Bienvenido and Cynthia Lumbera's Philippine Literature: A
History and Anthology (2005), on the other hand, periodizes Philippine literary
history into five distinct epochs: pre-colonial times (from ancient times to
1564), Spanish colonialism (1565-1897), US colonialism (1898-1945), the
Republic (1946-1985), and the period after the EDSA uprising (1986-1995). While
periodization undoubtedly makes for an easier classification of literary works,
it also raises the issue of arbitrariness. For instance, we could ask what
characteristics would allow us to classify a literary work under a particular
period? (Unfortunately, the editors do not provide such an answer in their
anthology.)
In their introductory chapter to precolonial Philippine
literature, Bienvenido and Cynthia Lumbera credits William Henry Scott and
other scholars for the wealth of information that would provide a clearer
picture of literary production during this period. Lumbera and Lumbera point
out some characteristics of the collected lore from this period:
Literary output was a product of the community (in terms of
authorship, subject matter, and performance or production)
Literary output was generally oral and was transmitted from
generation to generation
Literary output indicates linkages with other Southeast
Asian peoples and cultures
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