Lam-ang: From Epic Hero to Lakandian

Art by: Jairus Tabanera and Joll Mark Manabat

History of the Epic

Lam-ang was the titular character from the Ilokano epic, Biag ni Lam-ang, whose origins date back to the pre-colonial times in Philippine history. Though considered to be one of, if not the oldest, Filipino epics to be recorded in the written language by Spanish missionaries alongside the Bicolano epic Ibalong, its origins go further back than the colonial times.

The story of Lam-ang was originally an oral epic poem passed down via oral tradition from generation to generation amongst the ancient Ilocano people in the northwestern regions of Luzon. As with all epic tales orally transferred from one generation to another, Biag ni Lam-ang had gone through several iterations as it moved forward through time. But it wasn’t until the Spanish wrote it down, did the epic became Christianized. One of the most notable changes was the change in some of the characters’ names. Lam-ang’s father was given the name Don Juan, and his love interest was Ines or Ynes Cannoyan.

When it comes to who first brought the epic to paper, there are two arguments to be made. One of which declares that the notable Filipino poet, Pedro Bucaneg, aka “Father of Ilocano Literature,” authored parts of Biag ni Lam-ang sometime during the early part of the 17th century. But some historians argue otherwise, given that some of the earliest transcripts pertaining to Lam-ang came about around 1640, ten years after the death of Pedro Bucaneg.

Some historians, most notably the anthropologist, Esperidión Arsenio Manuel, attribute the first official written documentation of the Ilocano epic to Father Gererdo Blanco, who gave it to Isabelo Delos Reyes, who had published it serially in El Ilocano from December 1889 to February 1890, with a Spanish translation in prose. Since then, other publications about Lam-ang came about throughout the latter part of the 19th century to the early decades of the 20th century.

Summary of Biag ni Lam-ang

In a town called Nalbuan, a woman named Namongan gave birth to Lam-ang, a baby of incredible strength and courage. The boy asked his mother about the whereabouts of his father, Don Juan Panganiban, and learns that he had gone to fight the Igorot. He then arms himself with charms and decides to look for him.

He then learned from a dream that his father had been slain by the Igorot. He sought them out and finds them in a sagang, a feast celebrating a successful headhunting expedition. Lam-ang finds his father’s head displayed in the feast, and in a fit of rage, he slays all the Igorots and mutilates the last one.

When he returns home, ninety-nine maidens wash his hair in the river, but the dirt from his hair killed all the fish in the river. After which, he was attacked by a crocodile, which Lam-ang killed and carried its body back to the village to the applause and cheers of everyone.

He then hears about a beautiful maiden named Ines Cannoyan, daughter of the richest man in the town called Kalanutian. He told his mother of his desire to court the maiden, but his mother disagreed. Although Namongan discouraged him, Lam-ang goes anyway, dressed in gold and accompanied by his pet rooster and white dog.

On his way to Kalanutian, a giant named Sumarang blocked his way and belittled him. Lam-ang defeats him in a duel and hurls him nine hills away. Later, a woman named Saridandan tried to seduce him, but Lam-ang rejected her advances and went on his way.

Upon reaching Kalanutian, Lam-ang impresses Ines with his magic. His rooster crows and topples an outhouse, then his dog barks, and the outhouse is magically rebuilt. She then invited him to her home, where the rooster acts as his spokesperson. Her parents then asked for a bride price, which Lam-ang quickly agreed to give.

Lam-ang returns home to prepare for the wedding and his gifts. He and his townsfolk sail to Kalanutian on two golden ships, where he and Ines had a Catholic wedding. They then board the ships again and return to Nalbuan to continue their celebrations.

After the celebrations, Lam-ang decided to hunt for rarang shellfish. But as he did, he was swallowed by a giant fish called the Berbakan, which he had dreamt of before. A diver recovered his bones and took his remains back to his home. His pet rooster then flapped its wings and resurrected Lam-ang. He then rewards the diver and lives happily with his wife and pets.

In the Alamat Book Series

In my book series, Lam-ang serves as my introductory character who kicks off the entire universe of Alamat. My first book, Alamat: Book 1 Lam-ang, covers the first half of the titular hero’s life, from his fantastical birth to his mission to find and rescue his father. While the second half of his life was covered in Alamat: Book 6 Lam-ang Ascension. I built my retelling of Lam-ang’s story by using the original epic as a foundation. The titular hero, most of the characters and general situations are generally the same. Lam-ang is an exceptional warrior, blessed with super-strength and is a hero through and through. I mostly stuck with the original gist of the story except for two fundamental differences: authenticity to the time period and character development.

The Alamat books are set sometime during the 14th century, almost two hundred years before the coming of Magellan. Since the readily known epic had already been heavily influenced by the Spaniards, I needed to change some of the characters’ names to fit the setting. Character names like Lam-ang’s father, Don Juan, were changed to Dulunggan, as well as his love interest, Ines, which was changed to Anes. Rituals like weddings and funerals were also altered from Catholic traditions to pre-colonial ones that were based on animism or worship of spirits.

Concerning character development, I opted to add more nuance to the back stories of several characters surrounding Lam-ang. I began my retelling by adding a simple love story between his parents to let my readers connect with them and appreciate their roles in Lam-ang’s tale. I also added other characters in smaller roles to add depth and realism to his environment, as well as taking smaller characters such as Sumarang and Saridandan and giving them far larger antagonistic roles, adding to the conflict and excitement.

Probably one of the biggest changes I added to my concept of Biag ni Lam-ang was taking his charms and pets from being simple plot devices to elevating them into characters and plot lines that added weight and context to his adventures. Instead of just having his charms right off the bat when he set out to find his father, I created an exciting side quest for Lam-ang to undertake in order to acquire these charms, aka anting-anting.

And as for his pet rooster and dog, who unexplainably had magical powers, I opted to turn them into mythological creatures similar to a rooster and a dog. The rooster in my books was a salaksak, a mythological bird that announces disasters or deaths with its song.

The dog, being man’s best friend, needed to be by Lam-ang’s side and at par with his abilities as he fought night creatures like the aswang, manananggal, and others. So I decided to make his dog a kimat, or in the case of my books, a dog fused with an anito called Kimat. According to Tinguian myth, the kimat is a lightning demon and servant of the gods, and appears as a big, white dog.

Being part of a larger universe where other epic heroes, or Lakandians as I call them, exist, I also had to weave together deities, folklore, and mythological creatures into Lam-ang’s tale. After two books based on Biag ni Lam-ang, I have all but completed his epic tale. But that doesn’t mean that his story has officially ended. In fact, in my seventh book, which was my first book not based on any existing tale, Lam-ang joins forces with other epic heroes as they fight an all-out war against dark gods and monsters. Lam-ang, the Lakandian, will continue to make appearances in future books as the stories in the Alamat Book Series move onwards.