"Wedding Dance" by Amador Daguio

Prepared by:Carl Michael Jaudian

The Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) was established on July 15, 1987 through executive Order No. 220 issued by President Corazon Aquino. It is the only land-locked region of the Philippines. The region consists of the provinces of Abra, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga, Mountain Province and Apayao. The regional center is Baguio City.

Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) is located in the north-central part of Luzon and encompasses most of the areas within the Cordillera Central mountain range of Luzon. It is bounded by Ilocos Norte and Cagayan in the north, Pangasinan and Nueva Viscaya in the south, Cagayan Valley in the east, and the Ilocos region in the west. The region is dubbed as the “Watershed Cradle of North Luzon” because it hosts 9 major rivers that provide continuous water for irrigation and energy for northern Luzon.

The region is rich in natural resources and has abundant mineral reserves. Gold, copper, silver, zinc, are among the metallic ores that can be found in the region. Non-metallic reserves include sand, gravel and sulfur. Although mineral reserves are found all over the province, mining is concentrated in Benguet. Great majority of Cordillera’s population engaged in farming and small-scale production. 

Cordillera is one of the prime tourist destinations in the Philippines. It has many spectacular scenic views and enchanting cool places. Baguio City is the summer capital of the Philippines. The world-famous Banaue Rice Terraces in the province of Ifugao is considered as the “Eighth Wonder of the World”. This structure of about 2000 to 6000 years old is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Other tourists’ attractions of the region include the Sumaguing Cave in Sagada and the mummy caves in Benguet and Mt. Province. There are four National Parks in the region: Cassamata Hill, Mount Pulag which is the highest mountain in Luzon, Mount Data and Balbalasang-Balbalan.

The most populous cities and municipalities in Cordillera Administrative Region are:

City/Municipality Province Areain km²

Population

Total Density/km²

Baguio City Benguet 57.51 301,926 5,249.97

La Trinidad Benguet 70.04 97,810 1,396.49

City Of Tabuk Kalinga 700.25 87,912 125.54

Itogon Benguet 449.73 48,778 108.46

Bangued Abra 105.70 46,179 436.89

Tuba Benguet 295.97 40,008 135.18

Mankayan Benguet 130.48 34,563 264.89

Buguias Benguet 175.88 34,507 196.20

Bauko Mountain Province 153.00 29,382 192.04

Pinukpuk Kalinga 743.56 27,783 37.36

Amador T. DaguioWas a poet, novelist and teacher during the pre-war. He was best known for his fictions and poems. He had published two volumes of poetry, "Bataan Harvest" and"The Flaming Lyre". He served as chief editor for the Philippine House of Representatives before he died in 1966.

Daguio was born 8 January 1912 in Laoag, Ilocos Norte, but grew up in Lubuagan, Mountain Province, where his father, an officer in the Philippine Constabulary, was assigned. He was class valedictorian in 1924 at the Lubuagan Elementary School. Then he stayed with his uncle at Fort William McKinley to study at Rizal High School in Pasig. Those four years in high school were, according to Daguio, the most critical in his life. «I spent them literally in poverty, extreme loneliness, and adolescent pains …In my loneliness, I began to compose verses in earnest.”8 He was in third year high when he broke into print in a national weekly, The Sunday Tribune Magazine (11 July 1926), with a poem, “She Came to Me.” He was going to be valedictorian or salutatorian, but his teacher in “utter lack of justice …put down my marks in history—my favorite subject. That just about broke my heart because then I would have had free tuition at the U.P.”9 

One of ten honor graduates at U.P. in 1932, he returned to teach at his boyhood school in Lubuagan; in 1938, he taught at Zamboanga Normal School where he met his wife Estela. They transferred to Normal Leyte School in 1941 before the Second World War. During the Japanese Occupation, he joined the resistance and wrote poems in secret, later collected as Bataan Harvest.1 0 He was a bosom-friend of another writer in the resistance, Manuel E. Arguilla.

In 1952, he obtained his M.A. in English at Stanford U. as a Fulbright scholar. His thesis was a study and translation of Hudhud hi Aliguyon (Ifugao Harvest Song). In 1954, he obtained his Law degree from Romualdez Law College in Leyte. Daguio was editor and public relations officer in various offices in government and the military. He also taught for twenty-six years at the University of the East, U.P., and Philippine Women’s University. In 1973, six years after his death, Daguio was conferred the Republic Cultural Heritage Award.

"Wedding Dance" by Amador Daguio

SYNOPSIS/ SUMMARY

         Awiyao and Lumnay were husband and wife for seven years, but now the husband has to marry another woman, Madulimay, because Lumnay was not able to give him a child. (In their culture in the mountains during those times, having a child to follow after the husband’s name was a must.)

         On the night of the wedding, Awiyao goes to his and Lumnay’s house to personally invite her to the traditional wedding dance. However, Lumnay, the best dancer in the entire tribe, refuses to go. Then, during their conversation, it is revealed that both of them still love each other, but because of their tribe’s custom, they have to separate.

         Awiyao goes back to the wedding, to the wedding dance, after being fetched by some friends. Lumnay wants to follow, partly because of the dance, and partly because she wants to put a stop to their tribe’s tradition of having to marry another partner just to have a child.

CHARACTERS: 1. Lumnay – a woman who was left by her husband because he had to marry another woman/ Developing2. Awiyao- the husband stated above / Flat3. Madulimay – Awiyao’s new wife / Flat 

PLOT:   a)  Introduction 

The story opens with Awiyao entering his and Lumnay’s house.  b)  Rising Action 

Things start to heat up when Lumnay says she does not want any other man.  c)  Climax  

There is more intensity when Awiyao says he does not want any other woman. d)    Falling action          But they both have to follow their tribe’s tradition. e)    Denouement         Awiyao has to go back to the wedding dance.

SETTING: a)  place – in the mountains somewhere in the Philippinesb)  time- a long time agoc)  weather conditions- fined)  social conditions- lower-class e)  mood or atmosphere- sad and tense

POINT OF VIEW:          The Point of View used in this short story is the Omniscient Limited - The author tells the story in third person (using pronouns they, she, he, it, etc).  We know only what the character knows and what the author allows him/her to tell us. We can see the thoughts and feelings of characters if the author chooses to reveal them to us.

LITERARY DEVICES:          For me, there is an extensive use of the literary device Symbolism. There are many symbols here, and these are the darkness, the house’s four walls, the smoldering embers, and the beads. The darkness symbolizes how the two lead characters feel. Meanwhile, the house’s walls symbolize the former couple’s “imprisonment.” The smoldering embers that become glowing coals symbolize the love that both of them still feel towards each other. Finally, the beads symbolize Awiyao’s great love for Lumnay even if she was not able to give him a child.

THEME          In my opinion, the theme True love never dies is applicable to this story.  CONFLICT          The conflict here is Man vs. Society. The lead characters have to follow their tribe’s custom  --ARV