NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

  My third oldest child Lulai has officially started cultural dance.   Twice a week, at the MTM Community Center, she dances with Siñora Max Bigler-Tainatongo and the group Guma' Kinalameten i Taotao Tåno'. She is only three years old, much younger than the rest of the dancers, and literally doesn’t know yet the meaning of the word “discipline.” As such, during practices she more often than not dances to the beat of her own drum, causing chaos and confusion, rather than following the lead of others. Lao gof ya-ña sinembåtgo. But she likes it nonetheless.   For me, seeing one of my children in Chamoru cultural dance, is a beautiful moment of decolonization. For many people, they might connect decolonization to being political status change, such as Guam becoming independent or a state or a freely associated entity. Others might hear decolonization and think of it through some of the misconceptions out there of the idea. They might think of it as being, trying to go...

In terms of situating Chamorro pasts and giving a founding meaning to their history and identity, Fu'una and Puntan, the two siblings who created Guam and Chamorros are generally given that great honor. They are thought of more and more as being the founding spirits, whether you see them as Gods, historical figures, metaphors or fantasies. They are taking a key place of meaning in terms of rooting Chamorro identity today, not as a spirit that was created in 1521 or 1668, but as something longer and having its own distinct origin. Even those who refuse to believe in Fu'una and Puntan as being spirits, but see them as possible historical figures, who may have been the ones to lead a voyage to Guam long ago, nonetheless reinforce their primacy. In one of the earliest references that we have to Fu'una and Puntan, Fu'una herself is not even mentioned. Puntan is mentioned and so is his "sister," but she is hardly given a role. In this passag...