1. Introduction to
Pre-Spanish
Philippine
Literature

2. Long before the arrival of the Spaniards,
ancient Filipinos were living in scattered
barangays and ruled by different
chieftains. Although, they were living
separately, they were similar in many
ways, their religion, mode of dressing,
houses, system of government and
marriage practices and economic
activities, in short, they were refined and
civilized; they possessed a distinct culture
that distinguish them from other race.

3. Moreover, before the Spaniards
and other foreigners landed or set
foot on Philippine shores, our
forefathers already had their own
literature stamped in the history of
our race.
Our ancient literature shows our
customs and traditions in everyday
life as traced in our folk stories, old
plays and short stories.

4. Our ancestors also had their own alphabet which was
different from that brought by the Spaniards. The first
alphabet used by our ancestor was similar to that of the
Malayo-Polynesian alphabet.
Whatever records our ancestors left were either burned
by the Spaniards friars in the belief that they were works
of the devil or were written on materials that easily
perished, like the barks of trees, dried leaves and
bamboo cylinders which could not have remained
undestroyed even if efforts were made to preserve them.

5. Other records that remained showed folk songs that proved the
existence of a native culture truly our own. Some of these were
passed on byword of mouth till they reached the hands of some
publishers or printers who took interest in printing the manuscripts of
the ancient Filipinos.

6. The Spaniards who came to
the Philippines tried to prove
that our ancestors were really
fond of poetry, songs, stories,
riddles and proverbs which we
still enjoy today and which
serve to show to generations
the true culture of our people.

7. The pre-Hispanic belief system of
Filipinos consisted of a pantheon of
gods, spirits, creatures, and men that
guarded the streams, fields, trees,
mountains, forests, and houses.
Bathala, who created earth and man,
was superior to these other gods and
spirits.

8. Visayan clothing varied according to cost and
current fashions and so indicated social
standing. The basic garments were the G-
string and the tube skirt–what the Maranao
call malong–or a light blanket wrapped
around instead.
But more prestigious clothes, lihin-lihin, were
added for public appearances and especially
on formal occasions–blouses and tunics,
loose smocks with sleeves, capes, or ankle-
length robes.

9. The Philippines was composed of
settlements or villages, each called
barangay, named after balangay, a
malayan word meaning “boat”
Furthermore, the arrival of the
Spanish in the 16th century, most
people lived in small independent
villages called barangays, each
ruled by a local paramount ruler
called a datu.

10. Sources:
https://group4lit1webpage.wordpress.com/the-pre-spanish-period/
https://asiasociety.org/education/religion-philippines
https://pinoy-culture.tumblr.com/post/30479656512/pre-colonial-traditional-clothing-note-
though