Literatures of Western Visayas: Collection and Categorization

This collaborative qualitative study of the Filipino Department, West Visayas State University, Iloilo Philippines, aimed to collect and categorize local/indigenous literatures of Western Visayas (Region VI). This study was based on Oral Tradition and was made possible through interviews with the informants from different provinces in Western Visayas. The researchers utilized compiled Panayanon literatures from the colleges and universities of the region as well as those downloaded from the internet. Guide questions, cassette and mobile phone recorders, digital cameras and tablets were used as instrument. The result showed that Western Visayas has a very rich local/indigenous literature that reflect the culture and traditions of its people. Literatures collected were categorized according to genre as follows: bulong, hurubaton, huding, and other short verses; folk songs, daigon and dayaw; passion and praises; and, lowa, riddles and short stories. Themes derived from these literatures were: thanksgiving, courtship and marriage, occupation and way of life, social problems, calamities, heroism, environmental consciousness, praises to muses and to the Virgin Mary, passion of Christ, plants and animals, places, foods and many others. Furthermore, people from Western Visayas were very creative, imaginative and intelligent to write and compose these literatures.