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 MODULE 1: Ancient Times

Module Overview
Except for folktales and folksongs, our ancient literature is not as well-known as our
contemporary literature. For nationhood if for anything else, that neglect must be overcome. Our
ancient literature is one of the richest and original bodies of literature but one of the least
appreciated and most underrated. This book hopes to make a difference.

Module Outline
Lesson 1: Introduction to the Course
 Introduction to Philippine Literature
Lesson 2: Genres of Philippine Literature Across History
 Ancient/folk literature
 Philippine literature under the Spanish period
 Contemporary literary forms: Poetry, short stories, essays, dramas
Lesson 3: Literature from Luzon
 Region I: Ilocos Region
 Region II: Cagayan Region
 CAR: Cordillera Autonomous Region

Introduction:
Except for folktales and folksongs, our ancient literature is not
as well-known as our contemporary literature. For nationhood is for anything else, that neglect
must be overcome. Our ancient literature is one of the richest and original bodies of literature
but one of the least appreciated and most underrated. This module hopes to make a different.
 Lesson 1: Introduction to Philippine Literature

Specific Objectives:
a. Identify the Genre of Philippine Literature
b. Make a reflection paper using the different types of Literature

LITERATURE

- An art; from a latin word ‘litera’ meaning letter

- Body of written works of a particular time, country especially those valued for

excellence of form and expression.

- Creative and universal means of communication

- Deals with the ideas, thoughts and emotions of man and said to be the story of man.

WHY DO WE STUDY LITERATURE?

1. Literature is a conforming mirror of reality

2. Literature serves as an expression of ideas and feelings

3. Literature enlarges the reader’s world

4. It is a means of preserving the culture and appreciating literary heritage

LITERATURE AND HISTORY

Literature and history are closely interrelated. In discovering the history of a race, the

feelings, aspirations, customs and traditions of a people are sure to be included . . . and

these feelings, aspirations, customs and traditions that are written is literature. History

can also be written and this too, is literature. Events that can be written down are part
of true literature. Literature, therefore, is part of history.

Literature and history, however, also have differences. Literature may be figments of

the imagination or events devoid of truth that have been written down, while history is

made up of events that really happened.

DIVISIONS OF LITERATURE

Fiction

- Is a form of any narrative or informative work that deals with information/events that are
imaginary

- Made out of nothing, symbolic, artificial,

- E.g. novels, short stories, films (etc.)

Non-fiction

- Form of any narrative, account or other communicative work based on facts.

- Comes out of something, straightforward, natural

- E.g. bibliographies, histories

CLASSES OF LITERATURE

Escape – written for entertainment and its object is pleasure

Interpretative – written to broaden and sharpen our awareness of life and its

object is pleasure and understanding.

GENERAL TYPES OF LITERATURE

PROSE

- consists of those written within the common flow of conversation in sentences and

paragraphs.

a. Novels. A long narrative divided into chapters and events are taken from true-to-life stories.

Example: WITHOUT SEEING THE DAWN by Stevan Javellana

b. Short story. This is a narrative involving one or more characters, one plot and one single
impression.

Example: THE LAUGHTER OF MY FATHER by Carlos Bulosan

c. Plays. This is presented on a stage, is divided into acts and each act has many scenes.

Example: THIRTEEN PLAYS by Wilfredo M. Guerrero

d. Legends.These are fictitious narratives, usually about origins.

Example: THE BIKOL LEGEND by Pio Duran

e. Fables.These are also fictitious and they deal with animals and inanimate things who speak

and act like people and their purpose is to enlighten the minds of children to events

that can mold their ways and attitudes.

Example: THE MONKEY AND THE TURTLE

f. Anecdotes.These are merely products of the writer’s imagination and the main aim is to bring
out lessons to the reader.

Example: THE MOTH AND THE LAMP

g. Essay.This expresses the viewpoint or opinion of the writer about a particular problem or

event. The best example of this is the Editorial page of a newspaper.

h. Biography.This deals with the life of a person which may be about himself, his autobiography
orthat of others.

Example: CAYETANO ARELLANO by Socorro O. Albert

i. News. This is a report of everyday events in society, government, science and industry, and
accidents, happening nationally or not.

j. Oration. This is a formal treatment of a subject and is intended to be spoken in public. It

appeals to the intellect, to the will or to the emotions of the audience.

POETRY

- refers to those expressions in verse, with measure and rhyme, line and stanza and has a more
melodious tone.

A. NARRATIVE POETRY.

This form describes important events in life either real or imaginary. The different
varieties are:

1. Epic. This is an extended narrative about heroic exploits often under supernatural

control.

Example: THE HARVEST SONG OF ALIGUYON translated in English by Amador T.

Daguio

2. Metrical Tale. This is a narrative which is written in verse and can be classified either

as a ballad or a metrical romance.

Examples: BAYANI NG BUKID by Al Perez HERO OF THE FIELDS by Al Perez

3. Ballads. Of the narrative poems, this is considered the shortest and simplest. It has a simple
structure and tells of a single incident. There are also variations of these: love ballads, war
ballads, and sea ballads, humorous, moral, and historical or mythical ballads. In the early time,
this referred to a song accompanying a dance.

B. LYRIC POETRY.

Originally, this refers to that kind of poetry meant to be sung to the accompaniment of

a lyre, but now, this applies to any type of poetry that expresses emotions and feelings
of the poet. They are usually short, simple and easy to understand.

1. Folksongs (Awiting Bayan). These are short poems intended to be sung. The common
theme is love, despair, grief, doubt, joy, hope and sorrow.

Example:CHIT-CHIRIT-CHIT

2. Sonnets. This is a lyric poem of 14 lines dealing with an emotion, a feeling, or an idea. These
are two types: the Italian and the Shakespearean.

Example:SANTANG BUDS by Alfonso P. Santos

3. Elegy. This is a lyric poem which expresses feelings of grief and melancholy, and whose
theme is death.

Example:THE LOVER’S DEATH by Ricaredo Demetillo

4. Ode. This is a poem of a noble feeling, expressed with dignity, with no definite number of
syllables or definite number of lines in a stanza.

5. Psalms (Dalit). This is a song praising God or the Virgin Mary and containing a philosophy of
life.

6. Awit (Song). These have measures of twelve syllables (dodecasyllabic) and slowly

sung to the accompaniment of a guitar or banduria.

Example:FLORANTE AT LAURA by Franciso Balagtas

7. Corridos (Kuridos). These have measures of eight syllables (octosyllabic) and recited to a
martial beat.

Example:IBONG ADARNA

C. DRAMATIC POETRY

1. Comedy. The word comedy comes from the Greek term “komos”meaning festivity or

revelry. This form usually is light and written with the purpose of amusing, and usually

has a happy ending.

2. Melodrama. This is usually used in musical plays with the opera. Today, this is related

to tragedy just as the farce is to comedy. It arouses immediate and intense emotion

and is usually sad but there is a happy ending for the principal character.

3. Tragedy. This involves the hero struggling mightily against dynamic forces; he meets

death or ruin without success and satisfaction obtained by the protagonist in a

comedy.

4. Farce. This is an exaggerated comedy. It seeks to arouse mirth by laughable lines;

situations are too ridiculous to be true; the characters seem to be caricatures and the

motives undignified and absurd.

5. Social Poems. This form is either purely comic or tragic and it pictures the life of

today. It may aim to bring about changes in the social conditions.

Verse – line of metrical writing and used in poetry.

a. Couplet – made up of two lines of verse that form a unit alone or as part of a poem, esp. two
that rhyme and have the same meter

b. Tercet – is a group of three lines of verse that rhyme with each other or withanother group of
three.

c. Haiku – form of Japanese poetry w/ 17 syllables in three unrhymed lines of five-seven-five

syllables, often describing nature or a season

d. Quatrain – consists of four lines, esp. one with lines that rhyme alternatively

e. Limerick – five-line humorous poem with a characteristic rhythm, often w/ a risqué subject

f. Sestet – consists of six lines, esp. the last six lines of a Petrarchan sonnet

g. Sonnet – short poem with 14 lines, usually ten-syllable rhyming lines, divided into two, three
or four sections.
Name:
Course – Major: Rating
Year Level:

Activity 1.1

Identification: Write L for Lyric, D for Dramatic, S for Special and N for Narrative. Write the letter
opposite the genre in each number.

1. Elegy - _________

2. Epic - _________

3. Psalm - _________

4. Concrete - _________

5. Character Sketch - __________

6. Limerick - _________

7. Soliloquy - _________

8. Haiku - _________

9. Ode - _________

10. Sonnet - _________

Independent learning 1.1.

Enrichment: Choose 1 (one) example of the Types of Literature and make a reflection paper
using 3 (three) paragraphs.

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 Lesson 2: Genres of Philippine Literature

Specific Objectives:
a. Identify the Genre of Philippine Literature

b. Write a summary of a short story

Ancient/ Folk Literature

TIME COVERED: beginnings unknown, up to around the 1550s

OTHER. NAMES: folkloric, epic, heroic, mythic, legendary

 folkloric - because the earliest literature of any country or people is basically folklore.
 epic - because of the same reason above and notably because the “Philippines” was
richest in epics during this period.
 heroic - because epic heroes were the most important personalities of the age.
Unfortunately, we are more familiar with the western epic heroes).
 Myth and legendary - because ancient literature is a mix of popular, unverified, ,
traditional literature with superhuman beings, ancestors or heroes, widely circulating
among a people; imbedded in their very culture and consciousness and embodied in
their ideals and values.

CONTENT AND LITERARY TYPES:

 folktales: myths, legends, fables, fantastic stories

 epics: from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao
 poems: riddles, proverbs, short poems of various kinds
 folksongs: from different regions drama forms (not represented in this book)
WRITERS: Authors are unknown as is usually the case in the earliest and unwritten literature of
the people. Authors are sometimes said to be “collective” or the “folk.” Many by-lines in early
literature are translators, anthropologists, compilers or recorders.

LITERARY TRADITION: the folk tradition

For lack of information, the following characteristics apply mainly to the Tagalog folk
tradition or to traditions similar to it. authors — anonymous or “floating”

language - the vernacular, imagistic, metaphorical

rendition — oral: chanted, recited or sung from memory with or without music, dance, acting;
predominantly in verse

use and intent — for socialization

content — natural phenomena, interaction between man and nature, love, cycle of life, origins
of man, world, heroic exploits, battle, kinship, supernature, charms and magic, religion and
ritual, occupations

PROSODY: simple and regular rhyme and meter (hepta or octosyllabic), brief stanzas - (couplet
or quatrain), repetitious

TONE: heroic, didactic, aphoristic, romantic and sentimental, pastoral, allegorical

LITERARY RELATIONS: Asian, most probably with Indonesia, Malaysia, India (as seen, for
ex.; in Mindanao epics), possibly China

APPROACH: The cultural approach is recommended. Much is to be said about using the
cultural approach in ancient literature.

In the first place, this literature is a principal vehicle and vessel of culture, very revelatory
of the way of life, of the soul and character of the people.

In the second place, this literature existed before or only at the inception of acculturative
processes and is therefore a “pure” or near-pure expression of an indigenous culture.

In the third place, if there is a people who must “get at her roots” and work out an identity
in the face of the avalanche of diverse cultures, not always good, up to this very day, it is the
Filipino.
 As the class goes through the selections, deliberately note and call attention to the
abundant indications of how our ancestors lived, died, sang, celebrated, battled, played, loved,
married, dressed, etc., and you will say, “No wonder we're like that!” So valuable indeed is the
cultural component of early Philippine literature, especially of Ancient Times that the cultural
approach is strongly recommended.

FOLKTALES

NOTES

DEFINITION: Folktales are stories:

 handed down from the remote past

 by word of mouth from generation to generation, among the masses of the people
 and reflecting the traditions of this people.

KINDS: Folktales may be divided into four categories:

 Myths deal mainly with the creation of the universe, the origin of man, the gods and
supernatural beings, and native culture heroes.
 Legends deal mainly with the origin of local phenomena or events, origins of places,
plants, animals, things and names.
 Fables deal with animals and inanimate beings made to speak and act like rational
beings and pointing out morals.
 Fantastic stories deal with the unseen world or the underworld and features odd,
whimsical, or grotesque characters.

Myths and legends are similar to each other and are often taken for one and the same thing.
The Philippines abounds in myths, legends and fantastic creations such as the aswang, nuno sa
punso, kapre, duwende, manananggal, etc. Fables are the scarcest.

 Each of the four kinds of folktales are represented in this book: The myths deal with the
origin of a god ~ Bathala; a version of creation by Maykapal, the creation of man by
Kabunian; and a Luzon myth on the Deluge.
 The legends deal with the origin of a plant, the banana; of an animal, the frog; of a
name, Mindoro; and of local phenomena, Kanlaon Volcano and the numerous islands
that make up the Philippines.
  There is the well-known fable about the tortoise and the monkey, and one “fantastic
story” with the creature called a tianak.

MYTH

BATHALA OR ABBA

By FLanda Jocano

The highest-ranking deity of the ancient Tagalogs was called Bathala or Abba. Like other
divinities the world over, Bathala’s origin was not known. He merely appeared one day (his
coming was said to have been heralded by flood, fire, and turbulent earthquakes) and
announced his lordship over mankind. So great and powerful was Bathala that no one dared to
question his demand for obedience and reverence from man. Because historians and writers
often refer to this deity as the god of the ancient Filipinos, Bathala gradually became the
accepted representative deity of the whole nation, overwhelming all other divinities in
importance.

Bathala was said to be the creator of all things—-the sea, the sky, the earth, and all the
vegetation around us. He dwelt in the highest realm of the ethereal space called Kaluwalhatian
or sky. Just and merciful, he was said to be the sustainer, keeper, nourisher, and protector of
mankind. Sometimes he seemed very human. He welcomed gifts from people with deep
appreciation and was pleased when men were helpful and obedient to his moral laws, He was
lavish in his love toward those who kept his commandments and paid him homage. To a certain
extent, however, this kindness made some of his favorites resigned to their subordinate
status—always depending upon him to do things for them and many others more courageous
and daring albeit wary 1n their attitude. From this outlook came the Bahala na or “let the future
care” philosophy of life. This underlies the major character trait of Filipinos—the tendency to
take unnecessary risk in difficult situations, and to be venturesome, reckless, or courageous in
time of danger.

While Bathala was, said to be compassionate and forever understanding, contrite hearts
seeking forgiveness, he was equally exacting and unforgiving in his punishment to sinners. He
did not hesitate to send thunder and lightning to strike the transgressors of his laws. He
presided over the lesser divinities who cared for the needs of the people and guarded the
general welfare of the reverent families. His power and goodness were devoted to the interest of
the people to whom he was the almighty protector!

LEGEND

WHY THE PHILIPPINES HAS MANY ISLANDS

By FLanda Jocano

A long time ago, there lived in the hills of Samtoy, ancient name of the Ilocos Region,
two huge beings, Angalo and Angarab. The husband and wife were so big that when they
walked the entire island shook.

In those days the Philippines was not divided into small islands. It was made up of a
wide, solid piece of land, which extended as far as the tip of northern Borneo.

One day Angalo and Angarab went to gather clams in the southern end of the island,
which is now in the Sulu sea. When they opened the clams to eat the meat, they found sparkling
stones inside. The luster of these pebbles caught the fancy of the couple. They gathered more
clams and removed the brilliant stones. When they had collected a considerable number of the
glittering pebbles, they started home.

Upon arriving in the middle of the island, the question of who should have more of the
pearls arose between the couple. This question stirred a quarrel which ended in a fight.

They stamped their big feet and shouted at each other. The pressure of their heavy
steps, added to the vibration of their angry shouts, sent the mountains and hills falling apart.
The land leveled and cracked. And when the fight got serious, big pieces went flying to all
directions. The scene of the fight was horribly smashed up. This became the Bisayan Islands.
The enormous pieces that went flying in other directions became the islands of Luzon and
Mindanao.
FABLE

THE TORTOISE AND THE MONKEY

By Jose P. Rizal

Once the tortoise and the monkey found | a banana tree floating on a river. It has a
grand trunk with many green leaves, with its | roots whole, exactly as if a storm had just
uprooted it. The two took it to the bank.

“Let us divide it,” said the tortoise, “and each one plant his share.”

They cut it in the middle, and the monkey being the stronger one, took for himself the |
upper part, thinking that as it had leaves, it would grow more rapidly. The tortoise being weaker
was left with the lower part which seemed dead though it did have roots. After | a few days they
met. “Good morning, Mr. Monkey,” said the tortoise, “How is your banana plant?” “Oh!” replied
the monkey, “It has been dead for a long time! And yours, Miss Tortoise?” “Mine? Very well,
certainly! With leaves and fruits. Only I can’t climb it to gather the fruits.”

“Don’t worry about it,” said the wicked monkey. “I’m going to climb it and pick them for you.”

“Thanks in advance, Mr. Monkey,” replied the tortoise gratefully.

The two went to the tortoise’s house. As soon as the monkey glimpsed the beautiful
bunch of bright yellow bananas between the broad green leaves, he hurled himself toward
them, climbing with incredible agility and began eating them rapidly, laughing and grinning.

“But, give me some also!” begged the tortoise, seeing that the monkey did not mind her in the
least. “Not even the peeling!” replied the rascal with two cheeks full.

The tortoise thought of taking revenge. She went to the river, gathered some thorns and
shells and arranged them around the banana tree, hiding himself under a coconut shell, When
the monkey came down, he was hurt and began to bleed.

He went to look for the tortoise, finding her with great difficulty.

“You, infamous creature, here I have you at last!” he said. “You have to pay me for
everything, you ought to die. But, as I’m very generous, I’ ll leave to you the choice of the
manner of your death. Which do you ~ prefer? I chop you in a mortar or I throw you into the
water?”

“The mortar, chop me in the mortar!” exclaimed the tortoise. “I’m so afraid to drown!”
"Oh!” said the monkey laughing, “so you are afraid to drown? Well then, I’m going to drown
you.”

And taking her to the river bank, he threw her with all his might into the river. But soon
the tortoise reappeared, swimming and mocking the deceived monkey, but nonetheless wicked
monkey.

FANTASTIC STORY

TWO BOYS AND A TIANAK

By Maximo Ramos

One day two friends, Yoyong and Mente, were walking through a coconut grove. Night
was falling and the countryside was growing dark. When their path led them near some low-
hanging trees, they heard a loud cry.

“What’s that?” Yoyong whispered.

“It’s nothing,” replied Mente. “Just a baby in its mother’s arms. Maybe she 1s going
home through the grove.”

Then they heard the baby’s cry again. It came from under the trees. The two friends
stopped and looked at each other in silence. “J wonder what a mother and her baby could be
doing here so late in the day?” said Mente. “Let us find out.”

“There are no people jiving here, and it is getting dark,” said Yoyong. It was a cool
evening but his face and neck were moist with sweat.

“You a big boy, afraid of an infant laughed Mente. “Come, let’s look for the baby.”

Mente pulled Yoyong toward the trees. - They walked to where the cries had come from,
and soon under a big tree they saw a baby. He was kicking about and crying ona banana leaf
spread on the ground.

“Poor baby!” said Mente, picking him up and kissing his cheeks. “He is very cold!”

“And he must be very hungry besides!” said Yoyong. “Where could his mother be?”
 “I don’t believe he has a mother,” said Mente. “Ill take him home and raise him. When he
grows big and I’m a man he will be my servant. He will cook my dinner and serve me at the
table and wash the dishes.”

“No, you give me the baby,” said Yoyong. “He is mine. I heard him cry first.”

“He is mine!” replicd Mente. ““You may have heard him first, but you were for running
away. You would have run away, too, if J did not force you to come with me and look for him.”

Yoyong claimed the baby but Mente said the baby was his, and they became angry with
each other. Yoyong run off to a bamboo fence and pulled out a stake to strike Mente with.
Mente saw him and, putting down the baby, prepared to fight Yoyong.

But no sooner had he placed the baby on the ground than a very strange thing
happened. In a twinkling the baby became an old man with an ugly, frightful face. He had a dirty
beard that hung down to his chest, and his face was covered with thick hair. His eyes were
bright and small; one of his legs was much longer than the other. He was a tianak.

When Mente saw the tianak he became so terrified that he turned to run away. But ‘the
tianak leaped after him and buried its sharp teeth in his arm. Mente screamed for help, and
when Yoyong heard him and saw the tianak, he became very much frightened, too. So he
started running away and exclaiming: “Susmariosep! Susmariosep!”

No sooner were the words out of Yoyong’s mouth than the tianak let go of Mente and
vanished into the darkness.

Then Yoyong and Mente forgot thej, quarrel and ran away as fast as ever you please.

They reached home tired and breathing hard. Aling Nenang, Yoyong’s mother, put some
medicine where the tianak had bitten Mente.

“It is very lucky that Yoyong said “Susmariosep’,” Aling Nenang said. “Only that word can
drive the tianak away.” “Please tell us more about the tianak,” said Mente.

“The tianak looks frightful,” skie said.

“But he does not harm you unless you harm him first, or unless he sees that you are
afraid. Remember this when you see another tianak.”

“I hope I'll never see one again,” said Yoyong.

“Why does the tianak turn himself into a baby, Aling Nenang?” asked Mente.
 “So that you will go near him,” she replied. “When you are near enough, he changes
himself into his ugly form to frighten you with his fearful looks. Then, if you become afraid, he
will bite you.”

“Does the tianak eat people?” Yoyong asked.

“No,” she replied. The tianak likes to frighten people, but I never heard of anyone killed
by a tianak.”

“We saw another strange thing about the tianak,” said Mente. “His legs.”

“Was one leg much longer than the other?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“Well, the tianak’s right leg 1s always longer than his left,” said Aling Nenang. “It is so
long that when he squats on the ground, his right knee 1s far above his head but his left knee
reaches only up his chest.”

“I don’t think the tianak would be much of a runner, then,” said Yoyong. “One of his legs
is too short. If he tries to run, he will stumble.”

“He is not much of a runner, to be sure,” admitted Aling Nenang. “But he can leap very
far. He can leap very much farther than a man can. I tell you, boys,” she added, “you better
keep away from the tianak if you can help it.”

Name: Rating
Course – Major:
Year Level:

Activity 1.2

Fiction/ Nonfiction

Matching type: Write the letter before the number

1. ______ Short Story

2. ______ Biography

3. ______ Essay

4. ______ Diary

5. ______ Letters

6. ______ Novel

7. ______ Autobiography

8. ______ Chronicle

9. ______ History

10. ______ Journal

A. It is a brief work of fiction. It presents a sequence of events, or plot.

B. It is a form of non-fiction in which a writer tells his life story of another person.

C. It is a form of non-fiction in which a person tells his or her own life story.

D. It comes from the French word “essai” which means an attempt. It is a short story, nonfiction
work about a particular subject.
E. It is a long work of fiction. It contains all the elements of short stories but longer than short
stories.

F. These things recorded are public significance.

G. It is a recording of events of interest to a given individual.

H. It is a personal recording of events of interest to a given individual

I. It is written long enough after the events described so that the author will have a proper
perspective of the subject.

J. It is a correspondence exchange between people.

k. A narrative based on personified animals as its characteristics in situations that are life like
and usually humorous.

Independent learning 1.2

Write a summary of any short story. Make the necessary addendums.

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 Lesson 3: Literature from Luzon

Specific Objectives:
a. Identify the and discuss literature from Luzon

b. Plot structure of the story

EPICS

Like the rest of folklore, epics are rendered orally—recited, chanted (in different Style, or
sung; from memory, with or without the accompaniment of some musical instrumen rendered
solo and/or with groups of persons similar to a “chorus,” running through Sseverg days with
several hours per day. Rendition can be of great interest not only to the poet by, also to the
musicologist and linguist.

LITERARY CHARACTERISTICS

Epics are in verse form but very unique from region to region and not to be compare, to
Western verse forms. The native prosody can of course be seen in the original dialect in which
the epics originated. In translation, this prosody can also be seen in “close translations” in which
the original verse forms have been painstakingly retained Such is the case with all the epics or
parts thereof that have been chosen for this book except for the relatively “free translation” of
Bantugan.

VALUE TO CULTURE

What do the epics show of early culture? By definition, epics, more than other shorter
genres, embody beliefs, customs and traditions of a people. Besides the linguistic and the
literary, what the epics reveal in the historical, societal, ideational, artistic. religious-ritualistic,
even technological levels — in short, a people's collective “spirit’ and way of life — is
incalculable. Focusing on just three points: the recurrent subject matter and themes, the
portrayal of the male heroes, and that of the principal women characters; will show how
revelation of culture the epics are. Watch them:

Recurrent Subject matter, Themes and Motifs

- heroic exploits and adventures of the hero

- supernatural or superhuman deeds of the hero

- love and romance

- courtship – marriage - pregnancy - birth cycles

- death and resuscitation

- battles and bravery,

- wealth and royalty and feasting

- magical and fantastic phenomena and beings and objects

- customs and rituals

- kinship behavior and solidarity, familial relationships

The Male Hero

Reading the epics, especially orally, will readily reveal the characteristics of the male
hero. Listing them here will only lessen interest and imagination and preempt the discovery of
those traits by the students themselves. As a guide it is sufficient to state that most of the traits
and characteristics can be classified under the following headings: physical, social, supernatural
or superhuman. Is there also evidence of religious, intellectual, moral dimensions?

The Principal Woman Character

She is often the love interest of the hero, and next, the mother. Note the phrases or
words used to describe the “heroine.” How is she pictured? What are her traits?
 THE KALINGA'ULLALINM

By Francisco Billet and Francis Lambrecht

Since time immemorial, the Kalinga have sung the feats of their fictitious culture heroes,
thereby proclaiming the bravery of their people and their innate pride of belonging to that ethnic
stock whose valor overcomes danger and fear, whose ambuscades display cleverness, and
whose headhunts powerfully function as the fulfillment of duty toward kin and clan. These
Kalinga epic songs of heroic exploits are called Ullalim. They could also be called “romances” in
that almost all of them contain a romantic motif which serves to unify the various events
pertaining to the battle motif of the story.

A. Region 1: Ilocos Region

THE ILOCANO EPIC: LAM-ANG

By Leopoldo Yabes

O God, the Holy Ghost, illumine, Lord, my thought so I can relate faithfully the account of
the life of a man. In the old, old days there were a couple who had just been united in holy
wedlock. As the days rolled by, the wife conceived the child which was the fruit of the sacrament
they had received. She ate a variety of fruits like green tamarind, pias,’ and daligan? Young
coconut fruits, guavas about to ripen, oranges, and lolo-kisen.? And for meals she ate these:

“You go and see the bamboos we planted on Mount Kapariaan and cut down some.

Panapana and maratangtang, ararosip and aragan, tirem and shrimps; Pingpinggan and
im-immoko, loslosi and pokpoklo, leddangan and soso—these she liked much to eat. When she
reached the seventh month of her pregnancy, she and her husband were filled with joy at the
proximity of her confinement. Namongan then thought of preparing, balitang for her
confinement.
 She told her husband, ‘‘Ay, my husband Don Juan, kindly go and cut bamboos for my
balitang.

“It is necessary that we now prepare all things needed for the coming of our child,

“So that we shall not be found unprepared when the day comes. The balitang then will
be ready for me to lie on.”

Her husband Don Juan therefore started out; and when he reached the clump of
bamboos, he went around it once.” He then commanded the wind to blow. The rain fell in
torrents. The clouds were like unto a deep abyss—so black were they. Lightning and thunder in
quick succession attacked the clump of bamboos and trimmed it like hair.

“Ay”, Don Juan said, “it would be shameful on my part should I carry you, bamboos.” The
bamboos therefore went before and Don Juan followed after.

When he reached home, the bamboos arranged themselves in the houseyard. And
Namongan said, “My husband Don Juan, J need firewood such as molave and gasatan “for my
lying-in, and also dangla'® and guava” stripped of its bark. Also, you go and buy a jar and a
stove on which to warm myself.

“Also prepare water for my bath and a one-man pot so that we shall have something to
keep the kadkad-dua?' of our child in.”

When he had all these things prepared, Don Juan set out for the blackest”? mountain by
way of the river, to engage the checkered Igorots in a fight. In the meantime, Namongan lay in
confinement. — All available midwives were called for to assist in the delivery, including Old
Marcos, the diver, Alisot, and Pasho, the rich man; But all their efforts to a successful delivery
availed not. And they thought ofan old woman, shorn of almost all her strength. And she
succeeded in helping Namongan to a successful issue. The newbom was a boy who had
alrcady the gift of speech:

“Ay, mother Namongan, -when you have me baptized, baptize me with the name
Lamang, and my god-father shall be the old man Gibuan.” And when he was baptized, he asked
his mother Namongan about his father:
 “Ay, mother, this I should like to know: whether I have a father or none, whether I am of
honorable or dishonorable birth.” And Namongan said in answer. “Ay, my son Lam-ang, as
regards thy father when you were still in my womb, he went away.

“He went to war with the checkered Igorots in the Igorot country, and since then | he has
not returned.” And Lam-ang said, “Ay, mother Namongan, kindly give me leave to search for
him.”

And Namongan answered, “Ay, my son, my brave Lam-Ang, dare not go because you
are still too young and your limbs are brittle.

“You are a baby scarcely nine months old.” Brave Lam-ang, nevertheless, went inspite
of his mother’s opposition. To war he went in the Igorot country, | hoping there to find his father.
He pocketed several kinds of magic stones, such as those of the sagang the tangraban, the
law-lawigan,and the musang.He wended his way through thickets of brush and light bamboo,
his tremendous speed made possible by the magic stone of the centipede he had with him.
When he reached the valley of the river, he saw a tree which was the biggest in the countryside.
Under this tree was the resting place of the tattooed Igorots, and here Lam-ang decided to wait
for his enemies. He looked about him and saw a big root which could serve for a temporary
stove. Immediately he washed and poured rice into his pot, a one-man pot, but which could
contain food even for the absent—those who are traveling.”’

When he had eaten his fill, he said, “It is but meet that I take a rest.” - He reached for his
shield and lay it by his side and his spear he planted on the ground near his feet. He then drew
his sword, his trusty weapon, and presently fell asleep. And there came to him a vision, and in
that vision, he saw someone who spoke to him thus: (

“Arise, my friend Lam-ang, tarry not and resume your journey immediately for the Igorots
are already feasting around the head of your father,” Lam-ang rose from his fitful sleep,
gathered his weapons, started out, and walked on and on.

And when he reached the blackg, Mountain, near Mamdili and Dagman,” Came unto an
Igorot gathering. And saw conspicuous in the dining plac, the head of his father in a
sarukang”And Lam-ang said unto the feast makers “Ay, checkered Igorots, I should like to know
what crime my father had committed that you should have beheaded him. It is only just that you
answer for your crime.”
 The tattooed Igorots answered, “‘Ay, our friend Lam-ang, you had better return home; if
not you will surely suffer the fate of your father.” Lam-ang retorted, “Ay, tattooed Igorots, I would
not be satisfied if I should fight only such men as you, Igorot chiefs.

“You, Bumakas, summon here as one man all your people:

“Those of Dardarat and Padang, or Nueva, Dogodog, and Tapaan, of Mamookan and
Kawayan. “Of Amangabon and Gambang, Lipay and Kapariaan, Sumadag and Lukutan,
Tupinaw and Bandan,

“Of Sambangki and Loy-a, Bakong and Sasaba, and Tebteb and Bakayawan.” When the
summons had been sent out. To ali hese towns, the inhabitants were like unto roosters, hens
and chickens at their master’s Call—so many were they. O, so many were they it was
impossible to determine their number. Lam-ang rubbed the magic stone of the lawlawigan with
his hand;

And immediately jumped forth and ran at a bound toward the plain. Making a big sound
with his arms and arm-pits, and groins and legs as he ran. His enemies surrounded him on all
sides, and now the fight began. The spears rained thick on Lam-ang, like heavy rain of an
evening, but he caught these spears

As he would receive buyo. He remained unhurt. Shortly the Igorots ran short of spears.
And such-like weapons, as doros and pika. These weapons could not touch the body of Lam-
ang at all. Brave Lam-ang now announced to them:

“It is now my turn to take revenge; I draw you, my sword, my trusty weaponand he drew
it and struck it on the ground; And he ate such things as had stuck to the weapon because they
were a good antidote against harm. And now he declared, “Ay, checkered Igorots now be
ready,” and with his hands he summoned the low strong wind. And on it he was borne. Then he
charged his enemies, felling them with his double-edged sword right and left, as easily as felling
banana plants.

His weapon went on with its work of destruction until all his enemies lay dead, save one.
Whom he wanted to make fun of. He seized the tattooed Igorot and said to him, “This is now
your end.” And he untoothed him, dug out his eyes, and cut off his ears and fingers. And then
he let him go and, taking no pity on him, said in derision:

“This I did to you so your relatives will have something to remember me by, and as a
memento of this event, I shall also tie up these spears in a bundle. “Now, you, field of combat, I
bid you good-bye”—and brave Lam-ang left for home. He went home to his mother Namongan.
Like unto the river Vigan was the blood that flowed from out the bodies of the dead Igorots. And
when he arrived at his town Nalbuan, he said to his mother Namongan,

“I should like to know what fault my father committed against you that he should have left
you.” And Namongan replied, “Ay, my son Lam-ang, as for your father, sir, I know of nothing he
should have hated me for, because we have never quarreled.” And Lam-ang said unto his
mother, “Punishment should be your due, had you not reasoned well.

“Ay mother Namongan, kindly sound the longgangan,” for I want my girl friends who
number ‘twice nine, nine times nine’*8 to come here. “I want them to accompany me to the river
Amburayan and wash my hair, which has become dirty and sticky because of the war which
lasted all day yesterday. “Ay, mother, come let us go and clean the palay in the old barn, the
barn whose posts are of gasatan and whose floor and rafters are of der-an* and bellang.

“Ay, mother Namongan, take also some rice straw”’—Namongan, took some and they
went to sweep. The entrance to the barn was daubed over with the saliva and excreta of spiders
and cockroaches, for it had been long since it was last opened. “It is now nine years” that we
have not taken from our palay samosam, ibuan, “and lagingan,

“Lumanog and lampadan, rattektek and makan, gagaynet ang balasang, also
kimmattuday. When they were about to finish cleanin the palay, Lam-ang said to his gir|
companions, “Ay, my sisters, take from each kind of palay and what you are able to clean will be
yours.” When they had finished cleaning more than one baar, Lam-ang again told his
companions, “Each of you will bundle up what you will carry.

“Also don’t forget to take the coconut shell and some embers to ignite the straw with.
“Ay, my sisters, you will also return the embers because they are precious, they being those of
the patikalang. “ We shall take a bath in the Amburayan River. “I want to try my strength and
skill with the crocodile, reputed to be the biggest ever known in these regions, which is said to
inhabit the river.” And so, they went.

He took a walk on the bank of the river and saw whirlpools in the water caused by the
crocodile. And Lam-ang said, “Ay, my sisters burn the rice straw now.” And when the straw
would not burn, Lam-ang summoned the strong wind and the fire rose in flames; the smoke was
So thick it drew the wonder of the people of San Juan; And the natives of Baknotan ran to the
scene because they thought it was a burning house. Seeing that they could not suppress the
fire, Lam-ang summoned the rain, which fell in torrents, the clouds, which looked like an abyss,
and the lightning and thunder; but it was long before the fire was put out.

And Lam-ang said, “Ay, my sisters, kindly take the coconut shell, come with me to the
middle of the river, and there wash my hair.” When they had washed his hair, the bagsang and
lobsters swam ashore, the kampa floated, and eels came out aplenty and brave Lam-ang said,
“Ay, my sisters, don’t wait in anxiety, for now I will dive deep and try my mettle with the huge
crocodile.”

Lam-ang dived upstream but could not find the crocodile because it had gone
downstream; when the animal went upstream and Lam-ang downstream, the two came face-to-
face. Then began the battle royal. In his utter fury, Lam-ang charged the crocodile and without
much struggle overcame it and carried it on his back ashore.

And Lam-ang said to the girls, “Ay, my sisters, you pull out its teeth because they are a good
talisman on journeys. “And now, my sisters, it is time that we return to the house we left.” As
soon as they were home, he told his mother Namongan, “Ay mother Namongan, please reward
these my sisters; give them each a peso for a step to and from the river.

And when they had been given their reward: “Ay, mother Namongan please open the
second store room and give me my most precious clothes, “For now I shall don them: the
trousers with the galon, the shirt with the sombra, and the kerchief with the so/sol, “ which my
sisters embroidered.” And after a while, “Mother, please open also the third store room and
bring out the nine chains of gold wire, “Which melts when put in the sun, wire which was my
heirloom from my great grandparents;

“I shall use it as a string for my beloved pets-my white rooster, my hen with the
yellowish-orange legs, and my hairy dog with “For I should like to pay court to Dofia Incs
Kannoyan who, | have learned, lives in the town of Kalanutian; “She is a beautiful maiden and
industrious because it is said she can spin nine /alabayan" in one evening.”

To this Namongan said, “Ay my son, my brave Lam-ang, dare not go, sir, because I am
sure Dofia Ines Kannoyan won’t care to love such a man as you. “Many rich natives, and
Spaniards too, it is said, have offered her their suit, but she did not care for any of them. Would
she then care to love such a man as you?” And Lam-ang replied, “Ay my mother Namongan,
despite your advice I will just go to Kalanutian. Who can ever tell if she will learn to love me?”
 Namongan again replied, “Ay my son Lam-ang, if it is a wife you are after, sir, there are
many girls in this town. All you need to do is to pick out the one you like and love.” And brave
Lam-ang replied, ““Ay mother Namongan, as for that, “None of the girls you mention can arouse
my love. Now please don’t detain me for I am going without fail.”

Namongan again said, “My son Lamang, hear me, sir, and dare not go, “For she might
pour upon you a basinful of urine, and it will be a pity if you will be gheean Luaenilaten to this
Lam-ang’s rooster, pet hen, ang white dog said in chorus: “Ay, mother Namongan, according to
our dream yesterday, Dofia Ines Kannoyan will doubtless become your daughter-in-law.”

And so, Lam-ang said, “Mother, kindly give me the coconut oil you extracted only
yesterday, for I want to pour some on my hen; and we shall wear our best for our journey to
Kalanutian. “Ay, Mother Namongan, also give me the nine chains of gold wire.” When he
received the chains of gold wire, he cut strings for his white rooster, And also for his hairy dog.
When he had stringed them, he prepared for his journey.

He took his feathered rooster in his arms, and when he was about to leave, his mother
said, “Ay, my son Lam-ang, may God accompany you. “Be careful about yourself for you know
too well the dangers that lurk by the wayside.” And Lam-ang said, “Ay, mother Namongan, may
God remain with you.”And now he departed and walked in the direction of Kalanutian, home
town of Dofia Ines Kannoyan.

He walked on and on, and when he was about halfway his trip, he met a man, Sumarang
whose eyes were as big as a plate and whose nose was of the size of two feet put together.
Sumarang inquired, “Ay, my brave friend Lam-ang, what forest and mountain are you bound for
to do your trapping and hunting?” And Lam-ang also asked, “Ay, my friend Sumarang, may I
know too the land whence you came and the town where you went for diversion?”

And Sumarang answered, “If you wish to know, my friend, I came from Kalanutian where
I went to pay court to Dofia Ines Kannoyan.” And Lam-ang said, “That same place, my friend
Sumarang, is my destination, and your aim, too, is my aim in going there.” To this Sumarang
replied, “Ay, my friend Lam-ang, you had better not continue your journey, for surely Dofia Ines
Kannoyan will not accept the love of such a man as you.

“There came many rich men and handsome Spaniards, but Dojia Ines Kannoyan did not
even deign to show them her face. Ay, my friend, better not proceed any further.” And Lam-ang
said, “Ay, my friend Sumarang, now let us each go our different ways, for J am determined to try
my luck with Dojia Ines Kannoyan.” Now said Sumarang, “Be ready, for if you cannot parry my
poisoned weapon, this surely will be the end of your life.”

Lam-ang answered, “Be it as you will, my friend Sumarang. I am all ready.” Sumarang
whose eyes were as big as a plate and whose nose was of the size of two feet put together.
Sumarang inquired, “Ay, my brave friend Lam-ang, what forest and mountain are you bound for
to do your trapping and hunting?” And Lam-ang also asked, “Ay, my friend Sumarang, may I
know too the land whence you came and the town where you went for diversion?”

And Sumarang answered, “If you wish to know, my friend, I came from Kalanutian where
I went to pay court to Dofia Ines Kannoyan.” And Lam-ang said, “That same place, my friend
Sumarang, is my destination, and your aim, too, is my aim in going there.”

To this Sumarang replied, “Ay, my friend Lam-ang, you had better not continue your journey, for
surely Dofia Ines Kannoyan will not accept the love of such a man as you. “There came many
rich men and handsome Spaniards, but Dojia Ines Kannoyan did not even deign to show them
her face. Ay, my friend, better not proceed any further.”

And Lam-ang said, “Ay, my friend Sumarang, now let us each go our different ways, for
J am determined to try my luck with Dojia Ines Kannoyan.” Now said Sumarang, “Be ready, for if
you cannot parry my poisoned weapon, this surely will be the end of your life.” Lam-ang
answered, “Be it as you will, my friend Sumarang. I am all ready.” Sumarang drew his spear and
struck at his friend Lam-ang.

Lam-ang received the spear as he would receive buyo from the hands of a maiden. He
caught it between his little and ring fingers and swung it nine times around his neck and back,
and then addressed his foe: “Ay, my friend Sumarang, I give you back your weapon because I
don’t want to be indebted to you of it. Besides, its handle is warm from use, and mine own spear
is now cool from disuse. “Ay, my friend Sumarang, be ready for here comes my spear, and if
you cannot evade my thrust, you will fall dead and be left miserably to rot here. Ay, I forewarn
you.”

He summoned the strong wind with his hands and at the same time dealt Sumarang a
blow. Sumarang was thrust through, and over nine hills he was carried away by the spear. And
now Lam-ang said, “A man with a bad character ends that way. Ay, my friend Sumarang, it is
time to go and now I leave you here in this place of combat.”
 Brave Lam-ang took his white rooster in his arms and resumed his journey. He walked
on and on and presently came to the house of a woman, Saridandan® by name, who addressed
him thus, “Ay, brother Lam-ang, quicken your steps, “And let us embrace, for the woman
Saridandan is already very eager to see you, her eyes having grown tired searching you out in
the distance from the outer window.

“The buyo here on this tray has become dry waiting for you, my brother Lam-ang.
Brother, will you let me know whence you came?” And Lam-ang answered, “Ay, sister
Saridandan, if you wish to know, I came from my father and from my mother Namongan.” “Ay,
sister Saridandan, please don’t detain me any longer, for I am bound for Kalanutian so I may be
able to see Dona Ines Kannoyan.”

To which Saridandan replied, “Ay, how cruel you are, brother, you don’t even give me
the satisfaction of acceding to my request.” Brave Lam-ang walked on determined to reach his
destination and seek out his luck. Upon reaching the town of Kalanutian, he was surprised at
the number of suitors entertaining themselves in the yard of Kannoyan’s house; so grcat was it,
it would be hard to look for one’s companions.

One could walk on the heads of the suitors without touching the ground, one could plant
rice seeds in the holes made by the spears, and one could plant rice seedlings on their sputum.
Lam-ang asked himself, how shall I be able to get near the outhouse where Dojia Ines
Kannoyan is, with such a big crowd as this?

Undaunted, he edged his way through the Crowd, and when he had reached tha middle
of the houseyard, and let his rooster down on the ground, it flapped its wings and the outhouse
toppleq down. The noise attracted the attention of Dojia Ines Kannoyan and she looked out of
the window. Then the hairy dog growled and the outhouse arose reconstructed. The dog had
renovated the old and had made something from nothing”!

And the woman told her daughter, “Ay, my daughter Kannoyan, put on your best dress,
for here comes your brother, the brave Lam-ang.” Wearing her best, she went downstairs, and
when she reached the middle of the yard, Walking in the direction of Lam-ang, the wealthy
natives and the Spaniards looked on shame-faced and crestfallen.

And Kannoyan said, “Brother Lam-ang, quicken your pace and give me your hands and
let us embrace because the maiden Kannoyan is now very eager to see you,” “AY, brother Lam-
ang, come let us hence to the house under the huge tree walled with light bamboo which breaks
when dried in the” sun.

Once in the house Kannoyan said, “Ay, father, to Whom I owe much favor kindly bring
out the chair gilded with the gold wrought by the northerners.” And when they were seated,
Kannoyan said, “Ay, mother Unnayan, to whom I owe much favor, please cook rice in our one-
man pot. “Which, though small, can contain food even for the absent—those who are traveling.”
It is high time we prepare the dinner of my brother, Don Lam-ang.

“And father, kindly catch and cook the castrated cock which I have especially intended
for him when he comes this way.” When food was served, they sat down to eat, Lam-ang taking
his rice from the place where Dofia Ines Kannoyan took hers, and picking from the fish dish
where Dofia Ines Kannoyan picked from; And from the bow] from which Lamang sipped his
soup also sipped the modest and virtuous maiden Kannoyan.”

After the meal, Kannoyan told her mother, “Mother Unnayan, kindly go to that inclosure
yonder, “And take some green leaves from the betel plant which smiles at one’s approach and
winks when one picks its leaves. “Ay, mother Unnaydn, you also kindly pick some fruits from the
areca nut which laughs when one picks its fruits, and let us prepare buyo for my brother, the
brave Lamang.

“Mother, Unnayan, please roll some cigars from our tobacco batekan which was —
grown in the east of Cagayan.” When all these were prepared, Kannoyan’s parents inquired of
Lam-ang, “Ay, our son Lam-ang, will you kindly let us know the purpose which brought you
here?” And Lam-ang’s white, yellow-legged rooster answered, “We came here, sir and madam,
so that we may pay our respects to your daughter Kannoyan;

“And should you be willing, our master should like to offer his suit to your daughter.” And
Kannoyan’s parents answered, “Ay, our son Lam-ang, if you can give us a dowry. “All that we
ask of you, you may take her to wife, but should you not be able to give it, then please don’t
take our refusal hard to heart.” And the rooster said, “Lam-ang, sir and madam, is ready to
comply with all your demands.”

Now, said the old man, “Ay, my son Lam-ang, you direct your eyes to the middle of this
inclosure and you will see that the stones on the path are of gold. “All our landagan” are of the
purest gold. Ay, my son Lam-ang, you spread your eyes, “And look toward our front yard. There
are two figures of a rooster, four of a hen, two of a lobster—and all these are of pure gold”
 “Ay, my son Lam-ang, look about you and all you see are the riches of Kannoyan. “In our
house, which we have inherited from our ancestors, are two gold ballsplaythings of Kannoyan.
“Our tektek” and gaganayan” also are of pure gold; the same is true of our longgangan and our
salapayan. The mother of Kannoyan said, “Ay, my son Lam-ang, if you can duplicate “All the
things we have enumerated to you, you will be free to take in matrimony our daughter
Kannoyan.”

And Lam-ang said, “‘As for that, mother Unnayan, I can assure you that even after I
have given all you ask for, my patrimony will not yet suffer any great loss. “The contents of my
fish ponds will not all be exhausted to meet your demands; also, I have extensive fishing
grounds in the lang of the Igorots.

“Then there is my heritage multiplied nine times from my great grandparents,

grandparents, father, and mother. If the brave Lam-ang will still run short, “I also have two gold
tradeships plying between, here and the Chinese country trading in porcelain. I have
commercial connections with the king of Puanpuan, “My relative in that Chinese land. My
sampan has gone there on a voyage, and probably now it has returned with its cargo of
porcelain.”

Said the parents of Kannoyan, “Our son Lam-ang, return home now to your town
Nalbuan and tell your mother what has come to pass.” Lam-ang answered, “Ay, father, and you
too mother Unnayan, when I come back, I shall fire a salvo when I sail into the port of
Sabangan—and that shall be a sign that I am back.” Lam-ang took leave of his hosts and
journeyed home.

When he was gone, Kannoyan said to her parents, “Father, to whom I owe much | favor,
and you too mother Unnayan, “worry not. Let us decorate all the way from here to Sabangan,
making it as lively and beautiful as during the feast of Corpus Christi.” And her parents said, “All
your wishes, daughter Kannoyan, shall be fulfilled so you may not have cause to say aught
against us.”

Now Lam-ang arrived at his home town Nalbuan and greeted his mother, “Ay mother
Namongan, “How do I find you. J have now arrived from Kalanutian, home town of Dojia Ines
Kannoyan.” And to this Namongan said, “My son by the grace of God which we can never
repay, your mother is well.
 “My son, may I know how you fared in your quest?” And the white rooster answered,
“The maiden Kannoyan will surely be your daughter-in-law.” Lam-ang said, “You please sound
the longgangan* so our towns people will come here, and we shall all sail on my two ships for
my wedding. “We shall now load all the things needed for the festivities such as plates and
bowls, “Pigs and goats, vegetables and fish, gargaret™ and such-like things.

“Pots and basins too, pans big and small, and drinking and Jooking glass.” When they
had assembled together all their towns’ people, Lam-ang addressed the assemblage: “My
townspeople, let us now board my two ships and set sail for Kalanutian, town of my would-be
bride, Dofia Ines Kannoyan, I should like you to attend our wedding festivities.”

And when all the people had boarded, Lam-ang addressed himself to his mother, “Ay,
mother Namongan, please make ready “Kannoyan’s trousseau, her slippers embroidered with
gold, her wedding ring capped on with pearl stone, “Also her two combs and her two bracelets.”
Namongan gathered all these things and wrapped them up, ready to be presented to her
daughter-in-law.

And now Lam-ang said, “Come, mother, let us now board one of the ships.” Once on
board, they unfurled the sails. But the two ships would not move until Lam-ang slapped their
sterns. When they sailed into the port of Sabangan, Lam-ang fired a salvo, and by this signal
Dofia Ines Kannoyan knew that Lamang was already Back.

And she said, “Ay, my father, and you too mother Unnayan, brother Lam-ang has
already arrived, for he has fired a salvo at Sabangan. “Ay, father and mother, let us dress up
and go and welcome my brother Lam-ang at the sea-shore.” They went and when they reached
Sabangan, they found Lam-ang there waiting together with his mother,

And Kannoyan said, “Quicken your pace, brother Lam-ang, and give me your hand and
Iet us embrace, for the maiden Kannoyan is now eager to see you, “Ay, brother Lam-ang, you
let all your townspeople come ashore so they may change their clothes with these I have
brought.”

And to Lam-ang’s townsfolk: “These clothes you put on in place of the old will each of
them be yours.” And the woman Namongan said, “Ay, iy sister, the beautiful Unnayan, “It is now
time we went to the house we left at Kalanutian.” And they went. And when they arrived at the
house of Dofia Ines Kannoyan, they immediately rested from the fatigues of the voyage.
 On the morrow, which was Monday, Dofia Ines Kannoyan dressed up for the wedding.
She put on her embroidered slippers, her wedding ring capped on with pearl stone, her five
combs, and her two bracelets. Brave Lam-ang dressed up too. He put on his laced trousers, His
embroidered camisa, his kerchief with the sambiri, his embroidered slippers, and his hat
kagrang.

Now the bride and the bridegroom went to the church amid music and the loud ringing of
the church bell. And when they had reached the church, the curate priest entered to perform the
wedding ceremonies.’ Bride and bridegroom marched to the altar amid the strains of wedding
music, andpresently mass was said.

And mass over, bride and bride groom, the womanly Kannoyan and the brave Lam. ang,
rose up and left the church. And Unnayan said, “Ay, my sister, my abalayan let us now
accompany them home,” and each step Dofia Ines Kannoyan took, was followed by a gun-fire,
and the smoke from the gun served as a shelter from the sun. The church bell seemed on the
point of breaking.

When the wedding party arrived home, a huge crowd assembled at the house for the
festivities. And now the townspeople of brave Lam-ang and those of Kannoyan began the
ceremonial dances: the fandango and the sagamantika. About dinner time the cooks prepared
the table. And now all the people sat down to meal, the bride and the bride groom sitting on both
sides of an old man.

And Unnayan added, saying, “Hear what J have to say. The plates you use will each be
yours, 8nd you wrap them up and take them home." And when dinner was over, the people
resumed dancing, and they danced without rest full evening, And Kannoyan said, “Ay, brother
Lamang, I should like to see the way you carry elf, and if shall find any faults in your walking, I
shall return you to your mother.”

The heat was so great the bride and bridegroom excused themselves from the crowd so
they could refresh themselves outside. Kannoyan said to the brave Lam-ang, “Let us repair to
the newly-built recreation cottage.” Once there, Kannoyan told her husband Lam-ang: “Brother
Lam-ang, now please walk before me so I may see your carriage and your style of walking.

“And if I shall notice any faults, I shall send you back to you mother Namongan.”
Ay, Lam-ang took five steps and Kannoyan said, “Ay brother Lam-ang, “I don’t like your carriage
because you don’t know how to wear your shirt and trousers, you have bow legs, you walk with
no elegance, keeping to yourself the whole path, and you need a haircut very much.”

And Lam-ang replied, “Ay, Dojia Ines Kannoyan, that is my natural style, and it is the
style of dressing and walking of the wealthy class in my home town Nalbuan, which is located
east of the town Naguilian, “Ay, Dofia Ines Kannoyan, may I see also your carriage and the way
you walk? I am afraid you will fare worse.”

Kannoyan took five steps, and now the brave Lam-ang observed, “Ay, Dojia Ines
Kannoyan, I also don’t like your deportment. You carry your legs in a funny way, and your steps
suggest an indecent movement.” And now said Namongan to Unnayan, her joint mother-in-law,
“Ay, sister Unnayan, my abalayan, may I learn some of the manners and eccentricities of our
daughter?”

And Unnayan answered, “Ay, as regards Ines Kannoyan, it is full moon when she leaves
on an errand and last quarter when she returns.“When she goes to the river to fetch water, she
examines all the stones on the shores of the river, for she mistakes them for shrimps the
anggapan™ which floats down the river when its waters rise.”

And this said the woman Unnayan, “I too should like to know something about our son
Lam-ang.” And Namongan answered, “Ay, my sister, as for Lam-ang, it is first quarter when you
send him on an errand and last quarter i when he returns. “When he goes to the forest, he
sleeps in the shade of almost every tree there.”

Then said the woman Namongan, “Ay, abalayan let us now bring them to Nalbuan.” Now
all the townspeople of Dona Kannoyan as well as those of Don Lam-ang went to Sabangan.
They boarded the two ships, and when they were all on board, they hoisted their sails. But the
ships would not move. Wherefore Lam-ang slapped the sterns, and they started to sail away.
And they were favored by a strong wind.

When they came into port near Nalbuan, they disembarked and proceeded to the house
of Lam-ang. The townsfolk of both Kannoyan and Lam-ang resumed the dancing and
merrymaking. And now the crowd suggested That the bride and bridegroom dance. And
forthwith Lam-ang asked Kannoyan to dance with him. And they danced the fandango, the
waltz, the curracha, the Pangasinan sagamantika, and the Ilocano pios.”
 And now the merrymakers dispersed. Unnayan left Kannoyan in the care of Lamang.
When the townsfolk of Kannoyan were Sone the incumbent town had visited Lam. ang at his
home, And told him, “Ay, my friend Lam-ang, I wish to inform you that it is now your tur to fish
for rarang.”

“And I have a premonition that a monster fish, berkakan, will catch and eat me up. “And for a
sign that I have been eaten up, our staircase will dance, our kasuuran” will topple down our
stove will break to pieces.” On the morrow of the next day, Lam| ang prepared himself for the
task, went out. to sea, and once there, took off his clothes.

He sought the place where rarang were abundant, and when he saw a rarang creeping
on the bottom of the sea, he dived for it but could not find it.

He dived for the second time and fell exactly into the mouth of a big berkakan. And now
to Kannoyan came the omen: the staircase danced, the kasuuran toppled down, and the stove
broke to pieces. And Kannoyan wept, “Ay, my husband Lam-ang, where are you now? There is
not even a diver I know to pay to look for and arrange your bones.” She went in search of one to
do the job. And after she had found the old man Marcos, the skilled diver.

She tied a string to the white rooster and ‘o the hen; Also, she put a collar around the
neck of the hairy dog. And now she took both the rooster and the hen in her arms and went
seaward. And when they reached the place of Lam-ang, and Kannoyan found his clothes, she
wept in sorrowful anguish. The rooster declared, “Madam, don’t you worry about my master. He
will be brought back to life so long as all his bones are found.”

The old man Marcos, the skilled diver, plunged into the water but could not find the
bones the fish had discharged; he dived a second time and now found them. The rooster was
gifted with the power of divination it could divine correctly into the fates of the brave Lam-ang
and the beautiful Kannoyan.

And the rooster said, “You bring here the bones, every one of them, so he can be
brought back to life soon.” And when all the bones had been brought, the rooster with its bill felt
whether there was any bone missing, and finding there was none, it declared thus: “Ay, my
mistress Kannoyan, you cover the bones with your apron and immediately after you have done
so, you turn your back.”

Now the rooster crowed, the hen flapped its wings, and the bones began to move with
life. And then the hairy dog. Growled twice and ran its foot among the bones. And as the rooster
had fore old, the bones became endowed with life, and Lamang rose up. And he declared, “How
sound my sleep was, my wife. It is now seven days that we have not been together, and I am
now very eager to be with you.”

And Kannoyan answered, “You say it was sleep but no, for you were swallowed up and
discharged by a huge berkakan. When what you told me came to pass, I wept with sorrow. “I
can’t help it, my husband Don Lamang, come give me your hand, for the wife you left alone is
now very eager to have you back again.” They embraced and in their extreme happiness, they
fell weak to the ground.

And, filled with joy, Lam-ang embraced and kissed his pet rooster and his hairy dog.
After that, they all returned home. And when they were home, Lam-ang said, “It is but proper
that we reward the diver. You load him with money, my beloved. “And we should bestow our
tender care on our hen and rooster and also our hairy dog, for were it not for their solicitousness
for my welfare, I would have been lost forever.

“And also, it is necessary that we love and care for each other, my beloved, that we may
lead a happy life, which we all aspire to, in this world of tears.”

Here ends the story of the life of the brave Lam-ang, husband of Dofia Ines Kannoyan.
And they lived happily ever after.

B. Region II: Cagayan Region

 The Legend of the Magat River

A long time ago, in a town called Bayombong, in Nueva Vizcaya province, there lived a
hunter named Magat. He was young and strong, his eyes were keen, and his hands sure and
steady. He was swift as a deer and strong as a bull. Magat was the best hunter in the village,
and proud of it.He lived by himself in a small hut at the edge of the town. But he was a hunter
who liked to spend most of his time outdoors. He did not like to be kept in, not by a house, nor
by anyone’s rules. And he was stubborn.

One day Magat was hunting in the forest. His sharp eyes spotted the tracks of a strange
animal. They led to a part of the forest he had never explored, where it was cool and dark.
Magat was curious, so he followed the tracks. The soil beneath his feet soon became mossy
and full of soft, fallen leaves. Suddenly the tracks disappeared. Magat had to squint to see
where he was. The trees were so tall that their branches interlocked overhead. There was
hardly any sunlight in this part of the forest.Then he heard the sound of running water.

Just beyond a clump of grass Magat saw a large stream. On the other side of the
stream, he saw a large balete tree with branches that leaned over the water. And there in the
shade of the tree was a maiden, bathing.Magat hid himself behind the tall grass. He sat very still
and silent. The mysterious woman bathed in slow graceful movements. She was the most
beautiful woman Magat had ever seen. She had long black hair and her long arms skimmed
through the water. Magat felt his heart stir in his chest. He could not take his eyes off her.

Just then his keen eyes detected a sudden movement. It seemed to come from the tree
branch hanging just above the woman. Although it was hard to tell in the dark forest, his
hunter’s instinct told him that danger was near.Just then a shaft of sunlight streamed through
the leaves. The light revealed a python! The huge snake was coiled around the branch, ready to
attack the woman.

In one swift movement Magat took his spear and aimed. Hearing a noise in the grass,
the young woman looked up to see the hunter for the first time. He was tall and brown and
strong, with a spear aimed right at her. She ducked under water at the same time that the
python sprang. The spear flew and hit its target. The huge snake fell writhing into the
water.Magat ran splashing across the stream. “Are you hurt?” he called out to the maiden.

The confused woman scrambled quickly onto the riverbank, but when she saw the dead
python she stopped. Slowly she turned to stare at Magat. She now understood what had
happened and hid her face in her hands. She was ashamed to have suspected him of wanting
to hurt her, when really, he had saved her life. Magat took her hands gently and said, “Do not be
afraid. I am only a poor hunter.”

The maiden looked up at him and smiled. Magat felt his heart overflow with tenderness.
They spent the rest of the day together, wandering in the cool forest. By the time the crickets
began to sing and the moon had risen in the sky, the hunter had asked the lovely maiden to
become his wife.She agreed.

“I must ask of you only one thing,” she said, taking his strong brown hand and putting it
to her cheek. “You must promise, in the name of the great god Kabunian, never to look in on me
at midday. If you swear it, I will become your wife.”

“I will promise you anything,” said Magat. “Just be my wife.”

“Swear it,” she said, urgently.

Magat thought to himself, “I am a hunter. I am always gone at midday. This will be an

easy promise to keep.” And so he swore never to lay eyes on her in the middle of the day.Then
he laughed and said, “Come, do not be so serious. We will be happy together.”And so they
were. She made his home warm and cozy. She filled it with her lovely songs and the good smell
of cooking.

One morning Magat was hunting in the forest, following the trail of a huge wild boar. He
would have caught it too, but its hide was so tough that the shaft of his spear broke. “What use
is a hunter without his spear?” he thought to himself. Not realizing that it was midday, he
decided to head for home.
 When he arrived at his hut, everything was quiet. It seemed that no one was home. Then
Magat saw that the door to his bedroom was closed. Suddenly he remembered his promise to
his wife. He took another spear and left in a hurry so that he wouldn’t be tempted to look. But
Magat became curious. He found himself going home at noon the next day, and again the day
after. “It is my home after all and she is my wife,” he reasoned. “Married people should have no
secrets.”

And so, one midday Magat came home and quietly opened the bedroom door a crack
and peeked in. To his horror, he saw a great crocodile lying on his wife’s bed. Quickly he ran out
to get his spear. Then he crashed into the bedroom, spear poised to strike, but he stopped
short. Lying on his bed was his wife. She appeared sick and pale. When he drew near, she
whispered, “You broke your promise, and now I must die. I can no longer live on this earth as
your wife. I must leave you.”

And as Magat watched in horror, her skin changed color and grew thick. Her arms and
legs shortened and her hands and feet became claws. Slimy green scales began to form on her
smooth skin. Before his very eyes she had turned into a crocodile. He had broken a promise
made in the name of the god Kabunian. Magat carried the dead crocodile outside and buried it
in his yard.

He blamed himself for his wife’s death and could not bear to eat or sleep. At last, worn
out by sorrow and grief, Magat drowned himself in the very stream where he had met and first
rescued his love. As the deep stream engulfed Magat, it grew into a mighty river. Every year
when the rains come, the Magat river rages. The townsfolk say that the hunter’s spirit will not
rest until he reaches the bones of his wife, buried in his yard at the edge of the town. If the water
does not rise to that very spot, the Magat river will never be still.
Name:
Course – Major: Rating
Year Level:

Activity 1.3

Directions: Identify which character from Biag ni Lam-ang is speaking.

Write your answers below.

1. “My son, may I know how you fared in your quest?” ______________
2. “Let us repair to the newly-built recreation cottage” ______________
3. “Ay, my sisters, you pull out its teeth because they are a good talisman on journeys” _______
4. “If you wish to know, my friend, I came from Kalanutian where I went to pay court to Dona
Ines Kannoyan” _________

5. “Be it as you will, my friend Sumarang. I am ready.” ____________

6. “Ay, my son lam-ang, if you can duplicate” _____________

7.” Brother Lam-ang, now please walk before me so I may see your carriage and style of
walking”

8. “And if I shall notice any faults, I shall send you back to you mother Namongan” __________

9. “Pots and Basins too, pans big and small, and drinking and looking glass.” __________

10. “Ay, Mother Namongan, alos give me the nine chains of gold wire” _________
 Independent Learning 1.3

Directions: Write the plot structure of the story. Use the space provided below.
CAR: Cordillera Autonomous Region

The Wedding Dance

by Amador Daguio

Awiyao reached for the upper horizontal log which served as the edge of the headhigh
threshold. Clinging to the log, he lifted himself with one bound that carried him across to the
narrow door. He slid back the cover, stepped inside, then pushed the cover back in place. After
some moments during which he seemed to wait, he talked to the listening darkness.

"I'm sorry this had to be done. I am really sorry. But neither of us can help it."

The sound of the gangsas beat through the walls of the dark house like muffled roars of
falling waters. The woman who had moved with a start when the sliding door opened had been
hearing the gangsas for she did not know how long. There was a sudden rush of fire in her. She
gave no sign that she heard Awiyao, but continued to sit unmoving in the darkness.

But Awiyao knew that she heard him and his heart pitied her. He crawled on all fours to
the middle of the room; he knew exactly where the stove was. With bare fingers he stirred the
covered smoldering embers, and blew into the stove. When the coals began to glow, Awiyao put
pieces of pine on them, then full round logs as his arms. The room brightened.

"Why don't you go out," he said, "and join the dancing women?" He felt a pang inside
him, because what he said was really not the right thing to say and because the woman did not
stir. "You should join the dancers," he said, "as if--as if nothing had happened." He looked at the
woman huddled in a corner of the room, leaning against the wall. The stove fire played with
strange moving shadows and lights upon her face. She was partly sullen, but her sullenness
was not because of anger or hate.

"Go out--go out and dance. If you really don't hate me for this separation, go out and
dance. One of the men will see you dance well; he will like your dancing; he will marry you. Who
knows but that, with him, you will be luckier than you were with me.”?

"I don't want any man," she said sharply. "I don't want any other man."

He felt relieved that at least she talked: "You know very well that I won't want any other
woman either. You know that, don't you? Lumnay, you know it, don't you?"
 She did not answer him.

"You know it Lumnay, don't you?" he repeated.

"Yes, I know," she said weakly.

"It is not my fault," he said, feeling relieved. "You cannot blame me; I have been a good
husband to you."

"Neither can you blame me," she said. She seemed about to cry.

"No, you have been very good to me. You have been a good wife. I have nothing to say
against you." He set some of the burning wood in place. "It's only that a man must have a child.
Seven harvests are just too long to wait. Yes, we have waited too long. We should have another
chance before it is too late for both of us."

This time the woman stirred, stretched her right leg out and bent her left leg in. She
wound the blanket more snugly around herself.

"You know that I have done my best," she said. "I have prayed to Kabunyan much. I
have sacrificed many chickens in my prayers."

"Yes, I know."

"You remember how angry you were once when you came home from your work in the
terrace because I butchered one of our pigs without your permission? I did it to appease
Kabunyan, because, like you, I wanted to have a child. But what could I do?"

"Kabunyan does not see fit for us to have a child," he said. He stirred the fire.

The spark rose through the crackles of the flames. The smoke and soot went up the
ceiling.

Lumnay looked down and unconsciously started to pull at the rattan that kept the split
bamboo flooring in place. She tugged at the rattan flooring. Each time she did this the split
bamboo went up and came down with a slight rattle. The gong of the dancers clamorously
called in her care through the walls.

Awiyao went to the corner where Lumnay sat, paused before her, looked at her bronzed
and sturdy face, then turned to where the jars of water stood piled one over the other. Awiyao
took a coconut cup and dipped it in the top jar and drank. Lumnay had filled the jars from the
mountain creek early that evening.
 "I came home," he said. "Because I did not find you among the dancers. Of course, I am
not forcing you to come, if you don't want to join my wedding ceremony. I came to tell you that
Madulimay, although I am marrying her, can never become as good as you are. She is not as
strong in planting 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."

"That has not done me any good, has it?" She spoke. She looked at him lovingly. She
almost seemed to smile.

He put the coconut cup aside on the floor and came closer to her. He held her face
between his hands and looked longingly at her beauty. But her eyes looked away. Never again
would he hold her face. The next day she would not be his anymore. She would go back to her
parents. He let go of her face, and she bent to the floor again and looked at her fingers as they
tugged softly at the split bamboo floor.

"This house is yours," he said. "I built it for you. Make it your own, live in it as long as you
wish. I will build another house for Madulimay."

"I have no need for a house," she said slowly. "I'll go to my own house. My parents are
old. They will need help in the planting of the beans, in the pounding of the rice."

"I will give you the field that I dug out of the mountains during the first year of our
marriage," he said. "You know I did it for you. You helped me to make it for the two of us."

"I have no use for any field," she said.

He looked at her, then turned away, and became silent. They were silent for a time.

"Go back to the dance," she said finally. "It is not right for you to be here. They will
wonder where you are, and Madulimay will not feel good. Go back to the dance."

"I would feel better if you could come, and dance---for the last time. The gangsas are
playing."

"You know that I cannot."

"Lumnay," he said tenderly. "Lumnay, if I did this it is because of my need for a child.
You know that life is not worth living without a child. The man has mocked me behind my back.
You know that."
 "I know it," he said. "I will pray that Kabunyan will bless you and Madulimay."

She bit her lips now, then shook her head wildly, and sobbed.

She thought of the seven harvests that had passed, the high hopes they had in the
beginning of their new life, the day he took her away from her parents across the roaring river,
on the other side of the mountain, the trip up the trail which they had to climb, the steep canyon
which they had to cross. The waters boiled in her mind in forms of white and jade and roaring
silver; the waters tolled and growled, resounded in thunderous echoes through the walls of the
stiff cliffs; they were far away now from somewhere on the tops of the other ranges, and they
had looked carefully at the buttresses of rocks they had to step on---a slip would have meant
death.

They both drank of the water then rested on the other bank before they made the final
climb to the other side of the mountain.

She looked at his face with the fire playing upon his features---hard and strong, and kind.
He had a sense of lightness in his way of saying things which often made her and the village
people laugh. How proud she had been of his humor. The muscles where 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 muscles--he was
strong and for that she had lost him.

She flung herself upon his knees and clung to them. "Awiyao, Awiyao, my husband," she
cried. "I did everything to have a child," she said passionately in a hoarse whisper. "Look at me,"
she cried. "Look at my body. Then it was full of promise. It could dance; it could work fast in the
fields; it could climb the mountains fast. Even now it is firm, full. But, Awiyao, I am useless. I
must die."

"It will not be right to die," he said, gathering her in his arms. Her whole warm naked
naked breast quivered against his own; she clung now to his neck, and her hand lay upon his
right shoulder; her hair flowed down in cascades of gleaming darkness.

"I don't care about the fields," she said. "I don't care about the house. I don't care for
anything but you. I'll have no other man."
 "Then you'll always be fruitless."

"I'll go back to my father, I'll die."

"Then you hate me," he said. "If you die it means you hate me. You do not want me to
have a child. You do not want my name to live on in our tribe."

She was silent.

"If I do not try a second time," he explained, "it means I'll die. Nobody will get the fields I
have carved out of the mountains; nobody will come after me."

"If you fail--if you fail this second time--" she said thoughtfully. The voice was a shudder.
"No--no, I don't want you to fail."

"If I fail," he said, "I'll come back to you. Then both of us will die together. Both of us will
vanish from the life of our tribe."

The gongs thundered through the walls of their house, sonorous and faraway.

"I'll keep my beads," she said. "Awiyao, let me keep my beads," she halfwhispered.

"You will keep the beads. They come from far-off times. My grandmother said they come
from up North, from the slant-eyed people across the sea. You keep them, Lumnay. They are
worth twenty fields."

"I'll keep them because they stand for the love you have for me," she said. "I love you. I
love you and have nothing to give."

She took herself away from him, for a voice was calling out to him from outside. "Awiyao!
Awiyao! O Awiyao! They are looking for you at the dance!"

"I am not in hurry."

"The elders will scold you. You had better go."

"Not until you tell me that it is all right with you."

"It is all right with me."

He clasped her hands. "I do this for the sake of the tribe," he said.
 "I know," she said.

He went to the door.

"Awiyao!"

He stopped as if suddenly hit by a spear. In pain he turned to her. Her face was in
agony. It pained him to leave. She had been wonderful to him. What was it that made a man
wish for a child? What was it in life, in the work in the field, in the planting and harvest, in the
silence of the night, in the communing with husband and wife, in the whole life of the tribe itself
that made man wish for the laughter and speech of a child? Suppose he changed his mind?
Why did the unwritten law demand, anyway, that a man, to be a man, must have a child to come
after him? And if he was fruitless--but he loved Lumnay. It was like taking away of his life to
leave her like this.

"Awiyao," she said, and her eyes seemed to smile in the light. "The beads!" He turned
back and walked to the farthest corner of their room, to the trunk where they kept their worldly
possession---his battle-ax and his spear points, her betel nut box and her beads. He dug out
from the darkness the beads which had been given to him by his grandmother to give to
Lumnay on the beads on, and tied them in place. The white and jade and deep orange
obsidians shone in the firelight. She suddenly clung to him, clung to his neck as if she would
never let him go.

"Awiyao! Awiyao, it is hard!" She gasped, and she closed her eyes and huried her face
in his neck.

The call for him from the outside repeated; her grip loosened, and he buried out into the
night.

Lumnay sat for some time in the darkness. Then she went to the door and opened it.
The moonlight struck her face; the moonlight spilled itself on the whole village.

She could hear the throbbing of the gangsas coming to her through the caverns of the
other houses. She knew that all the houses were empty that the whole tribe was at the dance.
Only she was absent. And yet was she not the best dancer of the village? Did she not have the
most lightness and grace? Could she not, alone among all women, dance like a bird tripping for
grains on the ground, beautifully timed to the beat of the gangsas? Did not the men praise her
supple body, and the women envy the way she stretched her hands like the wings of the
mountain eagle now and then as she danced? How long ago did she dance at her own
wedding? Tonight, all the women who counted, who once danced in her honor, were dancing
now in honor of another whose only claim was that perhaps she could give her husband a child.

"It is not right. It is not right!" she cried. "How does she know? How can anybody know?
It is not right," she said.

Suddenly she 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 tell Awiyao to come back to her. He surely would
relent. Was not their love as strong as the river?

She made for the other side of the village where the dancing was. There was a flaming
glow over the whole place; a great bonfire was burning. The gangsas clamored more loudly
now, and it seemed they were calling to her. She was near at last. She could see the dancers
clearly now. The man leaped lightly with their gangsas as they circled the dancing women
decked in feast garments and beads, tripping on the ground like graceful birds, following their
men. Her heart warmed to the flaming call of the dance; strange heat in her blood welled up,
and she started to run. But the gleaming brightness of the bonfire commanded her to stop. Did
anybody see her approach? She stopped. What if somebody had seen her coming? The flames
of the bonfire leaped in countless sparks which spread and rose like yellow points and died out
in the night. The blaze reached out to her like a spreading radiance. She did not have the
courage to break into the wedding feast.

Lumnay walked away from the dancing ground, away from the village. She thought of
the new clearing of beans which Awiyao and she had started to make only four moons before.
She followed the trail above the village.

When she came to the mountain stream, she crossed it carefully. Nobody held her hand,
and the stream water was very cold. The trail went up again, and she was in the moonlight
shadows among the trees and shrubs. Slowly she climbed the mountain.

When Lumnay reached the clearing, she could see from where she stood the blazing
bonfire at the edge of the village, where the wedding was. She could hear the far-off clamor of
the gongs, still rich in their sonorousness, echoing from mountain to mountain. The sound did
not mock her; they seemed to call far to her, to speak to her in the language of unspeaking love.
She felt the pull of their gratitude for her sacrifice. Her heartbeat began to sound to her like
many gangsas.

Lumnay thought of Awiyao as the Awiyao she had known long ago-- a strong, muscular
boy carrying his heavy loads of fuel logs down the mountains to his home. She had met him one
day as she was on her way to fill her clay jars with water. He had stopped at the spring to drink
and rest; and she had made him drink the cool mountain water from her coconut shell. After that
it did not take him long to decide to throw his spear on the stairs of her father's house in token
on his desire to marry her.

The mountain clearing was cold in the freezing moonlight. The wind began to stir the
leaves of the bean plants. Lumnay looked for a big rock on which to sit down. The bean plants
now surrounded her, and she was lost among them.

A few more weeks, a few more months, a few more harvests---what did it matter? She
would be holding the bean flowers, soft in the texture, silken almost, but moist where the dew
got into them, silver to look at, silver on the light blue, blooming whiteness, when the morning
comes. The stretching of the bean pods full length from the hearts of the wilting petals would go
on.

Lumnay's fingers moved a long, long time among the growing bean pods.

Man of Earth by Amador T. Daguio

Pliant is the bamboo;

I am a man of earth;
They say that from the bamboo
We had our first birth.
Am I of the body,
Or of the green leaf?
Do I have to whisper
My every sin and grief?
If the wind passes by,
Must I stoop and try
To measure fully
 My flexibility?
I might have been the bamboo,
But I will be a man.
Bend me then, O Lord,
Bend me if you can.

Name: Rating
Course – Major:
Year Level:

Activity 1.4: Essay

Direction/s: Read and comprehend the following questions and answer carefully. Your
score will be determined based on the stated rubrics below.

RUBRIC
An important main idea is clearly stated. Supporting details are relevant and
4-5 convincing. How the evidence supports the main idea is clear, reasonable, and
explained in detail.
The main idea is stated. Supporting details are most relevant. How the evidence
1-3 supports the main idea is mostly clear and reasonable. Some explanation is
given.
The main idea is not stated or not correct. Supporting details are not relevant or
0 are missing. How the evidence supports the main idea is not clear, not
reasonable, and/ or not explained.

1. Does the poem entitled “Man of Earth” tell a story? If yes, what is the story all about?

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______________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________.

2. Does the title suggest the topic or theme of the poem? Explain your answer.
Independent Learning 1.4: Essay

Examine and Discuss the literary pieces based on its period and region.

PERIOD TOPIC/STORY REGION BRIEF ANALYSIS