The Life of Lam-ang (an Iloko epic) - Page 3 of 16

You Bumacas so-named,
Communicate (thru a letter) with every single one,
(The members of your tribe):

At Dardarat and Padang,
There in houses at Nueva, Dagodong and Topaan,
There in Mamo-ocan and Caoayan,

There in Tupinao and Baodan,
Sumbanggue and Luya, Bacong and Sosoba.
There in Tebteb and Caocaoayan.

They came, having received these notes (from Bumacas),
In a rush, the tattooed Igorots,
From the neighboring towns nearby,

Like chicken attracted to grains thrown to the ground.
Oh, their number indeed was remarkable
For one cannot keep count of their number.

He then caressed his stone of lao-laoigan,
And jumped but once to an open field,
The man Lam-ang.

And the man Lam-ang made thunderclaps
With his armpits and thighs
As well as with both his arms.

Soon they had crowded around him…
As a moving river (of bobbing heads), so to speak…
The man Lam-ang.

And having completely surrounded him,
They cut loose on him with all their arms,
On the man Lam-ang.

Like a torrential rain at dusk,
The spears fell (thickly) on him,
The man Lam-ang.

He embraced these crisscrossing spears
As one would accept
Betel nuts passed on to him.

And when the tattooed Igorots had run out
Of sharpened bamboo poles, spears, lances,
But could not hit him even just once,

The man Lam-ang said to them:
Now comes my turn,
I unsheath you, campilan, trustworthy weapon.

He struck the ground with this.
And the earth with stuck to the blade of the campilan,
This he ate—

A stick of rice cake
So long and large—
So their incantations would not affect him

Tattooed Igorots, watch me closely now,
He beckoned to the south wind
And with it lunged at once at them.

As though felling down banana trunks,
His bolo bit into flesh two ways, swung left or right,
The man Lam-ang.

They were mowed down in an instant.
Only one tattooed Igorot was left unharmed,
Whom he mocked at, then pinned down.

Now comes your end.
He slashed at his mouth, his eyes;
Cut off his ears, arms and legs.

He then let him loose, the tattooed Igorot,
Who received no mercy at his hands.
That your relatives and tribe may all see you.

And you carabao’s amulet (help me)
For I now bind the lances and spears,
My booty and trophy from the Igorot.

And now I leave you battleground.
The blood flowed from the dead Igorots
Like the Vigan river.