LIFE OF LAM-ANG
Namongan gives birth to Lam-ang, a baby of
incredible strength and courage. The boy asks his mother
about his father's whereabouts and learns that he has gone
to fight the Igorot. Lam-ang arms himself with charms and
decides to look for his father. From a dream, he learns that
his father Don Juan Panganiban had been killed by the
Igorot. Later, Lam-ang finds the Igorot in a "sagang", a feast
celebrating a successful headhunting expedition. His
father's head is displayed in the feast. Lam-ang slays them
all with his spear and mutilates the last among them.
When Lam-ang returns home, 99 maidens wash his
hair in the river. For his shampoo, he burns so much rice
straw that the communities near the river are alarmed by
smoke. The dirt from his hair kills all the fish in the river. He
then kills a crocodile and carries it on his shoulder ashore
amidst the applause of his companions.
Lam-ang hears of a beautiful maiden named Ines
Cannoyan, daughter of the richest man of the town of
Kalanutian. He tells his mother of his desire to court the
maiden. Although his mother discourages him, he goes
anyway, dressed in gold and accompanied by his pet
rooster and white dog. The giant Sumarang blocks his way
and belittles him. Lam-ang defeats him in a duel and hurls
him nine hills away. Later, Sarindadan tries to seduce him,
but Lam-ang rejects her advances.
Reaching Kalanutian, he impresses Ines with his
magic. His rooster crows and topples a small outhouse. His
dog barks and the outhouse is rebuilt. Ines invites him to
the house where the rooster acts as Lam-ang's
spokesperson. Ines' parents ask for a bride price, which
Lam-ang agrees to give. Lam-ang returns home to prepare
for the wedding and the presents. He and his townfolk sail
on two golden ships to Kalanutian where Lam-ang and Ines
have a Catholic wedding. The townspeople board the two
ships to Nalbuan, Lam-ang's birthplace, to continue the
celebration.
After the celebration, Lam-ang agrees to hunt
"rarang" a shellfish. He is swallowed by the giant fish
"berkakang" as he has dreamt so. However, a diver recovers
his bones. The pet rooster flaps its wings and resurrects
Lam-ang. Lam-ang rewards the diver and lives happily with
his wife and pets.
The Legend of the Lizard
Long ago, there was a mother who loved her only
son deeply. She was a pious woman and her son imitated
most of her good deeds, which were many. Her son was
good at heart, but young. The woman knew that he still had
much to learn before he could fully adopt saintly ways.
God decided to test this young son’s piety and love
for his mother. He sent a beautiful woman to capture the
young man’s eager heart. The beautiful woman urged the
son to keep their meetings a secret from his mother, and
though it pained the boy to do so, for he never kept secrets
from his mother, he obeyed. But the real challenge had not
yet been failed.
The beautiful woman beguiled the boy so that she
was able to make him promise that he would do anything
she asked. She therefore asked that he should – if he loved
her as truly as he declared – cut out his mother’s heart and
bring it to her. The young man, blinded by love, dutifully
slaughtered his beloved mother. It was exactly six o’clock in
the evening, and his mother was reciting the Angelus then.
He held the still-beating heart in his hands as he rushed to
where he knew the girl stood waiting. But when he got to
their meeting-place, the girl was not there. Nothing was
there – save for the realization of what he had done.
The heart still beat, though it tarried long in the
hands of the prodigal son. And then it began to speak. In his
shock, the boy dropped the heart, and it fell into a crack in
the ground.
"Are you in pain, my child?" the mother’s heart
inquired. "Let me sing you a lullaby, to soothe you to sleep."
The heart softly started singing, as lovingly as its owner
would have done. And in the son’s remorse he fell flat on
his belly and kissed the ground that the heart lay on. The
boy was so filled with guilt and grief that he did not notice
himself changing, growing smaller, losing all his hair and
clothing so that he was a tiny web-footed thing, that kissed
and kissed at the ground as if begging for someone’s
forgiveness.
At exactly six o’clock every night, when the Angelus
strikes, the lizard comes down from the walls of the house,
and crawls down to the floor, where it would make slight
ticking sounds like quick kisses. It has been said that the
lizard has not yet redeemed itself in its own eyes, and that
with its tiny ears it could hear an ancient beating, and a
lullaby that does not end.