WEDDING DANCE

By: Amador T. Daguio

 AMADOR T. DAGUIO
Amador T. Daguio was 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.

Daguio was born 8 January 1912 in Laoag, Ilocos Norte,

but grew up in Lubuagan, Mountain Province, where his
father, an officer in the Philippine Constabulary, was
assigned.
 EDUCATION
He was class valedictorian in 1924 at the Lubuagan
Elementary School. Then he stayed with his uncle at Fort
William McKinley to study at Rizal High School in Pasig.
One of ten honor graduates at U.P. in 1932, he returned to
teach at his boyhood school in Lubuagan; in 1938, he taught
at Zamboanga Normal School where he met his wife Estela.
They transferred to Normal Leyte School in 1941 before the
Second World War. During the Japanese Occupation, he
joined the resistance and wrote poems in secret, later
collected as Bataan Harvest.
 In 1952, he obtained his M.A. in English at Stanford U. as a Fulbright
scholar. His thesis was a study and translation of Hudhud hi Aliguyon (Ifugao
Harvest Song). In 1954, he obtained his Law degree from Romualdez Law
College in Leyte. Daguio was editor and public relations officer in various
offices in government and the military. He also taught for twenty-six years at
the University of the East, U.P., and Philippine Women’s University. In 1973,
six years after his death, Daguio was conferred the Republic Cultural Heritage
Award.
CHARACTERS
SETTING
a) place – in the mountains somewhere in the Philippines
b) time- a long time ago
c) weather conditions- fine
d) social conditions- lower-class
e) mood or atmosphere- sad and tense
 The setting is a mountain village of the Philippines where Awiyao has
been remarried. Awiyao and Lumnay most likely to belong to the Igorot people
who inhabit the mountain areas of Luzon In “The Wedding Dance”, the author
draws upon the culture of his ancestors to explore Filipino traditions along with
the universal themes of love, suffering, and societal expectations.

This story gained from the author’s life among the Igorots of North Luzon – the
practices of divorce due to a childless marriage. The triumph of culture and tradition
over personal love is emphasized in the story which lets the reader see the way of life
and culture of the tribal people of Northern Luzon. Marriage in this culture was seen as
more or less a contract between a man and a woman for the purposes of producing
children. If after seven harvests, there is no child, either part is free to break the bond
and seek another spouse. A childless couple was seen as a very sad matter and often the
masculinity of the husband was considered suspect.
 PLOT SUMMARY
"The Wedding Dance" by Amador Daguio, is a short story about a
husband and wife, Awiyao and Lumnay, who had been married for seven
years. In spite of being in love with his wife, Awiyao feels the need to marry
again in order to have a son. At his second marriage celebration, Awiyao
goes to check on Lumnay, knowing she was upset. Awiyao thought the
answer to Lumnay's sorrow would be to have her join the other women
during the wedding dance. Lumnay was in fact at his wedding, but left. She
could not stand the idea of her husband marrying another woman because
she could not give him children.
STORY PYRAMID
 CONFLICT
• Awiyao has left his wife Lumnay, whom he loved very much.
However, she couldn’t give him a child. He has now married
Madulimay in hopes to have a son, who will continue his legacy.
This is something Awiyao expresses as important in his culture.
However, Lumnay is upset because she loves Awiyao and doesn’t
want this separation.
The conflict here is Man vs. Society .The lead characters have to follow
their tribe’s custom , and it is resolved when they had a heart-to heart talk
that they should separate and continue with their separate lives. And if
Awiyao's second marriage will not work he will come back to Lumnay's
arms again. They should follow their tribe's custom and on the part of
Awiyao he shows that he really wanted to have a child to follow his name
but there is a bit hesitance on Lumnay's part.
 THEME
• Sacrifice and True love
The couple, Lumnay and Awiyao should give up for their love not
only because of what their culture dictates but also to save each other from
the scorn of the society. In Awiyao’s case, he had been mockerd being
childless because a man to be considered a man should have a child

• If you truly love a person, you must let them be happy

Have you ever heard the saying “if you love someone, let them go”?
The story of Lumnay and Awiyao wrestles with this difficult issue. Despite
how upsetting it is to Lumnay, she must let Awiyao go, not only because of
their culture, but also because it is clear that he will not be happy without a
child.
SYMBOLISMS
SYMBOLISMS
 PLOT TYPE AND DEVICES
• PLOT TYPE – Dramatic or Progressive Plot
This is a chronological structure which first establishes the setting
and conflict, then follows the rising action through to a climax (the peak of
the action and turning point), and concludes with a denouement (a
wrapping up of loose ends). As seen in the story, it evolved from presenting
the setting and it goes on through the established plan of achieving the
climax then the end.
• LITERARY DEVICE – Flashbacks and Symbolism
There is an extensive use of the literary device symbolism. There are
many symbolism here such as those presented in the prior slides and the
house's four walls. They symbolize the former couple's imprisonment.
A flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in
time from the current point in the story. Flashbacks are often used to
recount events that happened before the story's primary sequence of
events to fill in crucial backstory. Flashbacks are also used when the story
narrated how the two met and how they became together. The story
flashbacked to the history of the two main characters as a way of
presenting the story.
 POINT OF VIEW
The Point of View used in this short story is the
Omniscient Limited - The author tells the story in third person
(using pronouns they, she, he, it, etc). We know only what the
character knows and what the author allows him/her to tell us. We
can see the thoughts and feelings of characters if the author
chooses to reveal them to us.
 REFERRENCES
Candy. (December 10, 2016). Wedding Dance. Retrieved from
http://cweddingdance.blogspot.com/p/conflict.html
Cerbito, J. (December 10, 2016). Wedding Dance by Amador Daguio. Retrieved from
http://www.slideshare.net/jessacerbito/wedding-dance-by-amador-daguio-an-
authordependent-interpretation
Jaudian, C.M. (December 10, 2016). Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) PowerPoint
Presentation. Retrieved from
http://www.slideshare.net/CarlMichaelJaudian/cordillera-administrative-region-
car-powerpoint-presentation
Limbaga, A. (December 10, 2016). Amador T. Daguio. Retrieved from
http://guialimbaga.weebly.com/amador-t-daguio.html
 REFERENCES
Ray, R and Baudinet, B. (Decemnber 10, 2016). The Wedding Dance by
Amador Daguio. Retrieved from
http://www.storyboardthat.com/teacher-guide/wedding-dance-by-
amador-daguio
Villanueva, A. (December 10, 2016). Short Story Analysis: "Wedding
Dance" by Amador Daguio. Retrieved from
http://articlewriterproofreader.blogspot.com/2011/05/short-
story-analysis-wedding-dance-by.html
 MADE BY:
Alfonso Martin B. Angeles

Franze Dale B. Barbosa

STEM-A