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Final Reaction Paper

The Wedding Dance by Amador Daguio explores the themes of love, loss, and the impact of tradition on personal relationships through the story of Awiyao and Lumnay. Awiyao is forced to leave Lumnay due to societal expectations regarding childbearing, despite their enduring love, highlighting the emotional pain caused by cultural pressures. The narrative serves as a poignant reminder that love can sometimes require sacrifice, illustrating the struggle between personal desires and societal obligations.

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Sheena Seguritan
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100 views2 pages

Final Reaction Paper

The Wedding Dance by Amador Daguio explores the themes of love, loss, and the impact of tradition on personal relationships through the story of Awiyao and Lumnay. Awiyao is forced to leave Lumnay due to societal expectations regarding childbearing, despite their enduring love, highlighting the emotional pain caused by cultural pressures. The narrative serves as a poignant reminder that love can sometimes require sacrifice, illustrating the struggle between personal desires and societal obligations.

Uploaded by

Sheena Seguritan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Beads of Tradition, Threads of Emotion

A Reaction Paper on The Wedding Dance by Amador Daguio

The Wedding Dance made me feel a sense of quite sadness. The story is brief, yet it tells
so much about love, loss, and the type of pain that does not root from hatred, but from love
being destroyed by something greater—tradition. The narrative is about Awiyao, who is
forced to leave his wife Lumnay due to the fact that she cannot give him a child. Despite the
fact that they still love each other, Awiyao needs to remarry in their tribe to continue his
bloodline. It's a very painful situation where no one is guilty, yet everyone gets hurt. One
question lingers in my mind: can love still be called love when it asks us to let go of the one
we care for most—not because we stopped loving them, but because we believe it will give
them a better life?

What hit me the most was Lumnay's silent suffering. She doesn't yell or make a scene; she
holds in her pain, which makes it even more heartbreaking. She begs Awiyao to stay—not
just because she loves him but also because of all the shared memories. Her story reveals how
women in their culture are more criticized according to their capacity to give birth; something
that we cannot control other than who they are as a person. This expectation still continues in
the global world today, where women are undervalued for what they can give and not valued
for who they are as individuals.

Awiyao is also caught by tradition. He obviously still cares for Lumnay and does not wish
to leave her, but feels duty-bound as a man in his tribe to carry out his duties. His willingness
to go see her on the day of his own wedding celebration indicates just how torn he is. He's not
heartless—just torn between duty and love. The tragedy is that their love is not strong enough
to go against the burden of cultural expectations. They are both victims of a culture that
prioritizes bloodlines over feelings.

The symbols of the story—the fire in Lumnay's hut, the beads she is given by Awiyao, and
the wedding dance itself— deepen the emotional weight of the story. The fire symbolizes
Lumnay's burning grief and confusion, and the beads symbolize the promise and love they
shared. The dance, which typically is a joyous ritual, is now a haunting reminder of what
Lumnay has lost and of the world that no longer includes her.
With this in mind, The Wedding Dance is a beautifully written tragedy that captures the
quiet devastation caused when love is forced to give in to traditions. It left me feeling a mix
of sympathy and sadness—especially for Lumnay, who gave her all and still ended up being
alone. The story reminds us that while love is powerful, it is not always enough to overcome
the expectations society places upon us. As Michael Springer has said, "To truly understand
and be able to share love takes the sacrifice of one's self. It's realizing that love isn't about
you or what you can get. It's about you and what you have to give." This quote reflects the
spirit of Awiyao and Lumnay's sacrifice—the hurtful reality that love at times means letting
go.

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