View source for Tanaga

{{Short description|Indigenous Filipino poem}}
{{other}}
{{Use Philippine English|date=April 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2023}}
'''Tanaga''' is a type of [[Philippine]] [[poetry]], traditionally in the [[Tagalog language]], consisting of four lines with seven syllables each. It can also have rhymes schemes like AABB and ABAB.

==Format==
The Tanaga consists 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 [[Syllabic verse]], with an <math>\mathrm{AABB}</math> [[rhyme scheme]].

=== Archaic orthography<ref>{{cite book|last=de Noceda|first=Juan|url=http://bvpb.mcu.es/es/consulta/registro.cmd?control=CCPB000336658-8|title=Vocabulario de la lengua tagala, trabaxado por varios sugetos doctos y graves|author2=Pedro de San Lucar|publisher=Imprenta de la Compañía de Jesús|year=1754|location=Manila|pages=324, 440}}</ref> ===
''"Catitibay ca tolos''<br>
''sacaling datnang agos!''<br>
''aco’I momonting lomot''<br>
''sa iyo,I popolopot."''<br>

=== Modern orthography ===
''"Katitibay kang tulos''<br>
''Sakaling datnan ng agos!''<br>
''Ako'y mumunting lumot''<br>
''sa iyo'y pupulupot."''<br>

=== Translation ===
''"Oh be resilient you stake''<br>
''Should the waters be coming!''<br>
''I shall cower as the moss''<br>
''To you I shall be clinging."''<br>

The above Tanaga is attributed to Friars [[Juan de Noceda]] and [[Pedro de Sanlucar]] by [[Vim Nadera]], and quoted them as saying “Poesia muy alta en tagalo, compuesta de siete silabas, y cuatro versos, llena de metafora.” (16th century) ("Poetry is quite high in Tagalog, composed of seven syllables, and four verses, full of metaphor.") <!--This is a very rough translation

is this better?-->

Like the Japanese [[haiku]], Tanagas traditionally are untitled. Most are handed down by [[oral tradition|oral history]], and contain [[proverb]]ial forms, [[morality|moral lessons]], and [[ethics]].

A poetic form similar to the Tanaga is the Ambahan. Unlike the Ambahan whose length is indefinite, the Tanaga is a seven-syllable quatrain. Poets test their skills at rhyme, [[Meter (poetry)|meter]] and [[metaphor]] through the Tanaga because is it rhymed and measured, while it exacts skillful use of words to create a puzzle that demands an answer.

It was a dying art form, but the Cultural Center of the Philippines and National Commission of the Arts is attempting to revivify it. Poetry groups, like the PinoyPoets, promote Filipino poetry in English; the vernacular are also advocating the spread of this art form.

==Modern form==
The modern Tanaga still uses the 7777 syllable count, but rhymes range from dual rhyme forms: <math>\mathrm{AABB}</math>, <math>\mathrm{ABAB}</math>, <math>\mathrm{ABBA}</math>; to freestyle forms such as <math>\mathrm{AAAB}</math>, <math>\mathrm{BAAA}</math>, or <math>\mathrm{ABCD}</math>. Modern writers may opt to give them titles.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Buhayin ang Tanaga!|url=https://tanaga.blogspot.com/|access-date=January 12, 2022}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Awit (poem)]]
*[[Ambahan]] – Another form of poetry for the [[Hanunoo language]].
*[[Dalit (poem)]]
*[[Syllabic verse]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://tanaga.blogspot.com Reviving the Art of the Tanaga, The Modern Tanaga]

[[Category:Philippine poetry]]
[[Category:Poetic forms]]
[[Category:Rhyme]]
[[Category:Stanzaic form]]