Orendain, M. R. (1991). Images of the Cordillera in...
Orendain, M. R. (1991). Images of the Cordillera in selected Filipino children's
literature. (Unpublished master’s thesis). Baguio City: Saint Louis
University.
Physical location: University of the Cordilleras Library, Baguio City
ABSTRACT
There is an entire body of Filipino children’s literature in the Philippines
that have increasingly been the concern of publishers, writers and illustrators
since the 1960s. There is also a considerable body of Filipino children’s literature
on the Cordillera that began to be written even before this time. However, other
than the form of analysis represented in the selection of worthwhile books made
early and recent award-giving bodies in the country, little discussion along
scholarly lines has been done.
It is in this context that this study proposed to delineate the images of the
Cordillera in selected Filipino children’s literature. Specifically, this study
proposed to investigate the genres into which such literature may be classified,
the themes of and the images reflected in them, and the results of a comparison
between the images reflected and the objective description of the Cordillera, its
people and its culture as recorded in the social science materials.
To arrive at the answers to these problems, 46 prose works for children on
the 7 ethnolinguistic groups of the Cordillera were analyzed. After classifying the
stories and articles into the genres of children’s literature in general, a discussion
followed regarding their content, the aspects or features on Cordillera life such
literature treated and from which the themes were identified, the images of the
Cordillera drawn from such themes and how these compare with anthropological
and sociological data on the land, its people ands culture, and finally, a
consideration of these selected texts as true literature.
The study basically used the descriptive method, supplemented by library
research and, where needed, the interview technique.
Library research involved tracing the children’s books back to their
publication houses in Metro Manila and locating relevant and valuable sources in
the libraries and special collections of institutions and individuals in Baguio City
and Metro Manila. Interviews too were conducted in these places.
Two literary approaches were further made use of. The formalistic
approach was utilized in determining the different genres into which selected
prose works may be grouped and in classifying these same works under those
genres. The sociological approach was utilized in delineating the relationship
among particular works on the Cordillera, the objective description of the land,
people and culture, and the possible perceptions of the reading audience for
whom the literature has been written. This need to compare material from
different disciplines led then to the additional use of the interdisciplinary
approach.
Conclusions
From an enumeration of the findings of the present study can be drawn
the following conclusions:
1. There is a body of Filipino children’s literature on the Cordillera
classified under the 5 genres or classes of realistic or modern fiction,
informational book, modern fantasy, picture story book, and traditional or folk
literature.
2. Taken up as theme or focuses in such literature are:
Themes of the family
a. Parenthood seals a marriage and brings obligations and duties.
b. Children, though much desired in a marriage and raised with great
affection, have duties to perform and obligations to fulfill.
c. A marriage may either be pre-arranged or freely entered into. It may
also result from god’s bidding.
d. Marriage partners help one another in the work at home and in the
fields.
Themes of social living
e, Bontoc, Kankanay, Ifugao and Ibaloy societies are plutocracies where a
class of wealthy families called kadangyan or baknang exerts influence
and authority over the rest. In these societies, there is no separate class
for either the priest or the warrior.
f. Each member of village society has obligations to fulfill not just towards
his family but towards all others in the community.
Themes of friendship
g. Friendship is characterized by a concern for another’s welfare,
cooperation, respect and administration, honor and justice.
h. Friendship ends when there is jealousy and theft, greediness and
treachery, vanity and disobedience.
Themes of beliefs and rituals
i. People believe in a soul and an afterlife.
j. Powerful gods and nature and ancestor spirits are responsible for the
blessings and misfortunes in life.
k. Nature’s bounty is a gift from the gods and on man has been entrusted
its
care.
l. Recourse to the power of the gods and spirits for appeasement,
intercession and thanksgiving is achieved through ritual performance.
Themes of change
m. Change can come in the form of non-customary practices or an
incursion of the completely new and alien.
n. Change can become a source of conflict in the family and of upheaval
in
village society.
o. A people’s response to change can mean a matter of survival.
3. Reflected as general images of the Cordilleras, its people and its culture
in such literature are:
On the land
a. Land is precious to the people not only because of its resource but
because it has been home to their resources but because it has been
home to their ancestors and their spirits.
b. When the terrain is harsh, people carve out terraces from mountain
slopes or use other methods of crop production like the swidden
technique.
c. The people live like agriculture, hunting, fishing, mining and some trade.
On the people
d. Marriage is sealed with the birth of children.
e. Family life is important and all family members share in the work at
home and in the fields.
f. While at least two social classes may be distinguished in many
Cordillera
societies, everyone irrespective of rank cooperates in all
efforts that prove beneficial to the interest of the entire community,
On the culture
g. There are powerful deities and spirits who exert control over all
important stages of human life.
h. Everything comes from the gods and spirits--nature’s bounty, wealth,
health and misfortune.
i. Such beliefs necessitate the performance of rituals.
j. Change, especially when sudden and alien, brings conflict and upheal.
4. Story aspects that may provide an inaccurate picture of the Cordillera,
its people and its culture are:
On the land
a. Illustrations of the terrain and the people’s houses do not distinctly
characterize their Cordillera origins or location.
b. The name Mountain Province can be confused with the old Mountain
Province created in 1908 that consisted of 7 subprovinces.
On the people
c. The names Isnegs, Itnegs, and Bontoks more accurately refer to the
people of Apayao, Abra and the Miountain Province respectively.
d. The final word of authority in the village rests, not on a single person or
on the entire village membership, but on a council of elders and on the
wealthy.
e. In a plutocracy where the wealthy and those who are not wealthy
comprise two distinct social classes, there is no separate class for either
the priests or warriors.
f. The people of the Cordillera are portrayed as too weak and too helpless
when they have successfully struggled against Spanish subjugation for
almost 400 years.
On the culture
g. The names of certain concepts are mistakenly used. Rituals are known
by other names and not as kanyaw. The word kabunyan is a generic term
for a class of gods and goddesses, not the name of a single or creator
god.
h. The region known as the Skyworld is home to the deities. Should souls
of victims of violent death find their way there, they are to be forced out of
it through the performance of a ritual.
i. Certain practices appear to have no basis in fact. These include, among
the Bontoks, the planting of a soul-twin tree and the burying of a child 12
years and younger away from the house; and among the Ifugaos, the use
of ceremonial drum instead of the gangha or gong.
5. The 46 children’s books and stories selected for purposes of the
present study do not only approximate but also qualify as true literature.
Recommendations
The findings and conclusions of this paper lead to the formulation of the
following recommendations:
Care must be given in the choice of subject matter, preparation of the text,
and the attainment of the highest literary and aesthetics standards in children’s
literature. Research for verification and clarification of details along with a serious
perception of the artistry involved in such an endeavor is as essential as it is in all
literature. Children’s book writers, even illustrators, must possess the conviction
that their work requires both great skill in the craft and sensitivity for a child’s
world and dreams. A deep sense of professionalism must be developed
especially now that prestige and recognition can come with national awards such
as the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for literature, short story for children
division, and the National Book Award for the best books published in the
country, children’s literature category.
Active promotion of such literature may be undertaken beginning on the
local level such as community centers, government and non-government offices,
and institutions such as schools. Interest in this literature may be encouraged not
just by book reading but by complementary activities like storytelling, puppetry,
theater and other art forms.
And finally, research may be pursued further on such aspects as the
dearth of humor in both text and illustration, the care and education of children
including orphans, and the concept and place of friendship in village society.
Moreover, investigation may also include such materials for children as stories on
the people identified as the Igorots, other genres like poetry and historical fiction,
and publications like textbooks and weekly periodicals where children’s stories
and poems may be found.
literature. (Unpublished master’s thesis). Baguio City: Saint Louis
University.
Physical location: University of the Cordilleras Library, Baguio City
ABSTRACT
There is an entire body of Filipino children’s literature in the Philippines
that have increasingly been the concern of publishers, writers and illustrators
since the 1960s. There is also a considerable body of Filipino children’s literature
on the Cordillera that began to be written even before this time. However, other
than the form of analysis represented in the selection of worthwhile books made
early and recent award-giving bodies in the country, little discussion along
scholarly lines has been done.
It is in this context that this study proposed to delineate the images of the
Cordillera in selected Filipino children’s literature. Specifically, this study
proposed to investigate the genres into which such literature may be classified,
the themes of and the images reflected in them, and the results of a comparison
between the images reflected and the objective description of the Cordillera, its
people and its culture as recorded in the social science materials.
To arrive at the answers to these problems, 46 prose works for children on
the 7 ethnolinguistic groups of the Cordillera were analyzed. After classifying the
stories and articles into the genres of children’s literature in general, a discussion
followed regarding their content, the aspects or features on Cordillera life such
literature treated and from which the themes were identified, the images of the
Cordillera drawn from such themes and how these compare with anthropological
and sociological data on the land, its people ands culture, and finally, a
consideration of these selected texts as true literature.
The study basically used the descriptive method, supplemented by library
research and, where needed, the interview technique.
Library research involved tracing the children’s books back to their
publication houses in Metro Manila and locating relevant and valuable sources in
the libraries and special collections of institutions and individuals in Baguio City
and Metro Manila. Interviews too were conducted in these places.
Two literary approaches were further made use of. The formalistic
approach was utilized in determining the different genres into which selected
prose works may be grouped and in classifying these same works under those
genres. The sociological approach was utilized in delineating the relationship
among particular works on the Cordillera, the objective description of the land,
people and culture, and the possible perceptions of the reading audience for
whom the literature has been written. This need to compare material from
different disciplines led then to the additional use of the interdisciplinary
approach.
Conclusions
From an enumeration of the findings of the present study can be drawn
the following conclusions:
1. There is a body of Filipino children’s literature on the Cordillera
classified under the 5 genres or classes of realistic or modern fiction,
informational book, modern fantasy, picture story book, and traditional or folk
literature.
2. Taken up as theme or focuses in such literature are:
Themes of the family
a. Parenthood seals a marriage and brings obligations and duties.
b. Children, though much desired in a marriage and raised with great
affection, have duties to perform and obligations to fulfill.
c. A marriage may either be pre-arranged or freely entered into. It may
also result from god’s bidding.
d. Marriage partners help one another in the work at home and in the
fields.
Themes of social living
e, Bontoc, Kankanay, Ifugao and Ibaloy societies are plutocracies where a
class of wealthy families called kadangyan or baknang exerts influence
and authority over the rest. In these societies, there is no separate class
for either the priest or the warrior.
f. Each member of village society has obligations to fulfill not just towards
his family but towards all others in the community.
Themes of friendship
g. Friendship is characterized by a concern for another’s welfare,
cooperation, respect and administration, honor and justice.
h. Friendship ends when there is jealousy and theft, greediness and
treachery, vanity and disobedience.
Themes of beliefs and rituals
i. People believe in a soul and an afterlife.
j. Powerful gods and nature and ancestor spirits are responsible for the
blessings and misfortunes in life.
k. Nature’s bounty is a gift from the gods and on man has been entrusted
its
care.
l. Recourse to the power of the gods and spirits for appeasement,
intercession and thanksgiving is achieved through ritual performance.
Themes of change
m. Change can come in the form of non-customary practices or an
incursion of the completely new and alien.
n. Change can become a source of conflict in the family and of upheaval
in
village society.
o. A people’s response to change can mean a matter of survival.
3. Reflected as general images of the Cordilleras, its people and its culture
in such literature are:
On the land
a. Land is precious to the people not only because of its resource but
because it has been home to their resources but because it has been
home to their ancestors and their spirits.
b. When the terrain is harsh, people carve out terraces from mountain
slopes or use other methods of crop production like the swidden
technique.
c. The people live like agriculture, hunting, fishing, mining and some trade.
On the people
d. Marriage is sealed with the birth of children.
e. Family life is important and all family members share in the work at
home and in the fields.
f. While at least two social classes may be distinguished in many
Cordillera
societies, everyone irrespective of rank cooperates in all
efforts that prove beneficial to the interest of the entire community,
On the culture
g. There are powerful deities and spirits who exert control over all
important stages of human life.
h. Everything comes from the gods and spirits--nature’s bounty, wealth,
health and misfortune.
i. Such beliefs necessitate the performance of rituals.
j. Change, especially when sudden and alien, brings conflict and upheal.
4. Story aspects that may provide an inaccurate picture of the Cordillera,
its people and its culture are:
On the land
a. Illustrations of the terrain and the people’s houses do not distinctly
characterize their Cordillera origins or location.
b. The name Mountain Province can be confused with the old Mountain
Province created in 1908 that consisted of 7 subprovinces.
On the people
c. The names Isnegs, Itnegs, and Bontoks more accurately refer to the
people of Apayao, Abra and the Miountain Province respectively.
d. The final word of authority in the village rests, not on a single person or
on the entire village membership, but on a council of elders and on the
wealthy.
e. In a plutocracy where the wealthy and those who are not wealthy
comprise two distinct social classes, there is no separate class for either
the priests or warriors.
f. The people of the Cordillera are portrayed as too weak and too helpless
when they have successfully struggled against Spanish subjugation for
almost 400 years.
On the culture
g. The names of certain concepts are mistakenly used. Rituals are known
by other names and not as kanyaw. The word kabunyan is a generic term
for a class of gods and goddesses, not the name of a single or creator
god.
h. The region known as the Skyworld is home to the deities. Should souls
of victims of violent death find their way there, they are to be forced out of
it through the performance of a ritual.
i. Certain practices appear to have no basis in fact. These include, among
the Bontoks, the planting of a soul-twin tree and the burying of a child 12
years and younger away from the house; and among the Ifugaos, the use
of ceremonial drum instead of the gangha or gong.
5. The 46 children’s books and stories selected for purposes of the
present study do not only approximate but also qualify as true literature.
Recommendations
The findings and conclusions of this paper lead to the formulation of the
following recommendations:
Care must be given in the choice of subject matter, preparation of the text,
and the attainment of the highest literary and aesthetics standards in children’s
literature. Research for verification and clarification of details along with a serious
perception of the artistry involved in such an endeavor is as essential as it is in all
literature. Children’s book writers, even illustrators, must possess the conviction
that their work requires both great skill in the craft and sensitivity for a child’s
world and dreams. A deep sense of professionalism must be developed
especially now that prestige and recognition can come with national awards such
as the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for literature, short story for children
division, and the National Book Award for the best books published in the
country, children’s literature category.
Active promotion of such literature may be undertaken beginning on the
local level such as community centers, government and non-government offices,
and institutions such as schools. Interest in this literature may be encouraged not
just by book reading but by complementary activities like storytelling, puppetry,
theater and other art forms.
And finally, research may be pursued further on such aspects as the
dearth of humor in both text and illustration, the care and education of children
including orphans, and the concept and place of friendship in village society.
Moreover, investigation may also include such materials for children as stories on
the people identified as the Igorots, other genres like poetry and historical fiction,
and publications like textbooks and weekly periodicals where children’s stories
and poems may be found.