The Ilocano epic poem Biag ni Lam-ang tells the story of the great warrior Lam-ang and his adventures. As a child, Lam-ang vows revenge on the Igorots who killed his father and grows up to become a skilled fighter, defeating many Igorot warriors. As an adult, Lam-ang falls in love with the beautiful Ines and defeats all her suitors in fights, except for the giant Sumarang who he also defeats. Lam-ang and Ines marry in a grand celebration, but for their marriage to be blessed, Lam-ang must retrieve a rare pearl from the depths of the sea. On his dive, Lam-ang is eaten by a fear

1. An Ilocano Epic
BIAG NI LAM-ANG

3. • Don Juan
• Namongan
• Lam-ang
• Ines Cannoyan
• Sumarang

4. A
Summary…

5. Centuries ago, there was a great warrior who was widely known in Ilocos
as a hero who fought the Igorots. When Lam-ang was born, he had the
most unusual ability to speak immediately at birth. He asks where his
father was, and, upon being told that his father was killed by Igorots,
Lam-ang vows revenge; a vendeta is born.
Lam-ang grows up immediately, and goes up into the mountains to take
his vengeance. Alone, he fights off dozens of Igorot warriors, defeating
them all. He cuts off the ears of the warriors, as trophies, and returns to
Ilocos. He then meets and is captivated by a beautiful woman named
Ines, and he immediately falls in love. He pledges to her all of his gold,
land, and livestock.
As the most beautiful woman in the province, Ines has many suitors, but
all quietly gave way to Lam-ang, since they knew that they could not
compete with him for her affections. All, except for a giant of a man
named Sumarang, who would not yield. Lam-ang and Sumarang fight
and Lam-ang wins, easily defeating Sumarang.
Lam-ang and Ines are married in the largest wedding feast that ever
been seen in the province. In order to secure the union’s blessing, Lam-
ang is told that he must dive down to the very depths of the sea and
retrieve a pearl from a magical oyster, otherwise the marriage would
have bad luck. (Other versions say that Lam-ang went to catch a rare
fish called rarang.) Lam-ang dives into the sea and on his way down, is
eaten by a fearsome fish called the Berkaken.
Heartbroken, Ines goes into mourning, as did most of the town, as Lam-
ang was their hero. The next day, Lam-ang’s rooster, who had magical

6. The turning points of
Lam-ang’s life:

7. Namongan
gave birth
to Lam-ang.
Lam-ang
made
revenge to
the Igorots
for his
father.
Lam-ang’s
journey to
the town of
Calanutian.
Lam-ang’s
fulfillment
of the trial
given by
Ines
Cannoyan’s
parents.
His
resurrectio
n after his
adventure
with the
tioan-tioan
shark.

8. Pagan Cultural Elements or Ilocano
Customs and Traditions

9. • Preparation of bamboo shoots before giving birth
• Wearing of wild carabao’s amulet, centipede’s amulet,
stone of sagang, stone of tangraban and lao-laoigan
• Tribal wars and revenge
• Domestication of animals like rooster and dog
• Tradition of diving for the shellfish, rarang

10. Christian Cultural Elements

11. • The sacrament of Baptism
• Having godfather or godparents during baptism
• Celebration of feasts
• Resurrection from death
• Church wedding or church ceremonies

12. Biag ni Lam-ang and Hudhud hi
Aliguyon

13. Biag ni Lam-ang Hudhud hi Aliguyon
NATIONHOOD Compared to Hudhud
hi Aliguyon, Lam-ang
did not just competed
with the other tribes but
as the same time with
the Spaniards. Thus,
the epic portrays the
presence of the
Spaniards during Lam-
ang’s time. Nationhood
is not manifested in the
story because the
Filipinos were not
united and tribal wars
still occur.
Tribal wars also existed
in the story. The battle
was between Aliguyon
and Pumbakhayon.
They have the same
strength and it is the
reason why the war
lasted for 3 years. They
cannot defeat each
other. But, in the end,
both their tribes agreed
to be at peace. Thus,
nationhood can be
seen in the story
because the tribes
united in the end.

14. Biag ni Lam-ang Hudhud hi Aliguyon
GENDER Patriarchal system is
observed. Just the
same with other epics,
men are considered
superior because of the
existence of battles.
But unlike Hudhud hi
Aliguyun, a more formal
way of courtship was
emphasized which
manifests a great
respect to women.
Patriarchal system is
also observed. Men are
considered superior. It
is because they are the
one who go to battles.
This tradition is
manifested in the scene
where Aliguyon curses
his mother and at the
same time he didn.t
listen to his mother’s
advice.