Points in reading Biag ni Lam-ang
o
Lam-ang's birth and extraordinary strength.
o
His adventures and bravery.
o His courtship of Ines Kannoyan.
o His death and resurrection.
important parts of the epic
Lam-ang was an extraordinary individual who began speaking at a young age and resurrected from the dead. Some of his remarkable adventures included swimming to the deepest part of the ocean to retrieve a golden seashell, defeating the giant Sumarang in a duel, and being swallowed alive by a sea monster before resurrecting. Lam-ang won the heart of Ines Cannoyan by having his rooster and dog perform feats of strength that impressed her parents, who agreed to the marriage if Lam-ang could provide a dowry worth double their wealth. According to the epic, Lam-ang was resurrected after being eaten by having his bones wrapped in cloth by his wife while his magical pets used their
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 Ilokano bard named Pedro Bucaneg.
An elderly woman discovered Bukaneg, a foundling, drifting in a basket in the Banaoang River between Bantay and Vigan not long after he was born. He was baptized as Pedro Bucaneg by the Bantay Augustiner priest after they brought him there. Bukaneg was assigned to study theology and culture at the Augustinian monastery in Manila. In addition to learning the local languages and Ilocano Isneg, he also received instruction in Latin and Spanish.
Because of his proficiency in these languages, the local priests asked him to interpret their sermons and prayers into the local tongues. They wanted him to assist in converting the local populace. As a troubadour, Bukaneg wrote songs and poetry and was adored by the Ilocanos. The locals considered him a seer. Even the Spaniards knocked him for his services. He would have recognized the killer of a servant of a Spaniard on a day in a row of Itneg men by placing his hand on the chest of all these individuals.
He couldn't write because he was blind. While someone else wrote, he dictated his translations, poetry, and songs. Some writers and historians credit Bukaneg with writing the Ilocano epic Biag ni Lam-ang. It's also likely that the Ilocano sang Bukaneg's compositions for generations, preserving them for all time. The Doctrina Cristiana was also translated into Ilocano by Bukaneg.
Characters in Biag ni Lam-ang
Lam-ang- was an extraordinary being, manifesting in his early years when he started to speak, thus enabling him to choose his own name.
Don Juan- father of Lam-ang
Namongan- mother of Lam-ang
Ines Kannoyan- Lam-ang love's interest
BUOD NG OF BIAG NI LAM-ANG
(SUMMARY OF BIAG NI LAM-ANG)
Don Juan and his wife Namongan lived in Nalbuan, now part of La Union in the northern part of the Philippines. They had a son named Lam-ang. Before Lam-ang was born, Don Juan went to the mountains in order to punish a group of their Igorot enemies. While he was away, his son Lam-ang was born. It took four people to help Namongan give birth. As soon as the baby boy popped out, he spoke and asked that he be given the name Lam-ang. He also chose his godparents and asked where his father was.
After nine months of waiting for his father to return, Lam-ang decided he would go look for him. Namongan thought Lam-ang was up to the challenge but she was sad to let him go.
During his exhausting journey, he decided to rest for awhile. He fell asleep and had a dream about his father’s head being stuck on a pole by the Igorot. Lam-ang was furious when he learned what had happened to his father. He rushed to their village and killed them all, except for one whom he let go so that he could tell other people about Lam-ang’s greatness.
Upon returning to Nalbuan in triumph, he was bathed by women in the Amburayan river. All the fish died because of the dirt and odor from Lam-ang’s body.
There was a young woman named Ines Kannoyan whom Lam-ang wanted to woo. She lived in Calanutian and he brought along his white rooster and gray dog to visit her. On the way, Lam-ang met his enemy Sumarang, another suitor of Ines whom he fought and readily defeated.
Lam-ang found the house of Ines surrounded by many suitors all of whom were trying to catch her attention. He had his rooster crow, which caused a nearby house to fall. This made Ines look out. He had his dog bark and in an instant the fallen house rose up again. The girl’s parents witnessed this and called for him. The rooster expressed the love of Lam-ang. The parents agreed to a marriage with their daughter if Lam-ang would give them a dowry valued at double their wealth. Lam-ang had no problem fulfilling this condition and he and Ines were married.
It was a tradition to have a newly married man swim in the river for the rarang fish. Unfortunately, Lam-ang dove straight into the mouth of the water monster Berkakan. Ines had Marcos get his bones, which she covered with a piece of cloth. His rooster crowed and his dog barked and slowly the bones started to move. Back alive, Lam-ang and his wife lived happily ever after with his white rooster and gray dog.
TagalogLang. (2025, January 13). Biag ni Lam-ang (Summary). TAGALOG LANG. https://www.tagaloglang.com/biag-ni-lam-ang-buod/
