"Biag ni Lam-ang"

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Part of Panorama

Title: "Biag ni Lam-ang"
Creator: Tonogbanua, Francisco
Identifier: Ilocano epic
Language: English
Source: Panorama Volume XIII (No.7) July 1961
Year: 1961
Rights
Fulltext: Ilocano Epic BIAG NI Dr. Francisco To the ilocanos, Lam-ang was the epitome of strength and courage. Like Hercules of the ancient Greeks and Bernardo del Car pio of the old Tagalogs, he went through terrifying or deals and in all of them he emerged victor. He was a man of great wealth and was a gr°at lover, too. He killed ^uen> Ines, and won. He was *thduSmid3 of-4adld men sing}#? handed^jo. avongeTllS-'tSlT^r’s mwrderTHe fought all comets /for the hand of a fair maty Nsome sort of an adventureJstrip hero, a celluloid leading man and a tabloid headliner combined. Biag ni Lam-ang is his life story. The long narrative poem in epic proportions re cites the exploits and deeds of magic of this superman. This long poem is a story that sprang from the people, especially among the primi tive or unlettered, like the folk tale or the folk song or the ballad that has been han ded down from generation to generation, from the remote past, by word of mouth or oral tradition. It is a story ref lective of the traditions of these common people. It is the consensus of many that Pedro Bukaneg, great Ilocano poet, took down the 18 Panorama LAM-ANG" G. Tonogbanua story of Lam-ang in 1640. Bukaneg, however, tampered with this pagan poem and in serted Christian elements in it just like the monks in their monkish way tampered with the Anglo-Saxon epic of Beo wulf. Bukaneg, perhaps, re touched it due to his undying gratitude to the Spanish (Au gustinian) friars who sent him to Manila to study and to help in the propagation of the Catholic Faith. Since Bukaneg handed down to us his written ver sion of the story of Lam-ang, there have been several other versions and translations of this story. There are now two translations in Spanish — one by the poet Cecilio Apostol and the other by the scholar Isabelo de los Reyes. There are also two translations in English — one in prose by Leopoldo Y. Yabes, assistant head of the department of English, University of the Philippines, and the other one in verse by Amado M. Yuzon, former professor of English at Far Eastern Univ ersity. There are four Ilocano ver sions of Lam-ang — the Parayno Hermanos version, the Isabelo de los Reyes version, the Canuto Medina Ruiz ver sion, and the La Lucha ver JULY 1961 19 sion. The English prose ver sion of Leopoldo Y. Yabes is a stanza-by-stanza transla tion of the Parayno Hermanos Ilocano version. In 1935, Yabes published a little brochure on the Ilocano epic. This brochure was the first published in book form of a series of studies on the more important works in Ilo cano literature which the writer has been undertaking during the last few years. Yabes’ study is the only de tailed study in any language on the poem. T n the town of Nalbuan 1 (east of what is now Naguilian, La Union) lived Namongan and her husband, Don Juan (Hispanized?). At the time that Namongan was getting ready to deliver, Don Juan set out for the moun tains to punish an Igorot band. While the husband was away, Namongan gave birth to a baby boy. This baby boy yvas a wonder baby, indeed, because as soon as he was born, he could talk; upon ar rival he addressed his mother and told her that he should be named Lam-ang. He also chose his baptismal sponsor. Then, he immediately in quired where his father was, and Namongan replied that he had left to fight the fierce Igorots. “When Lam-ang was but nine months old, and his fa ther had not yet returned, he resolved to go after his fa ther. Despite his mother’s en treaties, he left to seek out the Igorots. “While on the way, he dreamt, one night, that the Igorots had killed his father and were celebrating the death of his father. He woke up in anger and travelled, swiftly to the place of the Igorots. He found the Igorots feasting around the grisly head of his father, which was in a basket-like vessel atop a pole. Filled with anger and with the help of talismans, he slew the tattooed Igorots. So many were his adversaries that ‘the inhabitants were like unto roosters, hens and chickens at their master’s call—so many were they’. He slew them all, except one whom he tortured by pulling out his tooth, gouging his eyes, cutting off his ears and fingers, so he might give warning to other Igorot hands that there was Lamang to punish them. “After the terrible battle, Lam-ang returned to Nal buan. He asked for some girls to accompany him to the Amburayan river and to give him a bath. So much was the dirt and so evil was the smell from his body that the 20 Panorama waters of the river became poisoned and all the fish in it were killed. “His father avenged, Lamang thought of settling down. He tried his luck for the hand of the beautiful Ines Kannoyan, the most beautiful girl of the region. His mother tried to dissuade him, never theless he pressed his suit for Ines. “In his suit for the hand of Ines, Lam-ang was aided by a magic rooster and a ma gic dog. He took the white rooster and the talking dog along with him to pay court to Ines. On the way, he met another suitor named Sumarang. They quarreled over Ines, and Lam-ang slew Sumarang. “Upon arrival at the house of Ines, Lam-ang found many rivals for the hand of Ines, including several Spaniards. His jealousy aroused, he let his white rooster crow, and the house toppled down. But when Ines looked out of the collapsed house, Lam-ang let his talking dog growl, and the house stood up again. “The fair Ines saw Lamang for the first time, and yet she fell in love with him. It was love at first sight. Ines adorned herself and with her mother came down to meet Lam-ang, to greet her new suitor. From the rooster, they knew the inten tions of Lam-ang. The girl’s parents demanded a dowry equal to their wealth, which must consist of gold and lands. It must include uten sils and furniture of pure gold and rice lands stretching as far as the eye could reach. Lam-ang cocksurely told Ines’ parents that he would acquire the dowry. Then, he set out for home. “Lam-ang, then, fitted out two gold ships and loaded them with treasures. With him went as many of his townspeople as could be ac commodated in the ships. When he returned to Ines, his gifts more than compensated the wealth of his future par ents-in-law. So Lam-ang mar ried Ines, and the wedding was held amidst splendor, with much dancing, eating and merrymaking. “After some time, the headman of the village told Lam-ang that his turn to catch rarang had come. He was asked to fish, as all men of the village were required to do in order to prove their manliness— their daring and courage. Before setting out to comply with the require ments of this sacred tradi tion, Lam-ang told his wife, Ines, that he had a premoni tion that he would be bitten and killed by a big fish call JULY 1961 21 ed berbakan (probably shark) while fishing. True to this premonition, he was swallowed by a berbakan. “That would have been the tragic end of Lam-ang. But the magic rooster told Ines that if the bones of Lam-ang were collected from the berbakan, he might be reviv ed. So, with the help of the diver, Marcos, the bones of Lam-ang were retrieved, and with the loving ministrations of the magic rooster, the magic dog, and Ines, Lamang lived again. A series of invocations and incantations brought Lam-ang back to life, and he appeared before his overjoyed wife as large as life itself.” C INCE TIME IMMEMORIAL, simple Ilocano folk thrill ed to Lam-ang’s daring ex ploits as these were chanted (or recited) by barrio bards and minstrels during wed dings, baptismal feasts, harv est festivals, and other me morable gatherings, to the accompaniment of the kutibeng (native guitar) and to the tune of the dal-lot (an extemporaneous tune). The peasantry loved to listen to the story, and even to recite it themselves, because it re flected the ideals of the re gion, its life and culture, in voking the courage and ad venturous spirit of the Ilocanos. The regional customs, described with finesse, are in the main what they are now; and various flourishing in dustries of yore are still what characterize the region. Brav ery and chivalry, industry and magnanimity are wellknown Ilocano traits. How old is the story of Lam-ang? Is the poem pre Spanish? This is a 'question that has long been unanswer ed, but some say that it was already chanted before the first Spaniards reached Ilocandia. They point to certain passages in the poem which show pagan practices, as when Lam-ang’s father cir cled a clump of bamboo once before cutting it down to make a lying-in (balitang) for his wife who was about to give birth. There are those, however, who hold the opposite view. They call attention to the in vocation to God which intro duces the actual story of Lam-ang and to the marriage of Lam-ang and Ines accord ing to the rites of the Roman Catholic Church. Moreover, among the rivals of Lam-ang for the hand of Ines were Spaniards. To this view how ever, those who maintain that the poem is pre-Spanish as sert that the Christian ele ments of the poem were added 22 Panorama in later years to keep up the story with the times, as it were. In this connection, the pre sentation of the story mate rial in Biag-ni-Lam-ang has been influenced by ideas de rived from Christianity. Bu kaneg took it down in 1640, and in his task to help in the propagation of the Catholic Faith, he tampered with this pagan poem and inserted Christian elements in .it. The poem, to be sure, abounds in supernatural elements of pre-Christian associations. In his teaching of the lofty principles of the Christian Faith, especially in his expla nations of the many myste ries of the Catholic Church, Bukaneg, touched by the ar dor and zeal of the mission ary, employed all means to win for Christianity the peo ple of the Ilocos region. As one of the means to teach Catholicism to the people, especially children, he col lected pre-Spanish folk tales, epic stories, poems and other forms of literature, and re touched them by putting on them some Christian ele ments. And Biag-ni-Lamang was not an exception in this task. The poem not only recites the exploits of the Ilocano hero and thereby furnishes much vicarious entertain ment to the barrio people but it is also a rich source of Filipiniana. In the first part of the poem. Lam-ang’s mother lists the herbs and articles which she would need in her delivery. Doubt less, these are still child birth items in the North. The poem also abounds in superstitions, customs, and other Ilocano folkways. For example, the poem reveals that in the old days, each man, although he might be very rich, had to dive into the sea to catch a rarang. This was a job which appa rently no one could dodge, for Lam-ang had to do it. Was it a test of group loyal ty, or was it a sacred ritual? The poem also contains some humor, ribald humor. After their marriage the two lovers started ribbing each other. Ines asked Lamang to walk a short distance so she could judge his gait, and this was her verdict: “I don’t like your carriage be cause 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.” Then, it was Lamang’s turn to criticize his bride, and here’s what he found: “I also don’t like your deportment. You carry your July 1961 23 legs in a funny way, and your legs suggest an indecent movement.” Written in the style of the awit and the corrido, forms that flourished at the height of Spanish power in the Philippines, the poem, in all existing versions, does not exceed 300 stanzas of six to 12 syllables in every line. The Yabes version has 305 stan zas. Vabes, in his introduction to his own translation, wrote: “In the very strict sense, it cannot be called an epic because it lacks such important elements of the epic as profundity of theme and sublimity of thought and language... but the hero possesses the qualities of an epic hero; and his deeds are supernatural, incapable of achievement by an ordinary mortal. It is on the line be tween epic and romance, to assign it to its proper place.” As influenced largely by Virgil, the classical epic de veloped certain devices which to a varying extent have been respected by all poets since. Some of these characteristic devices were: the beginning in medias res, the invocation of the muse, and the state ment of the epic purpose. Other conventions include descriptions of warfare and battles and the use of the supernatural. The speech of the characters is distinctly formal, epic catalogues and * * * BIGAMY What is the penalty for bigamy? Two mothers-in-law. * * * The man was weak and naturally unlucky, and so he got married three times inside of a year. He was convicted and sentenced for four years. He seemed greatly relieved. As the ex piration of his term grew near, he wrote from the penitentiary to his lawyer, with the plain tive query: “Will it be safe for me to come out?” 24 Panorama descriptions are brought in (these often marked by con siderable concrete detail), the epic simile is common, and the whole story is pre sented in dignified and ma jestic language. Substantially, Biag-ni-Lamang satisfies these character istic devices, except the first (the beginning in medias res), but neither the Iliad nor the Odyssey which are attributed to Homer satisfy this particular governing de vice. There are, however, five elements of the epic that are quite important in consider ing Biag-ni-Lamang as an epic or metrical romance. First, it is a long narrative poem which should last from two hours to two weeks to chant. There is no question that the Ilocano story satis fies the length expected in a narrative of this type. Second, the story must be in verse. The poem is suitable for chanting or for recita tion before an audience. Un questionably, the Ilocano sto ry also complies with this re quirement. Third, the characters pressented in the story must be of high position in their re spective social groups to which they belong. Lam-ang, Ines, and the rest of the characters in the story are all of high position. Fourth, the story must re veal the development of epi sodes important to the devel opment of nations or' races. The Ilocano story has such episodes, which reveal the development of the Ilocanos. Fifth, the story must re volve around one central fig ure who must undergo a se ries of adventures of heroic proportions and die a heroic death at the end. This is the element that places a ques tion mark to Biag-ni-Lamang. All existing versions of the narrative has Lam-ang resurrected at the end of the story. From this point of view, the story is more of a metrical romance rather than an epic. Chroniclers, such as Padre Colin, Pigafetta, Chirino and De Zuniga, have attested to the probable existence of Philippine epics. Biag-ni-Lam ang is among them. How ever, whether they are true epics or not remains to be studied. There are no com plete records of practically all of our long stories; prac tically, all of them are in fragmentary forms. It is safe, however, to say that they are long narratives ;in epic proportions, in the meantime that we are to go deeper in our search for and study of them. July 1961 25 For a long, long time, there has been a search for a satisfactory ending of the story. It is quite compre hensible that there should be. But how to find it has always been a great puzzle to re searchers. However, it is here now, found at last after ten years of searching by the au thor. A grand old, old man in Sinait, Ilocos Sur, has hand ed it down to us, if we are to believe him, from older men before him, so he says. And this is the continuation of the story: “After he was brought back to life, and he appeared before his overjoyed wife as large as itself, Lam-ang em braced Ines Kannoyan, and in their extreme happiness, they collapsed on the ground. And, filled with joy, Lamang embraced and kissed his pet rooster and his hairy dog. After that, they returned home. “Then, Lam-ang and Kan noyan repaired to Kalanutian. In peace and in prosper ity, Lam-ang hung the sword for the Gospel, in Kannoyan’s belief that this change of air would induce God to bless them with a longwished, desired child. Lamang read and studied the Word and interpreted it to his tribespeople, but as the months and years went on, no child pulsed in his wife’s waiting womb. “For fifty years, the people of Sinait became more and more jealous over the pro gress of Kalanutian. They looked with suspicion at the peace and plenty that the people of Kalanutian were reaping. They were afraid that Kalanutian would sur pass Sinait. Then Lam-ang learned of this state of af fairs between Kalanutian and Sinait, the spirit of war throbbed in him once more, and shutting out the pleas and sobs of Kannoyan, and in spite of his advanced age left the wall naked of the sword. “When a serious trouble wracked the peace between the towns of Kalanutian and Sinait, in which the inevit able froth and buffet of a final battle could end it all, Lam-ang was chosen to lead the Kalanutian warriors. “The Kalanutian warriors met the Sinait forces at Timmangol, a small, sitio between the warring towns. In the terrible battle that ensued, blood created scarlet lakes and the shapes of the dead decayed in the sun. Lam-ang led his warriors again and again in cruel assaults, until a young Sinait brave plunged a spear through him. Their leader — the supposedly in 26 Panorama vincible Lam-ang — buckling weakly to the .rising ground, the Kalanutions were pan icked, wildly confused, and fled from the field of battle. But true to their word of honor to their dead leader, they stood their ground just outside Kalanutian, and then yielded only to the Sinait forces when they were prom ised that upon surrender their town would be preserved from destruction and their children and women treated with honor. Thus, the power of Sinait over Kalanutian was confirmed, and this was why, up to this day, Kalanutian is still a barrio of Sinait. “The heroic death of Lamang in the field of battle was honored by the Sinait forces. They rendered military hon ors for him. They gathered Lam-ang’s remains, built a funeral pyre for him, reduced his body to ashes, and his ashes scattered all over the re gion. Lam-ang died a heroic death. “Lam-ang’s demise ajso led a wife to grief, for she fol lowed Lam-ang soon after. Her burial was made on Bantay Dayawen (Reversed Hill), from which other Ilo cano tales and superstitions have risen up.” A question now arises: Is this “lost ending” a gen uine part of Biag-ni-Lam-ang? Can it be proved from ex tant manuscripts, if there is any? The grand old man at Sinait who gave this part of the story to us simply says that he got it from older men before him, and he cannot say for certain whether or not there was a manuscript to support this claim. But, I wish to God, this part of the story is genuine, and it will without doqbt make Biag-niLamang a true epic. It will satisfy the last two elements of the epic mentioned above. It will place Biag-ni-Lam-ang side by side with the great epics of the world, and our people can be proud that our country, after all, has one such epic. For the resurrec tion of Lam-ang from the diver-gathered bones, as in the end of the present ver sions of the story, would not, in any way, compose the proof that Biag-ni-Lam-ang be considered the absolute epic. It makes it rather sound like a fairytale or, at most, a metrical romance, of man and woman emerging from the poxed and cratered pat terns of sequences in life, leading a happy existence from then on. But a sequel to the whole thing — the lost ending, now found, if genuine —may make us conclude that the story of the Ilocano hero is an epic after all. July 1961 27 T n any reading and study * of Ilocano literature, in particular, and of Filipino literature, in general, there can be no talk without some how mentioning Biag-ni-Lamang. For there is no doubt that this great work recites the exploits of the Ilocano hero who is the epitome of masculine strength and cour age. It is one work that links the present with our pre Spanish associations, because the Christian elements are almost without exception so deeply ingrained in the very fabric of the poem and the Christian interpretation of the story gives added strength and tone to the en tire work. Lam-ang’s story has come down to us not only in liter ary forms but in music as well. It may be of interest to many readers that there are three episodes in Biag-niLam-ang that have given in spiration to Eliseo M. Pajaro to compose a symphonic poem, The Life of Lam-ang. This composition written in 1951 was first performed by the Eastman-Rochester Sym phony Orchestra conducted by Dr. Howard Hanson, Director of the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester, U.S.A. Since the setting of the story is in the Ilocos, the composer took his themes from Ilocano folk tunes like the Dal-lot, Pamulinawen, Ti Ay at Ti Maysa nga Ubing, Manang Biday, etc. This symphonic legend was also part of Pajaro’s Ode to the Golden Jubilee, a massive piece for orchestra, chorus, speech choir, and soloist, which was composed in 1958 to commemorate the develop ment of the University of the Philippines over a period of a half century towards the fulfillment of the Filipino dream for independence, free dom, integrity, and enlightment. The Life of Lam-ang was the orchestral work chosen to represent the Philippines in the Festival of Asian Music held in 1959 in New Zealand. Whether epic or metrical romance, Biag-ni-Lam-ang as a literary piece of work will endure. And its value cannot be minimized. For it will con tinue to inspire artists to re duce it into other forms of art — music, sculpture, paint ing. Filipino literature can not really be rich without it. * * * 28 Panorama
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