Historical Review

(Biag ni Lam-Ang)

Literature, a body of written works. The name has traditionally been applied to
those imaginative works of poetry and prose distinguished by the intentions of their
authors and the perceived aesthetic excellence of their execution.
(https://www.britannica.com/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica by
Kenneth Rexroth).
Biag ni Lam-ang is an epic conquest of the Ilocano people from
the Ilocos region of the Philippines. It is notable for being the first Philippine folk epic
to be recorded in written form, and was one of only two folk epics documented during
the Philippines’ Spanish Colonial period, along with the Bicolano epic of Handiong.
It is also noted for being a folk epic from a "Christianized" lowland people group (the
Ilocano people), with elements incorporated into the storytelling. As oral literature,
the poem is believed to have originated in pre-colonial times, evolving as it is passed
on from poet to poet and generation to generation. The poem's first transcription is
sometimes attributed to the blind Ilocano poet-preacher Pedro Bucaneg, but
historian E. Arsenio Manuel instead attributes its first written documentation to Fr.
Blanco of Narvacan, working with the publicist and folklorist Isabelo de los Reyes.

Lam-ang's extraordinary birth, Lam-ang is an extraordinary being, when he

was born, he was already able to speak, thus enabling him to choose his own name
and told people to be called by this name.

The quest for Lam-Ang's father, His adventures begun when his father, Don
Juan, set out for a battle but never returned. Barely nine months, Lam-ang goes to
search for Don Juan in the highlands where the latter was said to have gone. Aware
that her child was a blessed, exceptional creature, his mother Namongan allowed him
to go. Lam-ang then went off in search of his father, leaving his grieving mother
behind. He saw his father beheaded and the head put on a spike. While the
headhunters were celebrating, in his anger, he challenged all of them to a duel. The
headhunters threw spears at him, but he just catches them and throws them back to the
headhunters. He defeated the headhunters, killed them all and took his father's head
down to the plains. After he went down the plains, he decided to bathe in
the Amburayan River, which the local gals helped him bathe. The dirt was so gross
that fishes and animals died upon contact of his bathwater.

The pursuit of Ines Kannoyan, Upon arriving home, Lam-ang decides to court
his love interest, Ines Kannoyan who lives in Calanutian (Kanluit). Despite his
mother's disapproval, he still follows his heart and set off again on another journey to
his love. He faces one of Ines’ suitors and various monsters, but again is able to
vanquish them with ease. Aiding him are his magical pets, a dog, and a rooster. The
rooster flaps its wings and a house toppled over. This feat amazes everyone present,
especially Ines. Then, Lam-ang’s dog barks and the house rose up. Invited to lunch
with the family of Ines, Lam-ang impresses her parents with his wealth and upon
returning, he gives the family two golden ships.
 Lam-ang's death and magical resurrection, After his death due to being eaten
by a huge fish, Lam-ang's bones are recovered and he is resurrected with the help of
his magical pets. Ines is ordered by the rooster to wrap the bones with her tapis while
the hen flapped its wings and the dog growled. In an instant, Lam-ang is happily
reunited with his wife.

Comedic elements, Biag ni Lam-ang, though dominated by action and tragedy,

nonetheless contained some comedic points. A prominent example is the scene in
which Lam-ang was on his way home. He passes by the Amburayan River (identified
by some as the biggest river in Ilocos and decides to bathe. The dirt and blood that fell
from his body then causes the death of the river's fish, crabs, and shrimp. As he is
bathing, some maidens who were present at the river gladly attend to him.

Roman Catholic elements, The tale of Lam-ang, as a story passed on for

generations as oral literature and recorded well into the Spanish colonial period, is
notable for incorporating Roman Catholic elements into the story, such as references
by the characters of Lam-ang and Ines Kannoyan to marriage as a sacrament.
Folklorist Mellie Leandicho Lopez notes that "later versions of the epic differ from
the early texts due to the addition of more Christian and Spanish elements in the
adventures of the Culture hero Lam-Ang.

Influences from Hindu epics, Although most of the thematic scholarship

regarding the Biag ni Lam-ang have focused on the evolving Roman Catholic
influences on the epic, some Philippine textbooks have suggested that it may have
been influenced by the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. Philippine anthropologists
and historiographers such as F. Landa Jocano suggest that such Hindu influences
probably arrived in the Philippines through the extensive trade that local cultures had
with the Majapahit Empire during the 14th through 16th centuries, although earlier
scholars such as Juan R. Francisco and Josephine Acosta Pasricha had suggested
earlier dates for this influence, during the ninth to the tenth century AD.

Adaptations, In 2012, a film adaptation of the story of Lam-ang was made.

Called Lam-Ang, the film starred Rocco Nacino and Rochelle Pangilinan. It was
originally intended to be a TV series, but it was later decided to turn it into a film
adaptation by Gabriel Lorenzo Quizon instead. In 2018, Biag ni Lam-Ang was
illustrated as a single-panel narrative by Jill Arwen Posadas for the Ang Ilustrador ng
Kabataan exhibition, Enchantment. In 2021, episode 3 of the revival of Legends of the
Hidden Temple told the story of Lam-Ang and based its challenges off of different
parts of that legend.

Submitted by: ABCD NOUVELLE P. FLORES

Submitted to: Mrs. Mary Grace Ladra