Barlaan at Josaphat

The Greek Legend of Josaphat and Barlaan, who are believed to have survived around the 3rd-4th century in India, has been ascribed to John Damascene who wrote it around 750 B.C. (Although some sources cite that this is actually originally written by the Georgian monk, Euthymios in the 11th century).

The story traces its origin to a Manichaean tract produced in Central Asia. In the Preparer’s Notes, it has been established that this work has startling similarities with the Tale of Buddha, thus Josaphat and Baraan is referred to
as the Christianized version of Buddha’s life, with Josaphat reaching enlightenment through he love of Jesus Christ. (Woodward, G.R. & H. Mattingly, 1914)

“Barlaan at Josaphat,” printed in the Philippines by Fr. Antonio de Borja, S.J. in 1708 and 1712–although a translation–is considered by researchers as the first novel in Tagalog. (J. Villa Panganiban, et al., 1987)

***

Barlaan and Josaphat, wikipedia

King Abenir (Abenner or Avenier) reigns over  a vast Indian Kingdom outstretched beyond the  lands of Egypt. He lives in luxury and worldly honors, and is known for his bravery and victory in battles. Yet despite being mighty in wealth and power, his happiness is marred, for he has no heir to inherit his throne, kingdom, and glory.

Meanwhile, he learns that noblemen and senators have abandoned their luxurious lives and  started laying their lives for Christ’s sake. Those who embrace the monastic life are growing in number. Hence, the king starts passing on decrees forcing Christians to renounce their religions, and later mastered various methods of torture to persecute them. Many of the followers who are weak in spirit are unable to endure the torture and yield to the king. The others who rebuke him suffer and become martyrs. The threatened few seek refuge in the deserts and mountains.

The king rules for many years and in this terrible state of error, the queen bears a child. The comely babe, they name Josaphat (Ioasaph). The king is filled with joy, and orders his men to gather his people to celebrate his son’s
birthday. Although in shroud of fear, the people come, bringing offerings according to what each man has in store. King Abenir’s joy is however short-lived when he learns from the oracles of kings that his son will embrace the Christian faith:

“From that which I learn from the courses of the stars, O king, the advancement of the child, now born unto thee, will not be in thy kingdom, but in another, a better and a greater one beyond compare. Methinketh also that he will embrace the Christian religion, which thou persecutest, and I trow that he will not be disappointed of his aim and hope.”  thus spoke the astrologer (Part III, Online Medieval Library).

King Abenir’s wrath and disillusionment is such as to have his men build a castle for his only son in a secluded city. There Josaphat (Ioasaph) lives, devoid of any contact from the outside world, except for instructors, servants, and guards–whom the king thinks fit to serve him. The young prince grows to manhood.

Meanwhile, in the wilderness of Senaar, there lives a hermit saint. This elder’s name is Barlaan (Barlaam). Upon witnessing an apparition, Barlaan leaves for the young prince Josaphat’s palace. In disguise as a merchant, he starts imparting the Christian teachings and works to Josaphat until the latter accepts the faith and finally gets baptized.

When King Abenir discovers his son’s baptism, he is outraged. But after six years of his son’s persistent urging and encouragement, the king himself gets baptized. Not long after, the king dies, and Josaphat honors his body by burying him in a sepulchre where the devoted men lay and clothing him in a robe of penitence.

After erecting and establishing a church, Josaphat leaves his father’s land and entrusts  the kingdom to a faithful servant and follower, Barachias. He embarks in a journey in search of true happiness and a life unobstructed by worldly confusions. Enduring sundry misfortunes and hardships, Josaphat finally finds his friend, Barlaan. The rest of their lives they devote in
living godly lives and venerating the Lord. They took to an ascetic lifestyle
until Barlaan’s death. Two years later, Josaphat followed.

The news of their death reaches King Bacharias, upon which he orders the remains of Barlaan and Josaphat to be brought back to India and buried in the church that Josaphat has built. Since then, the believers considered Barlaan and Josaphat saints:

“Barachias, making no delay, set forth with a mighty host, and arrived at the cave, and beheld their sepulchre, and wept bitterly over it, and raised the gravestone. There he descried Barlaam and Ioasaph lying, as they had been in life. Their bodies had not lost their former hue, but were whole and uncorrupt, together with their garments. These, the consecrated tabernacles of two holy souls, that sent forth full sweet savour, and showed naught distressful, were placed by King Barachias in costly tombs and conveyed by him into his own country.” (Part XL, Online Medieval Library)

• Barlaam and Ioasaph, St. John of Damascus, BiblioBazaar, LLC : 2008

• Barlaan at Josaphat, Lope de Vega, Ateneo de Manila University Press (Quezon City) : 2003

• St. John Damascene: Barlaam and Ioasaph, Woodward, G.R. & H. Mattingly (Ed. & Trans.) Harvard University Press, Cambridge MA, 1914 ( ISBN 0-674-99038-2).

ONLINE References:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barlaam_and_Josaphat
• http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/L034.html
• http://omacl.org/Barlaam/ (electronic edition was edited, proofed, and prepared by Douglas B. Killings (DeTroyes@EnterAct.COM), November, 1996.)

First Books

The Philippines has been under Spanish rule for more than 300 years. The Spanish conquistadores claimed the archipelago in the name of their king, and laid the foundation of the Spanish administration in the Philippines. They brought their culture with them and influenced the Filipino way life in every facets: economic, social, religious, and cultural. (Agoncillo, 196o)

from lakbaypilipinas.com

The early friars helped in the conquest  of the country, and propagated Christianity. Thus,  most of the first printed books in the country have been written or translated by the friars, and are greatly influenced by religion.

Way before the Spaniards’ coming, the ancient Filipinos had both oral and written literature.  This  consisted of:

1. mito (myth), which told different versions about the creation of the world;
2. alamat (legend), which told the origin of  man, animals, plants, and places ;
3. awit (songs), sung for both everyday life and special occasions;
4. salawikain (proverbs), which were wise sayings and adages;
5. bugtong (riddles), which consisted of puzzles presented in creative language.

Among their songs were: talindaw (boat songs), indulanin (street songs), diyuna (revelry songs), tagumpay (war songs), uyayi (also oyayi, lullabies), tagulaylay (songs for the dead), ihiman (wedding songs) and tigpasin (rowing songs). (Lacsamana, 1987)

They had passed this down for generations through retelling and the specimens of those which survived were written on barks of certain trees and on the inner surface of the bamboo, through a pointed pieces of sticks or iron. These pens they called sipol.

Unfortunately, most parts of this rich literature were unpreserved and were lost. With the destruction of Filipino manuscripsts by early Spanish missionaries, the country followed the Spanish pattern. (Agoncillo, 1960).

The first missionaries were introduced the art of prinitng to some talented Filipinos. Thus, the first books in the country were those printed and published only in the Spanish times. . What were these books?

1.) In 1593, Doctrina Cristiana, the first religious book , was published in the Philippines through a xylograph. Padre Juan de Plasencia, O.P. and Padre Domingo de Nievo, O.P.  authored the book, which contained Pater Noster, Ave Maria, Credo, Regina Caeli, The Ten Commandments, The Seven Mortal Sins, Confession and Catechism. The book was written in Spanish and Tagalog. Juan de Vera, a Filipino Chinese mestizo printed Doctrina Christiana in Tagalog.

photo from fil.wikipilipinas.org

2.) Nuestra Seคora del Rosario , the second book published in 1602 was written in Tagalog by a Dominican Padre Blancas de San Jose, who also introduced typography. This contained the a few known saints’ biographies, novenas, and responses to frequently asked questions on religion. (Panganiban, 1987). Lerning Tagalog easily, Blancas printed another book, Arte y Reglas de la Lengua Tagala in 1610 with the help of Tomas Pinpin, who became known as the “Prince of Filipino Printers. Under the direction of Blancas de San Jose, Pinpin authored a book on that same year: Librong Pagaaralan nang manga Tagalog nang uicang Castilla. (Agoncillo, 1960)

3.) In 1703 and 1712, Padre Antonio de Borja translated the first novel in Filipino, and Padre Augustin Mejia in Ilokano.  The novel was originally written in Greek and was based on a Bible story. This was Barlaan at Josaphat.

4.) Pasyon, which is sung during the celebration of Mahal na Araw (Holy Week) was written in Tagalog by: Gaspar Aquino de Belen in 1704, Don Luis Guian in 1750, Padre Mariano Pilapil in 1814, and Padre Ancieto dela Merced in 1856. According to critics,  dela Merced’s version of Pasyon is the most well-written among the four.  It consisted of 8 syllables in each stanza:

Iyong itulot sa amin

Diyos amang maawain

Mangyaring aming dalhin

Hirap sakit at hilahil

Ng Ama naming giliw.

5.) Urbana at Felisa , written by Padre Modesto de Castro in the 19th century, was considered as one of the most popular and well-read book during the Spanish regime. Urbana at Felisa is composed of a collection of letters (34 letters) or correspondence between the siblings. Urbana, the younger sister is studying in one of the colleges in Manila while Felisa remained in the province.  In  the letters Felisa sends to her sister, she advises the right and proper way of conducting herself, and in accordance with the Christian teaching:

Sa Katungkulan sa Bayan

Sa Pagpasok sa Paaralan

Ang Pakikipagkaibigan

Sa Pakikipagkapwa Tao

Ang Salitaan

Paglagay sa Estado

6.) In 1865, Padre Mariano Sevilla,  a Filipino priest from Tundo wrote Flores de Mayo. This is based on Italian Mazzanelli’s  “Misa de Magggio” or “Buwan ng Mayo” . Ang mga Dalit Kay Maria are  made up of  songs praising and honoring the Mary, Virgin Mother.  It became customary to sing these during processions every month of May in different places in the Philippines, such as Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Rizal, Cavite, Batangas and Quezon.

in the making…

For supplementary income, I tutor kids from preschool to high school. Helping them out with their homework and projects, one night, I learned how little they know of our own Philippine Literature and how few the sources are in the internet. Only then did I realize that I am grateful because my sisters and I grew up enjoying and hearing folklore retold by our grandmother and later by our mother, who teaches (still teaching at 69!) Filipino in college. Even our university professors used to challenge us in employing Philippine folklore whenever we can, so kids may enjoy them (or even simply know that they exist).

I hope this will somehow respond and supplement our needs in the classroom.

The purpose of putting up i-STORYA is to preserve Philippine stories for reading enjoyment and for the benefit of our students who are seeking these kinds of information.

Many regions of the Philippines are rich sources of folklore. They are teeming with myths, legends, plays, riddles, and numerous folk materials.

The summaries I have posted here and the information regarding our literature have been written with every possible means used to preserve and convey the vigor and charm of our customs, the uniqueness of our mores, and the style and spirit with which these stories were retold by the informants and famous Filipino authors.

References:

• Panitikang Piliipino. (2nd Edition). Maria S. Ramos, Obdulia L. Atienza, Lucila A. Salazar, Anita R. Nazal. Katha Publishing Co., Inc. 1984
• Panitikan ng Pilipinas. J Villa Panganiban, C.T. Panganiban, G. E. Matutue. Bede’s Publishing House, Inc., 1987
• Philippine Legends. Gaudencio V. Aquino. National Book Store, Inc., 1972

*”Istorya” in our Hiligaynon dialect is synonymous to:

v: converse, chat, discourse, speak, chatter

n: conversation, story, history, account, narrative, colloquy

“malip-ot nga istorya” = a short storypost.