WEDDING DANCE: LOVE ALWAYS WIN

The Wedding Dance by Amador T. Daguio considered being one of the saddest and
excruciating short stories in Philippine Literature situated in the Cordillera Autonomous
Region. The Cordillera region is known for its unique musical instruments including “gangsa”
which is mentioned in the story as the means of sound used in the wedding dance. In their
tribe, to bear a child was a very important element in creating a family and establishing a
better relationship between husband and wife. According to their unwritten law, a husband
may divorce his wife if the latter fails to bear a child. This story is about a husband and wife
named Awiyao and Lumnay who were married for seven harvests that made them to wait too
long to have a child for it is only that a man must have a child. In this story, Awiyao had to
marry with Madulimay notwithstanding of his love for Lumnay. In the beginning of the story,
conflict already revealed. Nevertheless, the problem is not clear to readers yet. The
technique used by the author aloows a sense of suspense. Dissension arise between
compliance with tradition (including love for tribe) and personal love and most of the time,
culture persists. This is the reason why Awiyao and Lumnay cannot live together as husband
and wife for lifetime because their freedom to love each other were being constrained by
culture and of that, may would have possibly make the tribe or society offended to them.
Culture is one of the greatest factors in pursuing freedom: freedom to love, freedom to
choose your wants and freedom to choose your actions. This happens in real life situation
where most Filipinos grew up and moulded by the culture and traditions. Conforming to the
traditions handed down by the past generations makes, absolutely, our culture alive that
binds and serves as identification to us as Filipinos. However, it is sometimes exasperating
on the other side that we cannot even freely express our real emotions and rights as Awiyao
and Lumnay in the story. When Lumnay suddenly found courage, she would go to the dance.
She would go to the chief of the village, to the elders, to tell them it was not right. Awiyao was
hers; nobody could take him away from her. Let her be the first woman to complain, to
denounce the unwritten rule that a man may take another woman. She would break the
dancing of the men and women and tell Awiyao to come back to her. But she started to run
when she saw the flaming glow over the whole place. This shows that when we plan to break
the rule of our culture where we belong to or any other certain culture, there are always
shackles on our way.
The author’s setting in his stories was situated mostly in Mountain Province and so
the Wedding Dance by the latter as aforementioned in the first paragraph of this essay. He
principally used dialogues and actions to clearly unfold the personality, behaviour and or
characters’ true nature and so the setting of the story was well presented. Also, the story’s
point of view is in the third person (using pronounce she, he, it, they, etc.). We only know
what the characters knows and able to see the thoughts and feelings of characters if he
chooses to reveal us. As described by the writer, Awiyao and Lumnay lived and have been
raised up in a society where culture and traditions were highly honoured and practiced
habitually by the tribes. They have no choice but to follow the unwritten laws or rules
provided by the elders of their tribe. Despite of their love to each other, they accepted the
fact that Lumnay was infertile and therefore not able to bear a child. Constrained by societal
laws as established belief system that having a child or children, not only as heirs for their
property, speaks real definition of family for them. This where conflict between man and
society arise. Lumnay, in the story, was described beautiful, a good dancer, strong in
planting beans, fast in cleaning jars and a good housekeeper as mentioned in the line, “She
held her face between his hands and looked longingly at her beauty” and also in the line
“One of the men will see you dance well; he will like your dancing”, as well as in the lines “I
came to tell you that Malidumay, although I am marrying her, can never become as good as
you are. She is not as strong in planting in beans, not as fast in cleaning water jars, not as
good keeping a house clean. You are one of the best wives in the whole village.” On the
other hand, Awiyao described in the story as humorous and physically fit, as stated in the
line, “How proud she had been of his humour. The muscles were taut and firm, bronze and
compact in their hold upon his skull- how frank his bright eyes were. She looked at his body
the carved out of the mountains five fields for her; his wide and supple torso heaved as if a
slab of shining lumber were heaving; his arms and legs flowed down in fluent muscle. “
There are many symbols used in the story, and these are the darkness, the houses’s
four walls, the smouldering embers, sound of the gongs or gangsa, and the beads. The
darkness symbolizes how the two lead characters feel. Meanwhile, the house’s walls
symbolize the former couples’ imprisonment. The smouldering embers that become glowing
coals symbolize the love that both of them still feel towards each other. The sound og gongs
or gangsa that signifies the call of culture and its victory over man’s personal love. The beads
symbolize Awiyao’s great love for Lumnay even if she was not able to bear a child. This
describes in the line, “the both of us will die together.”
WEDDING DANCE:
MARXIST APPROACH
1. Social forces can be interpreted by the culture and traditions where Awiyao and
Lumnay belong to. It is required in their tribe to have a child that, for them, it speaks
real definition of family and symbol of masculinity. These forces were portrayed by
the author when Awiyao was asked by the Elders of the tribe to marry Malidumay in
order for him to have a child. Although in the story it was not stated if Malidumay is
capable to bear a child, it is then presumably concluded that the latter can bear a
child. Furthermore, the agony of Lumnay’s love rejection in the story by the unwritten
law has been portrayed by the author that painfully affected me as a reader. It was
portrayed with wide and hard emphasis on the superiority of culture over freedom.
2. Tribe is a certain group of people with common lifestyle, character, occupation or
interest. Political economic elements appear in the sense of making the members not
free to choose what they want. This is the form of government they have before which
there is basically a conflict between the man and society. It creates social displeasure
when one is not in lined with the conformity of the rules. The leaders of the tribe are
ashamed of when somebody was violating the rules or unwritten laws provided by
them. Because of these conventions, Awiyao and Lumnay were living in a society
where movements are limited and constrained freedom to love each other for a
lifetime. It is the culture that orders and makes decision for its members. This can be
gleaned in the statement of Awiyao to Lumnay, “I do this for the sake of the tribe.”
3. Consequently, Lumnay was described in the story as a good in planting beans as well
as Awiyao as described in the line, “You remember how angry you were once you
came home from your work in the terrace…”, and, “Malidumay…she was not as
strong in planting beans… you are one of the best wives in the whole village.” Thus, I
assumed the whole society, specifically Awiyao and Lumnay, which they worked in
farm; primarily agriculture is the form of their income-generating means. This then
reflects the true nature of the characters in the story. Their behaviour towards each
other and the way of living they have portrayed, by this, in actualization of simplicity.
4. Lumnay tried to fight back and tell the elders that everything was not right. That
Awiyao is only for her. However, she was pulled back by the fact that culture resides
still and its superiority is represented by the sound of gangsa or gongs and the
dancing men and women in their society. Love is not expressed with profound
extension in Lumnay’s action. The rules in their culture cannot be interpreted,
however, with harshness since it is for the welfare of their society. But it ties Awiyao
and Lumnay’s thoughts hang on air because freedom as aforementioned is
constrained by the unwritten law.
5. The auhtor may have experienced the same scenarios in his lifetime. For most of his
stories situated where he was born. He may have been in a society where freedom to
choose his wants was strictly not exercised.
6. Laws are supposed to be the ones that protect all of our rights and in this case, I
observed that the Law is being unjust and being unfair in putting Lumnay and Awiyao
in that kind of situation because a child is not a just a symbol of a masculinity but
rather, it is something beyond it. A child is a gift and it will be given at a right moment
of time. A child is a supposed to be product of a true love not by the culture which
dictates itself. If I were in the  place of Lumnay, I would rather stand up and fight for
what is right and what is mine because as a matter of fact, I know that this certain
Law which they fear so much can be questioned and can  be deconstructed. As for
Awiyao, if I were in his shoes, I would not leave my wife because of a
7. certain law because leaving your wife behind coz she can’t bear a child is something
which is
8. much inhumane act than any other ways to break the laws. We should learn stand up
for what is right and for what we have. It is a good thing that nowadays, people are
 more aware of their rights to choose someone whom they truly love, rights to choose
to have a child or not, and rights to speak our own thoughts and all we have to do is
to use it in a right way.
9.