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A short story review of one of the longest epic, Hinilawod

Hinilawod is categorized as oral literature that was discovered “by accident” by a Filipino Anthropologist F. Landa Jocano. Portions of the epic was sung to him by an old man called Ulang Udig. The following year, he went back with a radio technician from Central Philippine University to record the story but the old man refused. But then, he was introduced to a mountain singer Hugan-an and they was able to record the story. The recording takes 3 weeks to complete the 30 hour epic poem.

               Hinilawod talks about the adventures of the three demigod brothers named Labaw Dongon, Humadapnon, and Dumalapdap.

               It starts when Alunsina, “the Unmarried One” marry the maortal ruler of Halawod, Datu Paubari that caused anger from her other suitors. They planned to harm the newlywed couple by a big flood but they wasn’t able to make it, with the help of Suklang Malayon, the goddess and guardian of happy homes and the sister of Alunsina, the newlywed was able to escape and returned on the plain where they lived.

               Several months later, Alunsina got pregnant with triplets. When she released the triplets, they called them Labaw Dongon, Humadapnon, and Dumalapdap. Immediately after giving birth, Alunsina summoned the high priest to perform the rites of god for the insurance of having a good health of the triplets. They become strong, mighty, and handsome young men after the cold wind from the north came.

               The adventures of Labaw Dongon started when he reached his adulthood. He went to a quest to find woman for him. Not only one, but he got two wives named Angoy Ginbitinan and Abyang Durunuun. When he was about to go for another quest for the hand of Malitong Yawa Sinagmaling Diwata, who’s the young bride of Saragnayan, the Lord of Darkness, he wasn’t able to get her hand because he was defeated by Saragnayan and imprisoned him beneath his house. Labw Dongon’s two wives gave birth to son, each name was Aso Manga and Abyang Baranagon. The two sons went on a quest to find their father and to free him from the imprisonment. Abyang Baranugon earned freedom of his father and took him home by means of challenging Saragnayan into a duel and Saragnayan was no match to Abyang Baranugon so he was defeated by the young lad.

               The imprisonment of Labaw Dongon angered his two brothers. Humadapnon swore to the god to seek for the revenge on all of Saragnayan kinsmen and followers. Together with Buyong Matanayon they travelled the same path that his brother took. They encountered Piganun, the seductive sorceress that cast spell to Humadapnon but Buyong Matanayon brought some ginger and burn it so Piganun left and the spell was broke and they escaped.

               Humadapnon got two wives, first is the daughter of Datu Umbaw Pinaumbaw and the second is Burigadang Pada Sinaklang Bulawan, the goddess of wealth and greed.

               Then the adventures of Dumalapdap begun. He embarked on a quest of his own. He got his wife named Lubay Lubyok Hanginun si Mahuyokhuyokan but before he marry the girl they encountered two monsters called Balanakon and Uyutang that is similar to a bat and the two monster was defeated by Dumalapdap.

               After the three demigod brothers came back, they were reunite with their father, they celebrated a feast and after that the three brothers left to go in the different parts of the world. Labaw Dongon went north, Humadapnon went south and Dumalapdap went to the west and their father and mother remains in the east.

               The quest of Humadapnon continuous, he got a new wife named Nagmalitong Yawa and during the wedding feast Dumalapdap fell inlove with a maiden named Huyong Adlaw, Dumalapdap asked for help to his brother to go to the underworld for the parents of the maiden and it took seven years for them to come back to the upper world. But when they came back, Nagmalitong Yawa was about to marry Buyung Sumagulung  that caused anger to Humadapnon, so he killed every guest and the groom.

               Brotherhood. The thing that is “blood is thicker than water”. Our siblings would never turn their back on us. They are the one who gave us strength to carry on life even if we experience hardship. The siblingsin the epic shows us thetrue meaning of brotherhood. A brother who’s always in our back whenever we need them. A brother who helps us to get back up and finish what we started. And a brother who’s going to accept and love us like no one else, and mostly a brother that would take turn and sacrifice themselves for the sake of his siblings.

               The epic shows what marriage actually means. Like the brothers in the epic, they need to take a long journey and fight monsters before they reach a maidens hand for marriage.

               It shows the traditions and the ritual done by the people.

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Mindanao: Literature of conflicts

There is a relatively small body of recent literature on conflict in Muslim Mindanao. This largely consists of grey literature, although a number of academic journal articles have also been published on the subject. This report provides an overview of current literature and recommendations from that literature. At the heart of the conflict in Mindanao lies deep-rooted prejudices against a minority Muslim and indigenous population. However, recent developments have seen an historic breakthrough in the form of a Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Government of the Philippines. This is a major milestone for settling decades of armed conflict by creating a new self-governing region called the Bangsamoro.

The Muslim cultural communities may be classified into thirteen (13) major ethno-linguistic groups. Each Muslim cultural community has its own inventory of folk literature, which, in more ways than one, displays unique and peculiar traits, features, and qualities. These distinctions distinguish one Muslim cultural community from another. Yet, all these communities are unified by their Islamic faith, which has already spread in many aspects of their folk literature since Islam is a way of life. Without paying attention to their cultural community, all Filipino Muslims belong to one Ummah Muslimah.Folk literature in Mindanao Muslim cultural communities as in other Filipino groups follow the oral tradition in that folktales, myths, legends, epics, poems, riddles and proverbs are handed down by spoken language from generation to generation. Moreover, as is true of folk literature of other people, folk literature in the Muslim cultural communities has an audience participation.They are the ones who listens, reacts, and retells what he or she hears to another audience, thereby guarantee the transmission of the folk literary material to others.Folk literary genres in Muslim cultural communities may include folktales, myths, legends, fables, ballads, poems, riddles, proverbs, and epics. Essentially, the problem that easily comes to mind is the lack of access to the textual materials of these oral genres, if not their absence.

- a blog written by: Maria Conception E. Elag

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The Literature of the 21st Century

                          The thing that the millennials facing right now is no joke. It’s is their era where new develop literature, new slangs, the rise of the internet and technologies as a new flat form for a contemporary and modern new literate people, who will continue to acknowledge and treasure the local literature. So does this era, it is a great challenge for the millennials in term of technologies, being creative and civilize literate who will be a new writers and readers of the 21st Century literature.

                         As the society and technology change, so does the literacy because technology has increased intensity and complexity of literate environments. The 21st century demands literate person that also possess wide range of abilities and competencies and because literature of today contains new current themes and issues. It reflects a technological culture. Works focus on novels, short stories, poems, and drama, have been selected for literary quality, and for their place in the historical development of literature. It requires a big understanding about the proficiency with the tools of technology. It is designed to share information for global communities to meet a variety of purposes and helps manage, analyze, and synthesize multiple streams of simultaneous information. It create, critique, analyze, and evaluate multi-media text as well.

                   The critical thinking of the 21st century authors and artist were being challenge of today’s trends and in. A more creative way of writing short stories, more fantasize fiction story that gaining a lot favors for a 21st century readers, the creative non-fictions, the textula, graphic novels, webtoon, spoken words poetry and etc. The study of the Genres of the literary artwork of Luzon. Urban writing, as the 21st century literature, it is not about some Urban Stories like “Aswang” “Tikbalang” or whatsoever, but it is talking about our very own stories, that is what the 21st Century was all about. The Rise of the Internet as our local flat form for a new literary works. As written in blogs, articles and websites. The Social media as a stage for those who wanted to express their feelings through their literary artworks. It is the internet and technology that are the primary tool of this era in terms of being literate and of the literature. And being a 21st century reader isn’t that easy as well as it seems. There’s a standard in it, it is one who possesses literacy skills which include technological abilities such as keyboarding, internet navigation, interpretation of technological speak, ability to communicate and interpret coded language and decipher graphics. It has a different themes and issues and reflects technological culture and a it is a era were it breaks all the traditional way of writing. It is true that this generation were have more complex mentality, thinking without a limitation, people who have a high end knowledge and consciousness on the world that they are living.

A blog written by: Ma. Jamila C. Bombales <3