The Wedding Dance Stage Play Part 2 of 3

This stage play is our final examination in our major subject to Mr. Norberto V. Casabal, ENGL204: Introduction to Literature. Presented by BPSU Dinalupihan Campus BSED 2A English majors first semester 2013 - 2014
Scriptwriter / director: Samantha F. Batalla
Choreographer: Hensel B. Lingad
Main Characters: Lloyd Dizon as Awiyao, Pilipina Abadilla as Lumnay and Kariza Manlangit as Madulimay
"The art of letting go, love and sacrifice." - THE WEDDING DANCE by Amador T. Daguio
"The Wedding Dance" was first published in 1953 by Stanford University in an annual publication of works by participants in their literary programs. It is a very moving and beautifully written story that lets us see a way of life most know little about and is set in a nearly forgotten culture, that of the tribal people of northern Luzon. Marriage in this culture was seen as more or less a contract between a man and a woman for the purposes of producing children. If after seven harvests, there is no child, either party is free to break the bond and seek another spouse. A childless couple was seen as a very sad matter and often the masculinity of the husband was considered suspect. As the story opens the man is telling his beloved wife he is sorry this has to happen, he is sorry he must take another wife as she has proved barren (leaving aside medical fact it might be him). He offers her part of their land but she refuses. He tells her she should go to the wedding dance for his new marriage to show she is accepting of what is happening. She refuses all but some beads he gave her. She is still the most attractive woman in the community, the best homemaker and the best at growing crops. It is really a heartbreaking story as I could sense the man did not want to do this but community pressures and cultural norms were driving him to divorce a woman he truly loved for one he cares little about. The ending is beautifully done and leaves opens what will happen to the wife. She really seems like a "perfect wife" and one cannot help but feel the man is foolish and to make it worse, he knows it.

[@johnlherurap9392]

this really help us