Litekyan

For many years I dreamed of Pagat.

Para meggai na anos manguiguife yu' put iya Pagat.

But last week I dreamt about Litekyan.

Lao gi i ma'pos na simana manguife yu' put iya Litekyan.

These two places are very important and you could say they are sacred to Chamorros.

Este na dos na lugat siha gof impottante ya sina un alok sagradu para i Chamorro siha.

But their stories are complicated.

Lao i estoria gof kumplikao yan matahlek.

The majority of people on Guam believe that Pagat is an important place that must be protected.

I meggaina na taotao giya Guahan, ma hohongge na gaibali iya Pagat ya debi di u ma prutehi.

But for a very long time, that was not what our people felt. 

Lao para un sen apmam na tiempo ti taiguihi i hinasson i taotao-ta.

For a while they forgot put its sacredness, and when the military first tried to take it, they almost let it go.

Manmaleffanaihon put i sinagradu, ya anai fine'nina i militat ha keganye', kana' ma sotta ha'.

But a movement emerged, formed from many different types of people and they change the consciousness of the public. 

Lao humuyong un kinalamten, fina'tinas meggai na diferentes na taotao, ya ma tulaika i hinasson i taotao.

Ma baba i hinasson-niha sa' ma fa'nu'i siha na este meggai na lugat guini gi isla-ta, manyinite.

They opened minds and showed them that many places here on Guam have already been lost. 

Esta meggai na lugat masakke', machule' pat mabende, ya ti sina ta na'mahakot este lokkue'.

Many places have already been stolen, taken, sold off, and we can't allow this place to be taken as well. 

Lao kao para u huyong i parehu na hinasson krtikat gi este na momento put este otro na lugat?

Will the same same critical consciousness emerge at this moment for this other place?

Sina mohon.

It is possible. 

I bali-na para i kumunidat gi Litekyan mas takhilo' kinu i balin Pagat anai i militat ha kechule'.

The value of the community for Litekyan is much greater than that of Pagat when the military tried to take it.

Esta gof matungo' iya Litekyan.

Litekyan is well known. 

Esta gof maguaiya gi meggai na manera, put i ga'ga' yan i ginefpago.

It is well loved in so many ways, because of the animals and the beauty there. 

Gaige guihi lokkue' un estoria taihustisia, put taimanu na ti mana'na'lo i tano' guihi nu i mismo manduenu.

There is also a history there is injustice, about how the land was not returned to its original owners. 

Sina mandana' todu este, ya sina manmama'tinas kinalamten ni mas dangkolu kinu ayu in fa'tinasi iya Pagat.

These can all come together and create a movement that is bigger than the one we created for Pagat. 

I na'an Litekyan ginen i palabra "fanlitiyan," i lugat nai manliliti.

The name Litekyan comes from the word "fanlitiyan," or the place of stirring.

Sina ta fa'tinas ayu na kinalamten pulitikat yan sosiat, debi di ta liti ha'. 

We can create that political movement, we just need to stir.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Chamoru Love Sayings

Image
A student from my Zoom Chamoru classes recently asked me for some suggestions for some Chamoru sayings or words of wisdom that she could use for a speech she had to give for a friend's wedding.  I get this type of request pretty frequently and so over the years I have a number of lists of ways to say "I Love You" in Chamoru. For years that was one of the my most visited pages on this blog, a simple page that had more than a dozen different ways to say "Hu Guaiya Hao" ranging from the poetic and deep, to the silly and sexy.  When I looked at many of those lists, I realized that the majority of the ways love was expressed, was indeed written in Chamoru, but not necessarily rooted in Chamoru. What I mean by this, is that alot of the sayings were simply translated from English or variants of ways that love would be expressed in English.  For me, I am definitely in support of these sorts of things, I love having our language adapt and take on new forms, especially wh
Read more

Chamorro Public Service Post #15: Pues Adios, Esta Ki

A lot of people end up visiting this blog because they are searching around the internet for lyrics to Chamorro songs. Over the years I’ve pasted a couple here and there, but haven’t really kept up with it as much as I should. I complain all the time about there not being enough internet presence for the Chamorro language and for Chamorro thoughts and so I feel bad when I inadvertently contribute to that absence. På’go, gaige yu’ gi i gima’ iyo-ku grandfather. Desde i ma’pos’ña na mes, kumakatre gui’. Kana’ hineart attack gui’, ya sumaga’ gui’ gi i espitåt para tres meses. Mana’huyong gi i ma’pos na mes, ya sumåsaga’ gui’ gi i gima’, lao ti ha hulat tumohgue sin ayuda. Kada na puengge måtto yu’ gi i gima’-ña para i tetno-hu pumulan gui’. Gi este na tiempo, tåya’ internet, pues siña hu usa este para bai hu fanhasso. Manhasso yu’ put i lina’la’-hu pat i guinife-hu. Buente i chinathinasso-ku siha lokkue’. Tonight, I was trying to figure out what would be the best song to share the lyrics
Read more

Tuleti

Image
I was racking my brain recently to determine what was the first ever Chamorro song that was featured in a motion picture. Noon Sunday was the first every motion picture to be filmed primarily on Guam, prior to that some minor filming had been done on Guam for World War II and Godzilla films but nothing substantial. Noon Sunday was not set in Guam, but it was the first film to feature extensively the island of Guam. Guam was the locale for a fictional Pacific island that was being taken over by a menacing Asian power. Almost all the speaking roles went to people from off-island (from the US or the Philippines), and Chamorros ended up playing most of the "extra" roles. As a result the film didn't feature any Chamorro music. You do find documentaries and television programs, all locally produced that feature Chamorro songs of at least Chamorros singing songs. Guam's History Through Songs, made by the late Carmen Santos is a perfect example of this. For those of you u
Read more