Spanish colonization of the Philippines islands in the 16th century. There are only two folk epics that survived from Luzon.
Truly, there were substantial writings by early natives that Jesuit historian Fr.
Pedro Chirino Pedro Chirino (1557 – 16 September 1635) was a Spanish priest and historian who served as a Jesuit missionary in the Philippines. He is most remembered for his work, ''Relación de las Islas Filipinas'' (1604), one of the earliest works about the ...
noted: ''"All of the islanders are much given to reading and writing. And there is hardly a man, much less a woman who did not read and write."'' (Relacion de las isles Filipinas-1604).
Established epic poems of notable quality and length blossomed. Early historians like Padre Colin, Joaquín Martínez de Zúñiga and
Antonio Pigafetta
Antonio Pigafetta (; – c. 1531) was an Venetian scholar and explorer. He joined the expedition to the Spice Islands led by explorer Ferdinand Magellan under the flag of the emperor Charles V and after Magellan's death in the Philippine Islands, ...
have all attested to the existence of these epics. There were even reports of a dramatic play given by natives at the arrival of Don
Miguel López de Legazpi
Miguel López de Legazpi (12 June 1502 – 20 August 1572), also known as '' El Adelantado'' and ''El Viejo'' (The Elder), was a Spaniard who, from the age of 26, lived and built a career in Mexico (then the Viceroyalty of New Spain) and, i ...
in 1565.
Epic poems and songs about the exploits of enchanted folk heroes were performed during festivities and proper occasions. Most often, these epic poems (folk epics or ethno-epics) were titled after the names of the hero involved, except for some which carry traditional titles like the
Kalinga Kalinga may refer to:
Geography, linguistics and/or ethnology
* Kalinga (historical region), a historical region of India
** Kalinga (Mahabharata), an apocryphal kingdom mentioned in classical Indian literature
** Kalinga script, an ancient writ ...
Ullalim; the Sulod Hinilawod; the
Maranao
The Maranao people (Maranao: mәranaw Filipino: ''Maranaw''), also spelled Meranao, Maranaw, and Mëranaw, is the term used by the Philippine government to refer to the southern indigenous people who are the "people of the lake", a predomin ...
Darangen
''Darangen'' is a Maranao epic poem from the Lake Lanao region of Mindanao, Philippines. It consists of 17 cycles with 72,000 lines in iambic tetrameter or catalectic trochaic tetrameter. Each cycle pertains to a different self-contained story. T ...
; or the
Bicol Ibalon
Ibalon, or Ibalong, is the ancient name of the Bicol Region in the Philippines. The center of settlement is believed to be either beside the Bicol River at the present-day Libmanan, Camarines Sur (as based on the Ibalong Epic) or in Magallanes, ...
.
Stories about folk heroes of long ago were described as ''"Old Time History"'' because; they can be used to study the lifestyle and beliefs of the people who produced them. They were also referred to as ''"Lost"'' because they were soon forgotten by natives influenced heavily by Spanish and "western" colonization.
The famed orientalist, ''Chauncey Starkweather'', stressed that: ''"These epic romances are charming poems in the Malayan literature."''
Some scholars however dispute the claim that in the early days of Spanish intrusion, priests in their zealous rage against paganism destroyed all existing records, as well as all forms of writing and artworks, regarding ancient Philippine folk heroes.
These scholars, mostly schooled in Catholic schools and Catholics themselves, hold that the colorful and fascinating literature of pre-Hispanic Filipinos is still here, giving the new generation an overview of a heritage that is unique and deemed as an invaluable source of joy and information with regards to the lifestyle, love, and aspirations of early Filipinos.
Indeed, it is through these wonderful surviving epics every Filipino may mirror his or her national identity.
It is through these folk epics that every Filipino can feel heroic, truly pulsating with the splendor of a magnificent and authentic cultural force. An epic history of the Filipinos comes with epic characters like "biag ni lamang".
Philippine epic poems
Two epic poems originated among Christian Filipinos in Luzon. They are ''
Biag ni Lam-ang'' or ''
The Life of Lam-ang'' and the ''
Ibalong Epic
The ''Ibálong'', also known as ''Handiong'' or ''Handyong'', is a 60-stanza fragment of a Bicolano full-length folk epic of Bicol region of Philippines, based on the Indian Hindu epics Ramayana and Mahabharata. The epic is said to have been nar ...
'', from the Bicol region. Many more epics came from the non-Christian Filipinos in Luzon, such as The Hudhud and the Alim of the Ifugaos, The Ulalim of the Kalingas, and The Epic of Lumalindaw of the Giddings. The epics from the Visayas are The Hinilawod of the Sulod people of Central Panay Island and The Kudaman of Palawan, while the epics from Mindanao are The Maiden of the Bushong Sky, the Tuwaang Attends A Wedding, Agyu, The Tulelangan of the Ilianon Manoboc, The Darangen of the Maranaos, Guman of Dumalinao, Ag Tubig Nog Keboklagan (The Kingdom of Keboklagan), Keg Sumba Neg Sandayo (The Tale of Sandayo) and The Tudbulul of the T'boli of South Cotabato.
From the Bicol Region comes the Ibalong. The Ibalong relates the mystical origins of the first man and the first woman of Aston and Ibalong, which are current provinces of Camarines, Albay, Sorsogon, Catanduanes, and Masbate. Handing, one of the heroes of Ibalong (along with Baltog and Bantong) was a great leader of warriors. He won over the seductive serpent Oriol before starting a village. His village prospered and soon, other friends of Handiong went to help him in leading the village. The system of writing was introduced by Surat. Dinahong Pandak taught them how to make jars, utensils in cooking, and farming implements like the plow and harrow. Weaving cloth was known with the help of Hanlon. Lastly, Ginantong taught them to make boats, blades, knives, and things used in a house. Events in this epic also had a flood story similar to that of the Biblical Genesis. This epic has the story of how the Mayon Volcano was made.
The Darangen tells of the sentimental and romantic adventures of noble warriors, one of them, is about a warrior-prince called Bantugan. Prince Bantugen was the brother of the chieftain of a village called Bumbaran. Bantugen owned a magic shield, was protected by divine spirits called "Tonongs" and was capable of rising from the dead. Once his enemies attacked Bumbaran, thinking he was dead. In the nick of time, Bantugan's soul was recovered and he saved the village. There is also an episode, where Prince Bantugen was on a quest and fought his enemies with his magic Kampilan(Native sword). Soon, he got tired and fell onto the water. A crocodile delivered him to his enemies, but he regained his strength, escaped his captors, and commands an oarless ship and won the battle.
There were also "Darangen epic poetries that relate stories of wars about abducted princesses. Just like the chronicles of the Trojan War.
The Derangen is one of the oldest and longest Philippine epic poetries. Several nights were needed to recite the twenty-five beautiful chapters. The Deranged, sung in its original, possessed a sustained beauty and dignity, it might be studied for its esthetic values alone.
There were Philippine epic poems written and published much later. The Ibong Adarna, whose author is unknown, was written in Tagalog and published in the 18th century, while Florante at Laura, also in Tagalog, authored by Francisco Balagtas, was published in the 19th century. In 1961,
Ricaredo Demetillo published Barter in Panay, claimed to be the first literary epic of the Philippines. It was written in English. Other contemporary epics were authored by Dr.
Cirilo Bautista
Cirilo F. Bautista (July 9, 1941 – May 6, 2018) was a Filipino poet, critic and writer of nonfiction. A National Artist of the Philippines award was conferred on him in 2014.
Early life and education
Bautista was born in Manila on July 9, 19 ...
, whose epic was written in three decades and placed at 9,872 lines in length, The Trilogy of Saint Lazarus, comprises The Archipelago (1970), The Telex Moon (1975) and Sunlight On Broken Stones (1999) and
Edwin Cordevilla
Edwin M. Cordevilla (born September 30, 1967), is a poet and journalist based in the Philippines. He is the author of ''Phoenix and Other Poems'' (published in 2000), ''The Occasions of Air, Fire, Water, Earth'' (2012), and the non-traditional ...
's Ten Thousand Lines Project For World Peace (2013), which as the title suggests, is 10,000 lines long. Both epics were written in English.
Cycles
There are multiple epic texts that can be found in the Philippines, owing to its diverse cultural background. To date, over twenty have been collected, transcribed, and published by academic scholars.
*Epics from
Luzon
Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...
** From Christian Filipinos:
*# ''
Biag ni Lam-Ang'' from the
Ilocos region
Ilocos Region ( ilo, Rehion/Deppaar ti Ilocos; pag, Sagor na Baybay na Luzon/Rehiyon Uno; tl, Rehiyon ng Ilocos) is an administrative region of the Philippines, designated as Region I, occupying the northwestern section of Luzon and part of ...
*# ''
Ibalon
Ibalon, or Ibalong, is the ancient name of the Bicol Region in the Philippines. The center of settlement is believed to be either beside the Bicol River at the present-day Libmanan, Camarines Sur (as based on the Ibalong Epic) or in Magallanes, ...
'', from the
Bicol region
Bicol, known formally as the Bicol Region or colloquially as Bicolandia ( bcl, Rehiyon kan Bikol; Rinconada Bikol: ''Rehiyon ka Bikol''; Waray Sorsogon, Masbateño: ''Rehiyon san Bikol''; tl, Rehiyon ng Bikol), is an administrative region of ...
** From non-Christian groups:
*# ''
Hudhud
Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm Hudhud was a strong tropical cyclone that caused extensive damage and loss of life in eastern India and Nepal during October 2014. Hudhud originated from a low-pressure system that formed under the influence of an u ...
'' and ''
Alim
Alim (''ʿAlīm'' , also anglicized as ''Aleem'') is one of the Names of God in Islam, meaning "''All-knowing one''". It is also used as a personal name, as a short form of Abdul Alim, "''Servant of the All-Knowing''":
Given name
* Alim ad-Din A ...
'' of the
Ifugao people
The Ifugao people are the ethnic group inhabiting Ifugao Province. They reside in the municipalities of Lagawe (capital of Ifugao), Aguinaldo, Alfonso Lista, Asipulo, Banaue, Hingyon, Hungduan, Kiangan, Lamut, Mayoyao, and Tinoc. The provinc ...
*# The ''Ulalim'' cycle of the
Kalinga people
The Kalinga people () are an indigenous ethnic group whose ancestral domain is in the Cordillera Mountain Range of the northern Philippines. They are mainly found in Kalinga province which has an area of 3,282.58 sq. km. Some of them, howev ...
*# ''The Epic of Lumalindaw'' of the
Gaddang people
The Gaddang (an indigenous Filipino people) are a linguistically-identified ethnic group resident in the watershed of the Cagayan River in Northern Luzon, Philippines. Gaddang speakers were recently reported to number as many as 30,000. This n ...
*Epics from
Visayas
The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands (Bisayan languages, Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; tl, Kabisayaan ), are one of the three Island groups of the Philippines, principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Luzon and Mindanao ...
*# The ''
Hinilawod
Hinilawod is an Epic poetry, epic poem oral tradition, orally transmitted from early inhabitants of a place called Sulod in central Panay, Philippines. The term "Hinilawod" generally translates to "Tales From The Mouth of The Halawod River". Th ...
of the
Suludnon
The Suludnon, also known as the Panay-Bukidnon, Pan-ayanon, or Tumandok, are a culturally indigenous Visayan group of people who reside in the Capiz-Lambunao mountainous area and the Antique-Iloilo mountain area of Panay in the Visayan islands o ...
in
Panay
Panay is the sixth-largest and fourth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of and has a total population of 4,542,926 as of 2020 census. Panay comprises 4.4 percent of the entire population of the country. The City o ...
*#* ''Hinilawod I: The Epic of Labaw Donggon''
*#* ''Hinilawod II: Epic of Humadapnen''
*# The ''Kudaman'' of
Palawan
Palawan (), officially the Province of Palawan ( cyo, Probinsya i'ang Palawan; tl, Lalawigan ng Palawan), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in ...
*Epics from
Mindanao
Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...
*# ''The Maiden of the Buhong Sky''
*# ''Tuwaang Attends a Wedding''
*# The Agyu Cycle:
*#* ''Agyu: The Ilianon Epic of Mindanao''
*#* ''Ulahigan''
*#* ''The Capture of Nalandangan''
*#* ''The Epic of Nalandangan''
*#* ''Olaging: The Battle of Nalandangan''
*# The ''Tulelangan'' of the
Ilianon Manobos
*# The ''
Darangen
''Darangen'' is a Maranao epic poem from the Lake Lanao region of Mindanao, Philippines. It consists of 17 cycles with 72,000 lines in iambic tetrameter or catalectic trochaic tetrameter. Each cycle pertains to a different self-contained story. T ...
of the
Maranao people
The Maranao people (Maranao: mәranaw Filipino: ''Maranaw''), also spelled Meranao, Maranaw, and Mëranaw, is the term used by the Philippine government to refer to the southern indigenous people who are the "people of the lake", a predomin ...
*# ''Gumao of Dumalinao''
*# ''Ag Tubig Nog Keboklagan'' (The Kingdom of Keboklagan)
*# ''Keg Sumba Neg Sandayo'' (The Tale of Sandayo)
*# The ''Tudbulul'' of the
Tboli people
See also
*
Philippine literature
Philippine literature is literature associated with the Philippines from prehistory, through its colonial legacies, and on to the present.
Pre-Hispanic Philippine literature was actually epics passed on from generation to generation, o ...
*
Ilokano literature
Ilocano literature or Iloko literature pertains to the literary works of writers of Ilocano ancestry regardless of the language used - be it Ilocano, English, Spanish or other foreign and Philippine languages. In Ilocano language, the terms "Iloko ...
References
*
Further reading
*
External links
Bilingual (Tagalog-English) version of Philippine Epicsin the
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Philippine Epic Poetry
Philippine mythology
Philippine poetry
Epic poetry