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 \mathrm{AABB}
rhyme scheme.
Archaic orthography Source:
"Catitibay ca tolos sacaling datnang agos! aco’I momonting lomot sa iyo,I popolopot." Modern orthography "Katitibay kang tulos Sakaling datnan ng agos! ''Ako'y mumunting lumot'' ''sa iyo'y pupulupot."''
Translation "Oh be resilient you stake Should the waters be coming! I shall cower as the moss To you I shall be clinging." 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.") Like the Japanese
haiku, Tanagas traditionally are untitled. Most are handed down by
oral history, and contain
proverbial forms,
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 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==