LESSON 1

INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF PHILIPPINE LITERATURE

TOPICS
1. What is Literature?
2. Importance or Relevance of Literature
3. Types of Prose
4. Elements of a Short Story
5. Types of Poetry

LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
1. define Literature; Literature;
2. identify the different literary genres;
3. show sensitivity to human and moral values;
4. appreciate the roles of literature in our lives; and
5. sharpen the imagination by drawing pictures perceived in
literary genres.

TOPIC 1: WHAT IS LITERATURE?

While history records past events, it does not include among its pages, the spirit
of the nation. It is in literature where one can see the dreams, anxieties, joys, and
problems of the people in a certain country. (Senatin, 2003)
In order to know the history of a nation’s spirit, one must read its literature.
Hence, it is, that to understand the real spirit of a nation, one must “trace the little rills as
they course along down the ages, broadening and deepening into the great ocean of
thought which men of the present source are presently exploring.” (Kahayon, et al., 2000)

WHAT IS LITERATURE?

Literature is derived from the latin word litera which means letter. It has been
defined differently by various writers. Some of these are presented hereunder.

 Literature is a piece of printed work related to the ideas and feelings of the people
that may be true or just a product of the writer’s imagination. (Sayno, A. et.al,
2004)

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  Literature covers all the writings of a particular country, time, kind, etc. especially
those valued for excellence of form and expression. (Webster’s Dictionary)

 Literature refers to a composition that deals with life experiences. It tells stories,
dramatizes situations, expresses emotions, analyzes, and advocates ideas.
(Patron, 2002)

 Literature is an eternally burning flame, exuding light that renders significance to

civilization. (Castillo, et.al. 2002)

 Because Literature deals with ideas, thought, and emotions of man, literature can
be said to be the story of man. (Kahayon, et.al., 2000)

Moreover, the study of Literature offers the following:

 It stimulates the mind to awareness of human experiences.

 It touches the heart.
 It satisfies a person’s sense of beauty.
 It educates, enlightens, and inspires.

According to Saymo, et.al (2004), literature is divided into two large groups: Prose
and Poetry. Prose is defined as a spoken written language without metrical regularity.
Poetry, on the other hand, is the imaginative expression of emotion, thought, or
narrative, frequently in metrical form and often using the figurative language. Poetry
has traditionally been distinguished from prose by rhyme on the rhythmical arrangement
of words.

TOPIC 2: IMPORTANCE OR RELEVANCE OF LITERATURE

1. Material progress and political power may vanish; the spirit of nationalism may
wane; but the true glories of literature withstand the forces of decay and decline.
2. Literature is an eternally burning flame, exuding light that renders significance to
civilization.
3. In literature, likewise, there is conserved a heritage which gives meaning to a
people’s ideals. It molds the mind of a people by preserving the experiences of
the past in a cohesive and beautiful manner.
4. Literature mirrors the depth of a culture and manifests the truly creative genius
of the race.
5. Literature, though seeming to hide timidly between the covers of a book, has
frequently generated ideas that have had a tremendous effect. It has exhibited
the potency of an explosive in its capacity for upsetting the social order.
6. Literature helps us grow both personally and intellectually.

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 7. It helps us to connect ourselves to the cultural context of which we are a part.
8. It helps us to develop mature sensibility and compassion for the condition of all
living things, human, animal and vegetable.
9. Literature is one of the things that shape our lives; it makes us human.
10. It encourages us to assist creative talented people who are in need.

ACTIVITY 1

People of all ages enjoy reading literary pieces such as poems, novels, short stories,
essays, and the like. This may be due to fact that such reflect our real experiences in life.
Based on your previous studies of different literary pieces, describe and define
literature. Use the semantic map below. (Source: Interactive Reading-Responding to and
Writing about Philippine Literature by Ida Yap Patron)

11.

LITERATURE

ACTIVITY 2
Analyze each of the following statement. Write TRUE if it is true and FALSE if it is
incorrect then, replace/correct the word/phrase that makes it wrong.
_____________ 1. Literature is an eternally burning flame.
_____________ 2. Literature mirrors the depth of a culture.
_____________ 3. Literature does not help us grow intellectually.
_____________ 4. It hinders us to connect ourselves to the cultural context of
which we are part.
_____________ 5. Literature can be found in history.
_____________ 6. Filipino Literature isolated from other literatures of the world.
_____________ 7. History plays a role in the refinement of a nation’s literary
works.

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 _____________ 8. Literature deals with any form of writing literature regardless of
the quality.
_____________ 9. Literature can be interpreted and imagined.
_____________ 10. All writings must be narrated to be considered as literature.

TOPIC 3: TYPES OF PROSE

Prose comes from the Latin “prosa” which means “straightforward”. Prose can be
written or spoken and has no formal metrical structure. It is basically ordinary language –
the way people speak.

1. Novel. It is an extended fictional prose narrative, often including the psychological

development of the central characteristics and of their relationship with a broader
world. The modern novel took its name and inspiration from the Italina novella,
the short tale of varied character, which became popular in the late 13th century.
Novel is classified according to genres and subgenres such as the historical novel,
detective fiction, fantasy and science fiction.
E.g. Without Seeing the Dawn by Stevan Javellana
2. Short Story. It is an artistic form of prose fiction that is usually written in a
narrative format which is centered on a single main incident whose aim is to
produce a single dominant impression. Its qualities are economy, compression,
brevity, and emphasis.
E.g. The Laughter of My Father by Carlos Bulosan
3. Play. It is a piece of creative work presented on stage. It is usually divided into
acts.
E.g. Thirteen Plays by Wilfredo M. Guerrero
4. Legend. It is traditional or undocumented story about famous people, commonly
religious in character and frequently posing problems of authenticity.
E.g. The Bikol Legend by Pio Duran
5. Fable. It is a story in either verse or prose, in which animals or inanimate objects
are given the mentality and speech of human beings to point out a lesson.
E.g. The Monkey and the Turtle
6. Anecdote. It is a product of the writer’s imagination whose aim is to bring out
lesson to the readers. It can be stories about animals or children.
E.g. The Moth and the Lamp
7. Essay. It is a short piece of nonfiction dealing with a particular subject from a
personal point of view. The best example of this is the editorial page of a
newspaper.
8. Biography. It is an account of a person’s life. It may consist of factual details of a
person’s life told in a chronological order, but has generally become a matter of
interpretation as well as historical accuracy.
E.g. Cayetano Arellano by Socorro O. Albert
9. News. It is a report of daily events in society, government, or in science and
industry.

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10. Oration. It is a piece of work relative to speech whose aim is to arouse the
listener’s interest and emotion.

TOPIC 4: ELEMENTS OF A SHORT STORY

1. Setting. It is an element that reveals where/when the story happened.

2. Characters. They are the performers of a story. It may refer to the hero or to the
heroin of the story. It includes people playing important roles in a given story
aside from the principal characters.

3. Plot. It refers to the storyline/sequence in a novel, play, film, or other work of

fiction. It is traditionally a scheme of connected events.

4. Theme. It refers to the central idea or insight of any piece of literary work; a truth
in life which is the heart of the story. It is usually implied rather than stated, e.g.
good vs. evil (personal evil or dark forces in man’s environment such as disease,
poverty, and war) or life process (childhood joys and fears or growing-up pains of
teenagers).

5. Point of View. It is a device used by the writer in presenting his idea.

6. Conflict. It refers to the collision between one character and another, between a
character and some elements in the world about him. It is the opposition of forces
which ties one incident to another and makes the plot move. Conflict is not merely
limited to open arguments; rather, it is any form of opposition that the main
character faces.

The preceding basic elements of a short story can be expanded as follows: (source:
The Literatures of the Philippines by Ferdilyn C. Lacia et. al.)

1. Setting – the place or location of the action; provides the historical and
cultural context for characters. It often can symbolize the emotional state
of characters.
2. Plot – the development of a story in terms of beginning, middle, or end.
The beginning contains the conflict which rises to a climax where the story
turns before reaching a denouement or a resolution. A good plot is not
based on twist and turn of events but how much is revealed about the
characters and the theme of the story. Following are elements of plot:

The introductory material, creates the tone, presents

Exposition the characters, and presents other facts necessary to
understand the story.

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 This is a series of events that builds from and during
Rising Action conflict. It begins with the inciting forms and ends
with the climax.

The climax is the result of the crisis. It is the highest

point of the story for the reader. Frequently, it is th
Crisis moment of the highest interest and the greatest
emotion—the point at which the outcome of the
conflict can be predicted.

These are the events after the climax which close the
Climax
story.

These are the events after the climax which close the
Falling Action
story.

This is the ending of the story which rounds out and

Resolution concludes the action. It can resolve the conflict or
close the actions.

3. Characterization - imaginary people created by the writer. They fall under

two categories:
a. Major Characters. These are almost always round or three-
dimensional characters. They have good and bad qualities. Their
goals, ambitions, and values change. A round character changes
as a result of what happens to him or her and is referred to in
literature as a “dynamic” character.
A dynamic character grows or progresses to a higher level of
understanding in the course of the story. Characters in literature
are characterized as follows:
Protagonist - the main character at the center of the
story.
 Antagonist - the character or force that opposes the
protagonist.
 Foil - a character that provides a contrast to the
protagonist.
b. Minor Characters. They often provide support and illuminate the
protagonist. These characters are flat or two-dimensional and
have only one or two striking qualities. A usually all-good or all-
bad. Such characters can be interesting or amusing in their own
right, but they lack depth. Flat characters are sometimes referred
to as “static” characters because they do not change in the course
of the story.
4. Point of View - pertains to who tells the story and how it is told. It can
sometimes indirectly establish the author’ or the person telling the story.
He could be classified as:
a. First Person. The narrator is a character in the story who can
reveal only personal thoughts and feelings and what he or she
sees and is told by other characters. He cannot tell us the
thoughts of other characters.
b. Objective or Third person. The writer uses “He/she”. The
narrator in unnamed or unidentified (a detached observer). This

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 narrator is not a character in the story and does not assume
character’s perspective. The narrator reports on events and lets
the reader supply the meaning.
c. All-knowing Narrator or Omniscient. The narrator is an all-
knowing outsider who can enter the minds of more than one of
the characters.
5. Conflict - the essence of fiction. It creates plot. The conflicts we encounter
can ususally be identifies as one of four kinds:
a. Man vs Man. This conflict pits one person against another.
b. Man vs Nature. This conflict is a run-in with the forces of nature.
On the one hand, it expresses the insignificance of a single human
life in the cosmic scheme of things. On the other hand, it tests the
limits of a person’s strength and will to live.
c. Man vs Society. The values and customs by which everyone else
lives are being challenged. The character may come to an end as
a result of his or her own convictions. The character may, on the
other hand, bring others around to a sympathetic pont of view,
or it may be decided that society was right after all.
d. Man vs Self or Internal Conflict. Not all conflicts involve other
people. Sometimes, people are their own worst enemies. An
internal conflict is a good test of a character’s values. Does he
give in to temptation or rise above it? Does he demand the most
from himself or settle for something less? Does he even bbother
to struggle? The internal conflicts of a character and how they are
resolved are good clues to the character’s inner strength.

Often, more than one kind of conflict is taking place at the same time. In
every case, however, the existence of conflict enhances the reader’s
understanding of a character and creates the suspense and interest that make us
continue reading.

6. Theme - the main idea or underlying meaning of a literary work. A theme

may be major or minor. A major theme is an idea the author returns to time and
again. It becomes one of the most important ideas in the story. Minor themes are
ideas that may appear from time to time.
It is important to recognize the difference between the theme of a literary
work and the subject of a literary work. The subject is the topic on which an author
has chosen to write. The theme, however makes a statement about or expresses
an opinion on that topic. For example, the subject of a story might be war while
the theme might be the idea that war is useless.

The four ways in which an author can express themes are as follows:
a. Themes are expressed and emphasized by the way the author
makes us feel. By sharing feelings of the main character, you also
share the ideas that ggo through his or her mind.
b. Themes are presented in thoughts and conversations. Authors put
words in their character’s mouths only for good reasons. One of
these is to develop a story’s themes. The things a person says are

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 much on their mind. Look for thoughts that are repeated
throughout the story.
c. Themes are suggested through the characters. The main
character usually illustrates the most important theme of the
story. A good way at this theme is to ask yourself the question,
“What does the main character learn in the course of the story?”
d. The actions or events in the story are used to suggest theme.
People naturally express ideas and feelings through their actions.
One thing authors think about is what an action will “say”. In
other words, how will the action express an idea or theme?

7. Foreshadowing - the author’s use of hints or clues to suggest events that will
occur later in the story. Not all foreshadowing is obvious. Frequently, future events are
merely hinted at through dialogue, description, or the attitudes and reactions of the
characters. Foreshadowing frequently serves two purposes:

TOPIC 5: TYPES OF POETRY

1. Narrative Poetry. It describes important details in life following the order of
events either real or imaginary. They are classified as epic, metrical tales, metrical
romance, and ballad.

a. Epic. It is a narrative poem or cycle of poem dealing with some great deeds
like the founding of a nation or the forging of national unity. They often
use religious or cosmological themes.
e.g. The Harvest Song of ALiguyon translated in English by Amador T.
Daguio

b. Metrical Tales. It is a type of narrative written in verse. It is classified as

either ballad or metrical romance.
e.g. Bayani ng Bukid by Al Perez
Hero of the Fields by Al Perez

c. Metrical Romance. It is also a type of metrical tale composed of a long

rambling love story in verse. It is centered on the adventure of knights and
lords and their royal ladies during the age of chivalry. It is heavily flavored
with romance, fantastic events, supernatural occurrences, and magic.

d. Ballad. It is a narrative type of poem that is metrically simple, sometimes

unstrophic and unrhymed or dependent in assonance. It is concerned with
some strongly emotional event. It is halfway between the lyric and the
epic.

2. Lyric Poetry – means any short poem that is songlike. This is the most common
type of poetry. Examples are:

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 a. folk songs (awiting bayan) – are short poems intended to be sung. The
common theme is love, despair, grief, doubt, joy, hope, and sorrow.
E.g. Chit-chirit-chit
b. haiku – a short, Japanese poem consisting of 17 syllables arranged in three
lines.
c. ode – a serious lyric poetry which commemorates important public events.
It consists of stanzas with the same pattern of rhythm and rhyme.
d. elegy – a common lyric that deals with life and death. It mourns the death
of a loved one.
E.g. The Lover’s Death by Ricardo Demetillo
e. corridos (kuridos) – with measures of eight syllables (octosyllabic) and
recited to martial beat.
e.g. Ibong Adarna
f. psalms (dalit) – a song praising God or the Virgin Mary containing a
philosophy of life.
g. awit (song) – with measures of twelve syllables (decasyllabic) and slowly
sung to the accompaniment of a guitar or banduria.
e.g. Florante at Laura ni Francisco Balagtas
h. sonnet – a love poem which mostly consists of 14 lines and has a certain
pattern of rhyme and rhythm. It has two types: Italian and Shakespearean
e.g. Santang Buds by Alfonso P. Santos

3. Dramatic Poetry – tells stories like narrative poetry, but in dialogues of play
rhymes, repeating rhythms, and other poetic elements. One of the most famous
dramatic poets is the English playwright William Shakespeare.

a. Comedy. The word comedy comes from the Greek term “komos” meaning
festivity or revelry. This form usually is light and written with the purpose
of amusing, and usually has a happy ending.
b. Melodrama. This is usually used in musical plays with the opera. Today,
this is related to tragedy just as the farce is to comedy. It arouses
immediate and intense emotion and is usually sad but there is a happy
ending for the principal character.
c. Tragedy. This involves the hero struggling mightily against dynamic forces;
he meets death or ruin without success and satisfaction obtained by the
protagonist in a comedy.
d. Farce. This is an exaggerated comedy. It seeks to arouse mirth by laughable
lines; situations are too ridiculous to be true; the characters seem to be
caricatures and the motives undignified and absurd.
e. Social poems. This form is either purely comic or tragic and it pictures the
life of today. It may aim to bring about changes in the social conditions.

Task/Activity

ACTIVITY 1

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 Identify each of the following statement. Write your answer on the space provided
before each number.
___________ 1. A spoken or written language without metrical regularity.
___________ 2. A piece of creative work presented on stage. It is usually divided into
acts.
___________ 3. A short piece of non-fiction dealing with a particular subject from a
personal point of view.
___________ 4. A short, Japanese poem consisting of 17 syllables arrange in three lines.
___________ 5. Refers to the central idea of any piece of literary work.
___________ 6. It is a device used by the writer in presenting his ideas.
___________ 7. A love poem which mostly consists of 14 lines and has a certain pattern
of rhyme and rhythm.
___________ 8. A narrative poem or cycle of poem dealing with some great deeds.
___________ 9. A report of daily events in society, government, all in science and
industry.
___________ 10. Considered as the story of man.

ACTIVITY 2
Comprehensively discuss the following. Give examples. You may use extra sheets.
a. The Two Major Literary Genres and their Sub-Genres

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 LESSON 2
REGION I – SELECTED LITERARY TEXT

TOPICS
1. Bigong Pag-asa
2. My Father Goes to Court
3. Graduation

LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
1. recognize some literary works and literary figures of Ilocos;
2. familiarize themselves with the provinces of Region 1;
3. examine critically the guidelines in reading the poem, reading the
selection, and annotating a text;
4. make use of the literary guidelines in doing some literary exercises and
activities;
5. role play an interesting scene that may be taken from the selections;
and
6. appreciate the values inculcated in every literary text.
6.

REGION 1

Ilocos Sur
Ilocos Norte
Ilocos

Iloko is derived from the word Ilocos, which uses either the letter c or k. The
Ilocandia Region 1 comprises of Abra, Benguet, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union,
Mountain Province, and Pangasinan. It has the following cities: Baguio, Dagupan, Laoag,
and San Carlos. Iloko also iluko is the language spoken by the Ilokanos sometimes spelled
Ilocanos or the inhabitants of these provinces and form the third largest linguistic group
in the Philippines, after Tagalogs and Cebuanos. The Ilocos region is located in the
northwestern coast of Luzon. It is a narrow strip of land, with the China Sea to the west
and the Ilocos mountain range to the east. Basically agricultural, its generally arid and
barren soil has made the Ilocanos one of the most migrant of Filipinos. They are found in
many parts of the Philippines, in Hawaii and in the West Coast of the United States.

Iloko Literature

Among the writers associated with Region 1 are Crecencia Alcantara, Edilberto
Angco, Rogelio Aquino, Manuel Arguilla, Hermogenes Belen, Crispina Bragado, Jose
Bragado, Leona Florentino, Marcelino Foronda Jr., Juan S. P. Hidalgo, F. Sionil Jose, Jacinto

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Kawili, Peter La Julian, Benjamin M. Pascual, Sinanar Roblanes- Tabin, Agustin D. C. Rubin,
and Carlos Bulosan.

Among the literary forms found in Region I are burbutia, pagsasao, arikenken,
dalot, daniw, dung-aw, and sudario.

TOPIC 1: BIGONG PAG-ASA

Leona Florentino

Ipinanganak si Leona Florentino sa Villa Fernandina (ngayon ay Vigan), Ilocos Sur

noong ika-19 ng Abril 1849 at namatay noong ika-4 ng Oktubre 1884. Siya ang
nangungunang makata ng kanyang panahon na pinatunayan ng pagkalathala ng kanyang
mga tula sa Bibliotheque International de Ouvres de Femmes noong 1889. Na-exhibit din
ang kanyang mga likha sa Exposicion General Filipinas na ginanap sa Madrid noong 1887.
Binansagan siya na “Inang Feministang Makata ng Pilipinas”. (Source: Philippine Literature
by Linda R. Bascarra et. al.)

BIGONG PAG-ASA
sinulat ni Leona Florentino
salin ni Isagani R. Cruz

(1) Anong saya at ginhawa

kung may nagmamahal
dahil may makikiramay
sa lahat ng pagdurusa.
(2) Ang masama kong kapalaran
walang kapantay-
wala akong alinlangan-
sa dinaranas sa kasalukuyan.

(9) Kahit na ako ay magmahal

sa isang musa
wala namang hinuha
na ako’y pahahalagahan.

(13) Isumpa ko kaya ang panahon

nang ako’y ipinanganak
higit na mas masarap
na mamatay bilang sanggol.

(17) Nais ko mang magpaliwanag

dila ko’y ayaw gumalaw
nakikita kong malinaw
pagtatangi lamang ang matatanggap.

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 (21) Ligaya ko sana’y walang kapantay
sa kaalamang ikaw ay minamahal
isusumpa ko at patutunayan
para sa iyo lamang ako mamamatay.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Describe the poem’s tone.
2. Characterize the person speaking in the poem.
3. How did the poet assess the situation?
4. Are economic status, religious affiliation, and ethnic status factors to
consider in loving someone? Why or Why not?
5. To what poetic type does the poem belong? Give its characteristics.
Literary Review: Reading the Poem

1. Read the poem more than once. This will help you get its full meaning.
2. Keep a dictionary to learn the meanings of unfamiliar words.
3. Read to hear the sounds of the words in your mind. Read as slowly as
possible. In ordinary reading, lip reading is a bad habit; with poetry it is
not.
4. Be attentive to what the poem is saying.
5. Practice reading poems aloud.
6. Read it affectionately, but not affectedly.
7. Read the poem slow enough to make each word clear and distinct.
8. Read the poem so that the rhythmical pattern is felt, not exaggerated.

(Source: Interactive Reading-Responding to and Writing about Philippine Literature

by Ida Yap Patron)

Task/Activity

ACTIVITY 1
Individually, discuss and share to the class your saddest experience in life in three
minutes. Then group yourselves into five and discuss the similarities and/differences
between your saddest experiences. Then, present your output in the class.

ACTIVITY 2
Read the poem and follow the ways on how to read a poem then, give the
message of the poem “Bigong Pag-asa” by Leona Florentino.
______________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________

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 ____________________________________________________________________

ACTIVITY 3

Divide the class into two and prepare for the composition of your own poem, it should
have the same theme with the poem “Bigong Pag-asa”. Following the literery guidelines, as a
team, you will create your own poem. Your team must come up with a title and the first member
of the group will write the first line of the first stanza, followed by the other team members until
the last member of the group, your poem must have four-five stanzas having four lines each.

TOPIC 2: MY FATHER GOES TO COURT

Carlos Bulosan
Carlos Bulosan was the most popular Filipino short story writer in the United
States. He was born in Binalonan, Pangasinan in 1914. He wrote for the Saturday Evening
Post and was included in American anthologies and listed in Who’s Who in America.
Vocabulary List:

enchanting – captivating; delightful

bent double – to curve, to twist the body in midsection or stomach.
grotesque – distorted; misshapen; out of place
seals – fish-eating marine mammal with a sleek body adapted for swimming and
living in cold regions.
morose – gloomy

MY FATHER GOES TO COURT

Carlos Bulosan

When I was four, I lived with my mother and brothers and sisters in a small town
on the Island of Luzon. Father’s farm had been destroyed in 1918 by one of our sudden
Philippine floods, so for several years afterwards we all lived in the town, though he
preferred living in the country. We had as next-door neighbor a very rich man, whose son
and daughter seldom come out of the house. While we boys and girls played and sang in
the sun, his children stayed inside and kept the windows closed. His house was so tall that
his children could look in the windows of our house and watch us as we prayed, or slept,
or ate, when there was any food in the house to eat.
Now, this rich man’s servants were always frying and cooking something good,
and the aroma of the food was wafted down to us from the windows of the big house.
We hung about and took all the wonderful smell of the food into our beings. Sometimes,
in the morning, our whole family stood outside the windows of the rich man’s house and
listened to the musical sizzling of thick strips of bacon or ham. I can remember one
afternoon when our neighbor’s servant roasted three chickens. The chickens were young
and tender and the fat that dripped into the burning coals gave of an enchanting odor.
We watched the servants turn the beautiful birds and inhaled heavenly spirit that drifted
out to us.

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 Some days the rich man appeared at the window and glowered down at us. We
were all healthy because we went out in the sun every day and bathed in the cool water
of the river that flowed from the mountains into the sea. Sometimes we wrestled with
one another in the house before we went out to play. We were always in the best of
spirits and out laughter were contagious. Other neighbors who passed by our house
stopped in our yard and joined us in laughter.
Laughter was our only wealth. Father was a laughing man. He would go into the
living room and stand in front of the tall mirror, stretching his mouth into grotesque
shapes with his fingers and making faces at himself; then he would rush into the kitchen,
marring with laughter.
There was always plenty to make us laugh. There was for instance, the day one of
my brothers came home with a small bundle under his arm, pretending that he brought
something good to eat, maybe a leg of lamb or something as extravagant as that, to make
our mouths water. He rush to Mother and threw the bundle into her lap.
We all stood around, watching Mother undo the complicated strings. Suddenly a black cat
leaped out of the bundle and run wildly around the house. Mother chased my brother
and beat him with her little fists, while the rest of us bent double, choking with laughter.
Another time one of my sisters suddenly started screaming in the middle of the
night. Mother reached her first and tried to calm her. My sister cried and groaned. When
Father lighted the lamp, my sister stared at us with shame in her eyes.
“What is it?” Mother asked.
“I’m pregnant!” she cried.
“Don’t be a fool!” Father shouted.
“You are only a child. “Mother said.
“I’m pregnant, I tell you!” she cried.
Father knelt by my sister. He puts his hand on her belly and rubbed it gently. “How
do you know you are pregnant?” he asked.
“Feel it!” my sister cried.
We put our hands on her belly. There was something moving inside. Mother was
shocked. “Who’s the man?” she said. ”There’s no man,” my sister said. “What is it, then?”
Father said.
Suddenly my sister opened her blouse and a bullfrog ripped out. Mother fainted.
Father dropped the lamp, the oil spilled on the floor, and my sister’s blanket caught fire.
One of my brothers laughed so hard he rolled on the floor.
When the fire was extinguished and Mother was revived, we return to bed and
tried to sleep, but Father kept on laughing so load we could not sleep anymore. Mother
got up again and lights the oil lamp; we rolled up the mats on the floor and began dancing
about and laughing with all our might. We made so much noise that all our neighbors
except the rich family came into the yard and joined us in loud, genuine laughter.
It was like that four years.
As time went on, the rich man’s children became thin and anemic, while we grew
even more robust and full of life. Our faces were bright and rosy, but theirs pale and sad.

15
The rich man started to cough at night; then he coughed day and night. His wife began
coughing, too. Then the children started to cough, one after other. At night, their
coughing sounded like the barking of a herd of seals. We hung outside their windows and
listened to them. We wonder what had happened. We knew that there are not sick from
lack of nourishing food, because they were still always frying something delicious to eat.
One day the rich man appeared at a window and stood there along time. He
looked at my sisters, who had grown fat with laughing, then at my brothers, whose arms
and legs were like the molave, which is the sturdiest tree in the Philippines. He banged
down the window and ran through his house, shutting all the windows.
From that day on, the window of our neighbor’s house were always closed. The
children did not come outdoors anymore. We would still heard the servants cooking in
the kitchen and no matter hoe tight the window were shut, the aroma of the food came
to us in the wind and drifted gratuitously into our house.
On morning a policeman from the presidencia came to our house with a sealed
paper. The rich man had filed a complaint against us. Father took me with him when he
went to the town clerk and asked him what it was about. He told Father the man claimed
that four years we had been stealing the spirit of his wealth and food.
When the day came for us to appear in court, Father brushed his old Army uniform
and borrowed a pair of shoes from one of my brother. We were the first to arrive. Father
sat on a chair in the center of the courtroom. Mother occupied a chair by the door. We
children sat on the long bench by the wall. Father keep jumping up from his chair and
stabbing the air with his arms, as though he were defending himself before an imaginary
jury.
The rich man arrived. He had grown old and feeble, his face scarred with deep
lines. With him was his younger lawyer. Spectators came in and almost filled the chairs.
The judge entered the room and sat on a high chair. We stood up in a hurry and then sat
down again.
After the courtroom preliminaries, the judge looked at Father. “Do you have a
lawyer?” he asked.
“I don’t need any lawyer, judge,” he said.
“Proceed,” said the judge.
The rich man’s lawyer jumped up and pointed his finger at father. “Do you or do
you not agree that you have been stealing the spirit of the complainant’s wealth and
food?”
“I do not, “Father said.
“Do you or do you not agree that while the complainant servant cooked and fried
fat legs of lamb or young chicken breasts, you and your family hung outside his windows
and inhaled the heavenly spirit of the food?”
“I agree, “Father said.
“Do you or do you not agree that while the complainant and his children grew
sickly and tubercular you and your family became strong of limb and fair of complexion?
“I agree,” Father said.

16
 “How do you account for that?” Father got up and paced around, scratching his
head thoughtfully. Then he said, “I would like to see the children of the complainant,
Judge.”
“Bring in the children of the complainant.”
They came shyly. The spectators covered their mouths with their hands. They
amazed to see the children so thin and pale. The children walked silently to a bench and
sat down without looking up. They stared at the floor and moved their hands uneasily.
Father could not say anything at first. He just stood by his chair and looked at
them. Finally he said,” I should like to cross-examine the complainant.”
Proceed.”
“Do you claim that we stole the spirit of your wealth and become a laughing family
while yours became morose and sad?” Father asked.
“Yes.”
“Do you claim that we stole the spirit of your food by hanging outside your
windows when your servant cooked it?” Father asked.
“Yes.”
“Then we are going to pay you right now,” Father said.
He walked over to where we children were sitting on the bench and took my straw hat
off my lap and began filling it up with centavo pieces that he took out of his pockets. He
went to Mother, who added a fistful of silver coins. My brothers threw in their small
change.
“May I walk the across the hall and stay there for a few minutes, Judge?”
Father asked.
“As you wish.”
“Thank you, “Father said. He strode into the other room with in his hands. It was
almost full of coins. The doors of both rooms were wide open.
“Are you ready?” Father called.
“Proceed,” the Judge said.
The sweet tinkle of the coins carried beautifully into the court room. The
spectators turned their faces toward the sound with wonder. Father came back and stood
before the complaint.
“Did you hear it?” he asked.
“Hear what?” the man asked.
“The spirit of the money when I shook this hat?” he asked
“Yes.”
“Then you are paid,” Father said. The rich man opened his mouth to speak and fell
to the floor without a sound. The judge even came down from his high chair to shake
hands with him. “By the way,” he whispered, “I had an uncle who died laughing.”

17
 “Do you like to hear my family, Judge?” Father asked. “Yes I do”, the judge replied.
“Did you hear that, children?” Father said.
My sisters started it. The rest of us followed them and soon the spectators were
laughing with us, holding their bellies and bending over the chairs. And the laughter of
the judge was the loudest of all.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Compare the two families in the story.

2. Cite instances that made the poor family happy and contented.
3. Describe the author’s father. What was the complaint filed against him? How
did he depend himself?
4. Was the judge just enough in his decision? Justify your answer.

Literary Review: Guidelines for Reading

1. Observation for basic understanding.

a. Explain words, situations, and concepts. Write down words which
are new and unclear. Use your dictionary.
b. Ask these questions:
1. Where do the actions take place?
2. What do they show?
3. Who is/are involved?
4. Who is the major figure?
5. Why is he/she the major figure?
6. What are their concerns?
7. What do they do?
8. Who says what to whom?
9. How do the speeches advantage the action and reveal their
characters?
c. Trace development patterns. Make an outline for the main idea.
What conflicts appear? Do these conflicts exist between
people/groups, or ideas? How does the author resolve these? Does
one side/idea emerge as the “winner” Why? How do you feel
towards the winner? The loser?
d. Write messages that are important. Memorize them if you can.
e. Note any questions for further study.

2. Notes on First Impressions

a. In your marginal notation, record you first responses to the work.
What did you think was funny, memorable, noteworthy, or
otherwise striking? Did you laugh, smile, worry, get scared. Feel a
thrill, learn a great deal, feel proud, find a lot to think about?
b. Describe interesting characterizations, events, techniques, and
ideas. Use your own words when writing your explanation.

18
 (Source: Interactive Reading-Responding to and Writing about Philippine Literature by
Ida Yap Patron)

Task/Activity

ACTIVITY 1
The class will be grouped into five and each group must choose one interesting
scene from the story My Father Goes to Court and prepare a role play and present it in
class.

ACTIVITY 2

With reference to the selection “My Father Goes to Court” by Carlos

Bulosan give the information being asked in the following questions. Work in pair.

1. Where do the actions take place?

2. What do they show?
3. Who is/are involved?
4. Who is the major figure?
5. Why is he/she the major figure?
6. What are their concerns?
7. What do they do?
8. How do the speeches advantage the action and reveal their characters?
9. What conflicts appear?
10. Do these conflicts exist between people/groups, or ideas?
11. How does the author resolve these?
12. Does one side/idea emerge as the “winner” Why?
13. How do you feel towards the winner? The loser?

TOPIC 3: GRADUATION
Francisco Sionil Jose

Vocabulary List:

19
 doffed – an act of removing one’s hat
– to take off
paunched – a large, round stomach
coops – an enclosure or hut in which poultry is kept
loafers – lazy persons who avoid work and waste time
portentously – very serious and significant.
sieving basket – a meshed utensil; used to separate solid objects from liquids.
raucously – unpleasantly loud and hoarse.

GRADUATION
F. Sionil Jose

I always knew that someday after I finished high school, I’d go to Manila and to
college. I had looked ahead to the grand adventure with eagerness but when it finally
came; my leaving Rosales filled me with a nameless dread and a great, swelling
unhappiness that clogged my chest.
I could not be sure now. Maybe it was a proud, stubborn girl with many fixed ideas
and she even admonished me: “Just because you have so much to give does not mean all
the things you give will be accepted.”
It was until after sometime that I understood what she meant and when I did, I
honored her all the more. She was sixteen, too, lovely like the banana when it’s in bloom.
I did not expect her to be angry with me when I bought her a dress for it wasn’t
really expensive. Besides, as the daughter of one of Father’s tenants, she knew me very
well. Better perhaps than any of the people who live in Carmay, the young folks who
always greeted me politely, doffed their straw hats then, closed-mouthed, went their
way.
I always had silver coins in my pockets but that March afternoon, after counting
all of them and the stray pieces, too that I had tucked away in my dresser I knew I needed
more.
I approached Father. He was at his working table, writing on a ledger while behind
him, one of the new servants stood erect, swinging a palm leaf fan over Father’s head. I
stood beside Father, watched his shirt down with sweat.
When he finally noticed me, I couldn’t tell him what I wanted. He unbuttoned his
shirt down to his paunch. “Well, what is it?”
“I’m going to take my classmates this afternoon to the restaurant, Father,” I said
Father turned to the sheaf of papers before him. ”Sure, he said, you can tell Bo
King to take off what you and your friends can eat from his rent this month.”
It was March and the high school graduation was but a matter of days away. “I
also need a little money, Father,” I said. “I have to buy something.”
Father nodded. He groped for his keys in his drawer then he opened the iron
money box beside him and drew out a ten- peso bill. He laid it on the table
“I’m going to buy ….” I tried to explain but with a wave of his hand, he dismissed
me. He went back to his figures.

20
 It was getting late. Sepa, our oldest maid, was getting the chickens to their coops.
I hurried to the main road which was quite deserted now except in the vicinity of the
round cement embankment in front of the municipal building where loafers were taking
in the stale afternoon sun.
The Chinese storekeepers who occupied Father’s building s had lighted their
lamps. From ancient artesian well at the rim of the town plaza, the water carries and
servant girls cackled while they waited for their turn at the pump. Nearby, traveling
merchants has unhitched their bull carts after a whole day of traveling from town to town
and were cooking their supper on board, blackened stones that littered the place. At Chan
Hai’s store there was a boy with a stick of candy in his mouth, a couple of men drinking
beer and smacking their lips portentously, and a woman haggling over a can of sardines.
I went to the huge bales of cloth that slumped in one corner of the store, picked
out the silk, white cloth with glossy printed flowers. I asked Chan Hai, who was perched
on a stool smoking his long pipe, how much he’d ask for the material I had picked for a
gown.
Chai Hai peered at me in surprise; “ten pesos, he said.”
With the package, I hurried to Carmay. In the thickening dusk the leaves of the
acacias folded and the solemn; mellow chimes of the Angelus echoed to the flat, naked
stretches of the town. The women who had been sweeping their yards paused; children
reluctantly hurried to their homes for now the town was draped with a dreamy stillness.
Teresita and her father lived by the creek in Carmay. The house was on a sandy lot
which belonged to Father; it was apart from the cluster of huts peculiar to the village. Its
roof, as it was with the other farmer’s home, was thatched and disheveled, its walls were
of battered buri leaves. It was prominently alone near the gulley that had been widened
to let bull carts, and carriages through when the bridge was washed away. Madre de
cacao trees abounded in the vicinity but offered scanty shade. Piles of burnt rubbish rose
in little mounds in the yard and a disrupted line of ornamental San Francisco fringed the
graveled path led to the house.
Teresita was sampling the both of what she was cooking in the chicken. There was
dampness in her brow and redness in her eyes.
“What are you doing here at this hour?” she confronted me. In the glow of the
cracking stove fire, she looked genuinely surprised.
I laid my package on the wooden table cluttered with tin plates and vegetables.
“It’s for you.” I said, my face burned like kindling wood.
“I hope you like it.”
Her eyes still on me, she opened the package. When she saw what it was, she gave
a tiny, muffled cry. She shook her head, wrapped it back then gave me it to me. “I can’t.”
she said softly. “It does not seem right for me to accept it.”
“But you need it and I’m giving it to you, “I said firmly, the burning in my face
eased at last. “Is there anything wrong in giving one a gift?”
And that was when she said,” There are things you just can’t give away such as
you are doing now…”

21
 I think it all started that evening when we were in the third year and Teresita
recited a poem. It was during the graduation exercise and she was the only junior in the
program. I can’t remember distinctly what the piece was about except that it was
something that tugged at my heart. She spoken of faith and love and as she did,
clamminess gripped me, smothered mw with a feeling I never felt before. I recall her
edged resonant voice cleaving the hushed evening I was silently one with her.
We didn’t go home immediately after the program for a dance in honor of the
graduates followed. Miss Santillan, who was in charge of the refreshments, asked me to
wait for her so she would have company when she’d go home. Teresita helped serve the
refreshments as usual. I sat on the one of the school benches after I got tired watching
the dancers file in and out, giggling. When most of them had eaten, Teresita asked
permission from Miss Santillan to leave.
“My father, Ma’am,” she said. ‘He doesn’t want me to stay out very late because
of my cough. Besides, I have worked to do early tomorrow.”
“Going home alone?” Miss Santillan asked.
“I’m not afraid,” she said resolutely.
I stood up, strode past the table laden with an assortment trays and glasses. From
the window, I saw the moon dangling over the sprawling school building like a huge
sieving basket and the world was us, pulsating and young.
“I’ll walk with you. I said.
She protested at first but Miss Santillan said it was best I went along with her.
After Miss Santillan had wrapped up some cakes for her, we descended the stone steps.
The evening was clean and cool like a newly washed sheet. It engulfed us and we didn’t
speak for some time.
“I live very far,” she reminded me later. She drew a shabby shawl over her thin,
wasted shoulders.
“I know,” I told her, “I’ve been there.”
“You’ll be very tired.’’
“I’ve walked longer distances. I can take Carmay in a run.” I tried to impress her.
“I’m very sure of that.” she said.” You are strong. Once, I was washing in the river
and you outraced the others.”
‘I didn’t see you,” I said.
“Of course,” she said bitingly, “You never notice the children of your tenants,
except those who serve in your house.”
Her remark stunned me and I couldn’t speak at once. “That is not true, “I said
meekly. “I go to Carmay often.”
She must have realized that she had hurt me for when she spoke again, she
sounded genuinely sorry. ”That was not what I meant, “she said. “And I didn’t say that to
spite you.”
Again, silence.

22
 The moon drifted out of the clouds and lighted up the dusty mud. It glimmered on
the parched fields and on the Burt palms that stood like hooded sentinels. Most of the
houses we passed had long blown out their kerosene lamps. Once in a while, a dog stirred
in its bed of dust and growled at us.
“You won’t be afraid going home alone?” she made light after a while.
“There is a giant ‘Capri’ nears the bridge which comes out when the moon is full,” I said,
“I’d like to see it. I’ve never seen a ghost.”
”When I die,” she laughed, “I’ll appear before you.”
“You’ll be a good ghost and I won’t be afraid,” I said.
On we trudged. We talked more about ourselves, about to where the row of homes
receded and finally reached her house near the river that murmured as it cut a course
over reeds and shallows.
When we went up the house, her father was already asleep, In fact, he was snoring
heavily. At the door, she bade me goodnight and thanked me. Then slowly, she closed the
door behind her.
So the eventful year passed, the rains fell, the field become green and the bananas
in yard blossomed. The land became soggy and the winds lashed at Rosales severely,
bowling over score of flimsy huts that stood on lean bamboo stilts. Our house didn’t
budge in the mightiest typhoon: with us, nothing changed. The harvest with its usual
bustle passed, the tenants – among who was Teresita’s father – filled our spacious
storehouse with their crops. The drab, dry season with its choking dust settled
oppressively and when March came, it was time for Teresita and me to graduate.
Throughout a whole, hot afternoon we rehearsed our part for the graduation
program. We would march to the platform to take our high school diplomas. When the
sham was over, Teresita and I rested on the steps of the crude school stage.
She nudged at me: “I will not attend the graduation exercises. I can say I had a
fever or my cough got worse – which is the truth anyway.”
“Why?”
“No one would miss me in the march if I don’t come.
“You are foolish,” I said.
“I can’t have my picture, too, I suppose.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“I can’t come. I just can’t she repeated with finally.
She didn’t have to say anything more. I understood, and that afternoon I asked
money from Father to buy a graduation dress for Teresita.
And that same week, Father ordered Teresita’s father, who farmed a lot in the
delta in Carmay, to vacate the place as Father had sold it. Teresita’s father had to settle
in the hills of Balungao where there were small, vacant parcels, arable patches in the
otherwise rocky mountainside. There, he might literally scratch the earth to eke out a
living.

23
 April, and a hot glaring sun filtered rudely through the dusty glass shutters and
formed a dazzling piddle on the floor where Father lounged. The dogs that lolled in the
shade of the acacia trees struck out their tongues and panted.
The smudges of grass in the plaza were a stubbly brown; the sky was cloudless and
azure. From the kitchen window, Sepa, the maid, asked me to come up the house. Father,
she said, had something important to tell me.
He was at the balcony reading and fanning himself languidly. The question he
asked stunned me. “When do you want to leave for the city?”
For sometime I couldn’t speak; the summer vacation has just started and the
college opening was two months away.
“It all depends upon you, Father.”
“You’ll leave tomorrow then,” he decided abruptly.
“But, Father,” I object,” June is still weeks away. College doesn’t start till then.”
“I know,” Father said. “But I want you to get well acquainted with your cousins
there. You don’t know much of each other.
In the street, the heat waves rose up like little angry snakes, all swallowed up by
the dust that fluffed high when a passenger jeep lumbered along.
Father’s arid voice: “You will grow older. “He hammered this notion into me. “You
will grow older and realized how important this thing that I’m doing is. You will leave here
many faces. You will outgrow boyish whims. In the city, you’ll meet new friends.”
I did not speak.
“The time will come when you will return to me-a man,”
“Yes father.” I said as he, having spoken, went on with his reading.
The dark came quickly the sun sank behind the coconut grooves of Tomana and
disappeared below the jagged horizon. Before the twilight thickened, I left the house and
journey into a world where the houses were decrepit, where the urchins were clad most
of the time in unkempt rags and when a stranger would stumble in their midst, they’d
gape at him with awe. Beyond the squat cluster of homes came the barking of dogs lying
in the dust.
I went up the ladder that squeaked and when Teresita’s father recognized me in
the light of the flickering kerosene lamp hanging from a rafter, a shadow of a scowl crept
into his leathery face. When I said, “Good evening,” He retained his sour mien. He
returned my greeting, and then he walked out and left us alone.
“I’m leaving,” I began. Teresita wiped the soap suds from her hands. She has just
finished the dishes. ‘I’ll go to the city tomorrow – to study, Father is sending me there.”
She said nothing; she just looked at me. She walked to the half-opened window
that bared the benighted banks of the river and the clack fields.
“We’d soon leave, too.” She murmured, holding the window sill. “Your father sold
this place, you know.”
“I’m very sorry.”

24
 “There’s nothing to be sorry about.”
“Yes, there are many things.” I said.
“Won’t you go to school anymore? “I asked. She was silent again and I didn’t prod
her for an answer.
‘What course are you going to take?” she asked after a while.
“I’m not very sure,” I said. ‘But maybe, I’ll follow the advice you gave me.”
“Please do,” she said. “Please be a doctor.” With conviction: “You can do much if
you are one and you are so good.”
I didn’t know what else to say.
“Don’t write to me when you are there,” she said.
“But I will,”
“It will do no good,” she said insisted. ‘Besides, it will not be necessary. Thank you
very much for coming to see me.”
“I have to, “I said.
She followed me to the door. The floor creaked under my weight. She called my
name as I stepped down the first ring and I turned momentarily to catch one last glimpse
of her young fragile face and on it, the smile, half born, half free.
‘Please don’t write,” she reiterated, wiping the soap suds on her hands with a
piece of rag. “It’s useless, you know.”
“But I will,” I said, and in my heart, I cried. “I will”
“I’d be much happier and so would Father if you didn’t.” she pressed on.
“And besides, I wouldn’t be able to answer your letters. Stamps cost….”
‘I’ll send you…” I checked myself quickly.
The smile on her face grew wan but, anyway she went down the flight and walked
with me as far as the gate.
The children who played raucously nearby stopped and ogled at us. And in the
other houses, though it was very dark. I knew the farmers and their wives watched me
leave, knowing how it was going to be with us, how I would leave Teresita and thus make
Father happy, how, I will forget everything: the orchids I gave her that now adorned her
window and which, I am sure, would someday wither, the books I lent her which she
rapaciously read, the neat eager laughter that welled from the depths of her. I would
forget, too, how we hummed to the music of the tow’s brass band and walked one sultry
night from the high school to Carmay.
The night was vast and deep and the starts were hidden by clouds. In the darkness,
I couldn’t see the bananas along the path, and the bright purple of their blooms.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

25
 1. What are the phrases sentences which show that the story happened long time
ago?
2. To what object did the narrator compare his beloved Teresita? Was the
comparison fitting?
3. Point out the social distance in which separates the two characters.
4. What was his gift? Why did Teresita refuse to accept it?
5. If you were the main character, who would you please, Teresita or your father?
Why?
6. How did the story end? Give further explanation of the last paragraph.

Literary Review: Annotating a Text

If you own your book, mark it up by highlighting, underlining or making marginal

notes about what pleases you, what interests you, what pleases you or bores you.
Think of your possible responses, asking yourself as you reread the prose.
One kind of annotation is a question mark in the margin, jotted down in order
to indicate uncertainty about the meaning of the word. You should have a dictionary
on hand to help you know the precise meanings and implications of the writer’s words
in order to feel and appreciate the effect he or she is trying to create.The more you
become aware of how richly meaningful words can be in a literary text, the more
sensitive you will be about the words you use in your prose.
(Source: Interactive Reading-Responding to and Writing about Philippine Literature by
Ida Yap Patron)

ACTIVITY 3
Write the essence of Graduation in the life of a parent or a student.
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________

26
 LESSON 3
REGION II – SELECTED LITERARY TEXT

TOPIC
1. THE NUNUK ON THE HILL (NU NUNUK DU TUKUN)
ROVINCES IN REGION 1
LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
1. identify the provinces in Region II;
2. analyze the poem;
3. compare and contrast the natives of Mindoro and Batanes Provinces;
4. have a full grasp on how to read and understand a poem;
5. describe the topography of Batanes; and
6. share ideas and insights about the meaning and significance of
personally created poems.

REGION II
Batanes
Cagayan
Isabela
Nueva Vizcaya
Quirino

Cagayan Valley
Cagayan Valley is one of the regions of the Philippines, also designated as Region
II. It is composed of five provinces, namely: Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, and
Quirino. Its regional center is Tuguegarao City, the country’s hottest place.
Most of the region lies in a large valley in northeastern Luzon, between the
Cordilleras and the Sierra Madre mountain ranges. Cagayan River, the country's longest
river runs through its center and flows out to Luzon Strait in the north, in the town of
Aparri, Cagayan. The Babuyan and Batanes island groups that lie in the Luzon Strait also
belong to the region. The majority of people living in Cagayan are of Ilocano descent,
mostly migrants coming from the Ilocos Region. Originally, the more numerous group
were the Ybanags, who were first sighted by the Spanish explorers and converted to
Christianity by missionaries. This is why the Ibanag language spread throughout the area
prior to the arrival of Ilocanos.
Aside from Ilocanos and Ybanags, Malauegs, Itawits, Gaddangs, groups of nomadic
Aetas, as well as families of Ibatans who have assimilated into the Ybanag-Ilocano culture
make Cagayan their home. More recently, a new group from the south, the Muslim
Filipinos, have migrated to this province and have made a community for themselves. In
addition to this, Tagalog-speaking people from the Southern Luzon have also settled in

27
the area. Because of this influence from other majority groups like the Ilocano from the
west and the Tagalog from the south, the smaller ethnic groups living in the valley could
potentially go extinct.
Among the literary forms found in Region 2 are baliwayway, dimolat, laji, unoni.

Vocabulary List:

twig- a small branch or shoot from a tree

grief- intense sorrow
orphan- a child whose parents are both dead or who has been abandoned by his
parents
breaker-a large, usually white-capped wave that is cresting or breaking especially
onto the shore
nunuk- a small crawling creature or insect

NU NUNUK DU TUKUN

(1) Nu nunuk du tukun, minuhung as kadisi na;

(2) ichapungpung diya am yaken u nilangan n.
(3) Kapaytalamaran ava su avang di idaud
(4) ta miyan du inayebngan na, ta miyan du inayebngan na.
(5) Nu itanis ko an nu an didien ko;
(6) ta nu taaw aya u suminbang diyaken;
(7) na maliliyak a pahung as maheheyet a riyes.
(8) u minahey niya diyaken

Informant: Catalina Faranilo Hontamin

THE NUNUK ON THE HILL

(1) The nunuk on the hill shot forth the leaves and twigs;
(2) then suddenly all its branches fell, and I under it.
(3) On what is left I cannot watch boats on the sea
(4) for I stand on the side away from the sea.
(5) I weep in my grief;
(6) it was the sea that made me an orphan;
(7) the sad news came to me in the roar of the breakers,
(8) from the voice of the mighty sea currents.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Have you ever met an Ivatan? If yes, describe him/her.
2. What is a nunuk?
3. Who is speaking in the poem?
4. How is the persona orphaned?
5. Pick out words that help create the mood of the poem.

28
 6. Based from the poem, determine the topography of Batanes.
7. To what poetic genre does the text belong? Give its characteristics.

Literary Review: Reading and Understanding A Poem

To understand a poem, you need to understand the poem’s meaning and

organization. As you read and reread the poem, study the following:
1. The Title. The title is always informative.
2. The Speaker or the Persona. The one speaking in the poem which
may either be in the first of third person.
3. Meaning of all words (familiar and unfamiliar). You will need to
consult dictionaries, encyclopedia and other sources until you gain
a fairly good grasp of the poem’s content.
4. Setting and Situation. Some poems establish their setting and
circumstances vividly. However, not all poems are so clear, you
should learn as much as you can about setting and situation in
every poem you read.
5. Basic form and Development. Poems maybe in a form a narrative,
personal statements or speeches to another person. They maybe
in sonnet form, or may contain stanzas, each of which is unified by
a particular action or thought. Try to determine the form and to
trace the way in which the poem unfolds, part by part.
(Source: Interactive Reading-Responding to and Writing about Philippine Literature by
Ida Yap Patron)

Task/Activity

ACTIVITY 1
1. Read the following poems:

Goodbye means a packed suitcase

… an empty house
… a broken heart
… a promise
… an oblivion.

A prayer is loud whisper

… an intense plea
… a source of strength
… a warm comfort
… a covenant.

29
 2. Make your own list poems on any of these suggested topics. You are free to
choose your own topic if you want to.

God is… Love is… Family is…

Gift is… Song is… Friend is…

3. Group yourselves into six and share the meaning and significance of your
poem.

ACTIVITY 2
Match column A to Column B. Write the letter of the correct answer on the space
provided before each number.
Column A Column B
A. small crawling creature or insect
B. intense sorrow
___1. form of poem C. the writer’s choice of words
___2. nunuk D. Region II
___3. breaker E. the one speaking in the poem which may
___4. speaker or persona either be in the first of third person

___5. Ivatan F. a source of strength

___6. twig G. sonnet

___7. grief H. native of Batanes

___8. prayer I. a child whose parents are both dead or

who has been abandoned by his parents
___9. Cagayan Valley
J. a large, usually white-capped wave that is
___10. diction cresting or breaking especially onto the
shore
K. a small branch or shoot from a tree

ACTIVITY 3
Describe and analyze the poem “The Nunuk on the Hill” in terms of the following
aspects. (Present your output in the class.)

Title
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________

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___________________________________________________________

Person speaking
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________

Diction
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________

Setting
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________

Form and Development

____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________

31
 LESSON 4
CORDILLERA ADMINISTRATIVE REGION – SELECTED LITERARY TEXT

TOPIC
1. HUDHUD HI ALIGUYON: AN IFUGAW HARVEST SONG

LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
1. familiarize themselves with the topography, provinces, and
literature of CAR;
2. identify the characteristics of an epic;
3. describe the characters and their traits;
4. present the plot in the epic;
5. debate on relevant issues;
6. conceptualize the character portrayal of the main character
through illustration; and
7. integrate Filipino values in the lesson.

CORDILLERA ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

Abra
Benguet
Ifugao
Kalinga
Mountain Province
Apayao

The Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Philippines' only land-locked region,

consists of the provinces of Abra, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga, Mountain Province and
Apayao. Baguio City is the regional center. The Cordillera region encompasses most of
the areas within the Cordillera Central mountain range of Luzon, the largest range in the
country. This region is home to numerous indigenous tribes collectively called the Igorot.
Cordillera has abundant mineral reserves. These include metallic ores such as gold,
copper, silver, zinc, and non-metallic minerals like sand, gravel and sulfur. Mineral
reserves are found in all the provinces. However, mining is concentrated in Benguet.
Among the literary forms found in CAR are Ibaloy myths, Isneg Riddles, Tingguian
Flood myths, oggood, sudsud, and ullalim.

A writer associated with CAR is Ma. Luisa Aguilar-Carino (1961: Baguio City).

32
Vocabulary List:

protracted- lasting or drawn out for a long time

undaunted- not afraid by the prospect of defeat or failure
feud- a prolonged violent quarrel between families or clans

HUDHUD HI ALIGUYON: AN IFUGAW HARVEST SONG

The term Hudhud, in general, refers to narratives that are chanted or sung by tribal
poets of Ifugaw on special occasions; e.g., to celebrate the death of a rich or prominent
person, to give color to the ceremonies usually performed during the harvest, or as a part
of the binugwo, a ceremony occasioned by the digging out of the bones of dead relatives
so that they may be blessed. The hudhuds of the Ifugaws may, therefore, be classified
into three types on the basis of the occasion for singing: that which is sung on the death
of a rich or prominent person, that which is sung when the ancestral bones are dug out
to be blessed, and that which is sung during the harvest. Hudhud hi Aliguyon represents
the third type.
The harvest songs are woven around a central motif the life of Aliguyon and
Bugan. Although there are various versions of the story that the songs tell, depending on
the originality of the singer, Aliguyon and Bugan are always the main characters.
Characters in other hudhuds are in one way or other related to either of these two.
Pangaiwan, for instance, is the father of Bugan and Pumbakhayon is the brother of Bugan.
The complete story of the Harvest Song of Aliguyon, as known to the Ifugaws, may
be summarized as follows:
Aliguyon, a long time ago, was born in village of Hannanga. His father was
Amtalao; his mother was Dumulao. When he was a little boy, his father used to tell him
the stories of his own adventures, in love and in war. His father also taught him the use
of the spear and shield. Aliguyon learned quickly.
When he was old enough, his father made him a top. He taught Aliguyon how to
spin it and how to break the tops of his playmates. His father also taught him how to cut
runo spears and fight with them.
Aliguyon, listening to the war prayers of the tribe, also learned to say the magic
words of the native priests and priestesses. In time, he became the undisputed leader of
the children of his tribe.
When he reached adolescence, he gathered his comrades and led them in a fight
against the enemy of his father, Pangaiwan of Daligdigan.

FOLK EPICS
In Daligdigan, however, he faced, not his father’s enemy, but the son.
Pumbakhayon was as spirited and lustyas Aliguyon, so the fight lasted three years, with
no end in sight or any sign of defeat on the part of either group. Through the protracted
warfare, the heroes learned to admire each other’s abilities. Their fight finally ended in a

33
peace pact made in Daligdigan, in the home of Pumbakhayon, and at the instance of old
Pangaiwan, Pumbakhayon’s father.
During the conclusion of the peace pact, Aliguyon saw and courted the youngest
of the beautiful sisters of Pumbakhayon, Bugan. Aliguyon brought his bride, a mere child,
to his home in Hannanga, where Bugan grew into a beautiful woman. Then Pumbakhayon
went to Hannanga to witness his sister’s formal marriage to Aliguyon. Aliguyon and Bugan
had many children, and both became prosperous and beloved of the people of
Hannanga…
Pumbakhayon later courted Aliguyon’s sister and brought her to his father’s home
in Daligdigan. There they were happily married and became prosperous (Daguio. pp. 39
– 41).
The version presented here, sung by a woman-poet, Hinayup Bantayan [Bantiyan]
concentrates on the protracted fight between Aliguyon and Pumbakhayon, which ends in
a peace pact sealed by the marriage of Aliguyon to Bugan, Pumbakhayon’s sister, and of
Pumbakhayon to Aginaya, Aliguyon’s sister.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. What is the significance of the epic in relation to Ifugao’s harvest ceremony?

2. What motivates Aliguyon to prepare a battle against his enemy?
3. Who is Iken?
4. Enumerate some factors why the battle between Aliguyon and Pumbakhayon
lasted for three years.
5. How did their fight end?
6. Narrate how Aliguyon meets his future bride Bugan.

Literary Review: Plot and Conflict

Plot is the logical sequence of events. It contrasts the development of actions.

This means to stay that one event controls or overcomes another event. In a well-
plotted story, things precede each other as effects that follow causes. In a good story,
nothing is irrelevant or accidental everything is related and causative.
Conflict presents the connected pattern of causes and effects which a character
(protagonist) must face and try to overcome (often the antagonist). Conflict brings out
complications that make up most stories.
It is the opposition of two people. Their conflict maybe in the form of envy,
hatred, anger, argument, avoidance, gossip, lies, fighting, and many other forms and
actions. Conflicts may also occur between groups. Conflicts may also be between
individual and larger forces like natural objects, ideas, modes of behavior, and public
opinion. A dilemma is a natural conflict for an individual person who is placed in a
difficult and impossible choice.
(Source: Interactive Reading-Responding to and Writing about Philippine Literature by
Ida Yap Patron)

34
Vocabulary List:

betel nut- one of the dark red seeds of the Betel Palm that is wrapped in betel
leaves with lime and chewed
bard- a poet who composes and recites epic poems describing important events
intoxicated- drunk
stockade- a prison on a military base
apparel- outer, decorative clothing
valor - courage especially shown in war or battle
indemnification- compensation paid to somebody for damage or loss
coffer- a strong chest or box used for keeping valuables or money

THE KALINGA ULLALIM

“The ullalim are ballads chanted by talented bards, either men or women, far into
the night at Kalinga festival or recreational gatherings and peace pact assemblies… But
they are also distinctive epics since they give lively accounts of fictitious battles and
fabulous headhunting raids (kayawa) into hostile territory that center around the main
hero of the tale…Moreover, the ullalim are romances, for they make the hero obtain the
mandiga, “The dignified lady’ of his choice.
The ullalim, like the Ifugaw Hudhud, are not only fictitious and nonritual chanted
stories, but outstanding primitive poems as well. However, unlike the hudhud, which
eulogizes wealth, the ullalim eulogizes bravery.”

ULLALIM
THE MAGIC BIRTH OF BANNA
(Synopsis)

This ullalim, one of the “Banna-Dulliyaw Cycle” of Southern Kalinga, features the
main heroes Dulliyaw and his son, Banna. The Bwa (buwa), or “betel nut, is the magic
character of the tale – it seems as if it is a real actor who plays an important role not only
in the first episode of the story, but more especially when successive events place
Dulliyaw in a hopeless situation. It is through the intermediary of Dulliyaw’s betel nut
that the young girl, Dinanaw, becomes magically pregnant and gives birth to a son whom
bard calls Banna. Other characters of the story are Ya-u whom Dulliyaw seduces. The
Agta are the playmates of Little Banna. The role of the other characters is insignificant in
the development of the tale.
The story begins when the betrothed couple, Dulaw of Kagayan and Ya-u, find a
betel nut that invites them to a feast in Madogyaya. At the Village of Madogyaya, Dulaw
attracts the attention of Dulliyaw of Dulawon. Planning to court Dulaw, Dulliyaw make
Ya-u drink sugarcane wine until he is intoxicated. While Ya-u lies asleep in one house,
Dulliyaw courts Dulaw and dupes her by cunningly making her his chewing partner.
Afterwards, Dulliyaw triumphantly tells her that, by accepting his betel nut slice, she had
actually accepted his marriage proposal. Before Dulaw goes home toward evening,
Dulliyaw tells her to expect him on the second night.
Indeed, in the middle of the second night. Dulliyaw arrives at Dulaw’s house.
While Dulliyaw chews betel nuts with Dulaw, he tells her that he had come to take her to
his home at Dulawon. Just then a cock crows. The people of the village are awakened.

35
Dulliyaw leaves Dulaw’s house, meets a man with a head ax, and kills him. Men of the
village close in upon Dulliyaw, who climbs a nearby tree to escape from them. Since no
one dares attack Dulliyaw, Ya-u decides to call the Spanish soldiers of Sakbawan (at the
eastern boundary of Kalingaland).
With this men, Guwela, the commander of the garrison, to ascends the heights of
Kalingaland, arrives at Kagayan, and orders the soldiers to take hold of Dulliyaw, still
sitting on a branch of the tree. Knowing that the odds are against him, Dulliyaw offers no
resistance when the soldiers handcuff him. Upon Guwela’s order, the soldiers also arrest
Dulaw. At Sakbawan, the prisoners are kept in the stockade.
The scene shifts to three years after the imprisonment of Dulliyaw and Dulaw. The
prisoners have grown exceedingly thin. Trying to alleviate her sufferings in some way,
Dulaw asks Dulliyaw for a betel nut slice. Before the slice of the betel nut is offered to
the girl, it magically disappears.
At this point, the bard abruptly transfers the scene of her tale to the village of
Magobya. There, Dinanaw, a wealthy unmarried girl, is taking a bath in the river. After
bathing, she sees a slice of betel nut, which she picks up and chews.
Without saying a word more about the slice of betel nut – that it was the slice
which had mysteriously vanished when Dulliyaw was about to give it to Dulaw and that
by chewing it, Dinanaw had conceived and given birth to a son, whom she named Banna
– the bard describes what happened three years later. Little Banna plays with the boys
of Magobya. Teasingly they tell him that, if he is the genuine Banna, then he is the son of
Dulliyaw, whom the Spanish soldiers kept in the stockade of Sakbawan. Banna reports to
his mother what the Agta boys have said; she answers that none of it is true.
In a magic instant, little Banna becomes a vigorous young man craving for revenge.
A magic force transports him and his companions to the plain of Sakbawan, Banna kills
Dulaw. Once of Banna’s companions informs Dulliyaw that Banna is Dulliyaw’s son.
Banna, his companions, and Dulliyaw all ride on the red beam of light and, in a single
magic instant, reach the Village of Magobya. Banna tells his mother that the handsome
gentleman who accompanies him is his father and her husband. Dinanaw accepts with
smiling lips the betel nut chew Dulliyaw offers her. They rejoice, they chew, they eat,
they sleep.
The following day, a magic force carries the whole village of Magobya and all its
inhabitants to Dulawan where, without delay, merrymaking begins and goes on day after
day.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Describe the roles played by the betel nut in the story.
2. What is the significance of the act of chewing betel nut in relation to their
courtship (as expressed in the story)?
3. Do you agree with the decision of Ya-u to imprison both Dulliyaw and Dulaw?
Support your answer.
4. Who is the father of Banna, Dulliyaw or the betel nut? Justify.
5. Do you agree with the action of Banna in killing Dulaw and rescuing Dulliyaw?
Why or why not?

36
 ULLALIM II
The Heroic Exploits of Banna
(Tanglag Version)

The main characters of this ullalim are: Banna of Dulawon, the hero of the story,
Laggunawa of Manggawa the heroine, and Dungdungan of Manila, to whom Laggunawa
is betrothed. Dulliyaw, Banna’s father, and Awingan, Laggunawa’s brother, are secondary
characters, but they play an important role in the last episodes of the story.
After taking a hearty meal prepared by Gimbangonan, his mother, Banna puts on
his finest apparel and rides on his horse, Ulsita, toward Malinggawa. Laggunawa
welcomes him, serves him a good evening meal, and teases him while she spreads the
mat for the night. While Banna and Laggunawa lie comfortably on the mat, Laggunawa
thinks of Dungdungan and begins to fear that he might come to visit her.
In the middle of the night, Dungdungan does arrive at Laggunawa’s house. He
vindicates his rights on Laggunawa for whom he paid the bride price. Banna comes down
from the house, sees Dungdungan’s rifle, calmly asks him to hand it over to him, and
breaks it. Dungdungan sees Banna’s richly adorned cap, takes it in his hand, and smashes
it. Thereupon, Laggunawa, who prefers Banna to Dungdungan, tries to get rid of
Dungdungan without having to break the contract of betrothal. She assigns Banna and
Dungdungan each ahead hunting exploit to accomplish in a hostile village. The rivals, who
understand that Laggunawa would marry the braver of the two, the one who would
survive the expedition, cannot but accept the reed she offers to each of them as a token
of their agreement.
Banna gets to Bibbila and massacres all its inhabitants. This is his first exploit. After
the slaughter in Bibbila, he is so excited, so bloodthirsty, and so convinced of his skill and
valor that he wishes Dungdungan would require from him another headhunting raid. He
sends a betel nut to Magobya, (whither Dungdungan is to have gone in accordance with
the agreement) to keep the people there from harming his rival. But Dungdungan,
knowing that he does not forfeit his right on Laggunawa even if Banna survives his first
expedition, does not go to Magobya.
When Banna arrives at the resting place of Gowa, he meets Dungdungan there.
Dungdungan tells him to kill the giant Uwon of Baliwon before he would waive his right
to Laggunawa’s hand. Banna kills Uwon and massacres the people of Baliwon. Thus, he
accomplishes his second exploit.
Dungdungan gives Banna another feat to accomplish; he has to kill the giant
Gittam who lives in Daya. Banna kills Gittam and achieves his third feat.
Dungdungan refuses to give up his rights. Banna has still to kill his namesake.
Banna of Agunawa, a most terrible enemy no one has ever dared attack. Banna cuts off
the head of Banna of Agunawa, accomplishing his fourth exploit.
Carrying his body and the head of his last victim, Banna, together with his escort,
reaches the resting place of Gowa. There, he sees Dungdungan run away. At last, he feels
certain that his rival will no longer vindicate his claim on Laggunawa. At the resting place,
Banna and his warriors shout out their victory. Their shouts arouse the people of
Dulawan. Without delay, Dulliyaw, Banna’s father, directs the preparation of a victory

37
feast, to which he invites not only the people of the region, but also those of Manila,
Isabela, and Sadangga.
While the people are feasting in Dulawan, they hear Dungdungan’s shouts from
the resting place of Gowa. The provocative shouts disturb the festive spirit in the village,
but Awingan, Laggunawa’s brother, tries to calm down the people telling them that
Dungdungan and his companions are merely boasting about their deeds of bravery.
Dulliyaw, however, foresees trouble. He speeds up the banquet. When all have eaten,
he distributes gifts to each group of guests and lets them return to their respective
villages.
The women go to the spring to wash the dishes, but find it dried up. The
phenomenon is interpreted as an omen that something dreadful is in the offing.
Dulliyaw assembles the Dulawan warriors and leads them to a place outside the
village. From there, Banna sends the hawk hovering over the region to tell the women to
bring rice for the warriors. The women come and incite the men to fight bravely. Banna
sends Wassigan learns that the enemy will follow the ordinary path and will have to cross
the creek of Dulawan. The Dulawan warriors move to the creek. At the head of his men,
Dungdungan approaches Dulawan with a rifle. From afar, he shoots in the direction of
Dulawan, and the whole village burns. Thereupon, Awingan shouts: “Let us arrange the
matter of the Payment [i.e., repayment of the bride price paid by Dungdungan’s father
and indemnization for Dungdungan whose loses his prospective bride].”
Dungdungan demands Banna’s cap adorned with beads, while his father asks for
the gold which constituted the bride price. Peaceful relations are restored. The Dulawan
folk rebuild their villages. Dinayaw, Banana’s sister is given in marriage to Dungdungan,
and Banna wins his Laggunawa.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Enumerate and desribe the characters in the story.
2. How did the story begin? Descride the place where it happened.
3. When did tension arise? Who is responsible to such?
4. Which part was the most stimulating?
5. How was the conflict resolved?
6. If you were the author, how would you end the story?
7. What are the values portrayed in the selection? Are these values still observed
and seen nowadays?

Literary Review: Structure

Structure describes how the writer arranges and places materials based on the
general ideas and purpose of the work. While plot is concerned with the conflict or
conflicts, structure defines lay out- the way the story is shaped. It refers to placement.
Balance, recurring themes, true and misleading conclusions, suspense and the
imitation of models of forms like reports, letters, conversations, confessions.
Stories and plays follow a pattern of development as follows:

38
 Exposition. It refers to the lay out of the materials of the story- the main
characters, their backgrounds, their characteristics, interests, goals, limitations,
potentials and basic assumptions. It contains the beginning of the story including the
intricacies, twists, turns, false leads, blind alleys, surprises and interest, perplex,
intrigue, and give pleasure to readers.
Complication. It refers to the major conflict. The major participants are the
protagonist and the antagonist, together with whatever ideas and values they
represent, such as good-evil, freedom-suppression, independence-dependence, love-
hate, and intelligence-stupidity-ignorance.
Crisis. It refers to the decision or action undertaken to resolve the conflict. This
is the point of the greatest curiosity and tension. Crisis is closely followed by climax
which is often considered to be the same.
Climax. It is the consequence of the crisis. It is the peak of the story because
it is the stage where the decision, an action, an affirmation or denial, or realization
has to be made. It is also the logical conclusion of the preceding actions for there are
no new developments that follow after it.
Resolution or Denouement. It is the relaxation of tension and uncertainty.
Most authors untie things as quickly as possible to avoid losing the interest of the
readers. Once the conflicts are over, a brief action underscores the finality.
(Source: Interactive Reading-Responding to and Writing about Philippine Literature by
Ida Yap Patron)

Task/Activity

ACTIVITY 1
Choose the letter of the correct answer.
___1. He was the offspring of Amtalao and Dumulao of Hannanga.
a. Pumbakhayon b. Aliguyon c. Bugan
___2. It describes how the writer arranges and places materials based on the
general ideas and propose of the work.
a. form b. structure c. conflict
___3. An epic from CAR in which wealth is eulogized.
a. Hudhud b. Ullalim I c. Ullalim II
___4. The heroine of Hudhud Hi Aliguyon.
a. Pangaiwan b. Bugan c. Pumbakhayon
___5. The magic character of the tale Ullalim that acted as a real actor who played
an important role.
a. Bwa b. Betel nut both a & b
___6. A prolonged violent quarrel between families or clans.

39
 a. war b. feud c. riot
___7. Banna’s mother in Ullalim II.
a. Laggunawa b. Ya-u c. Gimbangonan
___8. The number of undertakings Banna had overcome just to win his
Laggunawa in Ullalim II.
a. three b. four c. five
___9. It refers to narratives that are chanted or sung by tribal poets of Ifugaw on
special occasions.
a. Hudhud b, Ullalim c. talented bards
___10. It is the logical sequence of events.
a. plot b. setting c. ambiance
___11. It presents the connected pattern of causes and effects which a character
must face and try to overcome.
a. plot b. conflict c. climax
___12. An epic from CAR that rave about bravery.
a. Hudhud b. Binugwo c. Ullalim
___13. It is the relaxation of tension and uncertainty.
a. resolution b. denouement c. both a & b
___14. It is the peak of the story because it is the stage where the decision, an
action, an affirmation or denial, or realization.
a. crisis b. climax c. denouement
___15. The “Summer Capital of the Philippines” and considered as one of the
CAR’s premier tourist attractions.
a. Baguio b. Puerto Princesa c. Tagaytay

ACTIVITY 2
Compare and contrast Hudhud and Ullalim on these points: epic qualities, plot
development, character portrayal, and Filipino Values.

Character
Epic Characteristics Plot Filipino Values
Potrayal

Hudhud

Ullalim

40
ACTIVITY 3

Divide the class into two. Debate on the issue which of the two epics is better
considering the ideas that you have brought out in Activity 2.

41
 LESSON 5
REGION III – SELECTED LITERARY TEXT

TOPIC
1. SI MISS PHATHUPATS

LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
1. trace the values and behavior of the characters from the story;
2. identify the provinces in Central Luzon as well as its literary forms;
3. enumerate some influences brought by the Americans to our
culture; and
4. appreciate wholeheartedly the attitudes and values symbolize by
a Filipino woman.

REGION III - CENTRAL LUZON

Bataan
Bulacan
Nueva Ecija
Pampanga
Tarlac
Zambales

Central Luzon is known as the Rice Granary of the Philippines, which consists of
the provinces of Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac and Zambales.
A large number of Tagalogs are found in Central Luzon together with Ilocanos from
Zambales, Northern Tarlac and Northern Nueva Ecija- the Kapampangans likewise made
their homes in Pampanga, Southern Tarlac and Southern Nueva Ecija.
Riddles and balagtasan are among the literary forms found in this region.
Some writers connected with Central Luzon are: Virgilio Almario, Francisco
Baltazar, Jose Corazon de Jesus, Maria Magsano, Juan Crisostomo Soto, and Lourdes
Vidal.

Lourdes H. Vidal
Vidal writes in three languages: Kapangpangan, Tagalog, and English. She taught
in the English and Filipino departments of the Ateneo de Manila University. She has a

42
collection of her own poems, entitled Utterly Woman (1993). She has lately been writing
“alternative romances” in Filipino.

SI MISS PHATHUPATS
Sinulat ni Juan Crisostomo Soto
Isinalin sa Filipino ni Lourdes H. Vidal

(1) Punong-puno ng kolorete ang mukha ng dalagang si Miss Yeyeng. Sabi nila
ipinanganak ang kanyang mga magulang sa sulok ng Pampanga, sa pinakamaliit na
bayan nito. Dahil dito Pilipina si Miss Yeyeng mula ulo hanggang paa, at kahit sa
kadulu-duluhan ng kanyang buhok, Kapampangan siya.
(2) Dahil mahirap lang sila, pagtitinda ang ikinabubuhay. Nakikita si Miss Yeyeng na
sunong ang ginatan o kaya bitso-bitso na inilalako niya sa mga sugalan.
Nagdalagang walang pagbabago sa buhay nitong binibini.
(3) Natapos ang rebolusyon. Nagbukas ng paaralan ang pamahalaang militar ng
America at dito pinagturo ang mga sundalung Americano.Nangyayaring si Miss
Yeyeng, Yeyeng pa noon, ala ang binibini, ay nagkaroon ng suking sundalo. Inakit
ng sundalong mag-aral ang dalaga sa paaralang kanyang pinagtuturuan upang
magkaintindihan sila. Sa kanilang pag-uusap, nag-iingles ang sundalo, nagkaka-
pampangan si Miss Yeyeng, kaya napilitan siyang mag-aral.
(4) Pagkaraan ng ilang buwan, nagsasalita na ng Ingles si Miss Yeyeng. Paglipas ng
walong buwan, sa amuki ng gurong kawal, ipinahatid siya sa isang bayang kung
saan siya pinapagturo
(5) Noong nagtuturo doon, pinahanga niya ang taumbayan dahil nakikita nilang mas
marunong siya ng Ingles kaysa sa kanila.
(6) Ganyan lumipas ang panahon. Halos hindi na nagsalita si Miss Yeyeng ng
Kapampangan dahil sabi niya ay nakalimutan na niya. Matigas daw ang
Kapampangan at nababaluktot ang kanyang dila, kaya kailan man hindi na siya
makapagsalita nang tuwid at nauutal siya.
(7) Nagkalabitan ang mga maalam na nakakikilala sa kanya pagkarinig nito. Pinalitan
tuloy ang kanyang pangalan at pinangalanan siya ng matunog at umaalingasaw na
“Miss Phathupats,” pangalang hango sa malapad niyang balakang na pilit na iniipit
sa pahang mahigpit na ginagamit niya, kaya ala siyang iniwan sa patupat o suman
sa ibus na mahigpit ang balot.
(8) Magmula noon ito ang pangalang ibinansag sa kanya at nakalimutan nilang
tuluyan ang Yeyeng, ang malambing niyang palayaw. Ang Miss Phathupats ang
naging palasak.
(9) Ganito nang ganito ang buhay. Hindi nagtagal lumabas ang Ing Emangabiran,
pahayagang Kapampangan sa Bacolor. Sa isang pista o belada sa bayang X, na
kung saan dumalo si Miss Phathupats, binabasa ito. Lumapit siya, ngunit nang
makita na Kapampangan ang binabasa, lumabi nang kunti, umiling at nagsabi.
(10) “Mi no entiende el Pampango.”
(11) “Mi no entiende ese Castellano, Miss, “sabi naman ng isang susut, ginagad ang
kanyang tono.
(12) Napangiti lahat ang nasa umpukan: at sapagkat may pinag-aralan sila, hindi na nila
ipinakita ang pagkaali nila sa binibini. At ito namang babae kahit alam na parang
tinutukso na siya ay nagpatuloy din at ang sabi:
(13) “Sa katunayan, totoong nahihirapan na akong bumigkas ng Kapampangan lalo na
kung binabasa ko.”

43
(14) Dito sa iilang salitang binigkas niya, sumama lahat ang iba’t ibang wika ng
talasalitaang bulgar ng Ingles, Kastila. Tagalog na pinaghalu-halu niya ang walang
kawawaan. Hindi na nakapagpigil ang mga nakarinig; napatawa sila nang malakas.
(15) Nagalit si Miss Phathupats, hinarap ang mga tumatawa at sabi niya:
(16) “Porque reir?”
(17) “Por el tsampurado, miss, “sabi ng unang sumagot.
(18) Lalong lumakas ang halakhak ng mga nakikinig at nag-init ang pakiramdam ni Miss
Phathupats.
(19) Isa sa mga nakatayo ang nagsabi ng ganito.
(20) “Hindi kayo dapat magtaka kung hindi na marunong ng Kapampangan si Miss
Phathupats: Una, dahil matagal na siyang nakisama sa mga kawal na Americano:
pangalawa, hindi na siya Kapampangan, Katunayan Miss Phathupats ang kanyang
pangalan.”
(21) Noon na sumabog ang bulkan. Putok na ubod nang lakas, sumabog ang kaldero ni
Miss Phathupats at mula sa bunganga niyang naglalawa lumabas ang lagablab ng
Vesubiyo o ang lahat ng maruruming salita sa Kapampangan, bigla niyang
pinagsama-sama sa nag-aapoy na bunganga.
(22) “Walanghiya! Magnanakaw! Taga-lason! Anak-!” sabi sa tinurang wikang
Kapampangan.
(23) “Aba, Kapampangan pala siya!” sabi ng mga nakarinig.
(24) “Oo, hindi ba ninyo alam?” sabi ng nakakakilala sa kanya. “Anak siya ni Matandang
Godiung Pakbong na aking kanayon.”
(25) Napahalakhak nang malakas ang mga nanonood. Napaiyak na si Miss Phatupats
at sa pagpupunas sa kanyang tumutulong luha sumama ang makapal niyang
pulbos sa pisngi. Lumitaw ang likas niyang kulay, maitim pa siya sa duhat. Nang
makita ito ng mga nanonood lalo na silang napatawa at nagsabi:
(26) “Aba! Maitim pala siya!”
(27) “Oo, Americanang negra siya!”
(28) Sigawan, palakpak, halakhakan ang narinig noon. Hindi na nakatiis si Miss
Phathupats. Nagkandarapa sa paglabasa daan at sabi niya:
(29) “Mi no vuelve en esta cas.”
(30) “Paalam, Miss na hindi marunong ng Kapampangan!”
(31) “Paalam, Miss Alice Roosevelt!”
(32) “Paalam, Miss Phatupats!”
(33) Ganyan siyang pinagtulung-tulungan at ang kawawang Yeyeng ay umalis na
bubulong-bulong na parang ulol.
(34) Napakarami ng mga Miss Phathupats sa panahon ngayon. Hindi na sila marunong
ng Kapampangan o ikinahihiya na nila ang Kapampangan dahil nakapagsalita na
sila ng Ingles na tsampurado.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Ano ang ibig sabihin ng “phathupats”?
2. Isalaysay kung paano nangyari na ang dating si Yeyeng ay naging Miss
Phathupats?
3. Nakinabang ba o hindi si Yeyeng sa kanyang pagbabago?
4. Sa kasalukuyang panahon, mayroon ba kayong kilalang “Miss Phathupats”?
5. Bukod sa natalakay sa istorya, anu-ano pang mga bagay at gawi ang naidala sa
atin ng mga Amerikano? Nakatulong ba ang mga ito sa atin? Paano?

Literary Review: Writing About the Character

44
 List down as many traits as you can and determine how the author presents
details about the character; i.e. action(s), appearance, speeches, comments by others,
authorial explanations. Determine also some unusual traits and what they show.
Discover ideas by looking into the answers of the following questions:
1. Is the character the protagonist or the antagonist?
2. How do the protagonist and antagonist interact with each other?
How do their produce reactions and changes?
3. What actions bring out important traits of the character?
4. Are the protagonists’ actions good or bad, intelligent or stupid,
deliberate or spontaneous? How do they help you better
understand the protagonist?
5. What are the character traits of both the major and minor
characters? What is your judgement of them?
6. Are the characters round or flat? How do they recognize, Change
with, or adjust to circumstances?
7. Are the characters stereotype? To what type do they belonged?
8. If the characters are stereotype, do they rise above it?
9. What insights do you get from what the characters say about
themselves and others?
10. What does the narrator or storyteller say about the characters and
how valid are their comments and insights?
11. Are the characters real or unreal? Consistent or inconsistent?
Believable or not believable?

(Source: Interactive Reading-Responding to and Writing about Philippine Literature by

Ida Yap Patron)

Task/Activity

ACTIVITY 1
Write the missing word(s) in the spaces provided.

Central Luzon is known as _______________________________which consists of

the provinces of ________, ________, ________, ________, ________ and ________.
A large number of Tagalogs are found in Central Luzon together with the Ilocanos
from Zambales, Northern Tarlac and Northern Nueva Ecija- the Kapampangans likewise
made their homes in Pampanga, Southern Tarlac and Southern Nueva Ecija.
________ and ___________ are among the literary forms found in this region.
Some writers connected with Central Luzon are: ________, ________, ________,
________, ________, ________.

45
ACTIVITY 2
Compare the two nationalities (Filipino and American). Fill the table with their similarities
and differences.

NATIONALITY SIMILARITIES DIFFERENCES

FILIPINO
AMERICAN

ACTIVITY 3

Work in pair. Using pencil, bond paper, and other drawing instruments,
conceptualize and describe Miss Yeyeng who later became Miss Alice Roosevelt.
Then, present your illustration in the class.

ACTIVITY 4

Characterize and describe the story “Miss Phathupats” by asking the

following questions comprehensively.

1. Identify the character.

__________________________________________________________________
2. Is the character the protagonist or the antagonist?
__________________________________________________________________
3. How do the protagonist and antagonist interact with each other? How do their
produce reactions and changes?
__________________________________________________________________
4. What actions bring out important traits of the character?
__________________________________________________________________
5. Are the protagonist’s actions good or bad, intelligent or stupid, deliberate or
spontaneous? How does she help you better understand the protagonist?
__________________________________________________________________
6. What are the character traits of both the major and minor characters? What is
your judgement of them?
__________________________________________________________________
7. Are the characters round or flat? How do they recognize, change with, or adjust
to circumstances?
__________________________________________________________________

46
8. Are the characters stereotype? To what type do they belonged?
__________________________________________________________________
9. If the characters are stereotype, do they rise above it?
__________________________________________________________________
10. What insights do you get from what the characters say about themselves and
others?
__________________________________________________________________
11. What does the narrator or storyteller say about the characters and how valid are
their comments and insights?
_________________________________________________________________
12. Are the characters real or unreal? Consistent or inconsistent? Believable or not
believable?
_________________________________________________________________

47
 LESSON 6
REGION IV – SELECTED LITERARY TEXT

TOPIC
1. MAKAMISA

LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
1. identify the provinces Southern Tagalog as well as its literary
forms and figures;
2. give the characteristics and elements of the novel as a literary
genre;
3. sharpen their knowledge about the types of character;
4. confer with the sketch of each character in the story;
5. actively participate in a milling oral recitation; and
6. form sound judgment about the factors that precipitated the
Philippine Revolution of 1896.

REGION IV - SOUTHERN TAGALOG

Cavite
Rizal
Quezon
Laguna
Batangas
Aurora
Marinduque
Mindoro
Romblon
Palawan

The Tagalog Region covers the provinces of Cavite, Rizal, Quezon, Laguna,
Batangas, Aurora, Marinduque, Mindoro, Romblon, and Palawan.
The term Tagalog is believed to have originated from taga-ilog which means
people living by the river. Tagalog is the language spoken in these areas, which is also the
basis of the national language, Filipino, the other being English.
Creation stories, proverbs, myths, ambahan, and tultul are the literary forms in
Southern Tagalog.
Some writers associated with Region 4 are: N.V.M. Gonzales and Jose Rizal.

48
 TOPIC 1: MAKAMISA

JOSE P. RIZAL
Jose Protacio Rizal was born in Calamba, Laguna on June 19, 1861, and died by
musketry on December 30, 1896, at Bagumbayan (now Rizal Park) at the hands of
Spaniards. His two novels, Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, sparked the Philippine
Revolution.

MAKAMISA
Jose P. Rizal

(1) Tumigil ang tugtugan at natapos ang misa ni Pari Agaton.

(2) Humugong ang simbahan sa bulung-bulungan at sagadsaran ng mga tsinelas ng
nagsisilabas. Sagilsilan at pawisan sa init at antok, ang iba’y kukurap-kurap, ang iba’y
naghihikab at ang kumukrus pa ay nagtutulakan sa pagdukwang ng benditang
nakalagay sa dalawang mangkok na pingas, na malapit sa pintuan. Sa
pagdadagildilan nagmumura at nagbubula ang labi, may dalagang naniniko, kunot
ang noo’t pairap sa kalapit na binata, na tila baga mauubusan nang tubig na
maruming tila na putikang tirahan ng kitikiti. Gayon ang pag-aagawang maisawsaw
ang daliri, malakid man lamang, maikurus sa noo, batok, puson at iba’t iba pang
sangkap ng katawan. Taas ng mga lalaki ang hawak na salakot [o] sambalilo kaya, sa
takot na madurog; pigil na magaling ng mga babae ang panyo sa ulo at baka mahulog;
may nakukusamot na damit, may napupunit na manipis na kayo, may nahuhulugan
ng tsinelas at nagpupumilit magbalik at nang makuha, ngunit nadadala ng
karamihang tulak ng mga punong-bayang lumalabas na taas ang yantok, tanda ng
kanilang kapangyarihan. Ano pa’t sa isang nakababatid ng ugali sa Katagalugan, ang
dagildilang ito’t pag-aagawan sa tubig ay makakatakot at maiisip na nasusunog ang
simbahan, kundangan lamang at may ilang nagpapatirang babaeng may loob sa
Diyos, na hindi lumalabas kundi nagdarasal ng pasigaw at naghihiyawan na tila baga
ibig sabihin:
(3) Ay, tingnan ninyo at kami’y mga banal. Hindi pa kami busog sa haba ng misa!
(4) Tila baga kung tatanungin ang karamihan kung bakit sila pag-agaw sa tubig na yaon
at ano ang kagalingan ay marami na [ng] manding makasa[sa]got ang lima sa isang
daan. Ang siyamnapu at lima’y dumadalaw sapagkat ugali. Salbahe ang lumabas na
hindi nagdurus muna: mag-alkabalero ka na ay huwag ka lamang magkulang sa
kaugalian.
(5) [N]guni’t kung sasalugsugin ang loob ng lahat niyong araw ng linggong yaong, linggo
de Pasion, at itatanong sa marmi kung ano kaya baga ang ipinagdudumali, kung ang
takot na mainis at makaluom sa loob, o ang masarap kayang simuy ng hanging
humihihip sa labas at gumagalaw sa madlang halaman at bulaklak sa patyo, marahil
ay may iba pang masasabi. Sa mata ng lahat, sa mga tinginan at kindatan pa sa loob
ay mababasa ang isang mailihim na pag-uusisa:
(6) Napaano kaya ang ating Kura? – ang tanong na hindi mapigil ng isang matandang
manang na ungab at [ng]hupyak ng pisngi, sa isang katabing kapuwa manang.
(7) At nang matakpan ang kaniyang pag-uusisa sa loob pa ng simbahan, ang matandang
manang ay kumurus kurus na at ng napasusmaryosep!
(8) Hindi man kami sinubuan ng pakinabang – Napaano po kaya?
(9) Napaano [n]ga po kaya? Nagmisa [n]ga po nang padabog a[t]?

49
(10) Ang sagot naman ng tinanong na isang manang na mataba na kumurus-krus din
naman, bumiling pa, humarap pa sa altar yumukod pa nang kaunti kulang na po
lamang ipaghagisan ang mga kandila, a! Susmariyosep!
(11) Siguro po’y gutom na! Ang sabat naman ng isang palapit na babaing mahusay ang
bihis. – Tingnan [n]ga po ninyo’t hindi man lamang binendisyonan ang anak ng aking
alila… aba! Ganoon pong naibayad na sa kandila at sa bendisyon. Aba! Di sa linggo
pong darating ay iuutang na naman sa akin ang ibabayad! Ykako’y hari na [n]gang
maalsan ng empacto! Ako [n]ga’y madali; ayoko [n]ga po nang hindi
binebendisyonang lahat!
(12) Ganito ang salitaan hanggang nakalabas sila sa pintuan. Doon naman nagkakatipon
ang mga lalaki sa pag-aabang [sa] ng mga dalagang nagsisilabas. Doon ang
pulongpulungan, doon [ang] [p]nagmamasid at napamamasid, ang agalahian,
tuksuhan at napamamasid, ang aglahian, tuksuhan at salitaan bagay sa mga
nangyayari. Datapuwa’t nang araw na iyon, ang hantungan sa salita ay hindi ang
magagandang dalaga; hindi ang panahon at ang init kundi ang pagmamadali ng kura
habang nagmimisa. Bahagya nang napuna ang paglabas ni Marcela, dalagang
pangulo sa bayan, anak ng Kapitang Lucas, na nagbabaras ng mga ara na yaon. Ang
Marcelang ito’y bagong kagagaling sa Maynila, sa pagka’t [kama] namatay [pa] ang
aling nagpalaki, kapatid ng kanyang ama. Kaya [n]ga’t luksa ang kanyang damit sapul
sa panyong talukbong sa ulo hanggang sa medyas na balot sa maliliit na paang
nakikita sa mabini niyang paghakbang. Sa matwid ng katawan, sa taas ng ulo at sa
kilos at lakad ay napaghahalata ang bukod na kapintasan, ang malaki niyang
kapalaluan.
(13) Bagama’t marami ang nalibang sa sandaling sumusunod sa kaniya ng tingin, bagama’t
natigil na sumandali ang salitaan, [n]gunit hindi rin nakalimutan ang tanungan bagay
sa kura.
(14) Napaano kaya si Agaton natin? – ang tanungan ng lahat.
(15) Si Agaton natin ang tawag sa palayaw sa balitang pari.
(16) Hindi man maantay matapus ang cantores al
(17) Kung ipagtulakan ang misal…
(18) Padagis na ang dominus pabiskum…
(19) Totoong lintik na naman ang ating si Aton; totoong ginagawa na ang asal!
(20) Ilang pang araw at tayo’y tutuwaran na lamang…
(21) Baka kaya nagpupurga!..
(22) Hindi ko na salaysayin ang lahat ng mga kuru-kuro ng mga lalaki at mga aglahiang
may kagaspangang labis. Ano [n]ga kaya ang nangyari sa mabunying pari, na
mabining kilos at tikit na tila aral sa salamin, na magaling magpapadipa-dipa at
magkiling ng ulo kung nagmimisa? Ano’t hinarusharos ang misa at umungul-ungol
lamang gayong kung tura’y datihang magaling aawit at magpapakatol ng boses kung
nag-ooremus? Winalang-bahala ang lahat, misa, kantores, pakinabang, oremus at
iba pang palabas at nagdumaling tila di inuupahan. Nagsisimba pa naman ang
bunying si Marcela, ang dalagang sapul nang dumating ay dinadalaw gabi-gabi ng
kura. Napaano [n]ga kaya si P. Agaton at di sinubuan ang tanang gutom sa laman ng
Diyos, gayong kung tura’y totoo siyang masiyasat sa pagkumpisal at pakinabang!
(23) Samantalang ito ang usapan ng na[n]gag tayo sa pintuan, ang mga kaginoohan
nama’y nagtitipon dahil sa pag-akyat sa kombento at [maka]paghalik [ng] sa kamay
ng kura alinsunod sa kaugalian. Kung gulo ang isip ng taong bayan sa [at] balang kilos
ng kura at walang pinagtatalunan kundi ang kadahilanan, gulo din naman ang loob
ng mga maginoo at napapagkilalang tunay sapagka’t [wal] bahagya nang
ma[n]gakakibo, lalung-lalo na ang Kapitan, ang bunying si Kpn. Lucas na totoong
natitigilan. Kaiba mandin sa lahat ang umagang yaon. Ang masalita at matapang na
Kpn. Lucas ay hindi makaimik. Titikhim-tikhim, patingin-tingin, at tila mandin di
makapangahas lumakad at magpaunang para nang dati. Ang sapantaha ng
mnakapupuna ay takot siya ngayon baka may ginawang kasalanan. Balita nga sa

50
 tapang at balitang lalaki si Kpn. Lucas lalung-lalo na kung an kausap ay nasasaklawan
at daig ngunit kapag ang kaharap ay pare, Kastila o alin mang may katungkulan, ay
bali na ang matigas na leeg, tungo ang malisik na tingin at bulong-bulong lamang ang
masigawing boses.
(24) Hindi nga makapangahas pumanhik si Kpn. Lucas sa Kombento at baka mabulas ni P.
Agaton. Tunay nga’t magaling ang kanyang panunuyo, walang kilos, walang ngiti,
walang tingin ang pari na hindi niya [pinag] nalilining dala nang pagkaibig maglingkod
at nang makapagkapitang muli. Habang nagmimisa’y inuusig ni Kpn. Lucas ang
sariling isip sagana siya sa pamisa, magagaling ang libing, halik siyang palagi sa kamay
ng among kahapon lamang ay kinatuwaan pa siyang kinutusan ng pari at hinaplos sa
batok dahil sa kanyang alay na dalawang Kapong samsam sa isang taga-bukid.
(25) Sumaloob sa kanya na baka kaya nakararating sa tainga ng pare ang balitang siya’y
naka basa ng librong bawal. Dyaryo at iba’t iba pang may pangahas na isipan, at
pinasukan ng takot. Ngunit bakit doon magpapahalata ng galit sa misa? Baka kaya
[ang] nakapagsumbong ang kanyang datihang katalo ang mayamang si Kpn. Tibong
kapangagaw niya sa pagbabaras? Walang iba kundi ito, kaya nga nang kaniyang
sulyapan ay masaya ang mukha ni Kpn. Tibo at tila uumis-umis pa. Pinangulagan nga,
huminging sa kanyang tainga ang bulas na mabagsik, ang sigaw at mura. Nakini-kinita
niyang kapitan na si Kpn. Tibo at siya’y wala nang katungkulan; pinagpawisan nang
malamig at tumingon ng mahinuhod sa upuan ng kanyang kaaway.
(26) Malungkot ngang lubha nang matapos ang misa at lumabas siyang parang
nananaginip. Nanulak sa pagsasagilsilan, sumawsaw ng bendita at nagkurus nang
wala sa loob, palibhasa’y malayo ang kanyang isipan. Nakaragdag pa ng kanyang
takot ang usapan ng tao at ang mga kuru-kuro at akalang sa ikinagagalit ng kura.
(27) Para ng isang nadadala ng baha na walang makapitan, si Kpn. Lucas ay lumingap-
lingap at humahanap ng abuloy. Kintal sa mukha ng lahat ang mga libak na tawa, ang
ngising masakit sapagka’t poot sa kaniya ang lahat niyang sakop at sawang-sawa na
sa kanya ang bayan. Sa mukha lamang ng isang tagasulat tila niya nasiglawan ang
awa, sa mukha ni Ysagani, ngunit awang walang kibo, awang walang kabuluhan, paris
ng awang nakaguhit sa mukha ng isang larawan.
(28) Upang mailihim ang pangamba at takot, ay nagtapang-tapangan at naggalit-galitan.
Nagmasid sa paligid at naalaala ang utos ng Kura tungkol sa susunod na linggo de
Ramos. Pinagwikaan nga ang mga Kabesa at inuusig sa kanila ang [mga] kawayan at
haliging gamit sa maligay. Tinamaan sila ng lahat ng lintik at ang ibig nila’y
makagalitan ng Kura. Palibhasa’y hindi sila ang mananagot. Ano ang ginagawa ng
mga kinulugan at hindi nagpahakot ng larawan? Ytatali ba nila sa langit ang tolda?
Ipahahampas niya silang lahat ng tig-iisang kaban kapag siya’y nakagalitan ng Kura sa
kagagawan nila.
(29) Iba’t-iba pa ang sinabi at sa paggagalit-galita’y nang matapos ay tunay na ngang galit.
Ang sagot ng mga kabisi’y may panahon pang labis, sapagkat kung ipaputol agad ang
kawayan at haligi’y matatalaksan lamang, siyang ikagagalit ng among at baka sila’y
hagarin ng palo, pari sa mga Kandelariang nagdaan.
(30) Sa ngalan ng Kura, hindi nakaimik si Kpn. Lucas, lalung-lalo na nang mabanggit ang
panghahagad ng palo. Nakikinita niya na baka naman siya hagarin, at tila mandin
naramdaman rin niya sa likod ang kalabog ng garroteng pamalo. Naglambot at nag-
akalang umuwi’t magdahilang maysakit, ngunit sumilid sa loob niyang baka lalong
magalit ang pari dahil sa di niya paghalik ng kamay. Maurong-masulong ang kaniyang
kalooban, kunot ang noo, ang dalawang daling noong kaloob sa kanya ng Diyos;
nagtatalo ang loob niya sa dalawang takot; sa bulas ng Kura na kaharap ang lahat, at
sa galit ng Kurang hindi siya papagpakapitaning muli.
(31) Siya ngang pagdating ng isang alila ng paring nagdudumali.
(32) Dali na po kayo – ang sabi sa Kapitan – at kayo po ay inaantay. Totoo pong mainit
ang ulo ngayon!

51
(33) Ha, inaantay ba kami – ang sagot na baliw ni Kpn. Lucas, na matutulig – tulig – Oy,
dali na kayo – ang sabi sa mga kabesa – narinig na ninyo: tayo raw ay inaantay…..
(34) Aba, kayo po ang inaantay namin, ang sagot ng mga kabisa – kanina pa po kaming
(35) –Kayo ang hindi kukulangin ng sagot.
(36) Dali-dali nang lumakad sila, tahak ang patyo at tungo sa kombento. Ang kaugalian
ng dati’y pagkamisa, ang mga kaginoohan ay umaakyat sa kombentong ang daan ay
sa sakristiya. Nguni’t binago ni P. Agaton ang ugaling ito. Sa kaibigan niyang
matanghal ng lahat ang paggalang sa kanya ng bayan, ipinag-utos na lalabas muna
ng simbahan at doon magdaraan sa patyo, hanay na mahinusay ang mga kaginoohan.
(37) Lumakad na nga ang mga puno, nangunguna ang kapitan, sa kaliwa ng tenyente
mayor, Tenyenteng Tato, sa kanan ang Junez de Paz na si Don Segundo. Magalang
na nagsisitabi ang mga taong bayan, pugay ang takip sa ulo ng mga tagabukid na
napapatingin, puno ng takot ang kababaan sa gayong mga karangalan. Tinunton nila
ang malinis na lansangan tuloy sa pintuan na kombento. Tanim sa magkabilang tabi
ang sarisaring halamang pag-aliw sa mata at pang-amoy ng balang nagdaraan. Ang
mapupulang bulaklak ng gumamelang pinatitingkad ng madilim na murang dahon,
salitan ng maliit na sampagang naggapang sa lupa, nagkikislapan sa masayang sikat
ng araw. Katabi ng walang kilos na kalatsutseng hubad sa dahon at masagana sa
bulaklak ay wawagawagayway ang adelpang taglay ang masamyong amoy; ang dilaw
na haluan ng S. Francisco, at ang dahong mapula ng depascuwa’y kalugod-lugod kung
malasin sa mata.
(38) Nguni’t ang lahat na ito’y hindi napupuna ng mga maginoo, sa pagtingin nila sa
bintana ng kombentong paparoonan. Bukas na lahat ang mga dungawan, at tanaw
sa daan ang loob na maaliwalas. Sapagka’t sa kaibigan ni P. Agatong ipatanghal ang
pagpapahalik niya ng kamay ay pinabubuksan kung araw ng linggo ang lahat ng
bintanang lapat na bahagi kung alangang-araw. Kaya nga’t malimit pang lumapit siya
sa bintana at doon umuupo habang nagpapahalik, samantalang kunwari’y
nagmamasid-masid sa mga dalagang lumalabas sa simbahan.
(39) Natanaw nila sa malayo ang mahagway na tindig ng pari na palakad-lakad nang
matulin. Talikod-kamay at tila baga may malaking ikinagagalit. Pabalik-balik sa loob
ng salas at minsan-minsang tumitingin sa daan, at nasisiglawan ang kintab ng taglay
na salamin. Nang makita mandin ang pagdating ng mga maginoo’y tila natigilan,
napahinto sa pagpapasyal at lumapit at dumungaw. Tumango ng tangong inip, at
saka itinuon ang dalawang kamay sa babahan. Nagpugay agad si Kpn. Lucas.
Nagmadali ngang tinulinan ang lakad. Sumikdo-sikdo ang loob at dumalangin sa lahat
ng santong pintakasi at nangako pang magpapamisa, huwag lamang siyang
makagalitan.
(40) Nang makaakyat sa hagdanan ay sinablubong sila ng isang alilang nagsabi nang
marahan.
(41) Kayo raw po ay magsiuwi na, ang wika ng among.
(42) At bakit? – ang tanong, sa mangha ni Kpn. Lucas.
(43) Galit pong galit. Kanina pa po kayo inaantay. Sabihin ko raw sa inyo na siya’y hindi
bihasang mag-antay sa kanino man.
(44) Namutla si Kpn. Lucas at kaunti nang hinimatay nang ito’y marinig. Nautal at hindi
nakasagot kapagkaraka, nagpahid ng noo, at sumalig sa bunsuran.
(45) Galit ba…ano ba ang ikinagalit?
(46) Ewan po! ang bulong ng alila – wala pong makalapit. Inihagis po sa cocinero ang tasa
ng chocolate.
(47) Nagpahid na muli ng noo si Cpn. Lucas at hindi nakaimik.
(48) Si Aleng Anday… nariyan ba? – ang naitanong na marahan.
(49) Narito po, ngunit nakagalitan pati – ang sagot ng alila.
(50) At idinugtong na marahang-marahan:
(51) Sinampal po!

52
(52) Napanganga si Kpn. Lucas at nawalan ng ulirat. Sinampal si Alend Anday! Pinutukan
man siya sa tabi ng lintik ay hindi gaanong nagulat paris ng marinig ang gayong balita.
Sinampal si Aleng Anday, gayong si Aleng Anday lamang sinusukuan ng Kura.
(53) May tumikhim sa loob.
(54) Kayo po’y umuwi na at baka kayo marinig ng Pari ay kayo’y hagarin, ang idinugtong
ng alila.
(55) Hindi na ipinaulit ni Kpn. Lucas ang hatol ng alila: nanaog na dalidaling kasunod ang
lahat ng maginoo sa takot na baka siya labasan ni P. Agaton dala ng garrot.
(56) Nang makalabas na ay nag-isip-isip upang pagsaulan ng loob. Nagpahid uli ng mukha
at ang may masabi sa kanyang mga kasama’y ang wika:
(57) Napaano kaya si P. Agaton?
(58) Napaano kaya? – ang sagot ng tenyente mayor.
(59) Siya nga, napaano kaya! – ang tanong naman ng Juez de Paz.
(60) At nagtuloy silang kahat sa Tribunal.
(61) Si P. Agaton..
(62) Masagwang totoo ang loob
(63) Tunay nga’t hindi biro-biro lamang ang galit ni P. Agaton.
(64) Nang makamisa at matapos magalbot ang lahat ng isinuot, akyat sa kombentong dali-
dali, umupo at mag-aalmusal, at nang mapaso ng tsokolate ay inihagis sa kusinero
ang tasa.
(65) Si Aleng Anday, na bagong kagagaling sa misa, at suot ang magagaling na hiyas ay
sinagupa ng mura at sampal na kaunti nang nagkahulug-hulog. Kaya nga’t dali-daling
nanaog at umuwi ng bahay. Walang makaalam sa buong kombento ng dahilang sukat
ikagalit ng Kura. Malamig pa ang ulo nitong bago magmisa, umimis pa sa sabing
marami nang naipagbiling kandila, at kaya nga binigyan pa ng isang salapi ang
sacristan mayor. Ano ang namalas, habang nagmimisa na hindi niya minagaling?
Puno ang simbahan ng tao, ang lalong magagandang dalaga’y nangagluhod na
malapit sa altar at si Marcela’y baga’t man ay tanaw ding tanaw sa malayo, katabi ni
Aleng Anday sa luhuran. Ang sakristan mayor ay walang sukat masabi.
(66) Hindi naman ugali ni P. Agaton ang daanan ng sumpong na para nang ibang pari.
Karaniwa’y mahusay, masaya at matuwain, lalo na kung marami ang pamisa,
magagaling ang [pa] libing at nasusunod ang lahat niyang utos. May sampung taon
nang Kura sa bayan ng Tulig; dumating na bata pa, dalawampu’t walo lamang ang
tanda, at sa panahon ito’y nakasundo niyang totoo ang bayan.
(67) Tunay at ma[yka]init, nang kaunti ang ulo, magaling [ma]mamalo kapag nagagalit at
may ilang mahirap na ipinatapon sa malayo at ipinabalanggo nang taunan, ngunit ang
lahat nang ito’y maliliit na bahid kung matatabi sa mabubuti niyang kaugalian. Siya
ang takbuhan ng tao sa bayan sa anumang kailangan sa Kabisera; siya ang sinusuyo
ng sinumang ibig magbaras o may usapin[g] kayang ibig na ipanalo. Siya ang puno,
siya ang tanggulan, siya halos ang kalasag ng bayan sa anumang marahas na pita ng
ibang pinuno. Tunay nga’t may kalikutan nang kaunti sa babae, lalung-lalo na noong
kabataang bagong kadarating, ngunit wala naman sukat na masabi sa kaniya ang
bayan; ipinakakasal na mahinusay, pinabababayan pa at binigyan ng puhunan ang
lahat niyang ginalaw, alin na kaya sa ibang binata na nakasira’t hindi nakabuo, at saka
ang isa pa’y tumahimik nang lubos sapul ng makilala si Aleng Anday, ngayon na nga
lamang na umuwi ang Marcela na galing sa Maynila, ngayon na nga lamang tila
nagugulong panibago, malimit ang pagdalaw sa bahay, ugali’t maganda ang dalaga,
kaibigan ang ama at wala pa namang sukat na masabing higit sa karaniwan. Tunay
nga dumadaing ang ibang mahirap at tumatangis sa kamahalan ng palibing, binyag,
at iba pang upa sa simbahan, datapwa’t talastas ng marami na kailan ma’y
madadaingin ang mahirap at sa katunayan nga’y ang mayayama’y busog sa kanilang
Kura at tila pa mandin nagpapalaluan ng pagbabayad ng mahal sa kanilang pare.
(68) Mutya nga halos ng bayan ang bunying Kura kaya nga’t walang alaala ang tanan kundi
pag-aralan ang lahat niyang nasa at pangunahang tuparin ang lahat niyang utos.

53
 Agawan ang lahat sa paglilingkod sa kaniya, palaluan ng alay at sa katunayan ay
saganang palagi ang kusina’t dispensa sa kombento: sa Kura ang maputi at bagong
bigas; sa Kura ang matatabang manok; ang malalamang baka, ang baboy at usang
nahuli sa bating, ang ibong nabaril, ang malaking isdang nahuli sa dagatan, ang
matabang ulang at ang mga masasarap at mabubuting bunga ng kahoy. Bukod pa sa
mga handog na itong mayayaman, na ikinabubuhay na walang gasta ng pari at ng
kanyang mga alila ay sunud-sunod pang dumarating ang [mga alay] mga panyong
Itabi, ang mga talaksang kahoy ng tagabukid na wlang sukat maialay ang lahat na
panunuyo ng nakakailangan, sa napabilanggong ama, sa hinuling kapatid, sa
sinamsam na hayop ng Guwardiya Sibil, sa ipalalakad na kamag-anak sa Kabisera na
hindi malaman ang dahil. Sa lahat nang ito’y isang sulat lamang, isang pasabi o isang
salita kaya ng Kura’y nakaliligtas ang nakapiit, nakauuwi ang hinuli, nasasauli ang
hayo at napapanatag ang naliligalig na bahay.
(69) Wala namang sukat masabi ang tao kay Aleng Anday, subali’y puri pa at galang ang
kinakamtam niya. Sapagka’t sa totoong mahihigpit na bagay, sa mga nakawan o
harangan kaya, si Aleng Anday ang takbuhan ng mga mahihirap at sa pamamagitan
niyang mag-isa’y walang napapahamak, walang natitimba, walang naduduhagi, kaya
nga’t ang tingin sa Kura parang isang Diyos na kahit ang ulo at ang tingin kay Aleng
Anday ay parang may pusod na Birhen, maawain at muramura pa sa ibang Birheng
kahoy na sinasampalatayanan.
(70) Di sukat nga pagtakhan kung magulo ang Tulig sa nararamdamang galit ng Kura. Kung
biglang mag-itim ang masanting na araw, matuyo kaya ang masaganang batis at
maglaginitan an gmga kabundukan, sino ang di-mababalisa at papasukan ng takot?
Si P. Agaton ay sa mga taga Tulig, mistulang araw na masilang, matamis na batas,
masamyong amihan, masaganang kabundukan at bukod sa rito’y ama po ng
kaluluwa.
(71) Hindi man lamang sumagimsim sa loob ng sinumang baka si P. Agaton ay nauulol.
Masisira muna ang ulo ng lahat bago ang [ulo] isang isipan ni P. Agaton, susumpungin
ang lahat. Kaya nga’t sa tribunal, makatapos ang misa’y walang ibang pinag-uusapan
at pinagpulungan ang mga kaginoohan kundi ang dahilang ikinagalit ng Kura.
Magtatalo man at maghimutukan ay wala silang sukat na matuklasang dahilan,
walang sukat masabi kundi ang ating kura ay galit.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Give the sketch of each character in the story.
2. What is bothering Pari Agaton?
3. Why are the parishioners hesitant to see Pari Agaton after the mass?
4. What excesses of the Spanish friars are depicted in the story?
5. How should the story end?
6. Give the characteristics and elements of the novel as a literary genre.
7. To what genre of the novel does the text belong? Give its characteristics.

54
 Literary Review: Types of Characters

Round Character. The basic trait of a round character is that he/she recognizes,
changes with, or adjusts to circumstances. The round character benefits from
experience and changes are reflected in 1) an action or several actions, 2) realization
of a new condition, or 3) the discovery of unrecognized truths.
A round character is often called the hero or heroine, and thus, the
protagonist. The protagonist moves against the antagonist.
Round characters are dynamic. They undergo change and growth. For example,
a character changes from a simple wife to an active and successful career woman after
she was deprived and exploited by a domineering husband for twenty years.
Flat Characters. On the other hand, flrt characters do not grow because they
maybe stupid, insensitive, or lacking in knowledge and insight. They are static, not
static. But flat characters highlight the development of round characters. Usually, they
are minor characters, although not all minor characters are necessary flat.
The term stock character refers to characters in these repeating situations.
Some of these stock characters are the insensitive father, the interfering mother, the
greedy politician, and the resourceful detective.
Stock characters stay flat as they only perform their roles and exhibit
conventional and unindividual traits. When the stock characters posses no attitudes,
except those of their class, they are called stereotypes because they appear to have
been cast from the mold.
(Source: Interactive Reading-Responding to and Writing about Philippine Literature by
Ida Yap Patron)

Task/Activity
ACTIVITY 1

Make four groups. Describe Pari Agaton using the illustration below.

ACTIVITY 2

55
 Analyze each of the following statement. Write TRUE if it is true and FALSE if it is
incorrect then, replace/correct the word/phrase that makes it wrong.

___________1. Southern Tagalog Region is now divided into two: the CALABARZON and
the MIMAROPA.
___________2. The term Tagalog is believed to have originated from taga-ilog, which
means people living by the forest.
___________3. Rizal’s Noli Mi Tangere and El Felibusterismo ignited the Philippine
Revolution of 1898.
___________4. Filipino is the basis of the Country’s National Language.
___________5. The basic trait of a flat character is that he/she recognizes, changes with,
or adjusts to circumstances.
___________6. The term stock character refers to characters in these repeating
situations.
___________7. Makamisa portrays the friars’ noble deeds during the Spanish rule.
___________8. When the stock characters posses no attitudes, except those of their
class, they are called prototypes because they appear to have been cast
from the mold.
___________9. The round character is often called the hero or heroine.
___________10. Round characters are dynamic. They do not undergo change and growth

ACTIVITY 3

Prepare yourselves for a milling oral recitation. You are all encouraged to give your
comments on the prevailing practices of today’s Roman Catholics. Try to reconciliate the
issue with that of the practices and traditions mentioned in Rizal’s Makamisa.

ACTIVITY 4

Write a one-page paper to discuss the factors that precipitated the Philippine
Revolution of 1896 with accounts in Rizal’s Makamisa.

ACTIVITY 5
Divide the class into four. Based from previous classes that you had, list down
some of the contributions handed over to us by our colonizers. You may use the diagram
below.
56
Report-out your output in the class.

SPANIARDS

PHILIPPINES

AMERICANS JAPANESE

57
 LESSON 7
REGION V – SELECTED LITERARY TEXT

TOPIC
1. TO THE MAN I MARRIED
2. QUERIDA
3. REVOLT FROM HYMEN

LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
1. read closely the poem by extracting significant facts to better
understand its full meaning;
2. acquire skills on what to look for in a poem to have a clear
understanding of the ideas and details presented;
3. analyze the connotation as well as the denotation of the words
which are the requisites for critical reading;
4. discuss further some significant meanings of the poem;
5. recognize the provinces and playwrights of Bicol Region;
6. evaluate text as to its significance and relevance to the issues the
poem raises; and
7. paraphrase a poem.

REGION V - BICOL

Albay
Camarines Norte
Camarines Sur
Catanduanes
Masbate
Sorsogon

The Bicol region is made up of six provinces namely Albay, Camarines Norte,
Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Masbate and Sorsogon. The provinces comprise the Bicol
peninsula including the two island provinces of Catanduanes and Masbate. Though still
attached by a common dialect, a behavior of being oragon meaning bright, a go getter,
an achiever and other such meanings the Bicolanos are easy to get along with. The Bicol
dialect is spoken by the majority although there are variations of tone and meanings of
words but the common dialect is that spoken in Naga City and Legaspi City. Bicolanos as
the people are called have proven to be resilient, patient, fun loving, peaceful, prone to
sing and dance with just a simple event as cause for celebration. The presence of
volcanoes, the most majestic being, Mayon Volcano gave Bicolanos an easy life through
its fertile land and its sunny climate that prevails the whole year round except for the rain
drenched months of December and January. Deeply religious, Bicolanos make religious

58
festivities memorable such as the September veneration to our Lady of Penafrancia. The
serene beauty of the landscapes somehow rubbed off the Bicolanos because even with
globalization efforts like e-mail, e-commerce, and satellite communication bringing the
world inside their living rooms, the values and virtues handed down from their ancestors
are still the same values and virtues that most people adhere to.

Some playwrights connected with Bicol Region are: Merlinda Bobis, Ricardo Lee, Angela
Manalang-Gloria, Jose Maria Panganiban, Kerima, Polotan-Tuvera, and Valerio Zuñiga.

TOPIC 1: TO THE MAN I MARRIED

ANGELA MANALANG – GLORIA

Angela Manalang – Gloria was born in Guagua, Pampanga. She was a well-known
lyric poet during the commonwealth period. Her works were known to have romantic
vocabularies. She reveals her own image and feelings in her works. Manalang-Gloria is
the matriarch of Filipino women-poets writing in the English language.

Selected Text: To The Man I Married by Angela Manalang-Gloria (Source: Philippine

Literature by Linda R. Bascarra et. al.)

Vocabulary List:
ballast- something that gives stability; heavy material carried in a hold of a ship
to give the craft increase stability
orbit- the path of a planet, satellite, or other celestial bodies
elemental- fundamental; basic; essential
keen- sensitive; intense; lively; able to sense minor differences
quickening- the beginning of a period of development; stimulating something

TO THE MAN I MARRIED

You are my earth and all that earth implies:

The gravity that ballasts me in space,
The air breathed, the land that stills my cries
For food and shelter against devouring days.
You are the earth whose orbit marks my way
And sets my north and south, my east and west.
You are the final, elemental clay
The driven heart must turn to for its rest.

59
 In your arms that hold me so near
I lift my keening thoughts to another one.
As trees long rooted to the earth uprear
Their quickening leaves and flowers to the sun.
You who are earth, O never doubt that I
Need you no less because I need the sky!

I can not love you with a love

That outcompares the boundless sea.
For that were false, as no such love
And no such ocean can ever be.

But I can love you with a love

As finite as the wave that dies
And dying holds from crest to crest
The blue of everlasting skies.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Compare the love poem with any love poem (e.g. “How Do I Love Thee”) you
have read.
2. Does she love him with a “finite” love?
3. How would you paraphrase any line of these poems?

Literary Review: Denotation and Connotation

Denotation is the actual meaning of the word or the literal and dictionary
meaning, whereas the connotation refers to associations and implications that go
beyond a word’s literal meaning. It is the meaning suggested or implied beyond
the actual meaning.
Critical reading requires the ability to understand the connotation as well
as the denotation of the words.
(Source: Interactive Reading-Responding to and Writing about Philippine
Literature by Ida Yap Patron)

60
 TOPIC 2: QUERIDA

Vocabulary List:
querida- in Spanish; “darling”, “beloved”, “desired one”
brimming- having an apparently boundless supply of something; to fil to the brim
and overflow
limousine- a large automobile originally with closed compartment for three to five
passengers and the roof projecting over the driver’s seat
brilliant- dazzling; sparkling; gleaming

QUERIDA

The door is closed, the curtains drawn within

One room, a brilliant question mark of light…
Outside her gate an empty limousine
Waits in the brimming emptiness of night.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. What does the title imply about the world of the “forbidden” love?
2. Explain a “brilliant question mark of light…..”

Literary Review: Types of Connotation

The personal connotation of a word is related to the experiences of the person

who uses or reads/hears it. The “strength” or “power” one meaning over another will
depend on the user/raeder/listener’s experience with it. The negativeness and
positiveness of one’s meaning of the word “authority” will depend upon one’s
experience related to this concept.
The general connotation of a word is based on one’s general experiences;
hence, a relationship exists between personal and general connotations. General
connotation refers to the general reactions of the majority of people to a certain word.
For example, the words “woman”, “man”, “mother land”, and “world” have
connotative meanings depending upon the accumulated experiences in the collective
subconscious of the race.
Words, therefore, elicit both objectives and emotional experiences..

61
 (Source: Interactive Reading-Responding to and Writing about Philippine Literature
by Ida Yap Patron)

TOPIC 3: REVOLT FROM HYMEN

Vocabulary List:
hymen- a thin mucous membrane that completely or partially covers the opening
of the female reproductive organ(vagina)
festering- majking somebody increasingly bitter, irritated or resentful
whore- an offensive term for prostitute

REVOLT FROM HYMEN

O to be free at last, to sleep at last

As infants sleep with the womb of rest!

To stir and stirring find no blackness vast

With passion weighted down upon the breast

To turn the fact this way and that and feel

No kisses festering on it like sores.

To be alone at last, broken the seal

That marks the flesh no better than a whore’s!

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Discuss the allusion to hymen.
2. What makes this an “unusual” expression of a passionate experience?
3. What is the note of surprise at the end of the poem?

Literary Review: Paraphrasing a Poem

One starting point for understanding a poem is the paraphrasing of its content
or part of its context. To paraphrase a poem is to restate a text in another form or

62
 other words so as to make its prose sense as plain as possible. The paraphrase maybe
longer or shorter than a poem, but it should contain all the ideas. Figurative language
should be transformed into the literal language, metaphor into similes, inverted
statements into normal prose order. It is not necessary to use the words in the original;
the resulting paraphrase should be clearer and more direct. However, the paraphrase
should retain the speaker’s use of the first, second, and third person, and the verbs
tenses originally employed.
(Source: Interactive Reading-Responding to and Writing about Philippine Literature by
Ida Yap Patron)

Task/Activity

ACTIVITY 1
Differentiate the following:

a. connotation and denotation – Connotation . . .

_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

b. personal and general connotation – Personal . . .

____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________

ACTIVITY 2

Give the denotative and connotative meanings of the following words/phrases.

Denotation Connotation
closed door - :
empty limousine - :
hymen - :
earth - :
boundless sea - :

ACTIVITY 3

Read each statement very carefully. Put a check mark if it explains what a
paraphrase is and an x mark if it does not.

63
A paraphrase
___1. expresses the poet’s thoughts which may not be his/her experience.
___2. is a restatement of a poem in prose form to make the issue clear to the reader.
___3. transforms the literal language to figurative.
___4. changes similes to metaphors.
___5. puts inverted sentences back to their natural order.
___6. maintains the original words, although the statements are simplified.
___7. retains the speaker’s use of the first, second, and the third person and the verb
tenses originally employed.
___8. may be longer or shorter but must contain all the ideas.
___9. is enough to explain the deep significance and meaning of the poem.
___10. explains the poem in the interpreter’s own words.

To understand a poem better, one must:

___11. answer important questions such as, who the speaker is and what the occasion is.
___12. be careful not to identify the poem with the biography of the poet.
___13. somehow associate events and ideas with the poet’s life to get an idea of his/her
attitude towards the subject.
___14. identify the central purpose of the poem
___15. connect the various details of the poem with the central purpose or theme.

ACTIVITY 4
Read the following poem and then paraphrase afterwards. Stanza 1 has been done for
you. (Source: Philippine Literature by Linda R. Bascarra et. al.)

IN DEFENSE OF POETS

They call us fools! – The lowing herd

The never yet rang out a word

Vibrant with light like you and me

Who conjugate infinity!

64
 They call us fools! – but you and I
Can map our country from the the sky.

Discover in a kiss ungiven

The small circumference of heaven.

And compass in an afterthought

Sudden horizons strange to rate.

And strangers still to herded mules

That bray at us and call us fools?

Paraphrase of the poem “In Defense of Poets” by A.M. Gloria

First Stanza: People call us, poets, fools. A group of stumpy men
who were unfairly judged.

Second Stanza :
________________________________________________
________________________________________________

Third Stanza:
________________________________________________
________________________________________________

Fourth Stanza:
________________________________________________
________________________________________________

Fifth Stanza:
________________________________________________
________________________________________________

Last Stanza:
________________________________________________
____________________________________________________

65
 LESSON 8
NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION – SELECTED LITERARY TEXT

TOPIC
1. ANG HULING EL BIMBO
2. MAGNIFICENCE

LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
1. plan carefully and consider every aspect of creating an explication;
2. recognize the concepts and generalizations related to setting being
an element in a short story;
3. enumerate the playwrights and cities and towns of the NCR;
4. make a simple explication of a literary piece; and
5. sing a song and appreciate its essence and significance.

NCR
Caloocan City
Las Piñas City
Makati City
Malabon City
Mandaluyong City
Manila City
Marikina City
Muntinlupa City
Navotas
Parañaque City
Pasay City
Pasig City
Pateros
Quezon City
San Juan
Taguig
Valenzuela City

Metropolitan Manila or the National Capital Region (NCR) is the capital of the
Philippines and among the world's twenty-five most populous metropolitan areas. Metro
Manila is one of the two defined metropolitan areas in the Philippines, the other being
Metro Cebu.
Metro Manila is the metropolitan area that contains the city of Manila, as well as
sixteen surrounding cities and municipalities, including Quezon City, the capital from 1948
to 1976. Metro Manila is the political, economic, social, and cultural center of the

66
Philippines, and is one of the more modern metropolises in Southeast Asia. Among locals,
particularly those from Manila proper and those in the provinces, Metro Manila is often
simply referred to as Manila; however, locals from other parts of the metropolis may see
this as offensive, owing to city pride and the fact that some cities are actually
geographically closer to the neighboring provinces than to Manila itself. Metro Manila is
often abbreviated as M.M.
The National Capital Region includes Caloocan City, Las Piñas City, Makati City,
Malabon City, Mandaluyong City, Manila City, Marikina City, Muntinlupa City, Navotas,
Parañaque City, Pasay City, Pasig City, Pateros, Quezon City, San Juan, Taguig, and
Valenzuela City.
Some writers associated with the NCR are: Francisco Arcellana, Cirilo Bautista,
Lualhati Bautista, Rosario De Guzman-Lingat; Genoveva Edroza-Matute, Amado
Hernandez, Grace Hsieh-Hsing, Nick Joaquin, Ruth Elynia Mabango, Bunaventura S.
Medina, Jr., and Estrella D. Alfon.

TOPIC 1: MAGNIFICENCE

Estrella D. Alfon
Estrella Alfon, who hailed from Cebu, was born on 1917. She is a well-known
storywriter, playwright and journalist; and though a Cebuana, she wrote almost
exclusively in English. She was the only female member of the Veronicans, an avant garde
group of writers in the 1930s led by Francisco Arcellana and H.R. Ocampo, she was also
regarded as their muse. The Veronicans are recognized as the first group of Filipino
writers to write almost exclusively in English and were formed prior to the World War II.
She is also reportedly the most prolific Filipina writer prior to World War II. She was a
regular contributor to Manila-based national magazines; she had several stories cited in
Jose Garcia Villa’s annual honor rolls.

Vocabulary List:
illumination- the amount or strength of light available in one place
gloating- an act of expressing self-satisfaction about something such as
achievement, possession or somebody’s misfortune
rage- something that is the object of a short-lived fascination or fashion shared by
many people
glee- great delight
squirmed- wriggled the body because of discomfort or an attempt to break free
from being held
masonry- trade that specializes on bricks and stones
queer- not usual; unconventional
tableau- visually dramatic scene
indelibility- permanently; impossible to remove

MAGNIFICENCE

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 Estrella D. Alfon
[1] There Was Nothing to fear, for the man who was always so gentle, so kind. At night
when the little girl and her brother were bathed in the light of the big shaded bulb
that hung over the big study table in the downstairs hall, the man would knock
gently on the door, and come in. he would stand for a while just beyond the pool
of light, his feet in the circle of illumination, the rest of him in shadow. The little
girl and her brother would look up at him where they sat at the big table, their
eyes bright in the bright light, and watch him come fully into the light, but his voice
soft, his manner slow. He would smell very faintly of sweat and pomade, but the
children didn’t mind although they did notice, for they waited for him every
evening as they sat at their lessons like this. He’d throw his visored cap on the
table, and it would fall down with a soft plop, then he’d nod his head to say one
was right, or shake it to say one was wrong.
[2] It was not always that he came. They could remember perhaps two weeks when
he remarked to their mother that he had never seen two children looking so
smart. The praise had made their mother look over them as they stood around
listening to the goings-on at the meeting of the neighborhood association, of
which their mother was president. Two children, one a girl of seven, and a boy of
eight. They were both very tall for their age, and their legs were the long gangly
legs of fine spirited colts. Their mother saw them with eyes that held pride, and
then to partly gloss over the maternal gloating she exhibited, she said to the man,
in answer to his praise, But their homework. They’re so lazy with them. And the
man said, I have nothing to do in the evenings, let me help them. Mother nodded
her head and said, if you want to bother yourself. And the thing rested there, and
the man came in the evenings therefore, and he helped solve fractions for the boy,
and write correct phrases in language for the little girl.
[3] In those days, the rage was for pencils. School children always have rages going at
one time or another. Sometimes for paper butterflies that are held on sticks, and
whirl in the wind. The Japanese bazaars promoted a rage for those. Sometimes it
is for little lead toys found in the folded waffles that Japanese confection-makers
had such light hands with. At this particular time, it was for pencils. Pencils big but
light in circumference not smaller than a man’s thumb. They were unwieldy in a
child’s hands, but in all schools then, where Japanese bazaars clustered there were
all colors of these pencils selling for very low, but unattainable to a child budgeted
at a baon of a centavo a day. They were all of five centavos each, and one pencil
was not at all what one had ambitions for. In rages, one kept a collection. Four or
five pencils, of different colors, to tie with strings near the eraser end, to dangle
from one’s book-basket, to arouse the envy of the other children who probably
possessed less.
[4] Add to the man’s gentleness and his kindness in knowing a child’s desires, his
promise that he would give each of them not one pencil but two. And for the little
girl who he said was very bright and deserved more, ho would get the biggest
pencil he could find.
[5] And every evening after that, the two children would wait for him, watch him
come first into the pool of light, watch him bathed in the brightness of the
incandescent bulb, and wait eagerly for him to give them the pencils he had
promised them.

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[6] One evening he did bring them. The evenings of waiting had made them look
forward to this final giving, and when they got the pencils they whooped with joy.
The little boy had tow pencils, one green, one blue. And the little girl had three
pencils, two of the same circumference as the little boy’s but colored red and
yellow. And the third pencil, a jumbo size pencil really, was white, and had been
sharpened, and the little girl jumped up and down, and shouted with glee. Until
their mother called from down the stairs. What are you shouting about? And they
told her, shouting gladly, Vicente, for that was his name. Vicente had brought the
pencils he had promised them.
[7] Thank him, their mother called. The little boy smiled and said, Thank you. And the
little girl smiled, and said, Thank you, too. But the man said, Are you not going to
kiss me for those pencils? They both came forward, the little girl and the little boy,
and they both made to kiss him but Vicente slapped the boy smartly on his lean
hips, and said, Boys do not kiss boys. And the little boy laughed and scampered
away, and then ran back and kissed him anyway.
[8] The man’s arms tightened suddenly about the little girl until the little girl squirmed
out of his arms, and laughed a little breathlessly, disturbed but innocent, looking
at the man with a smiling little question of puzzlement.
[9] The next evening, he came around again. All through that day, they had been very
proud in school showing off their brand new pencils. All the little girls and boys
had been envying them. And their mother had finally to tell them to stop talking
about the pencils, pencils, for now that they had, the boy two, and the girl three,
they were asking their mother to buy more, so they could each have five, and
three at least in the jumbo size that the little girl’s third pencil was. Their mother
said, Oh stop it, what will you do with so many pencils, you can only write with
one at a time.
[10] And the little girl muttered under her breath, I’ll ask Vicente for some more.
[11] Their mother replied, He’s only a bus conductor, don’t ask him for too many
things. It’s a pity. And this observation their mother said to their father, who was
eating his evening meal between paragraphs of the book on masonry rites that he
was reading. It is a pity, said their mother, People like those, they make friends
with people like us, and they feel it is nice to give us gifts, or the children toys and
things. You’d think they wouldn’t be able to afford it.
[12] The father grunted, and said, the man probably needed a new job, and was
softening his way through to him by going at the children like that. And the mother
said, No, I don’t think so, he’s a rather queer young man, I think he doesn’t have
many friends, but I have watched him with the children, and he seems to dote on
them.
[13] The father grunted again, and did not pay any further attention.
[14] Vicente was earlier than usual that evening. The children immediately put their
lessons down, telling him of the envy of their schoolmates, and would he buy them
more please?
[15] Vicente said to the little boy, Go and ask if you can let me have a glass of water.
And the little boy ran away to comply, saying behind him, But buy us some more
pencils, huh, buy us more pencils, and then went up to stairs to their mother.

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[16] Vicente held the little girl by the arm, and said gently, Of course I will buy you more
pencils, as many as you want
[17] And the little girl giggled and said, Oh, then I will tell my friends, and they will envy
me, for they don’t have as many or as pretty.
[18] Vicente took the girl up lightly in his arms, holding her under the armpits, and held
her to sit down on his lap and he said, still gently, What are your lessons for
tomorrow? And the little girl turned to the paper on the table where she had been
writing with the jumbo pencil, and she told him that that was her lesson but it was
easy.
[19] Then go ahead and write, and I will watch you.
[20] Don’t hold me on your lap, said the little girl, I am very heavy, you will get very
tired.
[21] The man shook his head, and said nothing, but held her on his lap just the same.
[22] The little girl kept squirming, for somehow she felt uncomfortable to be held thus,
her mother and father always treated her like a big girl, she was always told never
to act like a baby. She looked around at Vicente, interrupting her careful writing
to twist around.
[23] His face was all in sweat, and his eyes looked very strange, and he indicated to her
that she must turn around, attend to the homework she was writing.
[24] But the little girl felt very queer, she didn’t know why, all of a sudden she was
immensely frightened, and she jumped up away from Vicente’s lap.
[25] She stood looking at him, feeling that queer frightened feeling, not knowing what
to do. By and by, in a very short while her mother came down the stairs, holding
in her hand a glass of sarsaparilla, Vicente.
[26] But Vicente had jumped up too soon as the little girl had jumped from his lap. He
snatched at the papers that lay on the table and held them to his stomach, turning
away from the mother’s coming.
[27] The mother looked at him, stopped in her tracks, and advanced into the light. She
had been in the shadow. Her voice had been like a bell of safety to the little girl.
But now she advanced into glare of the light that held like a tableau the figures of
Vicente holding the little girl’s papers to him, and the little girl looking up at him
frightenedly, in her eyes dark pools of wonder and fear and question.
[28] The little girl looked at her mother, and saw the beloved face transfigured by some
sort of glow. The mother kept coming into the light, and when Vicente made as if
to move away into the shadow, she said, very low, but very heavily, Do not move.
[29] She put the glass of soft drink down on the table, where in the light one could
watch the little bubbles go up and down in the dark liquid. The mother said to the
boy, Oscar, finish your lessons. And turning to the little girl, she said, Come here.
The little girl went to her, and the mother knelt down, for she was a tall woman
and she said, Turn around. Obediently the little girl turned around, and her mother
passed her hands over the little girl’s back.
[30] Go upstairs, she said.

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[31] The mother’s voice was of such a heavy quality and of such awful timbre that the
girl could only nod her head, and without looking at Vicente again, she raced up
the stairs. The little boy bent over his lesson.
[32] The mother went to the cowering man, and marched him with a glance out of the
circle of light that held the little boy. Once in the shadow, she extended her hand,
and without any opposition took away the papers that Vicente was holding to
himself. She stood there saying nothing as the man fumbled with his hands and
with his fingers, and she waited until he had finished. She was going to open her
mouth but she glanced at the boy and closed it, and with a look and an inclination
of the head, she bade Vicente go up the stairs.
[33] The man said nothing, for she said nothing either. Up the stairs went the man, and
the mother followed behind. When they had reached the upper landing, the
woman called down to her son, Son, come up and go to your room.
[34] The little boy did as he was told, asking no questions, for indeed he was feeling
sleepy already.
[35] As soon as the boy was gone, the mother turned on Vicente. There was a pause.
[36] Finally, the woman raised her hand and slapped him full hard in the face. Her
retreated down one tread of the stairs with the force of the blow, but the mother
followed him. With her other hand she slapped him on the other side of the face
again. And so down the stairs they went, the man backwards, his face continually
open to the force of the woman’s slapping. Alternately she lifted her right hand
and made him retreat before her until they reached the bottom landing.
[37] He made no resistance, offered no defense. Before the silence and the grimness
of her attack he cowered, retreating, until out of his mouth issued something like
a whimper.
[38] The mother thus shut his mouth, and with those hard forceful slaps she escorted
him right to the other door. As soon as the cool air of the free night touched him,
he recovered enough to turn away and run, into the shadows that ate him up. The
woman looked after him, and closed the door. She turned off the blazing light over
the study table, and went slowly up the stairs.
[39] The little girl watched her mother come up the stairs. She had been witness,
watching through the shuttles of a window that overlooked the stairs, to the
picture of magnificence her mother made as she slapped the man down the stairs
and out into the dark night.
[40] When her mother reached her, the woman, held her hand out to the child. Always
also, with the terrible indelibility that one associated with terror, the girl was to
remember the touch of that hand on her shoulder, heavy, kneading at her flesh,
the woman herself stricken almost dumb, but her eyes eloquent with that angered
fire. She knelt, she felt the little girl’s dress and took it off with haste that was
almost frantic, tearing at the buttons and imparting a terror to the little girl that
almost made her sob. Hush, the mother said. Take a bath quickly.
[41] Her mother presided over the bath the little girl took, scrubbed her, and soaped
her, and then wiped her gently all over and changed her into new clothes that
smelt of the clean fresh smell of clothes that had hung in the light of the sun. The

71
 clothes that she had taken off the little girl, she bundled into a tight wrenched
bunch, which she threw into the kitchen range.
[42] Take also the pencils, said the mother to the watching newly bathed, newly
changed child. Take them and throw them into the fire. But when the girl turned
to comply, the mother said, No, tomorrow will do. And taking the little girl by the
hand, she led her to her little girl’s bed, made her lie down and tucked the covers
gently about her as the girl dropped off into quick slumber.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Why do you say that the mother, the little girl and her brother have trust in
Vicente?
2. Describe Vicente physically.
3. What did Vicente do to win their trust? Cite instances when Vicente tried to
keep the little girl to himself.
4. How did the girl know that something was not right each time Vicente held
her?
5. In which part of the story did the mother become aware of Vicente’s evil
intentions for the little girl?
6. What is the subject of the story? What makes it timely? Can you give some
recent newspaper accounts on the subject?
7. Why the story was entitled Magnificence?
8. Explain the irony found in the first sentence of the next.
9. If you were the author, how would you end the story? Why?

Literary Review: Setting

Setting is the natural, manufactured, political, cultural, and temporal

environment—including everything the characters know and own. Characters may be
helped or hurt by their surroundings, and they may fight about possessions and goals.
Moreover, as characters speak with each other, they reveal the degree to which they
share the customs and ideas of their time.

Types of Setting
Nature and the Outdoors. Natural surroundings (hills, valleys, mountains,
meadows, fields, trees, lakes, streams), living creatures (birds, dogs, horses, snakes),
and the conditions in which things happen (sunlight, darknee, calm, wind, rain, storm,
heat, cold) may influence characters and actions.
Objects and Buildings. Authors include details about building and objects to
reveal qualities of characters and make fiction lifelike. Houses, both interiors and
exteriors are common possessions. Some possessions that bear connotative messages

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are: walking sticks, fences, park benches, toys, automobiles, necklaces, ribbons, cash
register and so on.
(Source: Interactive Reading-Responding to and Writing about Philippine Literature by
Ida Yap Patron)

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 TOPIC 2: ANG HULING EL BIMBO

Selected Text: Ang Huling El Bimbo by The Eraserheads

ANG HULING EL BIMBO

The Eraserheads

Kamukha mo si Paraluman
No’ng tayo ay bata pa
At ang galing-galing mong sumayaw
Mapa-Boogie man o Chacha

Ngunit ang paborito

Ay pagsayaw mo ng El Bimbo
Nakakaindak, nakakaaliw
Nakakatindig balahibo

REFRAIN 1
Pagkagaling sa ’skwela ay didiretso na sa inyo
At buong maghapon ay tinuturuan mo ako

CHORUS
Magkahawak ang ating kamay at walang kamalay-malay
Na tinuruan mo ang puso ko na umibig na tunay

Naninigas aking katawan

‘Pag umikot na ang plaka
Patay sa kembot ng bewang mo
At pungay ng ‘yong mga mata

Lumiliwanag ang buhay

Habang tayo’y magkaakbay
At dahan-dahang dumudulas
Ang kamay ko sa makinis mong braso, hooh

REFRAIN 2
Sana noon pa man ay sinabi na sa iyo, hoh
Kahit hindi na uso ay ito lang ang alam ko

[Repeat CHORUS]

La la la la, la la, la la, la la la

Lumipas ang maraming taon

‘Di na tayo nagkita
Balita ko’y may anak ka na
Ngunit walang asawa

Tagahugas ka raw
Ng pinggan sa may Ermita

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 At isang gabi’y nasagasaan
Sa isang madilim na eskinita, hah

REFRAIN 3
Lahat ng pangarap ko’y bigla lang natunaw
Sa panaginip na lang pala kita maisasayaw

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

What does the title suggest? ________________________________________________

What is the subject? ________________________________________________
What are circumstances? ________________________________________________
Who is the speaker? Is he an observer? Is he involved in the action?
__________________________
What is the setting – in time? in place? _________________________________________
What images, symbols, and figurative language is used to help bring out the theme of the
song? ________________________________________________

Literary Review: Writing an Explication or a Simple Literary Criticism

Explication goes beyond the assimilation required for a paraphrase and thus
provides you with the opportunity to show your understanding. There is no need,
however, to explain everything in the poem. A complete, or total, explication would
theoretically require you to explain the meaning and implications of each word and
every line—a technique that obviously would be exhaustive.

A more manageable and desirable technique is general explication, which

denotes attention to the meaning of individual parts in relationship to the entire work.
A general explication may be your explanation or “reading” of the poem. You need to
be selective and to consider only those details which are significant in themselves and
vital to your own thematic development.
(Source: Interactive Reading-Responding to and Writing about Philippine Literature by
Ida Yap Patron)

Task/Activity

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ACTIVITY 1
Enumerate the following:
a. (1-15) Cities/Towns in Metro Manila Cities of . .
b. (16-20) Playwrights of NCR

ACTIVITY 2
Define the following terms: Explication is . .
a. Explication-
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________

Setting is . .
b. setting-
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________

ACTIVITY 3

Fill out the following story map to show the structure of the story “Magnificence”.

The Setting:
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________

Statement of the problem:

A mother trusted a man to help her children with their
homework not knowing that he was a child molester.
Event 1:______________________________________
_____________________________________________
Event 2:______________________________________
_____________________________________________
Event 3:______________________________________
_____________________________________________
Event 4:______________________________________
_____________________________________________

Statement of the solution:

__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________

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 Story Theme:
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________

Values brought out in the story:

__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________

ACTIVITY 4

Make a simple explication or literary criticism of the song “Ang Huling El Bimbo”

Eraserheads, one of the leading Pinoy bands, has been. .

LESSON 9
REGION VI – SELECTED LITERARY TEXT

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 TOPIC
1. THE EPIC OF LABAW DONGGON

LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
1. get acquainted with the playwrights, literary forms and provinces
of Western Visayas;
2. examine critically how foreshadowing is used in the development
of a story;
3. narrate the story with the use of a well-planned story web; and
4. listen purposively and exert more effort in addressing the ideas
which may come in the class.

REGION VI - WESTERN VISAYAS

Islands of Panay
Guimaras
Negros

West Visayas is composed of the Islands of Panay, Guimaras, and half of Negros.
These islands have six provinces- Iloilo, Capiz, Antique, Aklan, Guimaras, and Negros
Occidental- and height cities- Iloilo, Roxas, Bacolod, Silay, Cadiz, San Carlos, Bag, and La
Carlota.
Among the literary forms of Region 6 are paktakon, hurubaton, sugilanon, bordon,
luwa, balitao, siday, binalaybay, composo, korido, sarswela, and nobela.
Some of the writers associated with region 6 are John Barrios, Melchor F. Cichon,
Esla Martinez Coscollueala, Valiente Cristobal, Isidro M. Cruz, Alain Russ Dimson, Ma.
Luisa Defante- Gibraltar, Leoncio O. Deriada, Ma. Felicia Flores, Ismaelita Floro- Luza,
Felimo S. Garcia, Magdalena Jalandoni, Alexander C. de Juan, Ma. Milagros C. Geremia-
Lachica, Tito Mijanes, Teodolfo Naranjo, Ernesto Nietes, Isabel D. Sebullen, Monalisa T.
Tabernilla, John Iremil E. Tondares, Karen Faith Villaprudente, and Flavio Zaragoza.

TOPIC 1: THE EPIC OF LABAW DONGGON

Vocabulary List:
sturdy- powerful; strong; well-built
humiliation- embarrassment; disgrace
futile- unsuccessful; vain

THE EPIC OF LABAW DONGGON

(Lambunao, Iloilo)

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 The Epic of Labaw Donggon is one of two related epics from Panay Island, in the
Visayas, both recorded by F. Landa Jocano. With its length of 2,325 lines in its printed
version, it is much shorter than the second epic, to which Manual gives the title “The Epic
of Humadapnon,” which runs to 53,000 lines and which he describes as “more
successfully sustained, consistent, and coherent”. This second epic is still unpublished,
but the reader is referred to Manuel’s “Survey” for a summary of its story. Jocano himself
gives the title of Hinilawod to this longer epic and thinks that “Labaw Donggon” may be
merely a fragment of it. The published version of “Labaw Donggon” is summarized below.
Labaw Donggon is one of the three handsome sons of the diwata Abyang Alunsina
and her mortal husband Buyung Paubari, the other two being Humadapnon and
Dumalapdap. Being of semi-divine birth, the three brothers possess extraordinary
powers. Labaw Donggon, for instance, miraculously grows into a sturdy young man
shortly after his birth and embarks upon the first of his three courting adventures.
The first object of his affections is Abyang Ginbitinan, who lives “by the mouth of
Hando, by the river Halawud.” Dressed in his best clothes, Labaw Dongon goes to
Gibitinan’s house to visit her and to tell her that he will send his parents to her parents to
arrange the marriage. This done, the dowry is agreed upon and given, and the wedding is
held.
Not long after his wedding to Ginbitinan, Labaw Donggon hears about another
beautiful woman, Anggoy Doronoon, of the underworld and conceieves a desire to court
her. So he visits her and wins her without any difficulty. Presumably, (the text does not
say so) he stays with her for a while and then returns to Handog.
Very soon, however, Labaw Donggon is again restless with desire for another
woman. This time his choice falls on a married woman. Malitung Yawa Sinagmaling
Diwata, “who resides in a place where the brilliant light of the sun starts,” for she is the
wife of Saragnayan, who takes charge of the course of the sun. Labaw Donggon dresses
in his best, as usual, and after gazing into a “Crystal ball” to know how Malitung Yawa
looks, sails upward in his magic boat to the land of the sun. his coming is, however,
detected by Saragmayan, who intercepts him. Upon learning Labaw Donggon’s intentions
upon his wife, Saragnayan sternly tells him: “You can have Malitung Yawa… if I do not
have life anymore.” A long, hard fight between the two men follows, first by using their
respective charms, and later by using their own native strength. But though Labaw
Donggon submerges Saragnayan into the water for seven years and puts him on top of a
stone and beats him with coconut trunks, he cannot kill Saragnayan. The reason is that
Saragnayan life is not within his body but kept inside the body of a pig. After many years
of fighting, Labaw Donggon weakens and Saragnayan eventually defeats him, binds his
arms and feet, and puts him inside a pig pen below his kitchen.
Meanwhile, in Handog, Anggoy Gibitinan has borne a son, Asu Mangga, who asks
his mother about his father. And down below in the underworld, Anggoy Doronoon has
also given birth to a son, Buyung Baranugan. Though his umbilical cord is still uncut,
Baranugan asks about his father and insists that his mother allow him to search for him.
He dresses up and asks his mother for his poisoned arrow “which with one shot pierces
through seven men.”Asu Mangga has likewise decided to go in search of his father that
he is likely to meet his young brother and that if he does, they should not fight each other.
The brothers to meet, Asu Mangga riding on a magic boat and Baranugan walk on
on the sea. The latter joins his brother in his magic boat and they plan their search.
Looking into the crystal ball, they learn the whereabouts of their father and see the pitiful

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state into which he has fallen: he has become hairy all over. Vowing to avenge their
father’s humiliation, the brothers steer their boat to the land of darkness. By invoking the
power of their pamlang, the boat is able to soar to the Land of the Morning Sun. their
arrival does not escape the notice of Saragnayan who wonders who they may be. The two
brothers recover their father’s boat, find where he is imprisoned under Saragnayan’s
house, break the iron bars of his cage by invoking their pamlang, and lead him out of his
cage and to their magic boat. There they wash their father clean until he is handsome
once more. Labaw Donggon tells them of his long and futile fight with Saragnayan. The
two sons then shout their challenge to Saragnayan – ten times. It is so loud that
Saragnayan loses his courage.
In his fear, Saragnayan summons help from all parts of the universe from the
underworld, the upperworld, etc. faced with a huge army of helpers, Asu Mangga and
Baranugan advise them to go home since their fight with Saragnayan does not concern
them. But the men insist on Saragnayan does not concern them. But the men insist on
fighting, so the two brothers start shooting them down with their poisoned arrows until
only Saragnayan is left. When they cannot kill him, baranugan sends Taghuy, his spirit
friend, to his grandmother Abyang Alunsina in the eastern sky, for advice. Alunsina sends
back the information that Saragnayan’s life is kept inside the wild boar in the mountain,
in Paling Bukid. She further gives them the charm that will put the boar to sleep so they
can get its heart. The two brothers find the boar, put it to sleep and remove the heart
which they roast and eat whole. They then return to resume the fight with Saragnayan.
All of a sudden, Saragnayan feels a weakness all over his body. He weeps, knowing
that he will be killed Buyung Baranugan. He therefore asks for time to enable him to say
goodbye to his wife. A tender scene follows in which Saragnayan cuddles his wife and
while rocking her in the hammock, tells her of his defeat by Baranugan and advises her to
obey Labaw Donggon and to try to get along well with his other wives. He leaves her only
after she has fallen asleep and after instructing the servants to watch over her carefully
and drive away the flies so that her sleep will not be disturbed.
The fight between Baranugan and Saragnayan is violent but brief. Baranugan
succeeds in climbing to Saragnayan’s head and, standing on top of his head. Baranugan
strikes Saragnayan’s eyes with is poisoned arrows. With a great cry, Saragnayan falls, his
death struggles sending the whole world a tremple, for it is in Saragnayan. Baranugan
returns to their boat to take his father home, but Labaw Donggon is nowhere to be seen.
He has run away and hidden inside a fishing net. The two brothers sail home happily,
thinking to find their father already there.
But Labaw Donggon is not at home, so his two brothers, Humadapnon and
Dumalapdap go on an intensive search for him, the former going inland and the latter
seaward. They finally find Labaw Donggon inside the fish net, “covering himself and
shivering with fright.”They take him home, first to Anggoy Ginbitinan at Handog and next
to Anggoy Doronoon in the underworld. But Labaw Donggon can no longer hear, his ears
having been stopped by some substance, and is out of his mind. The two wives pity him
and wish to rehabilitate him although Ginbitinan cannot help blaming him for what
happened, reproaching him for desiring other men’s wives. Humadapnon, however,
defends Labaw Donggon by saying”Well, that’s how the older one/Dear Sister, should
behave/That’s what the skilled one/the fighter should don.” Then Humadapnon asks
whether Nagmalitong Yawa has any other sisters, and when told that she has two lovely
ones, the two brothers happily announce that they will each court one of them. Upon
hearing this, Labaw Donggon speaks up, reminding them that they have to fetch Malitong

80
Yawa as his wife. The first two wives momentarily feel jealous and threaten not to restore
Labaw Donggon’s power, but upon the latter’s assurance that he will love all three of
them equally and his explanation that he needs children to inherit his name, they are
appeased. They let Labaw Donggon lie down and, as the two women jump over his head
and feet, they invoke their pamlang to restore Labaw Donggon to his full power and
bravery. This completed, they help him rise and ask him to give out a loud cry. Labaw
Donggon gives out a cry so powerful that branches break off from trees and the nearby
bridge splits, a sign that his powers have been fully restored.
Reproduced below are the wooing of Anggoy Ginbitinan and the rescue of Labaw
Donggon by his two sons, Asu Mangga and Buyung Baranugan.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Describe Labaw Donggon. What is the practice he has displayed which said
to be common among men?
2. If you were Labaw’s love interest, would you be like them? Why?
3. Point out the traits portrayed by other characters. Do these traits deserve
admiration? Defend your answer.
4. What makes you conclude that the story is a product of imagination and
would never be true?
5. Give evidences that this epic is an ancestral upshot.

Literary Review: Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing is the series of hints and clues to show the reader what will
happen and, usually whether the upcoming events will be happy, fearful, sad, etc. For
example, if a character hears a loud horrible cry in the distance and then feels a
“curious dread,” the author is using foreshadowing. Sometimes the personality of a
character enables us to foretell how he/she will act in a given situation.
Foreshadowing adds to the suspense necessary in a story.
(Source: Interactive Reading-Responding to and Writing about Philippine Literature by
Ida Yap Patron)

Task/Activity

ACTIVITY 1
List the down, as many as you can the instances that foreshadowing has been used
in the epic that you have just read. Give good reasons in considering so and be prepared
for a class discussion.

81
 1. The author. . .
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

ACTIVITY 2
Complete the following story web by writing inside the support strands the
incidents that happened under each episode. You may add or delete some strands when
necessary.

THE EPIC OF LABAW DONGGON

After
What birth
hap-
pened

With his
With his fight
against
three
Saragna-
wives yan

ACTIVITY 3
Work in a group of six members. Describe the supernatural powers of the
characters in the epic. Be ready for a class reporting.

ACTIVITY 4
Divide the class into two groups (male vs. female) and have a short informal
debate on the idea “Men by nature are polygamous”.

82
83
 LESSON 10
REGION VII – SELECTED LITERARY TEXT

TOPIC
1. LETTER TO PEDRO, U.S. CITIZEN, ALSO CALLED PETE

LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
1. analyze a poem by means of pitch, modulation, and words the
author has used;
2. determine how diction and tone reveal the speaker’s attitude on
a certain subject and situation;
3. make a short note of hope and encouragement for a friend or
relative abroad;
4. familiarize themselves with the poets, literary genres, and
provinces of Central Visayas; and
5. appreciate the contributions made by Filipino overseas to our
country.

REGION VII
Bohol

Cebu
Negros Oriental
Siquijor

Central Visayas is composed of the provinces of Bohol, Cebu, Negros Oriental and
Siquijor. The region demarcates the territory occupied by the native speakers of Cebuano.
The regional capital is Cebu City.
Among the literary forms of Region 7 are ambahan, balak, bikal, siday, parahaya,
awit, garay, gabay, bagay, inagung, uriyan, cachorinon, comintang, guya, sugilanon,
mubong, pinadalagan, sonanoy, siniloy, binirisbis, gumalaysay, and nobela.

Some of the writers associated with region 7 are Martino Abellana, Temistokles
Adlawan, Diosdado Alesna, Brigido Alfar, Estrella Alfon, Melquiadito Allego, Ester
Bandillo, Maximo Bas, Maricano Camacho, Priscillo Campo, Marjorie Evasco, Renato
Madrid, Resil B. Mijares, LIna Espina- Moore, Ricardo Patalinjug, Nicolas Rafols, Elpidio
Rama, Godofredo Roperos, Vicente Sotto, Edilberto K. Tiempo, Edith L. Tiempo, Juan
Villagonzalo, and Vicente Ybanez.

TOPIC 1: LETTER TO PEDRO, U.S. CITIZEN, ALSO CALLED PETE

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Vocabulary List:
agony- pain: suffering
grave- tomb; burial place

LETTER TO PEDRO,
U.S. CITIZEN, ALSO CALLED PETE

Pete, old friend.

There isn’t really much change
in our home town since you left.

This morning I couldn’t find anymore

the grave of Simeona, that cat we buried
at the foot of Miguel’s mango tree
when we were in grade four,
after she was hit by a truck while crossing
the street. The bulldozer has messed it up
while making the feeder road into the mountains
to reach the hearts of the farmers.
The farmers come down every Sunday
to sell their agony and their sweat for
a few pesos, lose in the cockpit or get
drunk on the way home.

A steel bridge named after the congressman’s wife

now spans the gray river where Tasyo, the old
goat, had split the skin of our young lizards
to make us a man many years ago.

The long blue hills where we

used to shoot birds with slingshot or spend
the summer afternoons we love so much doing
nothing in the tall grass have been bought
by the mayor’s son. Now there’s a barbed wire
fence about them, the birds have gone way.
The mayor owns a big sugar plantation, three
new cars, and a mansion with the gate overhung
with sampaguita. Inside the gate
are guys who carry a rifle and a pistol.
We still go to Konga’s store for rice.
And sardines and sugar and nails for the coffin.

Still only a handful go to Mass on Sundays.

85
 In the church the men talk, sleep; the children play.
The priest is sad.

Last night the storm came and blew away

The cornflowers. The cornfields are full of cries.

Your cousin, Julia, has just become a whore.

She liked good clothes, good food, big money.
That’s why she became a whore.
Now our hometown has seven whores.

Pete, old friend,

everytime we have good reason to get drunk
and be carried home in a wheelbarrow.
we always remember you. Oh, we miss
both Pete and Pedro.

Remember us to your American wife,

you lucky bastard. Islaw, your cock-eyed
uncle, now calls himself Stanley
after he began wearing the clothes you sent
him last Christmas

P.S. Tasyo, the old goat,

Sends your lizard his warmest congratulations.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Who is speaking in the poem? How is he related to Pete?
2. What are the blissful moments they have shared together?
3. Based from the text, describe the hometown left by the Pedro.
4. List down the hints that make you convince that the text was originally a letter.

Literary Review: Diction and Tone

It is partly by the diction that the speaker of the poem is known. The choice of
words and the grammatical construction will reflect for instance, whether the poet is
far removed from the common life or is on the other hand, very sophisticated. It is
also a means by which the tone of a certain subject or situation is created by the
speaker.
Speakers reveal their attitudes toward themselves, their subjects and their
audience (consciously or unconsciously) and they choose their words, pitch, and
modulation accordingly. All these shape the tone.

86
 The choice of words of the poet governs the response of the reader to the
characters and situations in the poem. The denotations and connotations,
seriousness or humor, irony, metaphor, and simile, understatement or
overstatement, and other theoretical tools that the poets employs also shape the
responses of the reader.
In written literature, the reader detects the tone, not by the ear, but by
noticing the selection and sequence of words—the way in which they are meant to
be heard—i.e. is playfully, angrily, confidentially, sarcastically, etc.
(Source: Interactive Reading-Responding to and Writing about Philippine Literature by
Ida Yap Patron)

Do you have friends or relatives abroad? How often do you miss them? Do you have
contact with them?
Write a friend or relative abroad a letter of hope and encouragement or an
expression of how you miss him and how you want him back soon.

Task/Activity

ACTIVITY 1

Enumerate and discuss the changes that took place since Pedro left his hometown.

ACTIVITY 2

Work in Pair. Give the denotative and connotative meanings of the following
words or group of words.

a. hearts of the farmers -

b. agony and sweats -
c. old goat -
d. young lizard -
e. the birds have gone away -
f. cornfields full of cries -
g. cock-eyed uncle -

87
ACTIVITY 3

Evaluate the author’s (sender) choice of words and the tone of the poem that you
have read.
__________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________.

ACTIVITY 4

Think of a friend or a relative who is in another place and write him/her a short
encouragement letter.

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 LESSON 11
REGION VIII – SELECTED LITERARY TEXT

TOPIC
1. LIKE A JOKE THAT SEEMS TRUE

LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
1. identify the different literary genres, writers, and provinces of
Eastern Visayas;
2. clearly point out how imagery helps convey the central
purpose of a poem;
3. explain imagery and classify its kinds through simple text
assessment;
4. create a group poem out of the suggested issue; and
5. find pleasure while discussing the meaning and real essence
of the poem including the bigger issues attached in it.

Eastern Visayas
Eastern Visayas is one of the two regions of the Philippines having no land border
with another region, MIMARO being the other, and is designated as Region VIII. It consists
of six provinces, namely, Biliran, Eastern Samar, Leyte, Northern Samar, Samar (Western
Samar) and Southern Leyte. These provinces occupy the easternmost islands of Visayas:
Leyte, Samar and Biliran. The regional center is Tacloban City, one of two cities of Leyte.
Calbayog City is the lone city in Samar, one of the oldest in the country.
Among its literary forms are ambahan, balac, bical, haya, awit, sidai, ismaylingay,
canogon, titiguhan, dayhuan, puplongan, candu, sareta, susumaton, and posong.
Some of its writers are: Merlie Alunan and Iluminado Lucente.

TOPIC 1: LIKE A JOKE THAT SEEMS TRUE

Iluminado Lucente
Iluminado Lucente is considered by many as the greatest writer in the Waray language.
He was a member of the Sanghiran san Binisaya ha Samar ug Leyte (Academy of the
Visayan Language of Samar and Leyte).

Like a Joke that Seems True

89
Most of the pansiteria and restaurant in Manila had their Licenses revoked;
they were asked to close shop by Mayor Posadas for they were very dirty.
Free Press

Pests and lighting may strike them in Manila

But pray not here in the restaurant of Go Bani
The filthy pansit still delights the tongues
Palates, and throats of us here in Tacloban.

Cruel! How oppressive these Manilans are

Who want their bread and rice clean;
How unfortunate for Kim On, for Tin Siugaw
They’ll never get rich in the business.

We do not have their likes in Tacloban;

I’ve grown bleary-eyed, stooped, white-haired since.
And we Taclobanons, whether of the towns or of the barrios,
Allow the Chinese to become millionaires.

Who cares if the bones in the soup are already a year old
In that can to which they keep adding water?
We might be slurping hot pig slop,
Fine enough if it is thick and well-flavored.

We do not have to follow the ways of Manila.

For tasty is the chopsuey blended with rinsing water;
it is not in keeping for our government to just follow;
or to go this way or that or be indecisive.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Analyze the statement presented before the poem. Look for its
significance to the text.
2. How are the Manilans different from the Taclobans?
3. Why do the authors say that the Manilans are cruel?
4. Point out the the issues that a poem has addressed.

Literary Review: Imagery

Imagery in poetry appeals our senses on the surface level, or directly through
its music and rhythm. Indirectly, it appeals through our senses through imagery, the
representation to the imagination of some experiences. It suggests a mental picture.

90
 Visual Imagery is the kind of imagery that occurs most frequently in poetry. An
image may also represent the following:

 Sound- auditory imagery

 Odor- olfactory imagery
 Flavor- gustatory imagery
 Hardness/softness/wetness/heat/cold- tactile imagery
 Internal sensation such as hunger, thirst, fatigue or nausea- organic
imagery
 Movement or tension in the muscles or joints- kinesthetic imagery
(Source: Interactive Reading-Responding to and Writing about Philippine Literature by
Ida Yap Patron)

Task/Activity

ACTIVITY 1
Brainstorm on the essence of the poem’s title. Why “Like A Joke That Seems
True”?

ACTIVITY 2
Read the poem once more and give answers to these questions:

1. What are the images that have been used in it?

_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

2. What are the emotions presented in these images?

_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

3. What are their connotative meanings?

_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

ACTIVITY 3
Give examples of each of the following kind of image. You may create you
own poem line(s).

91
 Sound- auditory imagery-
_______________________________________________________________

Odor- olfactory imagery-

_______________________________________________________________

Flavor- gustatory imagery-

_______________________________________________________________

Hardness/softness/wetness/heat/cold- tactile imagery-

_______________________________________________
Internal sensation such as hunger, thirst, fatigue or nausea- organic imagery-

_______________________________________________
Movement or tension in the muscles or joints- kinesthetic imagery-
_______________________________________________

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 LESSON 12
REGION IX – SELECTED LITERARY TEXT

TOPIC
1. THE WHITE HORSE OF ALIH

LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
1. record accurately the facts stated in the brief history of
Western Mindanao;
2. identify the provinces of Region 9 as well as the literary forms
and figure;
3. obtain a wide-ranging concept of identifying the qualities of
characters in a literary piece such as stories, novel, myths,
legends, etc.; and
4. figure out sound judgment of the characters’ speech, action,
and thoughts then make conclusions about their behavior in
the story.

Western Mindanao
Basilan
Zamboanga del Norte
Zamboanga del Sur

Zamboanga
Zamboanga del Norte like its twin sister, Zamboanga del Sur, has been endowed
by Mother Nature with thickly forested mountains, fertile valleys and a sea bountiful in
aquatic resources. It lies at the northwestern portion of Mindanao. It is bounded to the
North and West by the Sulu Sea, to the South by Zamboanga del Sur and to the east by
Misamis Occidental. This part of Mindanao is popular because of its two cities, Dipolog
and Dapitan.
The early settlers of Zamboanga were the Subanons or the people of the river who
set up a fishing and trading village near the coast and called it Pagadian, a Maguindanao
word of Padian meaning market place. The language is “Chabacano” a mixture of Spanish
and and the ethnic dialects.
Among the literary forms found in Region 9 are long tales and legends.
A writer associated with this region is Emigdio “Mig” Alvarez Enriquez. He was
born in Zamboanga City. A fictionist and playwright, he holds an MA degree in Creative
Writing from the State University of Iowa. He first published novel The Devil Flower,
reprinted by the DLSU Press in 1999, earned for him the John Simon Guggenheim
Fellowship in New York. His other works include his three-act plays Mindanao, Kudarat

93
and Urduja, and his latest novels The Fourth of July, Twice Told and Where the Monleys
Have No Tails.

TOPIC 1: THE WHITE HORSE OF ALIH

Vocabulary List:
wharf- dockside; landing stage
spectacle- manifestation; demonstration
atone- in agreement; in concurrence
clangor- ringing
invective- abuse; criticism

Emigdio “Mig” Alvarez Enriquez

Emigdio Alvarez Enriquez was born in the year 1925. He is a Filipino by birth. He
started writing at the age of 20. He is a novelist, story writer, and playing with. Among his
famous literary works are Blood on the Moon, A tale of Two Houses, Cachil Kudarat
(Sultan of Mindanao) or Cachil Corrala, and Labaw, Donggon. All of this short stories won
palangca awards in the year.

THE WHITE HORSE OF ALIH

Emigdio “Mig” Alvarez Enriquez

[1] ALIH MOVED ALONG with the crowd which flowed like a river to the edge of the
town where the big parade was to wind up. The town was made up of a hodge-
podge of races----brown, yellow, and white, brown-yellow and brown-white; and
its culture was a mixture of Malay, Spanish, Chinese, and American. Alih was
brown, but he did not feel he belonged in the town. He walked its concrete
sidewalks, strolled on its wooden-planked wharf, rode its pony-drawn rigs, drank
the fermented coconut juice, the tuba and ate pork in its restaurant like a
Christian: still, he felt he did not belong.
[2] Alih lived in the village across the river on the edge of the sea where the nipa-
thatched houses were perched on posts above the water; where the women sat
in rows on the bamboo catwalks combing their long, glossy hair, chewing betel
nuts, or gossiping; where the children played naked on the beach all day; where
the men came home for the night smelling of fish from the open sea or the market
place; for Alih was a Moro, a non-Christian, and today he felt all the more alien to
the town because he was there to kill.
[3] The day was the Fourth of July, the big American holiday that the town celebrated
with a huge parade followed by cockfighting, pony-racing, hog catching, pole
climbing, and dancing in the streets. Nobody within reach of the town would miss
the great spectacle. Nobody who could walk, ride, or crawl, would be left out of
the fun. Nobody cared about Alih. Nobody knew he was in town, sworn to kill----

94
 not the men who had wronged him and his brother Omar – but anyone and
everyone he could until he was killed!
[4] As he moved with the crowd he felt pushed and pulled one way and another. It
filled him with resentment but he locked his jaw and damned his feeling. His time
had not yet come.
[5] The heat beat down on him and drew the sweat from the porse of his lean and
hard body, looking the light, white cotton shirt he wore. When he came to an
acacia tree spreading its branches across the ditch on the roadside, he broke out
of the crowd and took refuge in its shade. But soon after, hunger began pinching
his stomach. All week long he had prayed and fasted. From new moon to full moon
he had not eaten a grain of rice, nor drunk a drop of water under the watchful eye
of the sun. What little he ate and drank he did under the cover of night. Gathering
saliva in his mouth he swallowed a gob of it to relieve his insides.
[6] Before the sun was up this morning, he had risen with his brother Omar and
together they had slipped naked into the sea and washed their bodies clean of all
impurities--– even the heady smell of the girl in Balete who had shared his mat
and sheet. He had gloried in her smell, but the memory of it was all that was
necessary to urge his blood to thicken and his flesh to grip his bones with passion
and give him courage to die –- and live forever in the arms of a woman!
[7] As Omar and he were shaving the hairs off their groins preparing themselves for
burial, he thought of nothing else but the beautiful maiden of undefiled body that
Omar would be with in paradise.
[8] Would she have blue-black eyes and a little black mole on a corner of her mouth
like Fermina, the Christian girl who served drinks at the night market by the dock?
Or would she have brown eyes and corn-silk hair like the wives of the Americans
who lived in the big houses across the river? Ah, she must be lovelier by far. His
body had to be clean, very clean for her. He rubbed his skin with a small, round
stone until he almost bled, and then poured fragrant water where he had scraped
the hairs off. Not a stubble of hair was on his arms, nor on his chest, nor on his
loins. When he sailed into town he was as clean as an infant just out of the womb
but now the sweat was running grimly down his armpits. He could feel it gathering
around his waist and trickling down his crotch. Now his flesh was stinking like
rotting dried fish, fouler than the carrion of pork eaters!
[9] Suddenly little knots of cold began to climb behind his knees. Would he falter and
fail? Would fear overcome him? No! his scrotum was firmly bound at the roots
and his genitals held fast with a white loincloth against his groin. A man could not
be afraid, Omar said, if his testicles would not withdraw inside the body. He was
just a little tired. He could have drunk the strong tuba bajal to keep his body hot,
but the drink would make his breath foul to his houri, and Omar would smell it too
and think he had been afraid. Perhaps, he should have bound his legs and arms
tightly with copper wires as Omar said the sworn killers, or juramentados, as the
Christians called them, had done in ancient times to keep their flesh turgid and
their blood thick. The man Sampang, a mountain warrior, had defied a whole
squad of soldiers and had continued to kill with forty bullets in his body!
[10] Alih’s hand moved stealthily to the slit under the double folds of his wide silk pants
which he wore wrapped around the waist under a heavy leather belt. His fingers

95
 closed around the hardwood handle of the sheathed long blade that was strapped
to the inside of his left leg. The feel of the weapons’ handle in his grasp sent the
blood rushing back into his limbs. No, he was not afraid! He needed neither drink
nor leg bands! He wished he could kill the men who had dispossessed him and his
brother of their goods but he did not know who they were. Only killing men of
their kind, men of their faith, would atone for the crime that had put them to
shame. Their blood would wash off the resentment he felt and cleanse the spirit
for his reward in heaven!
[11] The Imam, the village priest, had tried to dissuade him and his brother. “It is wrong
to kill”, the old man had said as he sat facing them on his prayer rug in the large
boat which was his house. His voice rang in Alih’s ears like a conch shell horn
sending signals to the sailboats on the sea--faint, unsteady, pleading, not
compelling. “The prophet did not teach it”. But Omar had whispered in his ears,
“He is getting old in the head. We cannot listen to him.”
[12] The shrill blast of a whistle somewhere down the road jarred his thoughts and
awoke his senses. Two men wearing sun helmets started pushing the people to
the sides of the road. Alih’s hand released his weapon.
[13] His blade was true. He had tested its edge on the nail of a thumb. He had worked
on it all week long while keeping the fast. His blade would not fail him. But it made
him hungrier. He had nothing to eat or drink since daybreak. During the week he
had kept himself from thinking about food by working on his blade, by watching it
grow keener, whiter and whiter. Now that he did not have to work on the blade,
he was hungry, very hungry. His mind was accepting death, but his body was
rebelling. By Allah, he wanted to eat. His hunger was like an octopus in his middle
extending tentacles to his throat, to his limbs, to his brains. Struggling with his
hunger he leaned against the tree to stay on his feet.
[14] The band going by made uproarious sound like the rattling of empty cans. The
clangor perked him up momentarily. A group of girls dressed in white and wearing
veils with red crosses on their foreheads walked by talking loudly, beating paper
flags in the air. When the band stopped playing, the clatter of the girl’s wooden
shoes rose maddeningly over the rattle of their flags and the sound of the voices.
[15] Now was the time. Alih thought. It was torture to wait longer. But where was
Omar? He was to come from the village and join him here under this tree. They
would make the attack together. They should be killed together, and together they
would ride their white horses to heaven.
[16] He pushed the black round fez on his head and unbuttoned his shirt to the waist
uncovering his hard-fleshed chest to the breeze. He must not look dangerous; he
must not arouse suspicion in anyway. Omar had cautioned him emphatically.
[17] Wiping his low forehead and high cheek bones on the sleeves of his shirt, he
leaned back against the acacia tree looking like one whose only concern was his
physical comfort in the stifling weather. Nobody watching him would have known
that underneath his calm exterior his body was alive to the hair roots, and his mind
was counting the seconds like a stopwatch. His disguise was perfect. The
uncropped hair of his head that showed in wisps under the fez curled about his
ears like a schoolboy’s. There was nothing uncommon about his face. He had not
plucked off his eyebrows as the traditional sworn killers of old had done. Omar

96
 had said that they did not have to wear the mask of death on their faces. They had
not taken the oath to kill before a datu. The datu, Omar said, was bound by law to
notify the authorities and the authorities would post men with guns and clubs all
over the town wherever people gathered – in schools, in marketplaces, in
churches, in plazas. The town would be awake at all hours, and the men would
carry weapons strapped to their waists when they went out in the streets. They
would keep the women and the children in their houses and would be ready to
jump upon any suspicious looking Moro at the barking of a dog, or the slamming
of a door. Once when a dog had fought with another over a bone, an innocent
Moro was clubbed to death. A sworn killer today would not stand a chance to kill
if he followed the ritual of the past. No, neither he nor his brother Omar would be
caught and thrown into jail before they could use their blades. By the sun, the all-
seeing eye, they would not be outwitted this time!
[18] A clatter of hoofs shook the crisp noon air. A horse came galloping down the road.
The horseman wore polished boots that reached his knees. His shirt was tight on
his body, and across his chest was a band of glittering ornaments like the metal
caps of beer bottles. The man sat on his horse like the Son of Zorro, whom he had
seen many times in the movies. Shouting orders to a group of boy scouts to help
the policeman push the crowd back, the man spurred his horse ahead of the
parade in the direction of the plaza.
[19] Alih’s eyes followed the horse with feverish intensity. Soon he would be on a horse
himself. And his horse would have wings like the horse on the billboard at the gas
station near the ice plant just outside the town. It would have a silver mane and a
silky flowing tail, its body and legs as white as milk fresh from the udder. Omar
had said that was what the prophet had promised the faithful – a white horse to
ride to heaven, and as many chaste damsels or hours as the number of infidel
heads he could lay before Allah.
[20] The harsh voices of women shouting invectives at the boy scouts who were
pushing them back, and the angry shrieks of children who had fallen into the
muddy ditch along the road failed to claim his attention. A barefoot boy peddling
ice cream in a box ringing a bell close to his face did not succeed either. For Alih’s
fancy had captured his white horse and already he was covering it with a caparison
of gold making ready to set off on his journey. Would he look as good on his
stallion as the man on his? “Your body bends in long segments, and you are full of
sinews,” Omar knew all about horses. He had worked at the stables of the datu of
the village and had even driven a calesa. He, Alih, had never even gone close to a
horse. “Stay away”, Omar had shouted at him every time he came close to a horse.
“It will kick you, it will kick you!”
[21] if he had only learned to mount! All he had ever ridden was a wooden horse in a
merry-go-round. An expression of joy and mixed with pain swept across his face.
He had ridden beside Lucy!
[22] Lucy was the little girl in the reservation across the river where the Americans
lived. She was all white and pink and gold, like the dolls in the cardboard boxes on
the shelves in the Japanese toy stores in town. He had come upon her one morning
in the guava bush where she was playing with some shells.
[23] He was in the first grade in school then, learning to read and write. He
remembered he had trouble with little black bugs called words. He could not make

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 with his mouth the strange sounds that matched the words in the little red book.
He had not wanted to go to school, but a policeman had come to the village and
had spoken to the datu, and the datu of the village had told Omar that his little
brother would have to go to school.
[24] The school was across the river on the other side of town. There was no bridge
spanning the river. The Moros were not allowed to set foot on the reservation. To
go into town they had to use their vintas and anchor behind the stone breakwater
at the foot of the government dock. Paddling was very tiresome for a little boy like
Alih, so he would swim across the river to the stone steps behind the big grey
house with the wire nets on the windows.
[25] One day he came upon the little girl. He was so frightened that he dropped his
clothes which he had held a bundle above his head and leapt back into the river.
The little girl picked up his clothes and ran to the stone steps holding them out to
him. She called to him like a datu’s daughter, and he found himself doing her
bidding. Cupping himself with one hand, he swam close and stretched out the
other hand for his bundle.
[26] When he came back that day, he wandered along the beach and picked the
prettiest shells he could find. He strung them together and left them on the stone
steps of the house. When he returned in the afternoon, the shells were gone. But
the little girl was never there again. One afternoon, though, many days later, he
saw here with her maid, a Christian girl, at the fair. He had been blacking boots
earlier in the day and his pocket was heavy with coins. He emptied this pocket to
the man seated on the crate at the gate and then climbed on the horse next to the
girl. He looked at the girl only from the corners of his eyes. He was afraid the maid
would move her to another horse if he showed any interested in her. But the little
girl had recognized him and began to talk to him. He did not understand a word
she said, but he pretended he did by laughing. He felt proud riding beside her. He
wished everybody could see them laughing together. They went round and round
to the rhythm of cymbals and the measured beats of a drum. When he was up,
she was down, when he was down, she was up. He felt very light-like a piece of
cotton in the air. The servant girl who stood behind the little girl holding her to the
horse had called her “Lucy!”
[27] In the evening he had no money to show Omar for his work during the day. Omar
made him drop his drop his pants and lie on his stomach on the floor. “This will
teach you not to spend your money foolishly,” he said as he gave him three lashes
with his leather belt. He could only squat to eat his supper that night, his flesh felt
raw, but he was strangely happy.
[28] A company of khaki-clad men were walking down the road, their heavy leather
shoes pounding the macadam pavement in unison. The rifles on their shoulders
held naked steel blades that glinted to him like skeletal finger, marking him for
death. His hand instinctively sought the handle of the weapon between his legs
again.
[29] He raised himself on his toes and looked over the heads of the crowd. He could
not see Omar anywhere. Suddenly he felt the little knots of cold behind his knees
again. He knew that Omar was reckless and without fear. Omar was quick with his
fists when the little scar on his right eyebrow turned livid. But where was he? Had
he betrayed himself and been taken? Omar would not be taken without a fight.

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 He had warrior blood in him although he had lived a sea rover and fished for a
living. Omar had been with their father and uncles in the big fight at the cottas in
the mountains of Jolo a long time ago.
[30] Their father had been accused of killing a man he had not killed and the men who
were working for the American governor had wanted to put him in prison. Their
father had sent word that he had not killed the man, but the soldiers would not
honor his word. They had no respect for him although he had been to Mecca and
was a hadji of his village. They had wanted him to submit to the judgment of the
Americans. Their father had taken his family to the old stone fort that their
grandfather had taken from the Spaniards and there had made his stand. Omar
had helped to dig pits at the foot of the hill around the fort. They drove sharp
stakes in the ground and covered them with vines in the same way that they
trapped the wild boar that came to eat the root crops in the clearing at the
outskirts of the village.
[31] The black of Omar’s eyes had closed to points like heads of pins when he told him
the story. “Every one perished except our mother and me,” he had told Alih, his
words sounded like pebbles dropping from his mouth. “But you should have seen
how the government soldiers were killed.” Omar had exulted. “They looked like
pigs on the spit that the Christians roast to eat in their fiestas! You were there,
too. Alih, but you did not see what happened because you were asleep in the body
of our mother.”
[32] Alih had often wished he had not been asleep in the body of their mother when it
happened. He had never been in a real fight, and he did not have the courage that
his brother had. Often he was afraid but afraid to show that he was afraid--- like
now with the little knots of cold growing behind his knees. Sometimes he felt
Omar’s eyes prying into him. They picked the very pores of his body. Omar’s eyes
had made him do things. His eyes had made him do what he did at night at a beer
garden at the dock.
[33] Alih had just come in for a smoke, and to watch Fermina, the barmaid. She was
pretty and good to watch. Besides the mole on the corner of her mouth, her eyes
were big and alive. And when she smiled, her teeth showed white-like coconut
meat. He had not meant to bother her, but Omar was at a table in a corner looking
at him through rings of smoke, across a pile of bottles and glasses.
[34] H did not join Omar but he felt his eyes following him. He took another table and
called for beer, and more beer! He drank quickly so that the ugly taste would not
stay long in his mouth. He clenched his fist under the table to keep his face straight
while he drank. And soon, he began to feel all man. Omar had said the brave Moro
was the Moro who could make passess at Christian girls. When Fermina came back
to pour him another drink, he grabbed her by the wrist and drew her to him. “Just
one kiss,” he begged bravely, “just one kiss.”
[35] “Let me go, let me go,” the girl cried, pulling away.
[36] Alih flung an arm around her waist and pulled her down to his lap. The girl swung
the pitcher of beer at him. He tried to reach her mouth with his but a stream of
saliva shot at his face. The girl wrenched herself free and ran behind the counter.
Mocking laughter broke from Omar and Alih felt the roof of the house falling on

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 his head. The light went out of his mind, and he began tearing the place apart
upsetting tables, smashing chairs, breaking glasses.
[37] He was thrown in jail for six months. Later he was put to work on the road, digging
ditches and carrying loads. But worse than the hot eye of the sun upon his bare
back during his punishment were the eyes of Omar on his nape, and the ring of his
laughter in his ears on that fearful night.
[38] The parade was passing rapidly by: a group of barefoot laborers bearing placards
in bamboo frames; two rows of women in piña cloth blouses and long skirts,
shading their faces with Japanese paper fans, young girls were balancing
themselves on high-heeled shoes carrying flowers in their arms. Soon there would
be only the long rows of cars and jeeps and calesas trailing the parade. Soon Alih
would be on the outer fringe of the crowd, not in the middle of it. There would
not be many within reach to kill. Where was Omar? This was his plan? He had said
– “Like the way we drop sticks of dynamite in a school of fish, Alih, right in the
middle”. He could not kill alone. He must not be killed alone. He did not know
about horses!
[39] Suddenly a terrible thought like a big wave when the sea was furious struck him
on the face. What if there were no horses? What if the village priest was right and
there were no horses?
[40] “The white horse as a reward for killing, my sons, is an illusion conjured by fanatics
in their attempt to give reason to their behavior. The prophet never taught it. He
was a man of peace. You will not find favor with him if you do this!” The Imam had
told them.
[41] Alih remembered the old man’s face in the wavering light of the oil lamp. His
sunken cheeks were spectral, but the tears in his eyes and the sadness of his voice,
had made him feel sorrier for him than for themselves over what had happened
to them.
[42] Several months ago Omar had decided they should venture out as merchants.
They sold their house, their boats and fishing nets, even their rare cloths and their
mother’s pearls. A neighbor, who was now prosperous enough to keep a radio in
his house, had told them that foreign goods were cheap in Sandakan in British
North Borneo and could be sold for twice as much in town. Omar and Alih had set
to sea in a small kumpit with a motor and outriggers. They had bought French
perfumes, English soaps, and pomades, American cigarettes, Persian rugs, and
native clothes. Lim Ching, the rich Chinese merchant had given them seventeen
barrels of crude oil for their motor, three bales of dried fish, and a sack of rice on
their promise to sell the goods to no one but him. “You will sell to me, only to me,”
Lim Ching had said to them greedily, beating his palms on his fat stomach. “You
will not regret it.”
[43] The trip had been without danger. The rough sea did not turn their stomachs and
the winds, the sun, and the waves were not unkind to their bodies. They laughed
at the Coast Guard boats that went past them as they hid in little islands coves
during the day, and as they drifted by them with a dead motor without a light
during the night. But when they arrived at Curuan, a village so far out of town that
the roads did not reach it, a group of men with straw hats pulled low over their

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 ears, hiding their faces behind masks, had come from the coconut grove with guns
and clubs, and had taken all they had except their houri and food.
[44] The bitterness in their hearts was like a drink that was too strong for the stomach
to hold down. They went back to the sea and stayed there a long time. And when
they had eaten all their food and had drunk all the rainwater in their earthen jar,
Omar spoke about killing and dying.
[45] “Only by killing, Alih, can we wash away our shame,” he said, staring into space
from the prow of their boat.
[46] Alih’s heart had almost stopped beating. He leaned back and stretched himself
full-length on the long narrow deck, and watched the vaulted sky lower itself
about him. A cloud floating above spread a white mourning sheet across it – and
he listened to his heart beating over the graveyard silence of the sea. But the little
winds were astir and tingled the bare flesh of his sensitive body. Gripping the edge
of his straw mat to still a trembling within him, he said. “Omar, I am not afraid to
kill, but I am too young to die. I have not yet slept with a woman”!
[47] “That is true. “ Omar said. “It is time knew a woman. I shall take you to a girl in
Balete who can sleep with you. Then you will have your hour in paradise.”
[48] A burst of hand clapping and boisterious cheering turned Alih’s attention towards
a slow, lumbering truck coming down the road. The truck was hung with colored
ribbons, paper flowers, and the yellow fronds of coconut palms. The American and
Philippine flags were spread over its chassis side by side. Mounted on the vehicle
was a globe covered with Manila paper. Crudely painted in water color on the
globe were maps of the two, America and the Philippines. Holding on to a pole on
the globe stood a beautiful girl. In her right hand she held uplifted a gilt torch hung
with long cellophane streamers that caught the sunlight in splinters.
[49] Alih gazed at the girl like a man just come out of his blindness. Her gracefully
uplifted limb was long and full and the skin of her underarm which the parted
sleeves of her gown expose was of pink and white hue-like the inside of a shell.
How soft and supple her body must be under that gauzy dress that caught the
wind like the sail of a little vinta, he thought.
[50] A boy seated with the driver was picking from a huge cardboard box handfuls of
candies and cigarettes and throwing them to the crowd.
[51] As the float came closer, Alih thought he saw a little black mole on a corner of the
girl’s mouth; she smiled – and it was at him smiled – and it was sweet. If he could
only reach her mouth with his! Her hair tumbled down her shoulders in waves and
little wisps, touching her cheeks – and it was like the silk of corn when the ear was
young. Its pungent fragrance seemed to reach him and fill his nostrils. Suddenly it
climbed to his head – and it was like the smell of the girl in Balete who had shared
his mat and sheet. The blood thickened in his veins and the muscles of his body
gripped his bones with passion.
[52] The head of the parade had now reached the big monument to Rizal – the hero of
the country--- where the important men of the town were going to make
speeches. The people pushed one another as they rushed to the sand, breaking
up the group formations. With a loud spurting of the motor, the big float shook to
a stop not far from Alih. The boy who had been throwing candies and cigarettes

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 alighted and called to the girl on the float. Throwing the gilt torch to the boy
below, the girl began to climb down the paper globe. When she reached the floor
of the vehicle, the boy came to the side of the float and held out his arms to her.
As the girl bent down, Alih held his breath. The girl was holding out her arms to
the boy but somehow it seemed the boy was he- Alih!
[53] It was then that a strong hand reached out from behind him and clapped him on
the shoulder. He turned around and a trembling – as of the earth when many guns
were firing – seized him. It was his brother Omar! His face was dark and shining
with sweat, his feet were unsteady, and on h is breath was the unmistakable smell
of the native drink, the tuba. He had been drinking!
[54] His soul instinctively recoiled. Drunk! Omar was drunk! He who had spoken of
white horses and houris was drunk! He who had defied the holy man of the village
saying “Shame, shame, Man of Mohammed, your blood has turned to water or
you would not put in the prophet the heart of a chicken” was drunk and afraid!
[55] “Now!” cried Omar as he leapt into the street drawing from the folds of his pants
the fatal blade.
[56] The crowd screamed. Fear and panic seized everyone. Shrieks of terror tore out of
many throats. The people dispersed from Omar’s path like children at a fair on the
approach of an escaped elephant or tiger. The boy making ready to help the girl
down turned around and took to his heels. The girl jumped to the ground, fell,
picked herself up and started to run. But her long flowing robe caught on the edge
of the bamboo frame of the float and held her. Frantically, she struggled to set
herself free, pulling and tearing at her skirt with her fingers. Terror, cold and stark,
was on her face on as she saw Omar coming toward her swinging aloft his naked
blade.
[57] Scream after scream broke from her throat.
[58] The scream struck Alih like blows on the head. They jolted his memory. The girl
was his, his --- Alih’s! And she is not to die. She was Fermina, the Christian maid
he had wanted to kiss, the little American girl who had smiled at him and laughed
with him, the woman of Balete who had shared his mat and sheet, she was not to
die!
[59] Drawing his blade from its sheath between his legs, he leaped after his brother
like a horse gone wild. A savage cry sprang from his lips as he caught the sun in his
razor-sharp blade and swung it down on his brother’s back again and again, until
a volley of hot lead ripped through his flesh, blowing up the fire in his veins that
geysered up to the sky in spouts of deep, dark red.
[60] The town spoke out about the strange tragedy for many days after. But nobody
had known Alih, and nobody could figure out why he turned against his brother.
Some said that the rigid fasting must have made him lose his head, others that,
perhaps, he had always hated his brother; but I, who was not even there, declare
that--- like many another man--- Alih, simply did not love his white, horse as he
did his houri.

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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Why did the brothers, Alih and Omar, decide to kill the Christians?
2. How did they plan to execute their revenge?
3. What made Alih decide to save the girl from being killed by Omar?
4. Compare the fasting done by Christians during Lent and the fasting done by
Muslims during Ramadan? Do they have the same purpose?
5. Enumerate some similarities of faith between the Christians and the Muslims.
6. As Filipinos, what suggestions can you give to truly unify Christians and Muslims
as one?

Literary Review: Judgments about the Qualities of the Characters

Authors present their characters in five ways:

1. Actions. The best way to understand the characters is through their
actions. Even if they do not necessary understand how they may be
changing or why they do the things they do, their actions express their
characters.
2. Description, Both personal and environmental. Appearance and
environment show much about the character’s social and economic
status. They also tell more about character traits.
3. Dramatic statements and thoughts. The speeches of most characters
keep the story moving, but more significantly, they provide material
from which readers can draw conclusions.
4. Statements by other characters. What other characters say about a
character will provide better understanding about him/her.
5. Statements by the author speaking as a story teller or observer. What
the author says about a character can be accepted factually. However,
when the author interprets actions and characteristics, the author is
acting as reader or critic and therefore any of his expressed opinion
becomes questionable. For this reason, authors prefer to arrange
events and speeches so that the readers can make their own
conclusions.

(Source: Interactive Reading-Responding to and Writing about Philippine Literature by

Ida Yap Patron)

Task/Activity

ACTIVITY 1

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 Divide the class into four then characterize Alih using the web below. Present your
output in the class.

ALIH

1. Make a flowchart to show the story’s critical stages.

2. Form a panel to discuss Omar’s and Alih’s views.

1. Characterize Alih. How old is he? What is the difference between him and his
brother Omar?
2. At what point in Philippine history did the story take place?
3. Compare and contrast the situation shown in the plot with events taking place in
some parts of the country.
4. Give the conflict of the story.
5. Infer what could have happened to Alih at the end of the story.
6. Explain what the author is saying about ALih’s “growing up” experience in the
story. Describe the pains and pleasures of growing up that ALih experienced.
7. Give the significance of the title The White Horse of Alih. What is the symbolic
meaning of the “white horse”?

ACTIVTIY 2
In groups of five, pronounce of the qualities of the characters in the story “The
White Horse of Alih.” Consider the following ways:
a. Actions
b. Description. Both personal and environmental
c. Dramatic statements and thoughts
d. Statements by other characters
e. Statements by the author speaking as a story teller or observer

ACTIVITY 4

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Complete each term below by writing down the ommited letters.

C_A_AC_E_ T_A_T - habitual pattern of behavior of a character

A_TI_NS and SP_EC_ - through which the conclusion can be made about
a character
R_U_D C_AR_C_ERS - reflect conditions in the environment that
somehow influence the lives of characters
_LA_ _HAR_CTER_ - help develop major characters

PR_T_G_N_ST - undergo change and move against the antagonist

_NT_G_N_ST - poses problems to the protagonist

S_O_K CH_R_CT_RS - stay flat because they don’t have traits of their own

ST_R_OTYP_S - cast in conventional mold; possess no other

attitudes except those of their class
R_AL_TY and PRO_A_ILI_Y - reflect actions, speech and thoughts that are true
to life

S_ATE_ENT by
OTHER C_HAR_CT_RS - give better understanding about another character

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 LESSON 13
ARMM – SELECTED LITERARY TEXT

TOPIC
1. THE QUARREL BETWEEN THE EAST AND THE WEST BACHELORS

LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
1. identify the different points of view used by the author to tell his
story;
2. discover and discuss how point of view helps bring out the large
issue in the story;
3. weigh in the validity of the claims as revealed by the characters
in the selection; and
4. form fitting decision on the issue brought out by the lesson.

ARMM
Sulu
Tawi-Tawi
Maguindanao
Lanao del Sur

The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, or ARMM, was created in

1990 to help solve the long-festering Muslim problem and at the same time hasten
the economic development of the Muslim areas. At present, however, the ARMM
only covers the four provinces of Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Maguindanao, and Lanao del
Sur. Through a plebiscite in 1989, the predominantly Christian residents of the 14
provinces and 10 cities expressed their preference not to join the ARMM.
On September 9, 1996, elections were held for the ARMM officials. Prof.
Nurallaji Misuari, the Chairman of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), was
elected as governor, with Guimid P. Matalam as vice governor. Also elected with
them were 121 regional assemblymen. The ARMM elections were considered
unique because they were peaceful, despite being held in what has been the
country's traditionally most volatile areas.

TOPIC 1: THE QUARREL BETWEEN THE EAST AND THE WEST BACHELORS

Vocabulary List:
bountiful - abundant; generous; plentiful
partition - division; dividing wall
bachelor - single; unmarried
blistering - blazing; burning

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 THE QUARREL BETWEEN THE EAST AND THE WEST BACHELORS
Source: Radiomoda Mamitua Saber, 60 years old Buadi; Sakayo, Marawi City

There once lived two young men named Kanakan sa Sebangan (East Bachelor) and
Kanakan sa Sedpan (West Bachelor). Both made an agreement to engage in farming put
up an equal share of the capital expense, and divide equally their farm produce. Their
farm was located at Lembak a Lopa (Midland Area).
East Bachelor lived in his house in the east (sebangan), while West Bachelor dwelt
in his own in the west (sedpan). They only met at work in their farm in the midland.
Everyday they went to their farm at the same time beginning sunrise and returned
to their respective house at sunset. Besides sharing equally their farming capital expenses
such as the purchase of work animals, tools, and other necessities, both worked and
sacrificed equally for the success of their venture.Due to their mutual cooperation, they
soon began to see the coming success of their farm. Their rice field promised a bountiful
harvest, which they soon realized.
But after harvesting, threshing and measuring the total produce and when they
began to partition the grain they got into trouble themselves. Each man claimed that he
should get a bigger share, thinking that he had sacrificed more than his companion had.
Both men, however, realized that they were good friends and each would not
want to injure the other. They therefore agreed to bring their trouble for wise settlement
to three wise datus, namely, Radiya Indarapatra, Radiya Ismayatin, and Radiya
Sahimardan.
The three datus asked each bachelor farmer to narrate the true story of their farm
agreement, including their desire to share equally their harvest crops.
After hearing the identical stories or claims of both bachelor farmers, the three
wise datus jointly advised: “You have no trouble. Why don’t you just fulfill your agreement
to share equally your produce?”
Not satisfied with the wise judge’s advised. East Bachelor replied: “Well, it is true
that my partner and I agreed to work, as we did, on our farm equally, spend for our farm
equally. And share equally our produce. But datus, please see and consider how I suffered
more than my partner. Everyday when I went to our farm at early sunrise, the sun burned
the back of my neck and my back. And when I returned home before sunset the same
parts of my body were also burned by the blistering sun. Therefore, for each suffering, I
pray for justice to receive a bigger share than my partner’s share of our farm produce.”
The three judges asked the other bachelor farmer. “What then is your answer to your
partner’s claim?”
West Bachelor replied: “I admit the entire report of my partner about our
agreement to work on our farm with equal effort, equal expense, and equal share of our
produce but please realize my greater suffering. Everyday when I walked to our farm in
the morning I face squarely the blistering heat of the sun. Again, when I walk home before

107
sunset, I also face the sun. Look how badly burnt are my face, breast, and stomach. For
this suffering, I pray for justice to receive a greater share of our farm produce.”
Upon hearing the competing claims of the two bachelor farmer Radiya
Indarapatra, Radiya Ismayatin, and Radiya Sahimardan whispered for a moment to agree
on their judgment.
The decision rendered was to give a great share of the farm produce to West
Bachelor. It was based on the fact that it is a greater suffering to have a sunburned face,
breast and stomach than to have a sunburned back.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Describe the covenant made by the bachelors.
2. What human character overcomes them to suddenly disregard this
covenant?
3. Enumerate the sufferings made by the two bachelors.
4. What was the judgement of the wise men?
5. If you were one of the wise men, what would be yours? Justify your answer.

Literary Review: Point of View

Point of view refers to the position of the voice that the authors adopt for their
works. It supposes a living narrator or persona who tells stories, presents
arguments, or expresses attitudes such as love, anger or excitement.
First-Person Point of View- the character tells the story
Third-Person Point of View-the teller in not a character in the tale
Omniscient Point of View- the narrator relates the story using the third person,
whose knowledge and prerogatives are unlimited.
Neutral Omniscience- the narrator recounts deeds and thoughts, but does not
judge
Editorial Omniscience- the narrator recounts as well as judges
Selective Omniscience- the author only limits his or her omniscience to the minds
of few characters
(Source: Interactive Reading-Responding to and Writing about Philippine Literature by
Ida Yap Patron)

Task/Activity

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ACTIVITY 1
Are you familiar with the chain-game Pass-the-Word? Read the instructions below
and try this in your class. Answer the questions that will follow after playing the game.

Pass-the-Word
Mechanics: The first student sitting on the first row’s extreme right will speak
softly to his seatmate on the left of some information. The recipient passes then the
information he receives to the same direction. The process will be the same until such
time that the information has reached the last member of the class who is sitting, most
probably, on the last row. The last receiver will tell the whole class about the information
he receives.
a. What can you say about the chain-game?
b. Share with your classmates some of your observations and let them react.
c. What is the relevance of this game to our daily life?

ACTIVITY 2

Complete the definition below by writing the the term being labeled.
Choose from the options inside the box.

bountiful blistering First-Person Point of View

Point of view partition Third-Person Point of View
Omniscient Point of View Neutral Omniscience Editorial Omniscience
Selective Omniscience bachelor tone

1. _______________- abundant; generous; plentiful

2. _______________- division; dividing wall
3. _______________- single; unmarried
4. _______________- blazing; burning
5. _______________- refers to the position of the voice that the authors adopt
for their works.
6. _______________- the character tells the story
7. _______________- the teller in not a character in the tale
8. _______________- the narrator relates the story using the third person,
whose knowledge and prerogatives are unlimited.
9. _______________- the narrator recounts deeds and thoughts, but does not
judge
10. ______________- the narrator recounts as well as judges.

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ACTIVITY 3

Divide the class into two groups then do the following:

a. Remember an incident in which you were involved and recount it below. Tell
what happened and how you felt.
____________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________.

b. Retell the incident that you have made above from the third person point of
view.

____________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________.

ACTIVITY 4
Have a short informal debate on the advantages and the disadvantages of telling
the story from the first person point of view and from the third person point of view as to
effectivity and credibility in carrying out your purpose.

LESSON 14
REGION X – SELECTED LITERARY TEXT

TOPIC 110
1. PILANDOK CROSSES A RIVER

LEARNING OUTCOMES
 Region 10
Bukidnon
Camiguin
Misamis Occidental
Misamis Oriental

Bukidnon
Bukidnon means people of mountains. It refers to the original tribes who
inhabited the province but were forced to go to the mountains by Muslims who arrived
in the 16th century. The province is a melting pot of different people. Aside from the
Bukidnons, there are Manobo, Muslim, Visaya, Tagalog and Ilocano who permanently
settled in the place.
Bukidnon is a landlocked province on a plateau in North Central Mindanao. It is
officially the second largest province in Region X and the eight largest in the country. It
has caves, valleys, mountain peaks, three of which are extinct volcanoes.
Bukidnon folks are hardworking and persevering. Majority of them till the soil.
Manobo people sell honey in surrounding towns while others augment their income in
fishing and livestock raising.
This province boast a stable economy. The fertile lands are being planted with rice
and crops. The famous plantation, Del Monte Pineapple accounts for the vast area of
Bukidnon’s rich plains. Despite their increased economic growth, and the continuing flow
of visitors, the people’s culture are intact. An example is the Kaamulan Festival where
weddings, ritual worship, thanksgiving and harvest portray the glory of their tradition.
The literary form found in this Region is limbay.

TOPIC 1: PILANDOK CROSSES A RIVER

A favorite character of Maranaw tales is Pilandok. He is to the Maranaws what Juan

Tamad, Juan Pusong, or Juan Osong is to the Christian communities in Luzon and the Visayas.
There are several stories about him. Some portray him as bungling, bumbling dimwit; others,
as a bave hero. Hero is one popular story about him.

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Vocabulary List:
align- arrange in a line
bank- reservoir

PILANDOK CROSSES A RIVER

1.) One day Pilandok wanted to cross a wide and deep river. However, there was no
banca available. He wanted to swim to the other side but he was afraid of the
crocodiles. For a while, Pilandok did not know what to do. So he sat down near
the bank of the river then he started to think. After a few minutes, he stood up.
An idea struck him. Quickly he shouted to the crocodiles.
2.) “The datu wishes to find out how many crocodiles are living in this river. So you
must all come out and allow me to count you.”
3.) When the crocodiles heard this, they sent one of them, the oldest to come out
and speak to Pilandok.
4.) “Why does the datu want to count us?”
5.) “Because he wants to feed you everyday.”
6.) When the crocodiles heard this, they got out of their hiding places. Because there
were so many of them, Pilandok asked them to form several lines extending form
where he stood to the other bank of the river. Then when the crocodiles had
aligned themselves, Pilandok started counting them.
7.) “One, two, three.” As he counted, he jumped from one crocodile’s back to the
other. Then as soon as he had reached the other side of the river, he jumped out.
As he looked back, he told the crocodiles.
8.) “Ha, ha, ha, I have fooled you. The datu doesn’t want to do anything with you.”
And thus saying, Pilandok ran home as fast as he could.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Pilandok is a trickster tale. Explain how this kind of tale functions in a
community.
2. Identify some present-day Pilandoks. Show their similarities with Pilandok.
3. If you were given a chance to continue the story, how would you do it?

Literary Review: Idea or Theme

The word idea refers to the result(s) of general and abstract thinking. It may
also mean concept, thought, opinion, and principle. In literary study, the consideration
of ideas relates to meaning, interpretation, explanation, and significance.
There are many separate ideas in a story, but one of the ideas seems to be the
major one. This is called theme. This is also called the major or central idea.
(Source: Interactive Reading-Responding to and Writing about Philippine Literature by
Ida Yap Patron)

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 Task/Activity

ACTIVTIY 1
Tell whether the statement is an/a:
a. Action b. Situation c. Idea
___1. The woman and her son sat by the window looking upon the darkening road.
___2. Accepting the truth is difficult.
___3. She could stand, but she could not walk.
___4. Finally, she understood that the man could not remember her.
___5. A heart that is free of hatred is truly peaceful and happy.
___6. A mother’s heart is in sorrow, as it feels the pain of her child.
___7. The woman anxiously looks at the expression of the girl’s eyes.
___8. He extended his arms. But the smile froze on his lips.
___9. Humans have to learn to let go and blend with the course of the universe.
___10. She was desperate, helpless. The boy knew of her love and sensed her hurt
like a sharp and stabbing pain.

ACTIVITY 2

Group yourselves into six and formulate ideas on interpretations and explanations
as to the significance of the tale “Pilandok Crosses a River”.
__________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________.

ACTIVITY 3

From the ideas or assertions you have made in exercise b, come out with a major
theme.
__________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

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________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________.

LESSON 15
REGION XI, XII, AND XIII – SELECTED LITERARY TEXT

TOPIC
1. NORTH COTABATO: MYTH AND LEGEND
2. LEGEND OF THE RIO GRANDE IN NORTH COTABATO
3. “TWAS BRILLIG”

LEARNING OUTCOMES
114
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
1. record accurately the facts stated in the brief history of
Regions 11, 12 and 13;
2. identify the provinces of Region 11, 12 and 13 as well as the
Region XI
Davao Region, designated as Region XI, is one of the regions of the Philippines,
located on the southeastern portion of Mindanao. Davao Region consists of four
provinces, namely: Compostela Valley, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, and Davao
Oriental. The region encloses the Davao Gulf and its regional center is Davao City.
Region XI was originally called Southern Mindanao, and in addition to the three Davao
provinces also included Surigao del Sur and South Cotabato. At that time, Compostela
Valley was still part of Davao del Norte. Republic Act No. 7225, ratified on March 16, 1992,
created the province of Sarangani from South Cotabato. Then, Republic Act No. 7901,
signed on February 3, 1995, by President Fidel V. Ramos transferred Surigao del Sur into
the newly created region of Caraga (Region XIII). Finally, on September 19, 2001,
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's Executive Order No. 36 reorganized the regions and
provinces in Mindanao. This moved South Cotabato and Sarangani to SOCCSKSARGEN
region and renamed Southern Mindanao as Davao Region.

Cotabato
Cotabato, just like many provinces of the Mindanao regions, is composed of the
North and the South. Its name was delivered from a stone fort called foto wato, which
was erected by the Muslims on a hill towering the town. Cotabato’s plain takes pride in
its fertile soils. The river flows regularly and deposits its sediments making its land fertile.
Cotabato was known earlier as Mindanao or Maguindanao. The word was derived from
the root danao, which means inundation by a river, lake or sea. The derivative
Maguindanao meant that which has been inundated.
Islam was successfully introduced and firmly established in Mindanao by one man,
Sharif Mohammed Kabungsuwan, who founded the sultanate in Maguindanao and
reformed the whole system of government among his converts.
The climate is cool and humid. There are no typhoons but rainfalls are frequent.
This favorable climate is responsible for its favorable productivity of coconut, rice, sugar,
abaca, pineapple, cotton, coffee, tobacco and ramie. Copper is the primary mineral
resource, while timber and grazing lands are leading forest resources.

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 Cotabato is home to a diverse ethnic group and varied culture and occupation
resulted from this. The entire Cotabato province used to be the capital of both Mindanao
and Sulu.

Region XII
Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur are the provinces of Region 12 or the Central
Mindanao.
Among the literary forms found in this Region are: myths, heroic narratives, epics,
legends, and folktales.
Some writers of this Region are: Christine Godinez-Ortega and Jaime An Lim.

Region XIII
Agusan del Norte, Agisan del Sur, Surigao del Norte, and Surigao del Sur are the
provinces under Region XII of the so-called CARAGA. Its regional center is the City of
Butuan.

TOPIC 1: NORTH COTABATO: MYTH AND LEGEND

NORTH COTABATO: MYTH AND LEGEND

Mindanao, one of the islands of the Philippines, is located at the southern part of
the country. The Island is a source of agricultural products such as rice, corn, coconut and
sugar, lumber, minerals like zinc, iron, manganese, nickel and bronze, poultry and aquatic
products or fishes. Also found on this island are the regions from IX-XII and CARAGA.
Included in Region XII are the towns of Lanao del Norte, Sultan Kudarat, and North
Cotabato. Within these three provinces, I decided to focus on North Cotabato. Although
North Cotabato has a fair or fine climate, it is surrounded by mountains like Mt. Apo and
Mt. Matutum. Aside from those mountains, there are also valleys, fields and forests. The
longest river in Mindanao, The Pulangui River or Rio Grande, is a source of food and
irrigation. Another landmark is a big stone cave found on top of a hill. Cotabato, the name
itself from a Moro word. “Kuta Wato” which means “Kutang Bato.” It was said that the
Spaniards used the cave as a military camp during the time of the war between them and
the Moros..
A legend of Cotabato is about Mt. Timako. In the early days of Spanish expeditions
in Mindanao, Bantungan asked his son, Balatama, go to and ask for the hand of the
sultan’s daughter for his father to marry. Balatama did and soon Bantugan and the
princess Bai Sethi Meriam were married. They had a child named Fatima who was a very
pretty but a restless child. She could run at the age of eight months, speak at the age of
ten months, and catch dragon flies and pick flowers at the age of one. She would run in
and out of the gardens, meadows, and forests and climb mountains. The only way her
mother could find her was to call out loud “Tima ko” meaning “My Fatima” or “Tima ko
pedoli den!” meaning “My Fatima, come home!” The longest and the loudest call was

116
when Fatima climbed the hill nearby and watched the battle between the marines and
the Spanish general and the sea warriors of Bantugan, Fatima’s father.
That was many years ago and the people in that mountain never forgot the call of
the mother of Fatima. “Tima ko, Tima ko!” at present, the mountain is called Timako. It
stands at the mouth of the Rio Grande and guards the entrance to Cotabato City.
North Cotabato is the home of an ethnic or cultural tribe called the Manobo. They
are the group who live in the forests of Cotabato. Another tribe is the Maguidanaon, the
biggest Muslim group in the Philippines. They are known for their bravery because they
were never under the power or control of either the Spaniards or the Americans. One
myth regarding the Maguindanaon narrates that before the days of Kabungsuwan,
Maguindanao was covered by water and the sea extended all over the lowlands and
nothing could be seen but mountains. The people lived in the highlands on both sides.
But their prosperity and peace was destroyed when strange and terrible animals started
to occupy their lands. Those animals were kurita, the animal with many limbs that
haunted Mount Kabalalan. Next is Tarabusaw, a creature that had the form of a man but
was very much larger that haunted Mount Matutum. There was also Pah, a monstrous
bird that haunted Mount Bita. And the last was a dreadful bird with seven heads and
haunted Mount Gurayn.
When the news reached Raja Indarapatra, the King of Mantapuli, it grieved him
very much and filled his heart with sympathy, and so called for his brother, Raja Sulayman
and asked him to come to Mindanao to save the Land from destructive animals. Raja
Sulayman did his best and faced those fierce creature and strength, with the prayers of
Raja Indarapatra.
To make the story short, Raja Sulayman defeated and killed those creatures one
by one and traveled from mountain to mountain but he only succeeded to defeat the
three monsters Kurita, Taribusaw, and Pah. This was because he was almost killed by the
wings of Pah during their battle but Raja Indarapatra found him. Raja Indarapatra
continued the battle and he succeeded in killing the last monster. In recognition of his
good deed and bravery, he was married to the daughter of the datu, whose tribe had
survived by hiding in a huge cave until the time when Raja Indarapatra searched for them
and found them. Raja Indarapatra considered his return home and his wife was pregnant
at the time of their parting. A few months later, she gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl.
The boy’s name was Rinamuntaw and the girl’s name was Rinayung. These two persons
are believed to be the ancestors of some of the Ranao tribes or datus.
These stories are all covered by the legendary age of literature. The legendary age
produced oral literature handed down from generation to generation. Very little of the
early literature remains, but from what is left, we can say that the literature constitutes a
great legacy from our brothers in the South.

TOPIC 2: LEGEND OF THE RIO GRANDE IN NORTH COTABATO

Vocabulary List:
inheritance- legacy; birthright
plight- dilemma; predicament
deluge- flood; overflow
cage- barred enclosure; pen
dismay- disappointment; sadness

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 LEGEND OF THE RIO GRANDE IN NORTH COTABATO
Cotabato, a land filled with deep mystery and beauty lies in the heart of Mindanao.
It is an agricultural place where people enjoy life’s simple pleasures. One of these
pleasures proved to be the art of telling and creating stories about places, animals, and
other things. One of them is the “Legend of the Rio Grande in North Cotabato”.
It all started before the advent of Islam in Mindanao, a sultan had two sons who
were twins. When the sultan died, the sultanate was divided between the two brothers,
Buad and Bualas, who differed considerably from one another. Afetr many years of
administering their respective inheritance the generous Bualas had a prosperous kingdom
while Buad, a cruel man, made the people miserable with his reign.
The cruelty of Buad saddened Bualas who still felt for the people who were once
the subjects of his late father. Bualas thought about the matter a lot till finally he decided
to put an end to the plight of his people of his brother’s kingdom. So he visited his brother.
During their conference Bualas made mention of the forthcoming deluge and crumbling
of the earth and the sky.
Buad was coward in spite of his cruelty and physical strength. He was terrified by
the news. And the wise Bualas made the most of the situation. When his brother was
completely numbered with fear, Bualas said to his brother that he had made a cage for
himself where he can saty when the time comes. He also told him that the cage is strong
enough to protect him from the coming calamity. Buad was scared enough to try anything
so he asked his brother to allow him to see the cage so that he could ask his follower to
make for him. So followed by their people, they went together to see the cage. Buad
jumped into the cage and closed it behind him with all his might, laughing like a crazy man
and told himself that he had the cage for himself. While Bualas gestured to his men to tie
the cage with all the ropes and vines that they could find, Bualas in turn laughed and said
to himself that his brother is finished and commanded his men to drop the cage into the
water so that his cruel brother would die at once. He told the people the truth, that there
was really no calamity coming, that he merely did it to liberate them from Buad’s tyrrany.
When Buad discovered he was a victim or treachery, he tried to break the cage with all
his might. To his great dismay, he found he could not break the cage at all. He could only
move the cage and roll it to and fro. Soon the cage with Buad inside was dropped into the
river.
Moments later the water rose and big waves rolled against the river bank. Whirling
and rolling against the river bank become wider and wider and its bottom deeper and
deeper. Now, the plains of Cotabato are annually visited by a big flood. The river
frequently overflows its bank. Old folks dwelling along the river say that Buad’s still rolling
beneath the river in his cage, causing the water to rise.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Differentiate the distinctive character traits of Bualas and Buad.
2. Was there a deluge? What happened instead?
3. Why did Bualas make a cage? Relate what happened to Buad inside the
cage.
4. What do old folks believe about Buad?

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 TOPIC 3: “TWAS BRILLIG”

Vocabulary List:
conspicuous – obvious; eye-catching
unorthodox- unsual; unconventional
blasphemous-irreligious; irreverent
repugnant-revolting; disgusting
contemptuously- disapprovingly; disdainfully
ubiquitous- everywhere
gnarled- twisted; bent
glee- excitement; delight

Leoncio P. Deriada

“TWAS BRILLIG”
Leoncio P. Deriada

He is from Mindanao and has won awards in prose and poetry. He is an educator
at the Ateneo Davao, Davao City.
“Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
And mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe
-Lewis Carrol, “Jabberwocky”

“Beware of the Kapre, my son.”

Juanito jumped on the carabao’s back. Rizal sprang forward for the accustomed trot but
the both pulled his rope backward. Rizal snorted. Juanito turned to his mother standing
at the foot of the bamboo stairs.
“Beware of that abominable creature,” she said.
“I would like to meet the Kapre,” Juanito said.
“Don’t say that Juanito!”
“I’m not afraid.”
“He will harm you, he may eat you!” she gasped and crept herself, at the same time
muttering a prayer in pidgin Spanish.
“I’ll meet him one day. Maybe cut off his arm. Or kill him. There is no more monster that
will terrorize this barrio.”

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“Don’t be silly. You talk just like your father did. Bless his soul.” She crosses herself again.
“Father was a brave man.”
“Brave!” she spat out the word, her mouth twisted. “Brave indeed! He went away to
capture a tikbalang, but until now he has not returned. You were only a boy.” She began
to cry.
“Maybe I’ll have better luck with the kapre.”
“Stop that kind of talk, Juanito! The kapre is more terrible than any kind of tikbalang. Now
go and take your bull to pasture. Don’t go far. There is danger beyond those hills.”
Juanito struck the side of the carabao with the end of the rope. Rizal lunged forward and
trotted awkwardly toward the brook.
The sun was now high in the east. It rose amid a dizzy burst of colors as the birds
in the trees on the hilltops twittered the first hours of sunrise. It was April.
Juanito drove the carabao to the other side of the brook. The bull moved leisurely,
feeding on the grass that still glittered with summer dew. Rizal was more than work
animal for Juanito and his mother. The lumbering bull had been his faithful companion
since his father left to capture a tikbalang.
The whole knew why the carabao had been named Rizal. He was born on
December 30, the day the national hero was shot by the Spaniards. It was colored red on
the calendar and that meant it was an important day so anybody born on that day,
Juanito’s father thought must be important, too, even if it was only a carabao. When old
man Agaton, the herbolario, heard about the young bull’s name, he was scandalized and
said calling a carabao Rizal as both unpatriotic and blashphemous. “I hope your next
animal will not be born on November 30,” he said, munching a roll of tobacco. “Otherwise
you will have a carabao named Bonifacio. Rizal and Bonifacio together in this little
barangay will be too much.”
Juanito’s father laughed, Juanito laughed, too, although he did not understand
anything. He was only five years old.
Now Juanito was ten and Rizal was five. Rizal was the biggest bull in the barrio and
Juanito was proud of that.he would not mind it if Bonifacio were never to be born at all.
Juanito thought of the Kapre. This giant was different from the kapre old people
used to know. The kapre of the old days was monstrous all right – hairy body, hairy limbs,
claws, fangs, and all – but this new one seemed to be twice his size and thrice his terror.
While the kapre of old could be seen in a summer twilight, perched on the highest branch
of a mango tree sucking his king-size Ilocano cigar, the new kapre could be accidentally
sighted yoga-style beside a telegraph pole on the highway to the northern towns. But
most often, unsuspecting barrio folk would see him standing on top of the obelisk of the
hills to the west. The monster would invariably be waving the flag of an unknown republic.
One young man, a college drop-out, swore the flag was the standard of the United
Nations. Another young man who left college when he lost his volleyball scholarship said
the flag was that of the Olympiad. Old man Agaton snarled at the illiterates. “Don’t be
stupid. There are no such countries!”
Neither Juanito nor his mother had seen the kapre. But news of recent strange
happening began to pop up more and more frequently in the tuba stores. Two days ago,
the widow Consolacion complained that her vegetable patch looked as if fifty bulls had

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staged a stampede there the night before. Mr. Macasilhig, the retired postman, reported
to the barangay captain that four of his goats, raised by way of a KKK loan, were missing.
Another man, the father of COCOFED scholar at Siliman University, announced that
somebody had been gathering his young coconuts during the night.
“It must be those young men on their way home from a dance or a serenade,” the
barangay captain said tentatively, trying to steer away from a fairy tale. He was a very
modern man who did not believe in the incredible Hulk.
“These young men, my nephew included,” said the coconut grower, “were quite
drunk. No one of them could gather coconuts in the dark. Only nuts do that.”
“Then it must be the NPAs. Or may be some hungry refugees from Kampuchea. Or
may be some fraternity neophytes or vacation. I have heard that these fraternity initiation
rites can be most daring.”

“No, Sir.” said Mr. Macasilhig, this time a little impatiently. “It is not some
Japanese stragglers either. It is the Kapre. Who else would be steal four goats at a time
and gather all the tender ipil-ipil tops around my house? Goat meat and ipil-ipil leaves are
very nutritious, you know. Soon that monster will be devouring our children to go with
ipil-ipil leaves.”
“Your goat must have eaten the ipil-ipil tops before they disappeared,” the
barangay captain said, marveling at his logic.
“My trees are twenty feet high,” Mr. Macasilhig said and went murmuring.
Juanito drove Rizal towards old Agaton’s little home at the foot of the hill to the
west. The herbolario was gathering dry leaves from the nameless plants in his parched
backyard. Juanito tethered has to go to an old tree stump and walked slowly towards the
barrio’s medicine man.
Then the boy cleared out his throat twice. Old man Agaton bolted upright.
“Who are you?” he screeched, shading his eyes from the glare of the shining sun.
“I, me, Lolo Agaton, Juanito- ”
“Ahaha! It’s Juanito all right. It’s the tikbalang hunter’s son all right. Does your
mother have pains again?”
“No. Lolo Agaton, I came for something else.”
“What is it, young man? You are too young to ask for a love potion. Do you have a
girl already, ha, Juanito?”
“No, Lolo Agaton.”
“Are you sick?”
“No, Lolo Agaton.”
“Then what is it you want?”
“Tell me more about the kapre.”
“What?” the old man screeched again.

121
 “Tell me more about the kapre.”
“It’s too early to talk about monsters. Have you had breakfast?”
“Yes, Lolo Agaton.”
“Come to the house.”
“No, Lolo Agaton. Rizal might get loose and run to the brook.” He looked at the
sun. ‘It’s getting hot.”
“Ah – Rizal your famous carabao.” The old man was almost sneering. “Until now
that animal’s name bother’s me.”
“Was Dr. Jose Rizal a frien of yours?”
“Of course not!” the medicine man shot back contemptuously. “I am not that old.
I was born after the revolution.”
“I see. But why - ”
“If you don’t want to come into my house, perhaps you ought to let me sit on my
stairs. I am tired.”
The old man hurriedly bundled the dried leaves he had gathered and limped half-
way around his hut to the low bamboo stairs in front. Juanito followed him, carefully he
would not step on an herb or vine, all the while fighting the naughty urge to imitate the
old man’s limp. The nut’s door was narrow but from the ground Juanito could see gnarled
twigs with their fruit dangling from the wall. Among them wild board tusks. A pair of
brown antlers was nailed to a roughly-hewn molave post. Above the antlers was a black
wooden image of an unknown saint.

Old man Agaton sat on the lowest step. He was breathing hard. He took out of his
pocket a know of chewing tobacco and popped it into his mouth. Juanito watched his
move his jaws like an old goat munching a leaf.
They were silent for a moment.
“What does the kapre look like?” juanito tried not to sound impatient.
“Ah – the kapre,” the old man stopped chewing his cud. “Let me see. He is
extremely ugly.”
“I know that, I mean – I – is it true that he is bigger than - ”
“He is giant.”
“Have you seen him?”
“Yes.”
“You have? How many times?”
“Three.”
“When was the last time?”
“Two days ago.”
“Were you afraid?”
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 “No.”
“Did he see you?”
“No.”
“Tell me where I can find him.”
“What! Are you crazy?”
“No, Lolo Agaton,” said Juanito as he straightened his body. “I am not crazy. And I
am not afraid.”
“You sound just like your father. The day before he sought out the tikbalang in
those mountains, he came here and convinced me how brave he was. Well, young man,
you cannot convince me- ”
“I am not my father ,” Juanito said, his impatience showing now. “The kapre is
quite different from the tikbalang. And who can tell for sure that my father is dead? One
of these days he will surprise all of you by coming home dragging with him a tikbalang he
has tamed.”
“Consuelo de bobo,” old Agaton whisphered solemnly.
“What’ that you said?”
“Oh, nothing. I should say that the mere sight of kapre is enough to make you and
your crazy carabao run home to your mother.”
“I’ll drive him away from this place. I’ll cut off his arm – or ear – or little finger. If
I’m lucky, I might even kill him.”
“Heeheehee!” old man Agaton screeched in amusement.
“I’ll kill the kapre!”
“So you want to play hero, eh, Juanito. I can see that you are not quite a man yet.
Why, you are just a little boy –”
“I am a man!” I am ten years old!”
“Heeheehee! A man at ten years - ” the herbolario slapped his thighs in malicious
glee until his throat clogged in a fit of coughing. “Uh! Uh! Uh!”
“Uh! Uh! Uh!” Juanito imitated the old man. “That’s what you get for making fun
of me.”
“He wants to kill the kapre! Heeheehee! Why? It’s - Uh! Uh! Uh!”
“Uh! Uh! Uh!” echoed Juanito.
Old man Agaton leaped on his feet with surprising spryness. He was breathing
hard again, the strain of coughing still in his chest.
“All right, crazy boy, I will tell you where to find the kapre.”
“You will? Ay! Salamat!”
“Yes. Only because you made me laugh.”

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 The herbolario took Juanito’s hand and led him to the top of the low hill. The
ascent did not take long. Juanito expected the old man to cough again, but he did not. It
was Juanito struggled with his breath.
They stood on the hilltop for a moment without saying anything. The sun was
hotter now but Juanito was not bothered at all for a soft wind from the mountains washed
his face.
They looked at the line of hills to the west. The hills were covered with cogon.
Scrawny trees were irregularly distributed on their peaks and all along their slopes.
Conspicuous in the brownish green topography was the gray Japanese memorial on the
shoulder of the biggest hill. Beyond loomed the dark outline of the mountains.
“There!” the old man gestured towards the mountains with a sweep of his right
arm. “The kapre lives somewhere there but I don’t know on which peak.”
“How can – how can I find him?” Juanito stammered, awed by the hugness of the
landscape in front of him.
“Wait for him to come down. He uses the same path at the foot of the mountain
range.”
“Oh—“
“Are you afraid?”
“No! No!”
“But know this Juanito. This monster is not the usual kapre. I don’t know where
he came from. Definitely, this kapre is not pure Filipino. He is neither Malaysian nor
Indonesian-“
“Is he a mestizo?”
“Apparently he is. His skin is quite fair and his hair is somewhat brown.”
“Probably his father—or mother—is an American or a Spaniard,” Juanito ventured
to explain. “Is there an American or Spaniard kapre, Lolo Agaton?”
“Of course. Haven’t you heard of the urge Jack found at the top of his beanstalk?
That was an American kapre. Or was it English? But should say our kapre is a mestizo three
times or four times over. It seems there is something Iranian or Arabic in him, too.”
“What?”
“Well, genies always come from the Middle East.”
Juanito feel silent. This type of talk was becoming too intellectual. He had heard a
lot of tales about giants – some coming out of bottles, some one-eyed, or three-eyed –
but only east he knew was the direction from where the sun rose every morning. He did
not know there was one in the middle.
“Give me an anting-anting, something that will make me invisible.”
“Heeheehee! I thought that you were a brave boy. Brave men – and boys – do not
use any anting-anting.”
“But it is not fair to face him squarely. He’s a giant, you see. I’m only a little boy.”
“You said you were a man.”

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 “We’ll I’m only a little man.”
“What’s wrong with that? Have you forgotten all about David and Goliath?”
“David and Goliath. Now I know I need my slingshot!”
“Maybe.”
“Will holy water or a crucifix or rosary beads drive him away?”
“If he is part Spaniard, chances are he is a Catholic. No, he can’t be afraid of holy
water – or even of the bishop himself.”
“But suppose he is a Protestant?”
“Protestants are indifferent to holy water and crucifixes and rosary beads – even
bishops.”
“I think he is a real scary, Lolo Agaton.” Juanito said, his voice barely audible.
“Are you afraid?”
“Oh no, no!” Juanito recovered his poise. “Do I need a knife?”
“If you want to cut off the kapre’s arm or head, you need more than a knife. The
bigger the blade, the better.”
“I’ll use my father’s spading.”
“No weapon can harm him unless it is an unorthodox one.”
“I don’t believe you. What is an unorthodox weapon?”
“I think this joke is going too far, Juanito,” the old man suddenly become serious.
“Let’s go back to the house. I am thirsty. Go, untie your carabao and go home. Your
mother must be wondering where you are.”
The old man limped his way down the low hill.
“But this is no joke, Lolo Agaton! I want to go and drive the kapre away. Or kill him
outright.”
The boy left old man Agaton chewing his tobacco in front of his house as he rode
Rizal back to the brook. It was time for both carabao and boy to have their bath. Juanito
tied Rizal’s rope tightly to a low branch over the bull’s waterhole.
He took off his clothes and joined the carabao in the cool water. He swam
underwater, his eyes wide, trying to mark the movement of medium-sized tilapia among
the fine, swaying roots of floating water hyacinths.
The sun was directly above his head. He put on his clothes again and walked home.
He was hungry.
“Where have you been?” his mother called out from the kitchen. Feeding your
carabao wouldn’t take the whole morning. There is so much to do in the house. The roof
needs some repairs. Let us not wait for the rains- ”
“I went to see the old man Agaton.”
Juanito’s mother came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands with her skirts.

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 “Thank you, thank you. Master Juanito. I promise not to come back again. Cross
my heart. Oh, I can’t breathe! Please don’t use that poison again. The whole valley is
polluted. My tribe can never be immune to that.” He coughed. “May I go now?”
“Yes, but I must bring home a trophy. How would the people believe me? Rizal
cannot talk. I have to take home something that belongs to you. A little finger perhaps.”
“No, no!” the giant cried again. “Please I don’t want to mutilated. I have nothing
to do with the Yakuza. Everything I have is precious to me.”
“Would you like to have another jar of bagoong?”
Juanito asked and pretended to be searching for something inside the jute sack.
“No, no, enough of the poison!” the giant cried out louder. “If you wish, you may
have my briefs.” And the kapre proceeded to take off his meager garment.
“No! no! no! it was Juanito who was protesting now. “I have seen enough of you.”
The kapre pulled back the elastic band. After giving the matter some thought he
said, “Why don’t you take a lock of my hair? I think this hairstyle in now passé.” At the
same time he plucked a handful of his afro and gave it to his little conqueror.
The sun was setting as Rizal and Juanito reached the last hill for home. He looked
back for a last glimpse of the dark mountain range. He wondered where the kapre was
now. The obelisk of the Japanese memorial on the shoulder of the biggest hill looked
straight and tall. He tried to imagine the kapre standing there waving the flag of an
unknown country.
Suddenly Juanito saw a multitude of people gathering at the foot of the hill. It was
practically the whole barrio. Juanito saw his mother beside old man Agaton. In the
crowdof men, women and children and dogs, he could make out the widow Concolacion,
Mr. Macasilhig and the barangay captain.
“My son is back!” Juanito heard his mother cry out.
Juanito raised the kapre’s brownish mass of hair. It looked like crow’s nest of straw
and tiny, twisted twigs.
“I have vanquished the kapre!” he shouted in triumph.
“He left after promising never to return. Here is his hair!”
A thunderous shout enveloped the hill.
“Mabuhay! “Mabuhay! “Mabuhay! Long live Juanito!”
Juanito jumped off Rizal’s back and ran down the hill. His right hand held the
spading and his left hand held the kapre’s hair aloft. Rizal was not interested in this type
of welcome. He ran down the hill, too, and galumphed towards the brook.
Juanito’s mother embraced the beaming little hero.
“Oh my boy! My boy!”
““Mabuhay! The old man Agaton shouted.
“Callooh! Callay!” the crowd chorused.

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 Meanwhile in his waterhole, Rizal sat thinking. “What are they so excited for? To
think that it was downed the kapre.”

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Describe the kapre according to the story.

2. Do you believe in kapre and tikbalang? Why?
3. What was the name of Juanito’s carabao and how did he get that
name?
4. Narrate the three peculiar events in which were assumed as the
kapre’s work.
5. Enumerate the three weapons used by Juanito in his fights against the
kapre.
6. What is the most unorthodox and effective?
7. Who do you think is the real hero, Juanito who fought the kapre
bravely? Rizal who downed the kapre? Or Lolo Agaton, the herbolario,
who gave the idea on how defeat the kapre? Defend your answer.

Literary Review: Reality and Probability

There may be persons in life who perform tasks that are impossible – like
always being good and happy, or always understanding and sensitive to the needs of
others. Such characters in fiction would not be true to life because these are not usual
or normal behavior.
(Source: Interactive Reading-Responding to and Writing about Philippine Literature by
Ida Yap Patron)

Task/Activity

ACTIVITY 1
Identify each of the following statement. Write your answer on the space provided
before each number.

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__________1. One of the islands of the Philippines situated at the southern part of the
country.
__________2. Mindanao’s longest river.
__________3. A military camp used by the Spaniards during their war against the
Moros.
__________4. The home of the ethnic or cultural tribe called the Manobo.
__________5. A land filled with deep mystery and beauty lies in the heart of
Mindanao.
__________6. The author of the story “Twas Brillig” and has won awards in prose and
poetry.
__________7. Characters in fiction should be true to life. Their actions, statements, and
thoughts are reflective of what human beings are likely to do, say, and think
under specific circumstances in the story.
__________8. Erected by the Muslims on a hill towering the town of Cotabato.
__________9. The name derived from the root danao, which means inundation by a river,
lake or sea
__________10.He had successfully introduced Islam and firmly established in Mindanao
and founded the sultanate in Maguindanao and reformed the whole
system of government among his converts.

ACTIVITY 2

Form five groups. Analyze the reliability and probability of the characters in the
following selections. Present your output in the class.

a. North Cotabato: Myth and Legend

__________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
______________________.

b. Legend of Rio Grande in North Cotabato

__________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

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________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

ACTIVITY 3

Make a simple literary criticism of the selection hereunder:

“Twas Brillig”
__________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
______________________.

__________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
______________________.

__________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
______________________.

ASSESSMENT: ORAL PRESENTATION

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 REFERENCES
BOOKS

Bascarra, Linda R. et. al. (1999). Philippine Literature. First Edition. Quezon City: Rex
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Bascarra, Linda R. (2000). World Literature. Quezon City: Rex Bookstore, Inc.

Buenaventura, Medina Jr. S. and Tuazon, Tefilo C. (2002). Philippine Literature from
Ancient Times to the Present. Caloocan City: Philippine Graphic Arts, Inc.

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Chan, Editha I. et. al. (2002). Philippine Literature from the Regions. Valenzuela City:
Mutya Publishing House.

Croghan S.J., Richard V. (1998). The Development of Philippine Literature in English Since
1900. Quezon City: Phoenix Publishing House, Inc.

Kahayon, Alicia H. and Zulueta, Celia A. (2000). Philippine Literature Through the Years.
Pasig City: Capitol Publishing House, Inc.

Maramba, Asuncion D. (1993). Philippine Contemporary Literature in English and Filipino.

Makati City: Bookmark, Inc.

Patron, Ida Y. (2002). Interactive Reading-Responding to and Writing about Philippine

Literature. Quezon City: Great Books Trading.

Tomeldan, Yolanda V. et. al (1986). Prism An Introduction to Literature. Mandaluyong

City: National Bookstore.

Saymo, Apolinario S. et. al. (2004). Philippine Literature. Bulacan: Trinitas Publishing, Inc.

Senatin, Ruby B. and Centera, Fe. G. (2003). Introduction to Literature. Mandaluyong City:
National Bookstore.

Joaquin, Joliwar M. (20) Workbook in Philippine Literature.

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