The Wedding Dance: (A Literary Analysis)

THE WEDDING
DANCE
(A Literary Analysis)
By Amador Daguio
THE AUTHOR
BEHIND “THE
WEDDING DANCE”
AMADOR T. DAGUIO
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.
He was born January 8, 1912 in Laog,
Ilocos Norte, but grew up in Lubuagan,
Mountain Province,.
He was class valedictorian in 1924 at the

Lubuagan Elementary School.
He graduated at U.P. in 1932. He returned
to teach at his school in Lubuagan.
He also taught for twenty-six years at the

University of the East, U.P., and Philippine
Women's University.
In 1952, he obtained his M.A. in English at
Stanford University as a Fulbright scholar.
In 1954, he obtained his Law degree from

Romualdez Law College in Leyte.
In 1973, six years after his death, Daguio

was conferred the Republic Cultural
Heritage Award.
TEXT DEPENDENT
MAJOR CAHRACTERS
Lumnay
: Awiyao’s first and former wife who still

loves him despite the fact that he married
another woman.
: Beautiful, a good dancer, strong in planting

beans, fast in cleaning jars, and a good
housekeeper,
MAJOR CAHRACTERS
Awiyao
: The husband of Lumnay who left her

because of the fact that they can’t
produce children.
: Humorous and physically fit.

MAJOR CAHRACTERS
Madulimay
: Awiyao’s second wife whom he married

in order to have children and continue his
bloodline
SETTING
PLACE
: Somewhere in the
mountainous region of the
Philippines.
SETTING
PLACE (Physical
Appearance)
: In a dark small hut made of
rattan and bamboo, located in
a small village.
SETTING
TIME
: A long time ago, before we were
colonized by the Spaniards.
: Roughly between 900-1565

SETTING
Mood/Atmosphere
: Intense and sad with regret.
PLOT
PLOT
A. Introduction
The story began at night where Awiyao
has just been remarried and a tribal dance is
taking place in the village. Without anyone
noticing, he went to look for Lumnay who
wasn’t at the celebration. He went to their
home where he lived together with Lumnay
when they were married.
PLOT
B. Rising Action
Awiyao and Lumnay talked about
what went wrong with their
relationship. Awiyao tried to comfort
Lumnay who was feeling miserable.
PLOT
B. Rising Action
He tried to offer her luxurious and
great things in life but she refused them
all and stated that what she wants is for
Awiyao to stay.
PLOT
C. Climax
Both of them admitted that they still
loved each other. However, Awiyao is
already needed in the celebration. He
finally leaves to go back to the wedding
ceremony. Lumnay on the other hand ran
towards the hills.
PLOT
D. Falling Action
Lumnay sat on one side of the mountain
while looking at the village where everyone
was celebrating Awiyao’s remarriage. She cried
as she reminisced how she and Awiyao first
met and fell in love, and how everything fell
apart. She felt lonely, worthless and isolated.
PLOT
D. Denouement
At the end of the story, it was not clearly
mentioned to the readers what was going to
happen to Awiyao and Lumnay. The readers
were left hanging, without knowing what
will become of their relationship and the
tribe.
CONFLICT
Man vs. Society
: In the story, the couple had to break off

their relationship in order to follow their
tribe’s custom. Back in the days, Filipinos
strictly followed beliefs and superstitions.
They had no other choice but to sacrifice
their love for the benefit of their tribe.
POINT OF VIEW
Omniscient Limited
: Amador Daguio narrated the story in the

third-person POV. The readers only knew
about the characters’ thoughts and feelings
through what the author tells us. He used
pronouns such as they, he, she, it, etc.
LITERARY DEVICES
Symbolism
oThe Dance/Dancing
: In the Filipino culture, dancing is a

celebration of happiness. It also shows the
sexuality of women. In the story, Lumnay
can’t bear a child and so she felt ashamed to
dance and show herself to the tribe.
LITERARY DEVICES
Symbolism
oGangsas
: This is an ancient instrument used during

the wedding dance. The sound of this
represents Awiyao for they are strong and
provides a beat to dance (“beat to life”).
LITERARY DEVICES
Symbolism
oThe Fire
: This represents the burning intensity of

love between the couple and the hate
that they feel towards their situation.
LITERARY DEVICES
Symbolism
oThe Necklace (Made of Beads)
: The beads signifies their promise of

love. They are also very precious that’s
why Awiyao gave it to Lumnay. This
means that he cherishes Lumnay deeply.
LITERARY DEVICES
Symbolism
oThe Floor (Made of Rattan)
: The author mentioned the rattan floor

quite a lot of times as Lumnay pulls
them apart. This symbolizes their
marriage which was falling apart.
LITERARY DEVICES
Symbolism
oThe House’s Four Walls
: The 4 walls signifies “imprisonment.” In the

story, Lumnay and Awiyao don’t have any
choice but to follow and obey the rules of
their tribe even though they don’t want to just
like when you’re in prison.
LITERARY DEVICES
Symbolism
oThe Darkness/Night
: The darkness symbolizes Lumnay’s

feelings. She feels lonely. And just like
when you’re in darkness, you feel alone.
LITERARY DEVICES
Flashback
At one point in the story, Amador used

flashback to show the couple’s past.
Lumnay reminisced the very first time that
they met, how Awiyao showed interest in
her and courted her until eventually they
fell in love and married each other .
LITERARY/CRITICAL APPROACH/ES
Sociological Approach
: In the story, social contexts were

extensively incorporated and reflected
by the author. Amador emphasized the
cultural influences and values that the
society had with his characters.
LITERARY/CRITICAL APPROACH/ES
Biographical Approach
: The main theme of the story was

primarily anchored to where and how
Amador Daguio lived. He wrote the story
by incorporating his life experiences
(struggles & difficulties) in the text.
THEME
True Love is All About Sacrifices
And Hope
: In the story, it was emphasized that

in life, love is never enough to have a
happy ending.
AUTHOR
DEPENDENT
HISTO-BIOGRAPHICAL APPROACH
•Amador Daguio grew up in Mountain Province specifically,

Lubuagan. Possibly, he exposed to the culture of folks in
Mountain Province which made him write the story "Wedding
Dance."
• The Wedding Dance was written based from the author's

experience with Igorots tribe living in North Luzon- the practice
of divorce due to inability to produce a child ( Cerbito, 2014).
HISTO-BIOGRAPHICAL APPROACH
• Amador experienced indigence, extreme solitary, and

different kind of pain as he grow older. This season made
him write to express his feelings.
• The story(Wedding Dance) was written when he is

studying his research entitled "Study and translation of
Hudhud hi Aliguyon- Ifugao Harvest Song" (Cerbito, 2014)
READER’S
RESPONSE
The "Wedding Dance" by Amador Daguio is a heartbreaking
story of Awiyao and Lumnay. These lovers cannot have a child
which led Awiyao to marry Madulimay. He wanted to have a child
because just like other men, Awiyao does not want to get mocked
by his fellow tribesmen. He believes that life is not worth living
without having a child .Their culture and his manhood made him
do such action.
We had different opinions from this story. Some of us agree on
what Awiyao did. It is understandable because as a man, having
our own child will define our manhood. The pressure of being a
man and culture's beliefs are the reasons for Awiyao’s actions.
Partners are expected to have a fruit. If Awiyao knew that they
couldn’t bear a child, then he shouldn’t have married Lumnay.
Awiyao's action was only for the sake of himself. Only
him benefits from it and Lumnay's dignity was stepped on.
Lumnay doesn't deserve it. It was not her fault why they
cannot have a child. They must fulfill the promises they
made to each other from the beginning.
The story also established the gender role from that time. In
this century, majority of us disagree from it. Nowadays, woman
should also work to earn some money and support herself
independently. The concept of "women should serve men" is not
applicable in today's generation. We are now promoting gender
equality because everyone has a right in our society.
GRAND THEME
TRIUMPH TRADITION
OF CULTURE OVER
PERSONAL
“If you love someone, you will
LOVE let them
go.”

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THE WEDDING

He was best known for his fictions and poems.

He had published two volumes of poetry,

He served as chief editor for the Philippine

He was class valedictorian in 1924 at the

He also taught for twenty-six years at the

In 1954, he obtained his Law degree from

In 1973, six years after his death, Daguio

: Awiyao’s first and former wife who still

: Beautiful, a good dancer, strong in planting

: The husband of Lumnay who left her

: Humorous and physically fit.

: Awiyao’s second wife whom he married

: A long time ago, before we were

colonized by the Spaniards.

: Roughly between 900-1565

: In the story, the couple had to break off

: Amador Daguio narrated the story in the

: In the Filipino culture, dancing is a

: This is an ancient instrument used during

: This represents the burning intensity of

oThe Necklace (Made of Beads)

: The beads signifies their promise of

oThe Floor (Made of Rattan)

: The author mentioned the rattan floor

oThe House’s Four Walls

: The 4 walls signifies “imprisonment.” In the

: The darkness symbolizes Lumnay’s

At one point in the story, Amador used

: In the story, social contexts were

: The main theme of the story was

: In the story, it was emphasized that

•Amador Daguio grew up in Mountain Province specifically,

• The Wedding Dance was written based from the author's

• Amador experienced indigence, extreme solitary, and

• The story(Wedding Dance) was written when he is

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