The Wedding Dance by Amador Daguio Summary, Plot, Characters, Setting, Conflict, Symbolism, Theme, Vocabulary Philippine Literature

 

WEDDING DANCE

By: Amador Daguio

 

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 the Cordilleran culture before, 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 friend. 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.

 

Plot:

EXPOSITION: The setting is a mountain village in the Philippines where Awiyao has just been remarried.

CONFLICT: Awiyao has left his wife Lumnay because she couldn’t give him a child. He has now married Madulimay in hopes to have a son and Lumnay is upset because she loves Awiyao and doesn’t want separation.

RISING ACTION: Outside the villages are dancing in celebration of the wedding. Awiyao leaves to try and comfort Lumnay. He offers her many items of the life that they built together. Lumnay refuses them and repeatedly attempt Awiyao to stay.

CLIMAX: Awiyao finally leaves to rejoin the wedding and Lumnay runs into the hills.

FALLING ACTION: Lumnay sits on the side of the mountain overlooking the blazing fire and dancing women, thinking about how her life has changed. She has a sense of desperation, isolation, and worthlessness.

RESOLUTION: The reader is left not knowing what will become of Lumnay.

 

Characters:

·         Lumnay- Awiyao’s former wife who is still in love with him, despite the fact he married another.

·         Awiyao- The lead male in the story who love Lumnay, but left her because she didn’t produce children for him.

·         Madulimay- Awiyao’s new wife, who is younger and he hopes to have children with.

 

Setting:

·         Place- in the mountains somewhere in the Cordillera

·         Time- a long time ago

 

Conflict:

            Man vs. Society

 

Symbolism:

·         The Gangsas- The gangsas are culturally important. The sound of the gangsas represent the man in the wedding ceremony. Like the gangsas, they are strong and provide a beat to the dance, or a “beat to life”.

·         The Beads- Symbolizes the promise that Awiyao made to Lumnay. They are also very precious and are worth to fields. The fact that Awiyao gives them to Lumnay shows that cherishes her, and that he still believes she has worth.

·         The Floor- A number of times the narrator draws the reader’s attention to the rattan floor as Lumnay pulls it apart. This is a symbol of their marriage unweaving.

·         The Night- The night time setting symbolically adds to the darkness and isolation that Lumnay feels as she runs away from the village.

·         Dancing- Culturally, the dancing is a celebration of happiness. It is also a show of sexuality by the women, because Lumnay has not produced a child, she feels ashamed to dance and show herself to the other women, as she believes no one will like her.

·         The Fire- The fire or flames signify the burning intensity of both love and hate that Lumnay feels in the situation.

·         Jar- love story

 

Theme: 

·         True Love Never Dies

·         Letting Things Go

Vocabulary:

·        Threshold- The sill of a door

·    Gansa- A bronze- silver gong peculiar to the ethnic groups of the mountains of the Cordilleras

·         Ember- A glowing fragment of a fire

·         Pang- A sudden sharp sensation or feeling

·         Muffled- Decreasing the noise made by something

·         Smoldering- To burn slowly without flames but usually with smoke

·         Huddled- Sitting or Lying in a curled or bent position

·         Sullenness- An unhappy person who does not want to talk

·         Kabunyan- A Cordilleran term for a God

·         Appease- Pleased

·         Crackles- Sharp noises

·         Rattan- A plant with very long, strong stems that are woven together

·         Tugged- To pull something with a quick

·         Quivered- To  shake because of fear, cold, nervousness

·         Throbbing- To feel a pain that starts

·         Caverns- A place or area on that is lower than the area around it