Biag Ni Lam-ang - Summary of The Story of Lam-ang

Summary of The Story of Lam-ang

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 immediately asked where his father was, and, upon being informed that his father was killed by Igorots, Lam-ang vowed revenge: A vendetta was born.

Lam-ang grew up immediately, and went up into the mountains to take his vengeance. Alone, he fought off dozens of Igorot warriors, defeating them all. He cut off the ears of the warriors, as trophies, and returned to Ilocos. He then met and was captivated by a beautiful woman named Ines, and he immediately fell in love. He pledged her all of his gold, land, and livestock.

Naturally, as the most beautiful woman in the province, Ines had 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 a giant of a man, named Sumarang, who would not yield. So, Lam-ang and Sumarang fought, and Lam-ang won, easily defeating Sumarang.

Lam-ang and Ines were married with the largest wedding feast that ever been seen in the province. In order to secure the union’s blessing, Lam-ang was informed 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 fish for a rare fish called rarang.) So Lam-ang dove into the sea and, on his way down, was eaten by a fearsome fish called the Berkaken.

Heartbroken, Ines went into mourning, as did most of the town, as Lam-ang was their hero. The next day, Lam-ang’s rooster, who had magical powers (Lam-ang also owned a magic dog and cat), spoke to Ines, and told her to have Lam-ang’s bones fished out of the sea. Ines did as she was instructed, bringing Lam-ang’s bones before the rooster, who then blew on them.