Palaalamat

An attempt to keep Filipino Oral Literature alive in this part of the internet

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Image Source: https://www.deviantart.com/trixdraws/art/Amanikable-The-God-of-the-Sea-298811471 Amanikable As part of the first-generation dieties, Amanikable is the Tagalog diety of the sea. He is a husky, ill-tempered ruler of the sea who was said to have never married after his love was spurned by a beautiful mortal maiden, Maganda. In his frustration, Amanikable swore vengeance against all mortal beings. That is the reason why, the old folk say, he sends turbulent waves and horrible tempests every now and then to wreck boats and drown men. (Outline of Philippine Mythology, pg 9 - Dr. F. Landa Jocano)

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Bahay Kubo

Bahay Kubo is credited to be written and composed by 1997 National Artist for music Felipe de Leon (1912-1992) which talks about a typical Filipino rural home (a nipa hut). It also tells about the variety of vegetables planted around the bahay kubo. It is one of the earliest folk songs that Filipinos learn in school.

Bahay kubo, kahit munti, Ang halaman doon ay sari-sari; Singkamas at talong, Sigarilyas at mani, sitaw, bataw, patani.

Kundol, patola, upo't kalabasa, At saka meron pang labanos, mustasa, Sibuyas, kamatis, bawang at luya, Sa paligid-ligid ay puno ng linga.

Source: http://www.cebu-philippines.net/philippine-folk-songs.html https://youtu.be/4EY4Gc0poMw

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The story of Maykapal by Palaalamat

This episode is a reading of the story of Maykapal according to F.Landa Jocano’s book, “Outline of Philippine Mythology”.

Hi guys! We have started our podcast! This episode is about the story of Maykapal according to F. Landa Jocano. We are still in the process of navigating through this platform but hopefully we’ll get longer stories and more interesting folklore to share with with everyone!

See you!

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Lesser Divinities Assisting Bathala 1/? Bathala, as the creator of the world had many minor divinities assisting him. Each divinity had a specific part of the world as their dominion. Among them were Idianale, Dumangan, Dumakulem and Anitun Tabu. Idianale is the goddess of labor and good deeds. In several accounts she is the Tagalog goddess of Agriculture and husbandry. (Tecson)

Dumangan is  the deity of good harvest. Idianale married Dumangan and had two children: Dumakulem and Anitun Tabu. Dumakulem  is the deity of created mountains. He is an agile hunter who protects the mountains and Anitun Tabu is the goddess of the wind and rain.

In Ferdinant Blumentritt’s Dictionary of Philippine Mythologgy, Anitun Tabu is a god of Zambals, but still the lord of wind and rain. Perhaps in a different region, Anitun Tabu changes form from female to male. Image source: https://www.pinterest.com/macoytugna/philippine-mythology/ Source: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/070674376701200221 Outline of Philippine Mythology - Dr. F. Landa Jocano Dictionary of Philippine Mythology - FerdinandI Blumentritt

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The Origin and Meaning of Leron, Leron Sinta - Philippine Folk Songs This is a song about a man named Leron who went out with his lover, Neneng to get some fruits (Papaya and Tamarind).  It is written by Alberto Florentino. It was traditionally sang during the papaya harvest season. It has a call and response verse pattern and is  typically sung in duet by a man and a woman, with some minor alteration in the lyrics. (Sumayo) Leron, Leron, sinta Buko ng papaya Dala dala’y buslo Sisidlan ng sinta Pagdating sa dulo’y Nabali ang sanga, Kapos kapalaran Humanap ng iba. In the first verse, it talked about the misfortune Leron had when he climbed up the papaya tree and fell. Because of that, Neneng said that she should find someone else with less bad luck.  Halika na Neneng, tayo’y manampalok Dalhin mo ang buslo, sisidlan ng hinog Pagdating sa dulo’y uunda-undayog Kumapit ka Neneng, baka ka mahulog. In the next verse, Leron invited Neneng to pick some tamarind. Just like before, they brought a basket to put the ripe tamarind. However in this verse, it was Neneng who tried to reach for the tamarind and Leron was telling her to watch out because she might fall. Ako’y ibigin mo, lalaking matapang Ang sundang ko’y pito, ang baril ko’y siyam. Ang lalakarin ko’y parte ng dinulang. Isang pinggang pansit, ang aking kalaban! In the last verse it talked how Neneng was asking a courageous man to love her. She mentioned that she had seven sundangs (machete) and nine guns; and she will walk to the table and fight a plate of pansit (Chinese noodles). ---- Leron Leron Sinta is a well-loved and well-known Traditional Filipino Folk Song that we learned from school when we were in elementary school. This song shows the way of life of the Filipinos who lived in the provinces. In the provinces, they grow their own fruits and rely on that for food and sometimes for trade. When we were studying this in school, the teachers will have us sing it in class so that we can be familiarized with the tune even though we have no idea on who is Leron or why do they need to get fruits. During those times, children do not understand what was the context of the song, or what most of the words mean in that folk song. We believe that the reason why some of us still remembers the tune is because this song is always being printed in book for students to sing. Nowadays, less and less people know the song. The placement of this song as a folk song, and then repositioned it as a children's song made its position in the culture a little unstable-- given that it is now being replaced with Coco Melon and Peppa Pig.  What are your thoughts? Source: https://www.tagaloglang.com/leron-sinta-song/ https://youtu.be/firHRhLsprc https://www.lexvonsumayo.com/free-sheet-music/free-guitar-sheet-music-leron-leron-sinta-leron-leron-my-love

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Image Source: https://www.pinterest.com/macoytugna/philippine-mythology/

The Highest ranking diety of the ancient Tagalogs was called Bathala or Abba. His origin was not known. He merely appeared one day and announced lordship over mankind. Because Bathala is too powerful, no one dared to question his demand of obedience and reverence from man. Bathala was said to be the creator of all things- the sea, the sky, the earth, and all the vegetation around us. He dwelt in the highest realm called Kaluwalhatian or sky. He is just and merciful; he was also the sustainer, keeper, nourisher and protector of mankind. He is pleased with people who were helpful and obedient to his moral laws. He is equally exacting and unforgiving in his punishments to sinners. He presided over the lesser divinities who cared for the needs of the people and guarded their welfare. - (Outline of Philippine Mythology - Dr. F. Landa Jocano)

[idcallmyselfhuman]

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The media is now being more accepting with other cultures. We, as a culture are slowly being acknowledged. This what we mean by embracing our culture. We do not have to hide who we are. Not our culture, not our accents. We should be proud, but we should also do everything in our power to maintain this acknowledgement. Don’t be complacent. We should be actively advocating for our cultures to be safeguarded. It’s our time to shine! Are we proud to be Filipino?