The Life of Lam-ang (an Iloko epic) - Page 14 of 16

Speaking of Lam-ang, my sister, my friend,
If he leaves when the moon is new,
He returns when the moon is full.

If he goes to the forest,
He places cloth beneath every bamboo grove
And there sleeps.

And then, Unnayan said:
My sister, my friend,
It’s time to go to your home.

The townmates of Lam-ang and Cannoyan
All went to Sabangan
To board the two ships.

All aboard and the sails set,
The boats refused to move
Till Lam-ang slapped their sterns.

Back in Nalbuan,
Everyone disembarked
And went to the house of Namungan.

The townspeople of bride and groom
Dance again.
Then, they honored Ines Cannoyan

And the man Lam-ang
A dance
All to themselves.

Then they all danced anew
The fandango, waltz and curcha,
As well as the sagamantica of Pangasinan.

They soon dispersed
And Doña Ines Cannoyan stayed behind
For her mother left without her.

And when Cannoyan’s townfolk had gone,
The incumbent captain
Paid the new couple a visit.

My friend Lam-ang,
your turn has come
To dive for shellfish called rarang.

When the Captain had left,
This is what the brave-man Lam-ang
Said with a sigh:

My wife Cannoyan
I have been chosen
To dive for shellfish called rarang.

I have dreamt
That I shall doubtless be eaten
By the shark tioan-tioan.

I shall give you a sign;
The stairs shall dance;
The kitchen shall collapse;

The stove shall break to pieces.
When morning came,
Lam-ang prepared to leave.

Reaching an ideal spot,
He undressed and swam
To where the rarang abounds.

He looked through the crystal waters
Then dived for the shellfish
But failed in his first try.

Surfacing, he tried once more to locate them
And having seen some
Dived once more—

Right into the mouth
Of the fish,
A big tioan-tioan shark,

And the signs came to pass:
The stairs danced;
The kitchen collapsed;