Resurrecting a Dying art form
The Tanaga is a type of short Filipino poem, consisting of four lines with seven syllables each with the same rhyme at the end of each line --- that is to say a 7-7-7-7 syllable form, with an AAAA rhyme pattern as in this example:
"Catitibay ca tolos
sacaling datnang agos!
aco’I momonting lomot
sa iyo,I popolopot."
In the Modern Tagalog syllabication:
Katitibay ka Tulos
Sakaling datnang agos!
Ako'y mumunting lumot
sa iyo'y pupulupot.
Translation (mine):
Oh be resilient you Stake
Should the waters be coming!
I shall cower as the moss
To you I shall be clinging.
Originally a rhyme pattern of AAAA or AABB is used, but the modern tanaga is free to deviate from the rhyme, as in this tanaga by Alejandro Abadilla which is a creed about his differences with another poet:
At ako’y umawit,
Nguni magkakontra
Ang sa aming tinig.”
as I do sing,
But there is variance
in our voicings."
*Poet Jose Garcia-Villa
A poetic form similar to the tanaga is the ambahan. The Ambahan's length though is indefinite, and follows the following form:
- A rhythmic poetic expression with a meter of seven syllable lines and having rhythmic end-syllables.
- It is most often presented as a chant without a determined musical pitch or accompaniment by musical instruments.
- Its purpose is to express in an allegorical way, liberally using poetic language, certain situations or certain characteristics referred to by the one reciting the poem.
The tanaga however being more compact at seven-syllable quatrain makes it a more attractive and easy form to experiment with.
Poets test their skills at rhyme, meter and metaphor through the tanaga because not only is it rhymed and measured but also exacts skillful use of words to create a puzzle that demands some kind of an answer.
Tanaga contains lessons or teachings and practical philosophies used by theelders to give reminders for the youth. It has a structure composed of four verses and seven syllables in one stanza.
Examples:
It was lyric poet Ildefonso Santos who was said to be the first to discover the virtue of tanaga as an epitome of the dictum “less is more” when he wrote the metamorphosis of rice in four lines:
Palay siyang matino,
Nang humangi’y yumuko,
Nguni’y muling tumayo:
Nagkabunga ng ginto!
In his Doktrinang Anakpawis (1979), poet/critic Virgilio Almario in a way tried the versatility of tanaga in his own brand of protest literature:
Isang pinggang sinangag,
Isang lantang tinapa,
Isang sarting salabat,
Isang buntunghininga.
Since I write mostly in the English language, and quite sparingly in Filipino , I am advocating the use of the Tanaga in the English as well, and I am opening it to the world to use.
I encourage like-minded poets from all over the world, and not just Filipinos to use this form and spread it all over the world! Remember if it's 7-7-7-7, it's not haiku, it is Tanaga. ;-) If you use more than four lines at seven-syllables per line, it is called Ambahan.
If you are interested to know more about Filipino poetry or submit a Tanaga in English or in the vernacular for this site, please email me: jardinedavies@gmail.com.
All rights revert to the author. Multiple submissions are welcome. I invite even non-Filipinos to participate in this venture. If you care about modernity but doesn't wish it to impinge on the the cultural treasures of the past then let us build on the traditions of the past and merge it with the Future!
Let us keep the Tanaga and Ambahan alive! If you want to help as a co-moderator of this blog, do let me know so I can add you and help resurrect this dying art form!
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