Archetypal Analysis of Biag Ni Lam-ang

In literature, an archetype is a typical character, an action, or a situation that seems to represent such
universal patterns of human nature. So this blog will try to look at the epic poem Biag ni Lam-ang to see
if this has these certain archetypes. To start with, here’s a very short background about the epic.

Biag Ni Lam-ang (Life of Lam-ang) is a pre-Hispanic epic poem of the Ilocano people of the
Philippines. The story was handed down orally for generations before it was written down around 1640
assumedly by a blind Ilocano bard named Pedro Bucaneg.

We have various archetypes right? In the epic Biag Ni Lam-ang, we can find some of it. As said,
an archetype may be a character, a theme, a symbol or even a situation. For archetypes in character, we
have the hero and it’s pretty obvious that Lam-ang is the hero in the epic. His father, Don Juan, can also
be considered one because they both exhibit goodness and struggles against evil in order to restore
harmony and justice to society. Don Juan went to the mountains in order to punish a group of their
Igorot enemies and Lam-ang set out on a journey to avenge his father’s death. Both of them seek for
justice making them the hero of the story.

Another archetype found in the epics is the mother figure. Namongan, Lam-ang’s mother,
belongs to this archetype. Ines Kannoyan, Lam-ang’s wife, can also be considered belonging to the
mother figure. Both women in Lam-ang’s life guided, directed and nourished him. His mother guided
him for nine months before he decided to set out on a journey to look for his father. Prior to that
journey, Namongan surely has done everything to take care of Lam-ang; she surely has guided him and
nourished him to grow up brave. It is her duty as a mother. Ines Kannoyan, on the other hand, shown
this mother figure role when she had Marcos get Lam-ang’s bones.

A doppelganger is also present in the epic. I’m referring to the doppelganger of Lam-ang. In the
epic, though he is the hero, Lam-ang has some characteristics that are somehow not pleasant. We can
observe that he is a little boastful evident when he was asked of the dowry that is to be given to the
family of Ines. The parents agreed to a marriage with their daughter if lam-ang would give them a dowry
valued at double their wealth and lam-ang said he has no problem in fulfilling this condition. I find this
part, this side of Lam-ang, a little boastful. Another negative characteristic of Lam-ang is his love for
revenge; his passion for killing. This is evident when he looked for his father; when he found the tribe
that killed his father and killed all of them leaving one alive. These events showed Lam-ang’s duplicate
or shadow representing the evil side of his personality.

And the antagonists in the story: the Igorot tribe, Sumarang (one of one of Ines’ suitors), the
fish Rarang and the Berkakan. They are the villains whose main function is to go to any extent to oppose
the hero or whom the hero must annihilate. These are the archetypes in character that can be found in
the epic poem Biag ni Lam-ang but we are not stopping there.
 We also have several archetypes in situation. We have the journey. The main character, Lam-ang, takes
on a journey that is physical and emotional to understand his personality and the nature of the world
and also to seek revenge. The story revolved around this journey that Lam-ang had. The clash between
Lam-ang and the Igorot tribe shows the Good vs. Evil archetype. There is a clash of forces that represent
goodness with those that represent evil. And the last is the fall. This happened when Lam-ang dived into
that river and went directly into the mouth of the river monster Berkakan which caused his death. Here,
Lam-ang has fallen from grace in consequence of his own action. These are the archetypes that I have
found in the epic. For you to be able to relate with everything that I have written here, you have to read
the epic yourself J J

The use of archetypal characters and situations give a literary work a universal acceptance as readers
identify the character and situation in their social and cultural context. By using common archetype, the
writers attempt to impart realism to their works, as the situation and the characters are drawn from the
experience of the world.

Literary Pieces

Friday, January 8, 2016

Literary Analysis of Biag ni Lam Ang

Literary Analysis

The epic of Biag ni Lam-Ang portrays the qualities and several characteristics of Filipinos. The fact that
the traits, attitudes, and values being shown in this phenomenal epic are all reflections of our ancestors
especially the Ilocanos who were the source of this fictitious piece during pre-Spanish period. It depicts
unwavering bravery, justice, love, romance, relationship, journey and even friendship. The vastness and
heroism in the story are filled with idealistic imagination and fantasy.

Lam-Ang, the hero in the epic, son of Don Juan and Namungan Panganiban in the place of Nalbuan. He
is being feared and adored by the people because of his extraordinary powers. He has an usual birth. He
can talk just after his birth. Lam Ang’s astounding growth was so fantastically amazing. When he was
nine months old, he already possessed maturity, physically and mentally. He also had a very loud voice
that he can broadcast a declaration clearly to the town of Nalbuan. He had an indescribable spirit that
he conquered the numerous Igorots alone. Lam Ang’s bravery was being shown to the town people of
Calanutian and Nalbuan as he tried to get the shellfish, the fact that it was a difficult task because many
have tried to attempt to get the precious shellfish but they failed do it. Aside from all his extraordinary
capabilities, he also had astonishing powers. When it comes to his love life, he tried to do anything for
his love, Ines Cannuyan, to prove his worthiness of marrying her. Unfortunately, he was killed by
berkakan, a furious shark, but he was brought to life through the help of his unbelievable animal friends.

First, the epic shows the importance of family. Lam Ang’s love for his family was selfless as he searched
for his father. The leadership skills were also manifested, he protected the town people of Nalbuan for
possible colonization of Igorots. The epic also emphasizes the rivalry between Lam Ang and other
suitors. When Lam Ang fell in love with Ines, He fought and killed several monsters and eventually
challenged Sumarang who was a dedicated suitor of Ines. It is just a picture how the Filipinos fight for
their love, doing everything just to prove how dedicated we are. Lastly, the Biag ni Lam Ang depicts a
very good portrayal of a true Iloco all about and to all the Filipinos.

Reduce love now for safety: An Analysis of Edith Tiempo’s Bonsai

{ March 11, 2008 @ 6:44 pm } · { Literature }

By Joseinne Ignacio

Bonsai
By Edith Tiempo

All that I love

I fold over once
And once again
And keep in a box
Or a slit in a hollow post
Or in my shoe

All that I love?

Why, yes but for the moment-

And for all time, both.
Something that folds and keeps easy,
Son’s note, or Dad’s one gaudy tie,
A roto picture of a young queen
A blue Indian shawl, even
A money bill.

It’s utter sublimation,

A feat, this heart’s control
Moment to moment
To scale all love down
To a cupped hand’s size.
Till seashells are broken pieces
From God’s own bright teeth,
All life and love are real
Things you can run and
Breathless hand over
To the merest child

Analysis:

When love is great, when love is profound, it becomes more difficult to control. And in the hands of
people who are unable to control it, love overwhelms the person. This is the destructive nature of love
which is why the award-winning poet Edith Tiempo, in her poem Bonsai, scaled down love into a
“cupped hand size.”

The poem is an example of a work that is objective-correlative wherein the ideas depicted are abstract.
In this work of literature, love is the abstract idea.

In the first stanza, Bonsai describes everything one loves as something that could be folded into the
smallest size so that one could “keep in a box/ Or a slit in a hollow post/ Or in my shoe.” The idea is to
turn one large concept such as love into something that “folds and keeps easy” so that one’s memory
will not be cluttered. Memory stays with a person forever but it is often unreliable which is why there is
a need to simplify love if it has become overwhelming so that it is easy to handle and quick to retrieve
the memories from the labyrinths of the mind.

Then there came the question in the next line that said, “All that I love?” The interrogative statement
was posed for self-examination which was, in the next stanza, assured with the lines “Why, yes but for
the moment-/ And for all time, both.” The two lines are an oxymoron for love can be both temporal and
eternal. It was like saying often one remembers a lover but there are times when he does not.

Tiempo even made love familiar and within reach by reducing it to things that people use and hold dear
such as “Son’s note, or Dad’s gaudy tie,/ A roto picture of a young queen/ A blue Indian shawl, even/ A
money bill.” By using these objects in the poem, Tiempo portrayed the sublimation of love as something
that is abstract like gas penetrating the vast space surrounding two people into something that is
concrete like a solid object that one can hold unto and control.

The next stanza tells about how when love is sublimated, it is made into something positive. The lines,
“A feat, this heart’s control/ Moment to moment/ To scale all love down/ To a cupped hand size”
pertain to one’s victory in sublimating and taking hold of love so that it will not be destructive. A cupped
hand was the metaphor specifically used to convey the image of asking and giving love to another. It
signifies the lover’s basic needs, that which is “the need to love and be loved.”

In the line, “Till seashells are broken pieces” the mystery of how something so vast such as the ocean
can be heard from something so small such as a seashell. It is the same with love, that something so vast
and huge can be contained in a small thing is a mystery.
The essence of the poem is that love is simplified and reduced so one can hold it in one hand and pass it
on to another.