
· It
is not a secret that many Filipinos are unfamiliar with much of the country's
literary heritage, especially those that were written long before the Spaniards
arrived in our country. This is due to the fact that the stories of ancient
time were not written, but rather passed on from generation to generation
through word of mouth. Only during 1521 did the early Filipinos became
acquainted with literature due to the influence of the Spaniards on us. But the
literature that the Filipinos became acquainted with are not Philippine-made,
rather, they were works of Spanish authors.
· So
successful were the efforts of colonists to blot out the memory of the
country's largely oral past that present-day Filipino writers, artists and
journalists are trying to correct this inequity by recognizing the country's
wealth of ethnic traditions and disseminating them in schools through mass
media.
· The
rise of nationalistic pride in the 1960s and 1970s also helped bring about this
change of attitude among a new breed of Filipinos concerned about the
"Filipino identity."
· Philippine
literature is written in Spanish, English, Tagalog, and/or other
native Philippine Languages.