ThePhilippine

Literature

TUESDAY,AUGUST11,2009

AReviewonWeddingDance(AmadorDaguio)
Tobearchildrenisveryimportantelementincreatingafamilyand
establishingbetterrelationshipbetweenhusbandandwifebutitis
somethingwhichAwiyaoandLumnaywillneverachieve.Itisastory
betweentwopeoplebelonginginoneoftheethnicgroupsinthePhilippines,
theIfugao.Inorderforustobetterunderstandthestory,wemust
understandtheirlaw.Itstates"Acouplewhowishtodivorcedueto
infertilityofeitheroneofthepartnersisallowedbythelaw.Ahusbandwho
divorcesawifewithoutanyvalidreasonwillhavetoleaveallpropertiesto
thechildrenandthewife,thisisanotherlaw."Thoughitwashardand
painful,AwiyaowantedtohavechildrensomuchthathedivorcedLumnay
andremarriedanotherIfugaonamedMadulimay.IntheoldFilipinoculture,
whenpeoplehavenotknownanythingabouthowfertilityhappens,aman
questionsanothermansmasculinityifhedoesnothaveachild.Inthe
caseofAwiyao,thoughhefeelsthatnoonecanreplaceLumnayasthe
bestwife,hestillfeelstheneedtodivorceherjustforhimtohavechildren
whowillfollowhiminthefieldsinthefuture.Lumnayaskedwhythey
shouldpartiftheyreloveforeachotheriseternal.Whyshouldthey
separateiftherereallyisnothingwrongintheirpersonalrelationship?

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MelissaRae

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InearlyburstintotearswhileIwasreadingthe
story.Daguiohadshownthereadersthegreat
loveAwiyaoandLumnayhaveforeachother
byheartbreakinglinestheyexchangewhile
sayinggoodbye.Daguiohadwrittenagreat
lovestorywithagreatsenseofethnicity.He
reallyshowedpeoplehowrichcultureFilipinos
have.
InthestorymentionedaboutGangsas
(gongs),whichmanyethnicgroupsinthe
Philippinesplayatatimeofcelebration.
Womentogetherwithothermenshoulddance
aroundthefireatthesoundofgongswhile
childrensitandwatch.Thegangsasinthe
storyislikeaspiritcallingLumnaytotake
partinhisexhusbandswedding.Toher,
hearingthegangsasisjustlikeeatinga
poisonedapple,softlykillingher,andtaking
awayhersoul.Howeverintheend,the
gangsasmadeLumnaywanttogotothe
weddingdanceandquestiontheirlaw.Shewantedtoaskthemwhyisit
wrongtonotbearchildrenifyouaremarried.Couldtheynotstaythesame
way?Theyloveeachotheranyway.
IlikehowDaguioconstructedthestory.Itisverylocal,verynationalistic,
nostainofwesterncultureatall.IfIwereofanotherrace,Illsurelybe
moreamazedandcuriouswhilereadingthestory.Thestoryisverycultural
fromthewayAwiyaoopenedthedoorandlittheirfireplaceuptotheend
whereLumnayranintothewoodsandsitwiththeircrops.Italsomentioned
aboutbeads,andfarmtools:theonlyworldlypossessiontheyhave.
Filipinolifebeforewassosimpleyetsobeautiful.Ifyouwouldthinkabout
it,peopleintheethnicgrouphaveaverydifferentbutastonishingwayof
livingtheirlives.Now,youthcouldnotlivewithoutcomputeraspartoftheir
schoollifeandgems,diamonds,andpearlsarecouplessymbolsoflove
foreachother.Inthestory,thesimplenecklacemadefrombeadsisthe
symboloftheirpromise.Seehowsimpletheyliveinsimplicity?
IneededtorereadthelastpartbecauseIwasnotabletounderstanditthat
muchbutasIwasreadingitforthesecondtime,Irealizedwhatthe
growingbeanpodsmean.Atthelastparagraphofthestorystates:
Thestretchingofthebeanpodsfulllengthfromtheheartsofthewilting
petalswouldgoon.
Inmyopinion,Daguiomeantthatlifestillgoeson.Theheartsofthewilting
petalsymbolizesLumnaysbrokenheart.Itmeansthatthoughherheartis
brokentoday,stillherlifegoesonandtherewillbeanewmorningtoface.
Shewouldbeholdingthebeanflowers,softintexture,silkenalmost,but
moistwherethedewgotintothem,silvertolookat,silveronthelightblue

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AReviewonWeddingDance(Amador
Daguio)

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bloomingwhiteness,whenthemorningcomes.
Herpainfulexperiencesfromgettingoutofthedesolatememoriesshehad
whilereminiscingAwiyaoslovewilleventuallyfadeandwilltransformher
toabeautifulbeanpod.
Thoughthereisahugegapbetweenethnicfilipinogroupsfrommodernized
Filipinos,surelythereadersofthestorycouldstillrelatealot.Filipinos
havegreatadorationoflovestoriesrelatingtofamilycrisisandthoughthe
WeddingDancebyAmadorDaguioisasimpleone,itdeservesavoteof
confidence,foritstandsupandshowstheworldhowrichculturethe
Filipinoshave.

PostedbyMelissaRae at8:58AM
Labels:AmadorDaguio,Culture,Filipino,Infertility,Review,WeddingDance

7comments:
VoiceoftheVoiceless August11,2009at9:20AM
NicePost!
CanyoualsowritetheimpactofAmericancolonizationof
PhilipinesinthelifeofanordinarycitizenofPhilipines.
Thankyou,
Belson.
Reply
MelissaRae

August11,2009at9:32AM

Thanks! (n_n) I'll think about that.. As of the moment, I

am writing reviews regarding Philippine short stories,
because it is a requirement for the course.. Haha! But
thatisagoodidea..Thankssomuch!
Reply
DenMarkTorres September18,2012at8:32PM
thank you so much for the post, it inspires me so much
thatloveshouldbeeternaltobothpartnerwholoveeach
other...:)
Reply
NataliaCamarite January21,2013at9:01AM
Sa palagay ko si Lumnay lang talaga ang totoong
nagmamahal ng sobra2x sa estoryang to. Kasi kung

mahaltalaganiAwiyaosiLumnayhandasyangipaglaban
si Lumnay kahit isakripisyo pa nya ang kanyang
pagkalalake. Kung gusto may paraan.lalo na sa taong
pinakamamahalmo.
Reply
CountryBoy April18,2013at4:23AM
Sometimes a man's love is overshadowed by his pride
especiallyifhissocialenvironmentexpectsitfromhim.
Reply
DevonneWarner August13,2013at1:41AM
I think the last paragraph talks about how maybe, it is
Awiyao who is barren and not Lumnay. See, the growing
beanpodssymbolizefertility.
Reply
UchihaSasukeWhiteshadow August30,2016at10:07
AM
Thankyouforsuchabeautifulpost.
Reply

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