NOTRE DAME OF SALAMAN COLLEGE INC.

Founded in 1965 by the Oblates

Owned by the Archdiocese of Cotabato
Managed by the Diocesan Clergy of Cotabato (DCC)
“Service for the Love of God through Mary”
(B.E.S.T)
Amare Est Servire

Survey of Philippine Literature in English

BSED – 3
Week 1-2
Course Code: : ELT 104
Program/Year : BSED 3
Descriptive Title : Survey of Philippine Literature in English
Course Instructor : Rosalie M. Blanca
rosaliemallorca0485@[Link]
Mobile #09300351868

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course enables the students to demonstrate researched based content knowledge in analyzing the
growth and development of Philippine Literature in English from 1900 to the present along socio-historical events
as shown in representative works.
COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES:
At the end of the course, the students should be able to:
 Demonstrate content knowledge of Philippine Literature
 Demonstrates research-based knowledge in the preparation of an annotated reading list of selected
Philippines literary
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Provide your own activity or log notebook (2 pieces big 50 leaves notebook) for records of
your online and offline readings and activity tasks.
2. Part of answering these activities are the instructions, so you must follow all of the given
instructions.
3. In every performance/product-based activity, rubrics are given to be used as the bases of
checking your output.
4. Assignments should be submitted on the date given.
5. Create an e-mail account.

WEEK 1:
Unit 1: Overview: Philippine Literature in English
 Role of Literature
 Essence and Functions
 Main Division
 Literary Genres
 Drama
 Essay
 Poetry
 Short Story
Learning Outcomes: At the end of this lesson, the learners are expected to:
 explain the role of literature in understanding the uniqueness of the Filipinos
 differentiate the varied types of literary genres in the country.

Role of Literature to our Life

Essential Question: What makes literature so important in our lives?

Literature is the foundation of life. It places an emphasis on many topics from

human tragedies to tales of the ever-popular search for love. While it is physically
written in words, these words come alive in the imagination of the mind, and its
ability to comprehend the complexity or simplicity of the text. Literature enables
people to see through the lenses of others, and sometimes even inanimate objects;
therefore, it becomes a looking glass into the world as others view it. It is a journey
that is inscribed in pages, and powered by the imagination of the reader. Ultimately,
literature has provided a gateway to teach the reader about life experiences from
even the saddest stories to the most joyful ones that will touch their hearts.
1. Reflection of Society

All rights reserved. No parts of this document may be reproduced, distributed in any form or by any means including photocopying or any
electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the writer except in the case of brief quotations embodied in
critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copy right law. 1
 Literature reflects the events and the social environment of the society be it in positive or in
negative aspects. The society as a nucleus of man serves as a basket of real scenarios that
transpired in a certain place. A good example is a newspaper and journals published every day or
quarterly.
2. Medium of Cultural Traits and Value
 Any written work which survived through the years discussed the behavior and character of the
people whoa has lived before. As for the present readers through pages of real stories create a
bridge that connects the world long time ago and now. Traits and Values such as the love for
freedom, respect for elders, aspiring for a comfortable life and sincere romance were all discussed
and observed today through komiks and books that survived through the years.
3. Keeper of Cultural Traditions
 The stories and practices that were observed long ago are also being done today with the
existence of historical texts and manuscripts. Who would have thought that tradition such town
fiesta, Lenten procession, games and folklores created an impact to what a society is colored and
played by its citizen. The wok of Jose Rizal discusses the timeless Filipino cultural traditions
which are all being practiced today.
4. Ignites Action and Creates Reaction
 By exposing the real event in society, one is informed about his duties as a citizen. Through
knowledge of being one with others is a method of change. One does not only live by himself but
for others. La Solidaridad, Noli Me Tangere, and El Fili are not only stories of fraylocracy but
also the story of a nation.
5. Entertainment Purposes
 Through literature, one is satisfied by reading and browsing it. This creates and escapist
imagination that dreams do come true, thus a reader I enjoying a story or a text which is being
presented on many pages. One can laugh, feel the romance, cry at the same time and learn on new
things that cater the need and wants of its target readers. These include magazines, novel and
short stories.
Essence and Functions of Literature
Functions of Literature
1. Entertainment Function
 Known as “pleasure reading”. In this function, literature is
used to entertain its readers. Literary works are consumed
for the sake of one’s enjoyment.
2. Social and Political Function
 Literature shows how society works around them. Literature
helps the reader “see” the social and political constructs around him/her and shows the state of
the people and the world around him/her.
3. Moral Function
 Literature may impart moral values to its readers. The morals contained in a literary text, whether
good or bad, are absorbed by whoever reads it, thus helps in shaping their personality.
4. Historical Function
 Ancient texts, illuminated scripts, stone tablets etc. keep a record of events that happened in the
place where they originate. Thus, they serve as time capsules of letters that is studied by scholars
and researches today.
5. Educational Function
 Literature teaches as of may things about the human experience. Literature is used to portray the
facets of life that we see, and those that we would never dream of seeing. Literature, therefore, is
a conduit for the chance to experience to experience and feel things where we can learn things
about life.
6. Cultural Function
 Literature orients us to traditions, folklore and the arts of our ethnic group’s heritage. Literature
preserves entire cultures and creates an imprint of the people’s way of living for others to read,
hear, and learn.

7. Ideological Function
 Literature shapes our way of thinking bas3d on the ideas of other people. Literature also displays
a person’s ideology placed in the text consciously and unconsciously.
8. Linguistic Function
 Literature preserves the language of every civilization from where it originated. They are also
evidences that a certain civilization has existed by recording the language and preserving it
through wide spans f time.

The Nature of Literature

Literature can be defined as an expression of human feelings, thoughts, and ideas

whose medium is language, oral and written. Literature is not only about human
All rights reserved. No parts of this document may be reproduced, distributed in any form or by any means including photocopying or any
electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the writer except in the case of brief quotations embodied in
critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copy right law. 2
ideas, thoughts, and feelings but also about experiences of the authors. Literature can be medium for human to
communicate what they feel, think, experience to the readers.

There are many ways to define the term ‘literature’ based on different point of views such as literature is art,
literature is language, literature is aesthetic, literature is fictional, literature is expressive, and literature is
affective. Literature is everything in print. It means any writing can be categorized as literature. Another way of
defining literature is to limit it to ‘great books’ which are ‘notable for literary form or expression’. Ellis (1989:30)
defines literature as the verbal expression of human imagination and one of the primary means by which a culture
transmits itself. Based on thus definitions, literature contains universal ideas, human imagination, and human
interest that written in any writings and use language as medium to express human’s ideas and feelings.

In conjunction with literature as art form, it is broken down into imaginative literature and non-imaginative
literature. Imaginative literature and non-imaginative literature are distinguished based on the particular use made
of language in literature. Language of imaginative literature is highly ‘connotative’ and language of non-
imaginative literature is purely ‘denotative’. The connotative meaning means words that used in literary works
have feeling and shades of meaning that words to tend to evoke while denotative meaning means that the words
refer to meaning in dictionary.

The language that is used by literature differ form ordinary spoken or written language. Literature uses special
words, structures, and characteristics. Primarily the language of literature differs from ordinary language in three
ways:
 language is concentrated and meaningful
 its purpose is not simply to explain, argue, or make a point but rather to give a sense of pleasure
in the discovery of a new experience
 it demands intense concentration from the readers. It indicates that the language of literature has
originality, quality, creativity, and pleasure.

In this case, to differentiate between the literary texts and non-literary texts (imaginative and non-imaginative),
Kleden (2004:7-8) states that literature can be differentiate based on the kind of meanings that exist in a text.
Literary text consists of textual meaning and referential meaning and non-literary text only consists of referential
meaning. The textual meaning is the meaning that is produced by the relationship of text itself. While referential
meaning is meaning that is produced by the relationship between internal text and external text (world beyond the
text).

From the use of language and the existence of meaning in literary works, it can be concluded that poetry, prose
and drama are put in literary works article, journalism, news, bibliography, memoir, and so on can be categorized
as non-literary works.

Literature is language in use that provides insights and intellectual stimulation to the reader. As one explores
literature, he likewise discovers the beauty of language.
The language that is used by literature differs from ordinary spoken or written language.
Literature uses special words, structure, and characteristics. Primarily the language of literature differs from
ordinary language in three ways:

language is concentrated and meaningful;

its purpose is not simply to explain, argue, or make a point but rather to give a sense of pleasure in the
discovery of a new experience; and
it demands intense concentration from the readers.

It indicates that the language of literature has originality, quality, creativity, and pleasure

Adapted from: [Link]

Key Task #1
Individual Activity: Acrostic Expression
Objective: Value the function and nature of literature
Directions:
1. Using the words “PHILIPPINE LITERATURE,” make an acrostic poem about
function and essence of literature.
2. Create your output creatively and imaginatively.
3. Write your acrostic poem on a short bond paper and attach it on your activity
notebook.

All rights reserved. No parts of this document may be reproduced, distributed in any form or by any means including photocopying or any
electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the writer except in the case of brief quotations embodied in
critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copy right law. 3
Main Divisions of Philippine Literature
1. Prose
Form: Written in paragraph form
Language: Expressed in ordinary form
Appeal: To the intellect
Aim: To convince
2. Poetry
Form: Written in stanza or verse
Language: Expressed in figurative
Appeal: To the emotion
Aim: Stir the imagination and set an idea how life should be

Key Task #2: Surf the internet or scan a book. Use the venn diagram to show the difference and
similarities between prose and poetry. Do it on your activity notebook.
Key Task #3: Search for the different types of Prose and Poetry. Define each.

Learning Activities

Think Critically
Direction: On your activity notebook, answer the following questions.
1. As a student what is the role of literature to your life?
2. Enumerate the roles of literature and give examples.
3. What makes literature so important in our lives?
4. Why do we need to study literature? its functions? its nature?

Literary Genres
What is genre?
A genre is a broad term that translates from the French to mean 'kind' or 'type.' In entertainment, this can
translate to horror, romance, science fiction, etc. In general, these types differ for all sorts of reasons, from the
actions in their plots to the feelings they elicit from the audience.
Genre, in broad terms, refers to any works that share certain characteristics. If enough characteristics are
in common, then the pieces are said to be in the same genre. In literature, there are four main genres to help the
reader focus their expectations for the piece, though these genres can be broken down even further.
1. Drama
 Drama is derived from the word “dran” which means “to do” or to perform.” It is literary genre
involving conflicts of characters which are acted on stage. Drama, just like a short story is
composed of series of events having vivid, emotional, striking interest.

Types of Drama
 Tragedy
 is usually associated to the downfall of the character.
 Comedy
 came from Greek word komazein which means wanderer
 main ingredient is humor
 Melodrama
 a story wherein protagonist is challenged to solve the problem but guided with romance
 Absurd
 doesn’t follow any pattern and it is none-sequitir. It is a dream-like presentation of a plot.
 Farce
 Light dramatic work in which highly improbable plot situations, exaggerated characters,
and often slapstick elements are used for humorous effect.
 Satire
 The use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s
stupidity or vices
Elements of Drama
 Plot
 Setting
 Theme
 Characters
 Tone
 Symbol
Elements which are exclusively used for drama
 Monologue
 Staging

All rights reserved. No parts of this document may be reproduced, distributed in any form or by any means including photocopying or any
electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the writer except in the case of brief quotations embodied in
critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copy right law. 4
  Stage Direction
 Soliloquy
 Staging a play
Example of Drama Literature in the Philippines
I learned to love Manila by: Christina Montilla Dorffi
Straw Patriot (A tragedy of Five Scenes) by: Virginia R. Moreno

Key Task #4:

Direction: Surf the internet or read a literature book to define each term given above. Write it on your activity
notebook.

2. Essay
 In its broadest sense,” essay” may refer to just about any short piece of nonfiction: editorial, a
feature story, a critical study, even an excerpt from a book.
 A general rule, an essay’s primary function is to express the point of view of its author.
Types of Essay
 Narrative Essay
 Written to tell about an event-often one in the author’s life, but always from the author’s
point of view.
 Descriptive Essay
 Used to describe something specific, such as a person or a place.
 Persuasive Essay
 Written in an attempt to sway the reader’s way of thinking.
 Compare- and- contrast Essay
 Used to show the similarities and differences between two or more objects or ideas.

Parts of an Essay
1. Introductory Paragraph
 Introduction presents the argument the writer is making in his essay. It will include an opening
sentence to introduce the topic to the reader.
2. First Supporting Paragraph
 Should include the strongest illustration or point that proves the thesis
3. Third Paragraph
 Should contain the second strongest argument for the composition.
4. Third Supporting Paragraph
 Should contain some weakest argument that proves the topic.
5. Conclusion
 Should have an introductory sentence followed by a one- sentence-each summation of each of the
three previous supporting points or paragraphs.

Examples of Essay composed by Filipino Writers

Footnote to Youth by: Jose Garcia Villa
We Filipinos are Mild Drinkers by: Alejandro R. Roces
I am A Filipino by: Carlos P. Romulo
3. Poetry
 Poetry is not only the heritage of mankind- poetry ids the music of the heart, the language of the
soul, the expression of the parts we do not see in human.
 Poetry, as man’s inherited possession, is the expression of strong feeling and thought which leads
to a communion between the individual and his surroundings, but most usually between a person
and nature, the world, or the universe.
Elements of Poetry
 Form
 Lines
 Stanzas
 Rhyme
 Pattern
 Rhythm
 Poetic
 Devices
Major Poetic devices used in many of the Poems
 Alliteration
 Repetition
 Onomatopoeia
All rights reserved. No parts of this document may be reproduced, distributed in any form or by any means including photocopying or any
electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the writer except in the case of brief quotations embodied in
critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copy right law. 5
  Inversion
 Figure of Speech
 Simile
 Metaphor
 Personification
 Hyperbole
 Understatement
 Imagery
 Variety
Examples of Filipino Poetry
 A tree by: Jose Corazon de Jesus
 And If the Heart Can not love by: Jose Garcia Villa
4. Short Story
 Short story is a short work of fiction. Fiction, is prose writing about imagined events and
characters. Prose writing differs from poetry from poetry in that it does not depend on verse,
meters or rhymes for its organization and presentation.
Different forms of Short Story
 Fable
 Myths
 Legends
 Folktales
 Parables
 Fairytales

Elements of Short Story

 Plot
 Arrangement of the incident of actions in a story. It starts with exposition, rising action,
climax, falling action and resolution.
 Setting
 Is the area where and the when of the story. It is the time, place, and event.
 Natural
 Man-made
 Theme
 The main idea of the story. It answers the question what the story is all about.
 Character
 The actor or the actresses of the story.
 Round characters
 Flat characters
 Point of view
 Refers to the position of the narrator or speaker in a story.
 First person point of view
 Third person point of view
 Symbols
 Symbols are essential in understanding a short story. Sometimes the central theme of the
story is conveyed through the use of symbols. Symbols are something concrete and
tangible.
 Universal symbol
 Literary symbol
 Dialogue
 Dialogue is the conversation between or among characters in the story.
 Foreshadowing
 It gives the hint or clue to the reader as what may happen to the character.
 Conflict
 Conflict is the struggle between two-people or things in a short story. If there is no
conflict to resolve, then there is no story.
 man versus man
 man versus society
 man versus himself
 man versus nature
 man versus God/Fate
Examples of Filipino Short Stories
The virgin by: Kerima Polotan-Tuvera
The Chambers of the Sea by: Edith L. Tiempo

Key Task#5:

All rights reserved. No parts of this document may be reproduced, distributed in any form or by any means including photocopying or any
electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the writer except in the case of brief quotations embodied in
critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copy right law. 6
Instruction: Apply the elements of short story in the selection given below.

Wedding Dance
By Amador Daguio

Awiyao reached for the upper horizontal log which served as the edge of the headhigh threshold. Clinging to the log, he lifted
himself with one bound that carried him across to the narrow door. He slid back the cover, stepped inside, then pushed the
cover back in place. After some moments during which he seemed to wait, he talked to the listening darkness.
“I’m sorry this had to be done. I am really sorry. But neither of us can help it.”

The sound of the gangsas beat through the walls of the dark house like muffled roars of falling waters. The woman who had
moved with a start when the sliding door opened had been hearing the gangsas for she did not know how long. There was a
sudden rush of fire in her. She gave no sign that she heard Awiyao, but continued to sit unmoving in the darkness.

But Awiyao knew that she heard him and his heart pitied her. He crawled on all fours to the middle of the room; he knew
exactly where the stove was. With bare fingers he stirred the covered smoldering embers, and blew into the stove. When the
coals began to glow, Awiyao put pieces of pine on them, then full round logs as his arms. The room brightened.

“Why don’t you go out,” he said, “and join the dancing women?” He felt a pang inside him, because what he said was really
not the right thing to say and because the woman did not stir. “You should join the dancers,” he said, “as if–as if nothing had
happened.” He looked at the woman huddled in a corner of the room, leaning against the wall. The stove fire played with
strange moving shadows and lights upon her face. She was partly sullen, but her sullenness was not because of anger or hate.

“Go out–go out and dance. If you really don’t hate me for this separation, go out and dance. One of the men will see you
dance well; he will like your dancing, he will marry you. Who knows but that, with him, you will be luckier than you were
with me.”

“I don’t want any man,” she said sharply. “I don’t want any other man.”

He felt relieved that at least she talked: “You know very well that I won’t want any other woman either. You know that,
don’t you? Lumnay, you know it, don’t you?”
She did not answer him.“You know it Lumnay, don’t you?” he repeated.“Yes, I know,” she said weakly.
“It is not my fault,” he said, feeling relieved. “You cannot blame me; I have been a good husband to you.”“Neither can you
blame me,” she said. She seemed about to cry.

“No, you have been very good to me. You have been a good wife. I have nothing to say against you.” He set some of the
burning wood in place. “It’s only that a man must have a child. Seven harvests is just too long to wait. Yes, we have waited
too long. We should have another chance before it is too late for both of us.”
This time the woman stirred, stretched her right leg out and bent her left leg in. She wound the blanket more snugly around
herself.
“You know that I have done my best,” she said. “I have prayed to Kabunyan much. I have sacrificed many chickens in my
prayers.” “Yes, I know.”

“You remember how angry you were once when you came home from your work in the terrace because I butchered one of
our pigs without your permission? I did it to appease Kabunyan, because, like you, I wanted to have a child. But what could I
do?”

“Kabunyan does not see fit for us to have a child,” he said. He stirred the fire. The spark rose through the crackles of the
flames. The smoke and soot went up the ceiling.

Lumnay looked down and unconsciously started to pull at the rattan that kept the split bamboo flooring in place. She tugged
at the rattan flooring. Each time she did this the split bamboo went up and came down with a slight rattle. The gong of the
dancers clamorously called in her care through the walls.

Awiyao went to the corner where Lumnay sat, paused before her, looked at her bronzed and sturdy face, then turned to where
the jars of water stood piled one over the other. Awiyao took a coconut cup and dipped it in the top jar and drank. Lumnay
had filled the jars from the mountain creek early that evening.
I came home,” he said. “Because I did not find you among the dancers. Of course, I am not forcing you to come, if you don’t
want to join my wedding ceremony. I came to tell you that Madulimay, although I am marrying her, can never become as
good as you are. She is not as strong in planting beans, not as fast in cleaning water jars, not as good keeping a house clean.
You are one of the best wives in the whole village.”

“That has not done me any good, has it?” She said. She looked at him lovingly. She almost seemed to smile.

He put the coconut cup aside on the floor and came closer to her. He held her face between his hands and looked longingly at
her beauty. But her eyes looked away. Never again would he hold her face. The next day she would not be his any more. She
would go back to her parents. He let go of her face, and she bent to the floor again and looked at her fingers as they tugged
softly at the split bamboo floor.

“This house is yours,” he said. “I built it for you. Make it your own, live in it as long as you wish. I will build another house
for Madulimay.”

All rights reserved. No parts of this document may be reproduced, distributed in any form or by any means including photocopying or any
electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the writer except in the case of brief quotations embodied in
critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copy right law. 7
“I have no need for a house,” she said slowly. “I’ll go to my own house. My parents are old. They will need help in the
planting of the beans, in the pounding of the rice.”

“I will give you the field that I dug out of the mountains during the first year of our marriage,” he said. “You know I did it for
you. You helped me to make it for the two of us.”

“I have no use for any field,” she said.

He looked at her, then turned away, and became silent. They were silent for a time.

“Go back to the dance,” she said finally. “It is not right for you to be here. They will wonder where you are, and Madulimay
will not feel good. Go back to the dance.”

“I would feel better if you could come, and dance—for the last time. The gangsas are playing.”

“You know that I cannot.”

“Lumnay,” he said tenderly. “Lumnay, if I did this it is because of my need for a child. You know that life is not worth living
without a child. The man have mocked me behind my back. You know that.”

“I know it,” he said. “I will pray that Kabunyan will bless you and Madulimay.”

She bit her lips now, then shook her head wildly, and sobbed.

She thought of the seven harvests that had passed, the high hopes they had in the beginning of their new life, the day he took
her away from her parents across the roaring river, on the other side of the mountain, the trip up the trail which they had to
climb, the steep canyon which they had to cross. The waters boiled in her mind in forms of white and jade and roaring silver;
the waters tolled and growled, resounded in thunderous echoes through the walls of the stiff cliffs; they were far away now
from somewhere on the tops of the other ranges, and they had looked carefully at the buttresses of rocks they had to step on
—a slip would have meant death.

They both drank of the water then rested on the other bank before they made the final climb to the other side of the mountain.

She looked at his face with the fire playing upon his features—hard and strong, and kind. He had a sense of lightness in his
way of saying things which often made her and the village people laugh. How proud she had been of his humor. The muscles
where taut and firm, bronze and compact in their hold upon his skull—how frank his bright eyes were. She looked at his
body that carved out of the mountains five fields for her; his wide and supple torso heaved as if a slab of shining lumber were
heaving; his arms and legs flowed down in fluent muscles–he was strong and for that she had lost him.

She flung herself upon his knees and clung to them. “Awiyao, Awiyao, my husband,” she cried. “I did everything to have a
child,” she said passionately in a hoarse whisper. “Look at me,” she cried. “Look at my body. Then it was full of promise. It
could dance; it could work fast in the fields; it could climb the mountains fast. Even now it is firm, full. But, Awiyao, I am
useless. I must die.”

“It will not be right to die,” he said, gathering her in his arms. Her whole warm naked naked breast quivered against his own;
she clung now to his neck, and her hand lay upon his right shoulder; her hair flowed down in cascades of gleaming darkness.
“I don’t care about the fields,” she said. “I don’t care about the house. I don’t care for anything but you. I’ll have no other
man.”
“Then you’ll always be fruitless.”
“I’ll go back to my father, I’ll die.”
“Then you hate me,” he said. “If you die it means you hate me. You do not want me to have a child. You do not want my
name to live on in our tribe.”
She was silent.

“If I do not try a second time,” he explained, “it means I’ll die. Nobody will get the fields I have carved out of the mountains;
nobody will come after me.”

“If you fail–if you fail this second time–” she said thoughtfully. The voice was a shudder. “No–no, I don’t want you to fail.”

“If I fail,” he said, “I’ll come back to you. Then both of us will die together. Both of us will vanish from the life of our tribe.”
The gongs thundered through the walls of their house, sonorous and faraway.
“I’ll keep my beads,” she said. “Awiyao, let me keep my beads,” she half-whispered.
“You will keep the beads. They come from far-off times. My grandmother said they come from up North, from the slant-
eyed people across the sea. You keep them, Lumnay. They are worth twenty fields.”
“I’ll keep them because they stand for the love you have for me,” she said. “I love you. I love you and have nothing to give.”
She took herself away from him, for a voice was calling out to him from outside. “Awiyao! Awiyao! O Awiyao! They are
looking for you at the dance!”
“I am not in hurry.”
“The elders will scold you. You had better go.”
“Not until you tell me that it is all right with you.”
“It is all right with me.”
He clasped her hands. “I do this for the sake of the tribe,” he said.
“I know,” she said.

All rights reserved. No parts of this document may be reproduced, distributed in any form or by any means including photocopying or any
electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the writer except in the case of brief quotations embodied in
critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copy right law. 8
He went to the door.
“Awiyao!”

He stopped as if suddenly hit by a spear. In pain he turned to her. Her face was in agony. It pained him to leave. She had been
wonderful to him. What was it that made a man wish for a child? What was it in life, in the work in the field, in the planting
and harvest, in the silence of the night, in the communing with husband and wife, in the whole life of the tribe itself that
made man wish for the laughter and speech of a child? Suppose he changed his mind? Why did the unwritten law demand,
anyway, that a man, to be a man, must have a child to come after him? And if he was fruitless–but he loved Lumnay. It was
like taking away of his life to leave her like this.

“Awiyao,” she said, and her eyes seemed to smile in the light. “The beads!” He turned back and walked to the farthest corner
of their room, to the trunk where they kept their worldly possession—his battle-ax and his spear points, her betel nut box and
her beads. He dug out from the darkness the beads which had been given to him by his grandmother to give to Lumnay on
the beads on, and tied them in place. The white and jade and deep orange obsidians shone in the firelight. She suddenly clung
to him, clung to his neck as if she would never let him go.

“Awiyao! Awiyao, it is hard!” She gasped, and she closed her eyes and huried her face in his neck.

The call for him from the outside repeated; her grip loosened, and he buried out into the night.

Lumnay sat for some time in the darkness. Then she went to the door and opened it. The moonlight struck her face; the
moonlight spilled itself on the whole village.

She could hear the throbbing of the gangsas coming to her through the caverns of the other houses. She knew that all the
houses were empty that the whole tribe was at the dance. Only she was absent. And yet was she not the best dancer of the
village? Did she not have the most lightness and grace? Could she not, alone among all women, dance like a bird tripping for
grains on the ground, beautifully timed to the beat of the gangsas? Did not the men praise her supple body, and the women
envy the way she stretched her hands like the wings of the mountain eagle now and then as she danced? How long ago did
she dance at her own wedding? Tonight, all the women who counted, who once danced in her honor, were dancing now in
honor of another whose only claim was that perhaps she could give her husband a child.

“It is not right. It is not right!” she cried. “How does she know? How can anybody know? It is not right,” she said.

Suddenly she found courage. She would go to the dance. She would go to the chief of the village, to the elders, to tell them it
was not right. Awiyao was hers; nobody could take him away from her. Let her be the first woman to complain, to denounce
the unwritten rule that a man may take another woman. She would tell Awiyao to come back to her. He surely would relent.
Was not their love as strong as the river?

She made for the other side of the village where the dancing was. There was a flaming glow over the whole place; a great
bonfire was burning. The gangsas clamored more loudly now, and it seemed they were calling to her. She was near at last.
She could see the dancers clearly now. The man leaped lightly with their gangsas as they circled the dancing women decked
in feast garments and beads, tripping on the ground like graceful birds, following their men. Her heart warmed to the flaming
call of the dance; strange heat in her blood welled up, and she started to run. But the gleaming brightness of the bonfire
commanded her to stop. Did anybody see her approach?

She stopped. What if somebody had seen her coming? The flames of the bonfire leaped in countless sparks which spread and
rose like yellow points and died out in the night. The blaze reached out to her like a spreading radiance. She did not have the
courage to break into the wedding feast.

Lumnay walked away from the dancing ground, away from the village. She thought of the new clearing of beans which
Awiyao and she had started to make only four moons before. She followed the trail above the village.

When she came to the mountain stream she crossed it carefully. Nobody held her hand, and the stream water was very cold.
The trail went up again, and she was in the moonlight shadows among the trees and shrubs. Slowly she climbed the
mountain.

When Lumnay reached the clearing, she cold see from where she stood the blazing bonfire at the edge of the village, where
the wedding was. She could hear the far-off clamor of the gongs, still rich in their sonorousness, echoing from mountain to
mountain. The sound did not mock her; they seemed to call far to her, to speak to her in the language of unspeaking love. She
felt the pull of their gratitude for her sacrifice. Her heartbeat began to sound to her like many gangsas.

Lumnay thought of Awiyao as the Awiyao she had known long ago– a strong, muscular boy carrying his heavy loads of fuel
logs down the mountains to his home. She had met him one day as she was on her way to fill her clay jars with water. He had
stopped at the spring to drink and rest; and she had made him drink the cool mountain water from her coconut shell. After
that it did not take him long to decide to throw his spear on the stairs of her father’s house in token on his desire to marry her.

The mountain clearing was cold in the freezing moonlight. The wind began to stir the leaves of the bean plants. Lumnay
looked for a big rock on which to sit down. The bean plants now surrounded her, and she was lost among them.

A few more weeks, a few more months, a few more harvests—what did it matter? She would be holding the bean flowers,
soft in the texture, silken almost, but moist where the dew got into them, silver to look at, silver on the light blue, blooming
whiteness, when the morning comes. The stretching of the bean pods full length from the hearts of the wilting petals would
go on.

All rights reserved. No parts of this document may be reproduced, distributed in any form or by any means including photocopying or any
electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the writer except in the case of brief quotations embodied in
critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copy right law. 9
Lumnay’s fingers moved a long, long time among the growing bean pods.

IS THIS TOO MUCH? Try to remember “NOTHING WILL

WORK UNLESS YOU DO.”
HAVE FUN IN LEARNING!!!

End of the Lesson

All rights reserved. No parts of this document may be reproduced, distributed in any form or by any means including photocopying or any
electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the writer except in the case of brief quotations embodied in
critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copy right law. 10