NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

   For all my children, since the moment they were born, no matter what the topic, I only speak to them in Chamoru. This doesn’t mean that every single word is in Chamoru, as sometimes English words, or other words must be used or translated into Chamoru. But given my commitment to perpetuating the native language of the indigenous people of the Marianas, it means we use Chamoru and adapt Chamoru, no matter what the topic or context. Language are however social organisms, which means that for most people, children included, even if you use it with them, unless it is reinforced, and there is a sense of community or value associated with it, keeping the language alive and in turn passing it on will be difficult. Even if you speak Chamoru to your own children, they might speak it back to you, but if they don’t perceive that others around them speak it or that it doesn’t have any value expect in the past or within very narrow means, there is a marginal chance they will ...

  2025 was the 10th year of existence for the Guam Bus , a creative company that my brother and I started to publish Chamoru language books, comics, flash cards and other products for learning the Chamoru language and telling Chamoru stories.    Our first book released in 2015, written by me and illustrated by Jack was "Sumåhi and the Karabao" featured my oldest Sumåhi hearing karabao stories everytime she rides Siñot Aguon's karabao at the Chamorro Village. Although it wasn't the plan to always have the children of the Guam Bus be the stars of the books, that is how things have evolved in the decade since.    "The Adventures of Akli'e'" followed in 2017, and featured my second oldest Akli'e' as the star of the book, learning about traditional Chamoru tools from his great-grandfather and Chamoru legends and history from his great-grandmother.    Sumåhi, Akli'e' and then my third oldest Lulai would be the main characters in "An Tå...

This month, Lulai, my third oldest started her first year attending the Maga'låhen Hurao Charter School.  She had begun attending the Hurao Tiempon Somnak over the summer, but now this month has begun attending the Hurao school in earnest and Desiree and I are excited to say the least.  It has just been a few weeks, and so far guaha na biahi ya-ña, guaha na biahi ti ya-ña.  Every day she both enjoys attending school but is also struggling with separation anxiety saying "Ma'å'ñao yu' yan mahålang yu' para si nanå-hu yan si La'yak" (I'm afraid and I miss my mom and La'yak). Lulai's older siblings, Sumåhi and Akli'e' attended Hurao on and off in different forms over the years, sometimes the summer programs, sometimes the after school programs, and later even helping as aides.        All of this was across more then 10 years, yet Hurao wasn't to the point yet where it was an immersion or charter school in earnest.    After taking pi...

If you are looking for articles, essays, poems, and other random things written in Chamoru, about a wide variety of topics, then you should definitely check out "I Sakman i Fino'-ta." It was started in 2022 by Benny Anderson as a means of promoting Chamoru language and writing. Anyone can submit for the website, which is filled at this point with hundreds of short pieces written in Chamoru. The inspiration for the name is that the website is a vessel for the language in the same way the såkman was a vessel for the Chamoru people the past, using it to travel and transport. If we continue to use our language on a daily basis and pass it on to the next generation, it will continue to evolve and grow as we grow. It will stay with us on this journey. The published pieces come from active, current learners of Chamoru, first language speakers of Chamoru and second language learners of Chamoru. They are free to write about whatever they are interested in. You will find plenty of ...

After my third child Lulai was born in 2021, I had a month of paternity leave from working at the Guam Museum.  During this time, I would usually take Lulai at night for around four or five hours, to give her mother Desiree a chance to sleep or relax or do anything undisturbed for a while.  I would sing to her, rock her, hold her while she slept. It gave me time to think, to reflect, to watch things, to read. One of the things that I thought alot about at the time was Chamoru music and its future.  I never really made the jump to digital music platforms like Spotify, but I do listen to music on YouTube.  While I would be watching Lulai I would want to sing to her different Chamoru songs and I would look for them on YouTube and not be able to find the songs. I was frustrated because I had the songs on tapes or on CDs or on vinyl records, but my hands were full with a child, or the physical copies were packed away in boxes in storage somewhere and it would take forever...

  Humånao si Lulai (si Chuguangguang) para i Fangga’ga’an San Diego para i primet na biahi gi nigapña. Gof ya-ña!     Manli’e’ familian hiarafa (giraffe) minetras manmamomokkat yan mamboboka. Gof annakko' i aga'ga'-ñiha!   Manli’e’ gago’ na hippo, umåsso gi inai. Ilek-ña si Lulai, “ayu na yommok na crocodile!” Hu admimite na ti meggai tiningo’-ña i neni put i dos.   Manli’e’ katdumen meerkats taiguihi ginen i mubi i Rai Leon (Lion King). Gigon ha hungok na gaige si Timon i atungo’ Simba, inalululala lumi’e’. Gof dångkolo’ i chinalek-ña anai hu kantåyi gui’ “Dångkolo’ i daggån-ña” gi i tunadan “Hakuna Matata.”     Manli’e’ yan este i mas ya-ña un elefånte, i na’ån-ña si Shaba.    Gof dångkolo’ yan makalelu i elefånte! Ilek-ña si Lulai, “Anakko i gui’eng-ña!” Hu sangåni gui’, hunggan, adahi sa’ kada umachem kalang un kañon. Pangpang! Anai ha hungok este, ha tåmpe i talanga'-ña, gof kinute!   Gi todu, un gefpågo yan didide’ manengheng na ta...

What does it mean to live in a place called the “tip of America’s spear?” This is something that Guam has been called frequently in recent decades, whether by politicians, military commanders or think tanks. It is a nickname defined by the strategic value of Guam to the United States. If one imagines the US as a warrior facing Asia, there are a long line of bases that extend west across the Pacific, almost like the shaft of a long weapon. Guam, as the westernmost US base, is like the tip. Something brandished against potential threats on the continent. Because of Guam’s location and its military value, we who call it home are used to both wars and rumors of wars. In recent years there has been increasing tension in the region between the United States and its potential rivals, whether it be Russia, North Korea and China. As such, Guam appears in news reports, in strategic studies and in the speeches of admirals as something that the US will use against others or as something that m...

Typhoon Mawar was the first major typhoon for all of my children. My two older children who are in their teens, had experienced Typhoon Mangkhut in 2018 and Typhoon Dolphin in 2015. Both of these typhoons were damaging to Guam, but not in the same way that Mawar was last month. For my two smaller children, Lulai and Makåhna, this was their first typhoon of any type. And what a first typhoon it was for both of them. Lulai who will be turning 2 in a few months and Makåhna who wasn’t yet 3 weeks old when the storm hit. I am grateful that we weathered the typhoon well, no major injuries other than diaper and heat rashes. Two weeks later we still didn't have electricity and our cellphone service and data remains intermittent. But thankfully we had water albeit low at times, throughout. My partner Desiree and I have both been through major typhoons, with catastrophic destruction and disruption. Mawar was our first as parents. Looking back, it was a dramatically different expe...

My time with Lulai Lumuhu is filled with dancing and singing. Desiree always said that she would pay attention to my voice while she was in the womb. When she heard others, like Sumåhi and Akli'e' she would kick and move. But when I was speaking to her she would stop and listen. Ti siguguro yu' esta på'go, kao este kumekeilekña na ya-ña i bos-hu pat ti ya-ña i bos-hu. Kao ha respepeta yu', pat kao inespåpanta? I try as much as possible to sing Chamoru songs to her, knowing that she'll hear English and other songs from just about everywhere else, she'll be hearing Chamoru from me. The song that soothes her the most is "I Puti'on." Akli'e' and I do a nice duet of the song for her to help calm her when she is cranky. Over the years I've collected several dozen Chamoru children's songs from before World War II, many of which are fragments. Songs then were different then the way we think about them now. People took tunes they liked a...

10 years ago the cultural arts group Inetnon Gefpågo premiered "Fanhasso, Fanhita, Fanachu" a musical journey through Guam History and Chamorro issues written by Michael Lujan Bevacqua and Victoria Leon Guerrero, with choreography by Vince Reyes. The musical was directed by Clifford Guzman. The cast was made up of island youth in the group Inetnon Gefpågo.  Next Tuesday, December 8th, Inetnon Gefpågo and Independent Guåhan are holding a webinar to reflect back on the 10 years anniversary of this performance, which eventually was transformed into the play Pågat in 2014.  The webinar will be live on the Facebook pages of Independent Guåhan and Inetnon Gefpågo from 10 am - noon on December 8th. To say that I'm excited about this webinar would be an understatement. I am elated to the point where words are starting to fall short of expression.  The musical Fanhasso... was something I worked on with Victoria less than a year after starting teaching at UOG full-time and finish...