Tag Archives: Filipino

Tanaga

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  • The Tanaga is a Filipino stanzaic form that was originally written in Tagolog which to my ear is one of the more musical of languages. (Kumusta ka? Mabuti salam at) The form dates back to the 16th century and has an oral tradition. The poems are not titled. Each is emotionally charged and asks a question that begs an anwer. This form was found at Kaleidoscope.The Tanaga is:
    • stanzaic, written in any number of quatrains.
    • syllabic, 7-7-7-7 syllables per line.
    • rhymed, originally aaaa bbbb cccc etc., modern Tanagas also use aabb ccdd etc or abba cddc etc or any combination rhyme can be used.
    • composed with the liberal use of metaphor.
    • untitled.

Thanks to Judi Van Gorder for the wonderful resource at PMO.
My Example Poem
(Tanaga)
Casually boys contemplate,
Carefully they cogitate,
what will they appreciate
when they’re searching for a mate?
Will she need to cook and sew?
I suspect the answer’s no.
Will she need to use a wrench,
or speak Mandarin or French?
Need she work with quilting thread,
or perform with brush or pen?
I think I’ll say no again-
if she pleases him in bed.
© Lawrencealot – March 3, 2014
Visual Template
Note: For example only I used one of each rhyme pattern here.

Awit

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The Awit is a Filipino poetry form explained below by Judi Van Gorder
On her wonderful PMO resource site:
  • Awit literally means song. This stanzaic form seems very similar to the Tanaga. It is unique in that a stanza should be one complete, grammatically correct, sentence.The Awit is:
    • stanzaic, written in any number of quatrains. (4 line multiples)
    • a narrative, it tells a story.
    • dodecasyllabic, 12 syllables per line, there is usually a pause after the 6th syllable.
    • rhymed, each stanza mono-rhymed aaaa bbbb cccc etc.
    • composed with each stanza representing a complete, grammatically correct, sentence.
    • composed liberally using various figures of speech.
    • written anonymously.
My example of a single stanza poem
The Climb     (Awit)
I started up the hills, intending on that day
to climb like deer to plateaus where the rocks gave way
to grasses lush and green, above where wild hawks play,
and ended up on top – above all human fray.
©  March 3, 2014