The Wedding Dance

Amador T. Daguio

There was a couple named Awiyao and Lumnay. They were married for a long time but

Awiyao her husband has to marry another girl named Madulimay because Lumnay

cannot bear a child. On the night of the wedding of Awiyao and Madulimay, Awiyao

went to his and Lumnay's house where they used to live to personally invite his ex-wife

to join the dance but Lumnay refuses to join. Lumnay is the best dancer in their tribe.

They had a heart-to-heart talk about their separation, and on their conversation they

found out that the couple still love each other. They still have feelings for each other but

they have to separate because their tribe’s custom is--every man in that tribe should

have one (or more) child that would carry his name and if his wife cannot give him a

child he can marry another woman. It's a man's necessity to have a child.

Lumnay can hardly let go of her husband. The two both agreed that if Awiyao's second

marriage did not work, he will go back to Lumnay's arms and this was sealed by the

beads that Lumnay will keep. Then Awiyao goes back to the wedding because

someone is calling him already. After being fetched by others, Lumnay decided to go to

the wedding not to dance or to join the celebration but to stop the wedding.

She decided to break the unwritten law of her tribe, but when she is near, all her guts to

stop the wedding suddenly disappeared. She did not have the courage to break into the

wedding feast. Lumnay walked away from the dancing ground, away from the village.

She went to the mountain instead and in the mountain is where she diverted all her

bitterness in her and she partly reminisce their story.