[Last Name] 1

ADLAON, CARLA JANE

10 – OBEDIENCE

ENGLISH 10[CRITIQUE ESSAY]

04/24/2023

“Wedding Dance”
By Amador Daguio

[Reader’s Response]

Wedding Dance by the author of amador daguio was a short story that depicts the sad fate

of the loving couple; lumnay and awiyao in the hands of their tribe’s tradition. Both the two were

introduce in a manner of how awiyao still love and cares for his ex wife lumnay despite their

cruel situation. The author successfully highlights how can such tradition can deliver a sad

results instead of honor in a marriage within the tribe. The author shares us how can a marriage

without children can end in the tribe of igorots.

During the evening ceremonial marriage of awiyao and madulimay, awiyao went to the

house who used to be homed both to him and his beloved lumnay. He tried to talk it out with

lumnay even how hurtful it was for the both of them, they both knew together they couldn’t do

anything against the decision of the elders of the tribe. Lumnay kept the beads the grandmother

of awiyao to give to lumnay as his dowry and a token of their love and upon realizing how much

they deeply love each other. Awiyao long dreamed of having a child come after him but lumnay

realized that no matter how many chickens she would offer, even going to the length of offering

one of their pig in their farm desperately, she knew that kabunyan will never grant them a child.

With a burning resolved in her heart, with all courage she could gather to protest, to say it is not
 [Last Name] 2

right and no shall marriage be ended just like this and be the first woman to denounce the

unwritten law of the tradition of the igorot tribe where a man,to be a man, must have a child

come after him that has been the torn of their marriage. lumnay run throughout the village

following the beat of the gangsas who sounded as if it was calling out to her. As she was getting

closer, the blazing fire in front of her commanded her to stop. Powerless as she seem, the

courage to speak up and that burning resolved she has seemed to have been faded away infront

of the reality she will ever knew. She walk away from the wedding hoping no one had seen her

coming that night. Many seasons has passed it was already the blooming season of the beans she

has planted ever since that day.

The author clearly depicted the reality of the igorot’s tribe tradition through the marriage

of lumnay and awiyao in the short story as if the sole purpose of their marriage only was just to

have a child. Not realizing, how this tradition, and interference of the elder’s decision in their

marriage can be a negative factor and the start of toxicity in their tribe that might lead to

rebellion of the tribe against the elders for the following generation to come because this

tradition go against one’s self worth and value and was really morally not right. Moreover, the

relationship between the two was beautiful because it was love. How they consider each other’s

feeling after the fact they couldn’t do anything was quite benevolent. It was very full of

sympathy on the side of lumnay, it was really clear how she loved awiyao that she would go to

the wedding and face the elders head on. But it was reality. The elders of the tribe didn’t even

take a moment to consider what she might have felt with their decision.She, as a woman who

can’t have a child in that type of society where traditions are highly respected is just gonna be

disgrace more if she voiced out. In a culture like where traditions are highly respected with their
 [Last Name] 3

proud values and standing, woman like lumnay will be only seen as a hindrance in the prosperity

of their tribe’s and as powerless as she was describe as the best wife in the story but couldn’t

bear a child.

Although this was a short story that describes the tradition of igorot, the story helps us

understand how their tradition works on marriage couple within their tribe. Building as an

Insight of their culture as an indigenous tribe isolated from the modern society where this

tradition they respect highly would be seen not just morally wrong but also that go against the

human rights where as individuals have the right to decide for their own good at the legal age.

Amador Daguio's “wedding dance” not only successfully highlights the effect of traditions on

marriage couple on this tribe but also manage to establish his own understanding and reflection

of the igorot tribe’s tradition on marriage couples.